“Excuse me for this, but you must realize that satan exists.”
Blessed Virgin Mary, 1982
Excerpts From A Letter To The Holy Father On Medjugorje
Fr. Tomislav Vlasic of St. James Parish, who also served as one of the initial spiritual advisors to the visionaries, submitted a letter to Pope John Paul II in December of 1983. This was in response to the request of one of the visionaries, Marija Pavlovic: “The Madonna says that the Supreme Pontiff and the Bishop must be advised immediately of the urgency and great importance of the message of Medjugorje.”
The English translation of that letter is as follows:
1. Five young people (Vicka Ivankovic, Marija Pavlovic, Ivanka Ivankovik, Ivan Dragicevic and Jakov Colo) see an apparition of the Blessed Virgin every day. The experience in which they see Her is a fact that can be checked by direct observation. It has been filmed. During the apparitions, the youngsters do not react to light, they do not hear sounds, they do not react if someone touches them, they feel that they are beyond time and space.
All of the youngsters basically agree that:
* “We see the Blessed Virgin just as we see anyone else. We pray with Her, we speak to Her, and we can touch Her.”
* “The Blessed Virgin says that the world peace is at a critical stage. She repeatedly calls for reconciliation and conversion.”
* “She has promised to leave a visible sign for all humanity at the site of the apparitions of Medjugorje.”
* “The period preceding this visible sign is a time of grace for conversion and deepening of the faith.”
* “The Blessed Virgin has promised to disclose ten secrets to us.” So far, Vicka Ivankovic has received eight. Marija Pavlovic received the ninth one on December 8, 1983. Jakov Colo, Ivan Dragicevic and Ivanka Ivankovik have each received nine. Only Mirjana Dragicevic has received all ten.
2. The Blessed Virgin no longer appears to Mirjana Dragicevic. The last time she saw one of the daily apparitions was Christmas, 1982. Since then, the apparitions have ceased for her, except on her birthday (March 18, 1983). Mirjana knew that this latter would occur.
According to Mirjana, the Madonna confided the tenth and last secret to her during the apparition of December 25, 1982. She also disclosed the dates on which the different secrets will come to pass. The Blessed Virgin has revealed to Mirjana many things about the future, more than to any of the other youngsters so far. For that reason I am reporting below what Mirjana told me during our conversation on November 5, 1983. I am summarizing the substance of her account, without word-for-word quotations.
Mirjana said:
Before the visible sign is given to humanity, there will be three warnings to the world. The warnings will be in the form of events on earth. Mirjana will be a witness to them. Three days before one of the admonitions, Mirjana will notify a priest of her choice. The witness of Mirjana will be a confirmation of the apparitions and a stimulus for the conversion of the world.
After the admonitions, the visible sign will appear on the site of the apparitions in Medjugorje for all the world to see. The sign will be given as a testimony to the apparitions and in order to call people back to faith.
The ninth and tenth secrets are serious. They concern chastisement for the sins of the world. Punishment is inevitable, for we cannot expect the whole world to be converted. The punishment can be diminished by prayer and penance, but it cannot be eliminated. Mirjana says that one of the evils that threatened the world, the one contained in the seventh secret, has been averted thanks to prayer and fasting. That is why the Blessed Virgin continues to encourage prayer and fasting: “You have forgotten that through prayer and fasting you can avert war and suspend the laws of nature.”
After the first admonition, the others will follow in a rather short time. Thus, people will have some time for conversion.
That interval will be a period of grace and conversion. After the visible sign appears, those who are still alive will have little time for conversion. For that reason, the Blessed Virgin invites us to urgent conversion and reconciliation.
The invitation to prayer and penance is meant to avert evil and war, but most of all to save souls.’
[End of summary of Mirjana’s account.]According to Mirjana, the events predicted by the Blessed Virgin are near. By virtue of this experience, Mirjana proclaims to the world: “Hurry, be converted; open your hearts to God”.
In addition to this basic message, Mirjana related an apparition she had in 1982 which we believe sheds some light on some aspects of Church history. She spoke of an apparition in which satan appeared to he disguised as the Blessed Virgin. Satan asked Mirjana to renounce the Madonna and follow him. That way she could be happy in love and in life. He said that following the Virgin, on the contrary, would only lead to suffering. Mirjana rejected him, and immediately the Virgin appeared and satan disappeared. Then the Blessed Virgin gave her the following message, in substance:
“Excuse me for this, but you must realize that satan exists. One day he appeared before the throne of God and asked permission to submit the Church to a period of trial. God gave him permission to try the Church for one century. This century is under the power of the devil, but when the secrets confided to you come to pass, his power will be destroyed. Even now he is beginning to lose his power and has become aggressive. He is destroying marriages, creating division among priests and is responsible for obsessions and murder. You must protect yourselves against these things through fasting and prayer, especially community prayer. Carry blessed objects with you. Put them in your house, and restore the use of holy water.”
According to certain Catholic experts who have studied these apparitions, this message of Mirjana may shed light on the vision Pope Leo XIII had. According to them, it was after having had an apocalyptic vision of the future of the Church that Leo XIII introduced the prayer to St. Michael which priests used to recite after Mass up to the time of the Second Vatican Council. These experts say that the century of trials foreseen by Leo XIII is about to end.
Holy Father, I do not want to be responsible for the ruin of anyone. I am doing my best. The world is being called to conversion and reconciliation. In writing to you, Holy father, I am only doing my duty. After drafting this letter, I showed it to the youngsters so that they may ask the Blessed Virgin whether its contents are accurate. Ivan Dragicevic relayed the following answer: “Yes, the contents of the letter are the truth. You must notify first of all the Supreme Pontiff and then the Bishop.”
This letter is accompanied by fasting and prayers that the Holy Spirit will guide your mind and your heart during this important moment in history.
Yours in the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, Medjugorje,
December 2, 1983
END LETTER
References:
– Is The Virgin Mary Appearing At Medjugorje? by Fr. Rene Laurentin/Ljudevit Rupcic. Translated by Francis Martin. Published by The Word Among Us, Inc., Box 3646, Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.A., 1984.
– “Words From Heaven, Messages of Our Lady From Medjugorje” by Two Friends of Medjugorje. Published by St. James Publishing, Box 380244, Birmingham, Alabama 35238-0244, U.S.A.. Fifth Printing, 1991. ISBN: 1-878909-02-9