Medjugorje

Over four decades ago in the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, formerly Yugoslavia, six children claimed to have seen a divine presence. Many articles and books have been written about the apparitions as seen and explained by the youngsters.

With a great deal of skepticism and disbelief, I started reading the writings of Svetozar Kraljevic’s book The Apparitions of Our Lady at Medjugorje. The contents of the book describe the appearances of the Virgin Mary, as observed by the children. The resulting developments of the supernatural encounters are further covered in interviews and testimonies in an attempt to factually and truthfully report the apparitions.

After reading a few pages my initial negative stage and attitude were replaced by enthusiasm and intense interest. Each page expressed occurrences that captured my interest. Being totally absorbed and forming mental images of people and situations, I became easily persuaded that the children’s claim to have experienced the presence of a visible spirit were truthful in their recollection. According to the book, the two boys and four girls and their families reaped no monetary compensation due to these observations. Granted, at the time of the recorded episodes, the children and parents had found their names in the news worldwide but did not profit from their instant fame. However, the town and church have benefited from the widely publicized phenomena; tourism increased tremendously in the otherwise mundane region of the country. This in turn had a positive impact on the local economy. At one point, it was suggested that the children were influenced by adults and/or fabricated the story themselves. Church officials and medical experts subjected the youngsters to a series of testing. But, the notion of deceit was unfounded. Not only parishioners of the catholic faith undertook the pilgrimage, but people of all faiths and even nonbelievers flocked to the location. Visitors who viewed the area where the apparitions occurred testified to their own unexplainable experiences. To date, Vatican authorities uphold their original proclamation that the visions as seen and explained by the children are not of supernatural origin. Nevertheless, tourists from around the globe are still traveling to Medjugorje to explore the vicinity.

In the most troubled region of the world, three great religions originated: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and civilization was established in the area where today peace has not found its home.

Recorded history points to the human race as being evil and deceitful from the time of existence; the bible implies that greed and hatred will eventually destroy our planet and humanity. Accordingly, we are coming closer each day.

Different versions of religions were created, and each religion interprets biblical narratives to its profitable means. The quest for power, monetary and material wealth to achieve control by whatever means necessary –too often acquired by mysterious and disgraceful actions-, are trademarks of humanity. Maybe someday we will understand our motives; until that time, we will always have our doubts, and someone will always be there and speak of miracles.

We need peace within ourselves and peace within our shared home, the world. If supernatural events brought before us would bring harmony among the human inhabitants on this planet and provide freedom from hostility and war, then, we have a miracle on this earth.

Peace.