1. Where is Medjugorje? 2. What does the name Medjugorje mean? 3. How long has Our Lady been appearing in Medjugorje? 4. What time do the apparitions

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1 Questions and Answers 1. Where is Medjugorje? 2. What does the name Medjugorje mean? 3. How long has Our Lady been appearing in Medjugorje? 4. What time do the apparitions take place? 5. Do the apparitions always take place at the same time? 6. How often do the apparitions take place? 7. Does Our Lady ever appear more than once a day? 8. Where do the apparitions take place? 9. Does that mean Our Lady has no control where She appears? 10. What does that mean Her preference? 11. Does the location of the apparition ever have significance or is Our Lady just there because of the visionaries being there? 12. Why did Our Lady choose Medjugorje? 13. What Does Our Lady look like? 14. Does Our Lady give messages every day? 15. Describe what takes place during an apparition? 16. What is the importance of the Medjugorje apparitions? 17. Why is Our Lady appearing in Medjugorje? 18. The messages seems to be simple and repetitious, is there more to them? 19. If the first apparition was June 24, 1981, why is the anniversary of the apparitions celebrated on June 25th? 20. Then is there any significance of Our Lady s first apparition on June 24th? 21. What happens when Our Lady gives the monthly message to Marija? 22. How do the messages spread? 23. Does Our Lady give messages any other times? 24. Does Our Lady prefer us to pray to Her or to Jesus? 25. Did Our Lady give Herself a title at Medjugorje? 26. Is that the only time Our Lady has called Herself the Queen of Peace? 27. How many visionaries are there? 28. Who are the visionaries? 29. Where are the visionaries now, and what are they doing? 30. How old were the visionaries when Our Lady first appeared to them? 31. In what language does Our Lady speak to the visionaries?

2 32. Have the visionaries ever touched Our Lady? 33. What is an inner locution? 34. Who are the two inner locutionists? 35. What are their roles? 36. Do Jelena Vasilj and Marijana Vasilj still have inner locutions? 37. Does Our Lady give messages during the apparitions to Ivan at his prayer group? 38. Will Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov reveal what Our Lady has dictated to them about Her life? 39. What can be told about the secrets the visionaries of Medjugorje are receiving? 40. Do all the visionaries have the same secrets? 41. What is known about the Lasting Sign? 42. Which visionaries have seen Heaven, Purgatory, and hell? 43. How do they describe Heaven? 44. How do they describe Purgatory? 45. How do they describe hell? 46. Is Medjugorje approved by the Church? 47. Are the faithful allowed to go to Medjugorje? 48. Are these the last apparitions on earth? 49. What are the basic messages of Our Lady? 50. What is the most important message of Our Lady? 51. What prayers do Our Lady recommend to pray? 52. How often does Our Lady tell us to pray? 53. When will the book about Our Lady s life be published? 54. When is Our Lady s birthday? 55. What is the Special Blessing? 56. How can one pilgrimage to Medjugorje? 57. What is my local apparition time? What does the name Medjugorje mean? Medjugorje means between the mountains. 3. How long has Our Lady been appearing in Medjugorje?

3 Our Lady first appeared on June 24, 1981 and has been appearing daily for 28 years, as of June 25, 2009, to the visionaries of Medjugorje. 4. What time do the apparitions take place? Our Lady usually appears for Her daily apparitions every evening in Medjugorje at 6:40 p.m. or at 5:40 p.m. Daylight Savings Time. Our Lady may appear to certain visionaries at a different time if they are traveling or for certain situations. When Ivan has his prayer groups on Monday and Friday nights, Our Lady appears to him at 10:00 p.m. 5. Do the apparitions always take place at the same time? The daily apparitions usually always take place at the same time, but Our Lady may appear to certain visionaries at a different time, according to different situations. 6. How often do the apparitions take place? Our Lady still appears on a daily basis to three of the visionaries Ivan, Marija, and Vicka. The other three visionaries, Mirjana, Ivanka, and Jakov no longer see Our Lady daily. Our Lady has promised them that She will appear to them once a year for the rest of their lives. Mirjana s annual apparition is March 18th, Ivanka s is June 25th, and Jakov s is December 25th. Click on the following link to go to Medjugorje Visionaries Receiving the 10th secret and Their Last Daily Apparition. Also, Mirjana sees Our Lady once a month on the 2nd of the month to pray for nonbelievers. 7. Does Our Lady ever appear more than once a day? There are times that Our Lady appears more than once a day. When Ivan s prayer group meets on Monday and Friday nights, Our Lady appears to Ivan during his regular apparition at 6:40 p.m. and then during his prayer group meeting later on that evening. There have been other times Our Lady has appeared more than once a day to other visionaries as well. 8. Where do the apparitions take place? Our Lady first appeared on Mount Podbrdo, known now as Apparition Mountain. Now Our Lady appears wherever the visionaries are. The visionaries do not have to be together for the apparitions. If they are in three different places, Our Lady will appear to each of them at the same time, wherever they may be. 9. Does that mean Our Lady has no control where She appears? No, while She gives the visionaries freedom, there have been occasions in which Our Lady has made the apparition very short, indicating it was not the preference to appear there.

4 Does the location of the apparition ever have significance or is Our Lady just there because of the visionaries being there? I am happy to be here. 12. Why did Our Lady choose Medjugorje? Our Lady gave a message on June 26, 1981, stating: I have come because there are many true believers here. I wish to be with you to convert and to reconcile the whole world. I love you and in a special way I have chosen this parish, one more dear to me than the others, in which I have gladly remained when the Almighty sent me

5 13. What does Our Lady look like? The visionaries usually describe Our Lady as wearing a long gray dress, with a white veil. She has blue eyes, long black hair, and rosy cheeks. She has a crown of twelve stars around Her head and floats on a cloud. On Her feast days, anniversaries, and birthday, She comes dressed all in gold. Each Christmas, She appears with Baby Jesus in Her arms. All the visionaries say it is very difficult to find the words to describe Our Lady. Marija explains, I consider words very, very weak to express what we experience with Our Lady. For instance, when we say Our Lady has a gray dress, this is not exact. Our Lady s dress is of a certain color that does not exist on this earth. It has something to do with gray, so we say: Her dress is gray. But it is the same for all the rest we have some words we use to describe, but everything in the experience of Our Lady is beyond words Does Our Lady give messages every day? At the beginning of the apparitions, Our Lady gave messages everyday. In 1984, She started to give messages once a week on Thursday. In 1987, Our Lady began to give messages on the 25th of each month through the Medjugorje visionary Marija, and this still continues today. Our Lady also gives a message on the 2nd of each month to the Medjugorje visionary Mirjana. The 2nd of each month is the day Our Lady asks us to specifically designate for prayers for unbelievers. This includes unbelief in Christians. 15. Describe what takes place during an apparition? When Our Lady appears to the visionaries, She is preceded by three flashes of light. They may even be looking down and then see the flash. The visionaries immediately look up to the spot where Our Lady is. Our lady begins by saying, Praised be Jesus. During the apparition, the visionaries voices go away. It is proven by scientific testing, that this phenomenon is unexplainable. Their voice box vibrates but no sound is detectable, even by scientific equipment. When they are speaking to Our Lady, their lips and mouths move, but you cannot hear any words. The visionaries pray with Our Lady, speak to Her, offer up intentions during these apparitions. The visionaries are not aware of anything going on around them when they are with Our Lady. Sometimes during the apparition, Our Lady will pray an Our Father and a Glory Be with the visionaries. When this happens, the visionaries voices come back and can be heard, but then their voices go away again, once those prayers are said. At the end of the apparition, Our Lady ends by saying, Go in peace, my dear children. She then ascends back into Heaven. These days the apparitions usually lasts somewhere between 2 to 4 minutes. 16. What is the importance of the Medjugorje apparitions? There are no otherapparitions or inner locutions that are equal to or deserve the same attention as the Medjugorje apparitions and messages. The messages and apparitions of Medjugorje are the most important event in 2,000 years of history since the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and death of the last apostles. This is stated for three reasons:

6 17. Why is Our Lady appearing in Medjugorje? Our Lady said on June 26, 1981: I have come because there are many true believers here. I wish to be with you to convert and to reconcile the whole world. 18. The messages seems to be simple and repetitious, is there more to them? There is much more to Our Lady s messages and through prayer you will be able to understand the profoundness of Her messages. Our Lady said on December 25, 1989: little children, read everyday the messages I gave you and transform them into life Today I am calling you to listen to my messages and then you will be able to live everything that God tells me to convey to you

7 pray that you may comprehend the greatness of this message which I am giving you 19. If the first apparition was June 24, 1981, why is the anniversary of the apparitions celebrated on June 25th? June 25th is the first day that all six of the Medjugorje visionaries, Mirjana, Ivanka, Vicka, Marija, Ivan, and Jakov, saw Our Lady for the first time together. In the beginning of April, 1982, Mirjana asked Our Lady when She would like to be honored. Our Lady responded: I wish a feast for the Queen of Peace on the 25th of June, the anniversary of the first apparition. 20. Then is there any significance of Our Lady s first apparition on June 24th? Yes. This day is the feast of St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. This was a clear statement. The Holy Virgin Mary comes in the same way, still not completely understood by many that She is preparing the world for Her Son s return. She gave physical birth to Him two thousand years ago. She gives spiritual birth to Him for the world today. 21. What happens when Our Lady gives the monthly message to Marija? Marija is the visionary who receives the 25th message. Immediately after the apparition, Marija goes into a private room and writes down the message that Our Lady gave her. It is then translated into the different languages. See Medjugorje Messages. 22. How do the messages spread?

8 The messages are spread through a network of people who have answered Our Lady s call. Within a few hours after a message is given, it spreads to the ends of the earth to Our Lady s followers; something even major networks or governments could not achieve. 23. Does Our Lady give messages any other times? Besides the 25th Monthly Message and the 2nd of the Month Message, Our Lady often times gives messages to Ivan during his prayer group meetings on Monday and Friday nights during his time in Medjugorje. Our Lady also gives messages to Mirjana, Ivanka and Jakov during their annual apparitions. There are other times Our Lady gives messages to Ivan, Marija, and Vicka during their daily apparitions. See Medjugorje Messages. 24. Does Our Lady prefer us to pray to Her or to Jesus? Our Lady said on September 4, 1982 Jesus prefers that you address yourselves directly to Him rather than through an intermediary. In the meantime, if you wish to give yourselves completely to God and if you wish that I be your protector, then confide to me all your intentions, your fasts, and your sacrifices so that I can dispose of them according to the will of God. 25. Did Our Lady give Herself a title at Medjugorje? On August 6, 1981, Our Lady said: I am the Queen of Peace. 26. Is that the only time Our Lady has called Herself the Queen of Peace? Our Lady has called Herself the Queen of Peace fifteen times. 27. How many visionaries are there?

9 There are six visionaries. 28. Who are the visionaries? The six visionaries are Mirjana Soldo, formerly Dragicevic, Ivanka Elez, formerly Ivankovic, Marija Lunetti, formerly Pavlovic, Jakov Colo, Ivan Dragicevic, and Vicka Mijatovic, formerly Ivankovic. Click on the following link for more information on Medjugorje Visionaries 29. Where are the visionaries now, and what are they doing? All six of the visionaries are married and have families. Mirjana, Ivanka, Vicka, and Jakov all live in or near Medjugorje year round. Marija lives in Italy but spends the summers in Medjugorje and travels there often throughout the rest of the year. Ivan spends part of May through part of September in Medjugorje. The rest of the time he is with his family in the United States. For more information see Medjugorje Visionaries. 30. How old were the visionaries when Our Lady first appeared to them? When Our Lady first appeared to them, Mirjana was 16-years-old, Ivanka was 15-years-old, Marija was 16-years-old, Vicka was 17-years-old, Ivan was 16-years-old, and Jakov was 10-years-old. 31. In what language does Our Lady speak to the visionaries? Our Lady speaks Croatian to the visionaries. During some of the apparitions, they have heard Our Lady pray in Her Motherly Hebrew tongue or Latin. 32. Have the visionaries ever touched Our Lady? Yes, the visionaries have touched Our Lady. Our Lady has embraced them, held their hands, and Marija even received a kiss by Our Lady on her birthday. 33. What is an inner locution? The inner locutionists of Medjugorje would hear the voice of Our Lady and see Her in an interior way. Jelena said that she heard and saw Our Lady with the heart and that she saw Our Lady as if in a movie, in two dimensions. 34. Who are the two inner locutionists? The two Medjugorje inner locutionists are Jelena Vasilj and Marijana Vasilj. See Medjugorje Visionaries

10 35. What are their roles? Our Lady told them that She was appearing to them for the purpose of helping them to progress in the spiritual life and through their intermediary, Our Lady wants to lead people to holiness. 36. Do Jelena Vasilj and Marijana Vasilj still have inner locutions? Both Jelena and Marijana no longer receive inner locutions from Our Lady. 37. Does Our Lady give a message during the apparition to Ivan at his prayer group? Yes, Our Lady does give a message during some of Ivan s prayer group meetings. For more information, see Ivan s Prayer Group Messages. 38. Will Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov reveal what Our Lady has dictated to them about Her life? Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov have not spoken about what they will do with the information Our Lady has dictated to them about Her life. Vicka is the only one who has spoken very clearly that Our Lady told her that she would publish a book about Our Lady s life when Our Lady tells her it is time. 39. What can be told about the secrets the visionaries of Medjugorje are receiving? Our Lady has promised to give the visionaries ten secrets. There are 3 visionaries who have all 10 secrets and no longer see Our Lady. The three visionaries who still see Our Lady on a daily basis have 9 secrets. As the visionaries have said several times, secrets are secret, so there is very little that they can tell us about the secrets. What we do know is the Third Secret is a Lasting Sign that will be left on Apparition Mountain. Mirjana said that part of the 7th secret has been mitigated due to fasting and prayer by the people. Some of the secrets are chastisements or admonitions for the world, to bring us back to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. For more extensive information about the secrets Medjugorje Ten Secrets. 40. Do all the visionaries have the same secrets? Not all of the visionaries have the same ten secrets. Some of the secrets that Vicka and Ivan have are personal ones for them. For more information What the Visionaries Say About the Secrets. 41. What is known about the Lasting Sign? The visionaries have told us that the Third Secret will be the Lasting Sign on Apparition Mountain. It will be permanent, indestructible, and beautiful. It will be something that has never been on the earth before. Miraculous healings will occur all over the world when the permanent sign comes. All those who go to Medjugorje will be able to see the Lasting Sign. They have said that many who

11 see this sign will be converted, but there will be those who will not believe even after the permanent sign comes. For more information The Lasting Sign 42. Which visionaries have seen Heaven, Purgatory, and hell? Vicka and Jakov were actually taken physically to Heaven, hell and Purgatory by Our Lady. They were at Jakov s house when Our Lady took them, and they were gone for about 20 minutes. Unlike Vicka and Jakov, the other visionaries saw visions of Heaven, hell, and Purgatory, except Mirjana and Ivanka who chose not to see hell. Marija described what they saw was like watching a movie on a screen or looking out a window. For more information see Heaven, hell, and Purgatory. 43. How do they describe Heaven? Vicka describes Heaven as the following: It is a vast space and it has a brilliant light. People are dressed in gray, pink, and yellow robes. They were walking, praying, and singing. Small angels were flying above them. Mirjana saw trees, meadows, and the sky and said they are totally different from anything we know on earth. For a more complete description of Heaven, click here. 44. How do they describe Purgatory? Marija says that Purgatory is a large place. It is foggy. It is ash gray. It is misty. She said that you cannot see people there. It is as if they are immersed in deep clouds and an immense burden of suffering. The biggest suffering that souls in Purgatory have is that they see there is a God, but many times they did not accept Him here on earth. Now they long so much to come close to God. Now they suffer so intensely, because they recognize how much they have hurt God, how many chances they had on earth, and how many times they disregarded God. Vicka said that she couldn t see people in Purgatory, but she could sense people weeping, moaning, and trembling in what seemed like terrible suffering. (For a more detailed description of Purgatory, click here.) 45. How do they describe hell? Vicka describes hell in the following manner: In the center of this place is a great fire, like an ocean of raging flames. We could see people before they went into the fire, and then we could see them coming out of the fire. Before they go into the fire, they look like normal people. The more they are against God s Will, the deeper they enter into the fire, and the deeper they go, the more they rage against Him. When they come out of the fire, they don t have human shape anymore; they are more like grotesque animals, but unlike anything on earth. When they came out, they were raging and smashing everything around and hissing and gnashing and screeching. 2 (For a more detailed description of hell, click here.) 46. Is Medjugorje approved by the Church? No, Medjugorje has not been officially approved by the Church, but the Canon Law of the Church allows devotions in the interim. The apparitions are ongoing and are under the watchful eye of the

12 Church. 47. Are the faithful allowed to go to Medjugorje? Yes, the faithful are allowed to go on pilgrimage to Medjugorje. For more detailed information, see Church Approval 48. Are these the last apparitions on earth? Our Lady said on May 2, 1982: I have come to call the world to conversion for the last time. Afterwards, I will not appear any more on this earth. Our Lady said from the beginning that these are the last apparitions on earth in which we can hear Our Lady, touch Our Lady, speak with Our Lady, where we can pray with Our Lady, apparitions where it is possible that we have Our Lady. In other apparitions people have spiritual experiences but not like us, the six visionaries of Medjugorje; where Our Lady speaks to us. This is really the last and special grace. Normally one person may see Our Lady, like Bernadette or St. Catherine of the Miraculous Medal who also touched Our Lady. But here, six visionaries are a number which is very credible. But this is the last where we can touch Our Lady, speak to Her, etc. in this way. 49. What are the basic messages of Our Lady?

13 The four basic messages are prayer, peace, fasting, and penance. On June 6, 1988, Our Lady gave the following message: Dear children, it s going to be seven years soon that I have been coming to you. I ask you to renew in yourselves the messages I have given to you. These are messages of prayer, peace, fasting, and penance. Make some penance yourselves. All of the other messages come from these four basic ones, but also live the other ones. Thank you for responding to my call. I am your Mother. Open your heart to the grace. 50. What is the most important message of Our Lady? The call to conversion is the most important message of Our Lady Queen of Peace of Medjugorje s. Our Lady said on February 25, 1996: Dear children! Today I invite you to conversion. This is the most important message that I have given you here 51. Does Our Lady recommend certain prayers? Our Lady recommends praying the Creed, along with the 7 Our Father s, 7 Hail Mary s, and 7 Glory Be s. She also asks us to pray the complete Rosary, Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries every day. Our Lady also speaks of the importance of praying the Consecrations to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Our Lady also says that the highest form of prayer is the Holy Mass and we are to live the Mass. 52. How often does Our Lady tell us to pray? Our Lady said on April 24, 1984:

14 Pray as much as you can, pray however you can, but pray more always. Each of you could pray even four hours a day Our Lady was questioned concerning telling the people to pray four hours a day and having them turn away. Our Lady then said: Even you do not understand. It is hardly a sixth of your day. 53. When will the book about Our Lady s life be published? Our Lady started giving an account of Her life to Vicka, Marija, Ivanka, and Jakov on January 7, Jakov received information from Our Lady until April 1983, Ivanka until May 22, 1983, and Marija until July 17, Vicka received information until April 10, She filled up three notebooks with information about Our Lady s life. When Our Lady tells Vicka it is time, she will have her notebooks published into a book that Our Lady has already titled, Life. 54. When is Our Lady s birthday? Our Lady told the visionaries that Her real birthday is August 5th. Recommended reading, August 5th What are You doing for Our Lady s Birthday? Also, listen to Remember When It Rained. 55. What is the Special Blessing? The Special Blessing is a blessing from Our Lady which has the power to convert and to help people. It may be used on believers and non-believers to help them change, convert, or to progress in their conversion. One can give it to their spouse, children, or anyone etc. One can receive Our Lady s Special Blessing directly from Our Lady if they are present during an apparition when Our Lady gives a Special Blessing. One also can receive it from someone who has already received the Special Blessing. Recommended reading A Blessing to Help Save the World. 56. How can one pilgrimage to Medjugorje? Millions of pilgrims have pilgrimaged to Medjugorje over the past 28 years. It is the peak experience of one s life. Many mark it as the highlight of their life. There are many groups to go to Medjugorje with. Some are good, some not so good. The better groups have their own charism. It is advised to look at final pricing, not advertised prices, but the final full price and compare. How

15 many days is the pilgrimage? Do they focus only on Medjugorje or do they offer distracting side trips or travels across Europe? Do they have a physical base in Medjugorje? Do they offer one meal, two meals, or three meals per day? Do they have the qualified experience of really knowing Medjugorje by experience? What does the group offer before the pilgrimage in preparing you? Ask questions. Ask for many references. Do not be shy. It is an important decision that will affect your life. If someone is told by a doctor that they have cancer, does one not have many questions? Our Lady is coming because the heart of man is very sick. Don t go with just any group or with a group just because they are local. You will be placing your soul in their hands. You will want to get the most for what you spend in time and money, and you do not want to be short-cutted of a Medjugorje experience. A pilgrim who wants to go to Medjugorje should go with a spirit of a retreat. Do not desire to go anywhere else or be distracted. The benefits of a proper mentality by doing so will be reaped by the wise pilgrim who does his homework. The longest, continuous running, most successful program from American is B.V.M Pilgrimage. For more information, click on the following link: Medjugorje Pilgrimages. 1. What is my local apparition time? Click here for your local apparition time 1 Queen of the Cosmos, by Janice Connell 2 Ibid.