1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Music] 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here, the faith was not free. 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We were allowed to go to Holy Mass on Sundays. 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And, that was it. That was what we could do. 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The rest of religious life was taking place at home. 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our parents taught us to pray. 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We prayed Holy Rosary every evening together. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, they did not talk about the faith, much. 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because, they were afraid. 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As kids, we cannot speak about it in school. 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If so, they could have problems. 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is why I had never heard about Lourdes, or Fatima. 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I didn't know that Our Lady could come here to earth 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in such a way. 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I thought she is up in Heaven, and we pray. 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When Ivanka told me that she thought 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady is up on the hill, 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was kind of rude. I had a rude response. 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I told her, "Right. She hasn't got better things to do?" 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "And she came to the two of us?" 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I left her there, and I wanted to return to the village. 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, when I got to the first houses, 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I felt this call within me. 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had to return back. When I got there, 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I saw Ivanka standing at the very same spot. 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told me, "Look now, please." 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I saw a woman in a long, greyish gown, 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who was holding a baby in her arms. 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Everything was really strange. 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because, no one went to the hill. 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Especially not a person in a long gown 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with a baby in their arms. 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At that very moment, I felt all possible emotions 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that we are able to feel. 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pride. Beauty. Incomprehension. 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Fear. 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And, what was the most intense emotion 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was the need to flee this place. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I ran back home. 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I got home, I found my grandmother 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and I told her, right away: 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Granny, I think I saw Our Lady up on the hill." 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told me "Take the Holy Rosary. Go to your room, and pray." 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Leave Our Lady where she is." 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I didn't have the strength to explain everything to Granny. 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I just wanted to be alone, in prayer. 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That was the only way I had peace. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The following day, I was helping my uncles, 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 like every day before that. 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, when the time came that I saw Our Lady the day before, 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I felt this calling, again. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I told my uncle that I had to go to the hill 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because something has been calling me. 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When we got there, 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 nearly half the village was there, already. 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Someone came with every visionary. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We saw Our Lady at the very same place. 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This time, she was not carrying a baby in her arms. 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On that day, 25 June 1981, 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was the first day we got to hear her. 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She introduced herself. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told us, "My dear children. Do not be afraid. 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am the Queen of Peace." 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is how our daily apparitions started. 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For a short while, we had the apparitions at the hill. 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As I said earlier, it was a time of communism. 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Shortly afterward, police came, with dogs. 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They surrounded the hill. 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Everyone there, eventually ended up in prison. 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In those first days, Our Lady showed some miracles. 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nearly everyone from the village saw something. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For example, there were two miraculous healings, right away. 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Then, the cross on Cross Mountain was disappearing, with 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady appearing on that spot, instead, 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 dressed in white. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The local people saw this. 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will give you an example what the situation was like. 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We, who had been brought up in communism, 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had learned how to be silent. 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The fewer words you say, the better for you. 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, when the cross was disappearing at Cross Mountain, 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everyone was silent. They just looked at it. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One young man was 25 at that time. 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was unable to remain silent, because of the emotions he felt. 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He said, "Look! There is no cross! Our Lady is there, instead!" 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was sentenced to prison for six months. 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That was the situation at that time. 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The word "Mir" was written in the sky. 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Mir" means "Peace." 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At that time, Father Jozo was our parish priest. 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When the police came to him, to tell him to close the church, 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because Holy Mass was now forbidden, 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Father Jozo said, "I saw with my own eyes, 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the word Mir is written on the sky. 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I cannot close the church. 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Do with me as you will." 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He ended up in prison. 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the local people had seen all of that. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Knowing us as children, 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they trusted us, and they helped us. 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We had an apparition every evening at a different spot. 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I had daily apparitions like that, until Christmas, 1982. 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is when Our Lady entrusted me with the 10th Secret. 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told me I would no longer have daily apparitions. 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told me it would be once a year. 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Every 18th of March, as long as I live. 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She also said I would have extraordinary apparitions. 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those apparitions started on 2nd August, 1987. 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those are ongoing until this day. 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I don't know how long I will have them. 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those apparitions are also a prayer for unbelievers. 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady never calls them that. 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because if you say about someone, "You're an unbeliever," 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you judged and condemned him. 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady never does that. 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says "the ones that have not yet discovered the love of God." 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She is asking our help. 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When she says, "our help," 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 she does not mean the six of us, the six visionaries. 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She means the help of everyone who feels she is their mother. 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says we can change unbelievers, 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with our prayers, and by our example. 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She asks that we put prayers for them as a priority in our daily prayers. 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Most of the ugly things which happen in this world, 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 comes from them. 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is why Our Lady says, 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "When you pray for them, you pray for yourself, and your future." 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In addition to prayers, she asks for our example. 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She doesn't want us to preach. 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She asks us to speak with our own lives, 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so unbelievers can witness in us, God, and the love of God. 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I kindly request you consider this In the most serious way. 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you could see the tears of Our Lady just once, 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the tears she cries for unbelievers, 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am sure you would pray with all your heart. 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says this is the time of great decision. 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says it is up to us, who say we are children of God, 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that there is a great responsibility upon us. 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When she asks prayers for unbelievers, 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 she would like us to try that in her way. 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That would be, the way I understood it: 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 First, feel love for them. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Feel they are our brothers and sisters 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who were not as lucky as we were, 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to feel the love of God. 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When we feel that way, we will be able to pray for them. 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Never judge, never condemn, never criticize. 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simply love them. 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pray for them. 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And, give your own example. 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our example tells a lot. 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We all have unbelievers, 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in our house, somewhere nearby, at our workplace, 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that unbeliever looks at us, and at our life. 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We must ask ourselves whether the love of God, 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is what they see in us. 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I will give you a nice example. 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One evening, when I went to Holy Mass in Medjugorje, 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 our church was crowded. 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am unable to stand up very long. 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I saw a small space on one of the pews. 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I sat down. 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our brothers and sisters from Italy were there. 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I sat down, 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they began to yell and complain. 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You know how temperamental our brothers and sisters 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from Italy are. 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They all said, "Get up! This is our bench!" 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "We got here, first!" 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So many words in just one moment. 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I got up, and I was silent. 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One lady approached me. 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She recognized me. 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She told them that I am one of the visionaries. 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They gave me the whole bench just for myself. 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 [Laughter] 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The reason I tell you this: 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What do you think would happen 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if I was an unbeliever? 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And I was entering the church for the first time? 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And inside, are the ones who claim they know the love of God? 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And they behaved toward me in such a way? 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Would I ever enter the church again? 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And whose responsibility would that be? 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is something that Our Lady tries to say. 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We can all learn to speak nicely. 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, Our Lady wants our lives to speak, instead. 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That with our example, it can be shown 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that we are trying to live the love of God. 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In these apparitions of Medjugorje, 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the most important message of Our Lady 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is the Holy Mass. 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, not solely on Sundays. 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When we were children, 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at the beginning of the apparitions, 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 she said on one occasion, 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "If you have to choose 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 between an apparition or Holy Mass, 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you should choose Holy Mass. 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Always. 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because during Holy Mass, 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 my Son is present, with you." 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Throughout all the years of apparitions of Our Lady, 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady never said, 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Pray and I will give." 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She always says, 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Pray, so I can pray, and ask my Son for you." 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Jesus is always in the first place. 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Many pilgrims, when they come to Medjugorje, 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 think that we visionaries are important. 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That it is enough to say something to us, 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that God listens to us more than to others, 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but that thinking is wrong. 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because, for Our Lady as a mother, 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there are no privileged ones. 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For her, we are all her dear children. 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She chose us, 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to speak the messages to us. 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, she chose every single one of you. 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That is something she said in one of the January 2nd messages. 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She said, "Dear children, 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have invited you. 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Open your hearts. 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Let me in, so that I can 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 make you my apostles." 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, in the eyes of our Holy Mother, 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we have the same importance. 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There are none whom she listens to more, or less. 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I learned, at the very beginning of the apparitions, 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You heard when I said "my uncle, my grandmother." 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because I am the only one of us six visionaries 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who was not born here, nor grew up here. 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 My parents are from here. 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, when they married, they moved to Sarajevo. 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, I was born and raised there. 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I always visited here, because the rest of my family was here. 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But when the apparitions began, 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the communists wanted to stop everything, 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was returned by force to Sarajevo. 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here, where you are now, in this zone, 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is populated by Croatians. 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Croatians are Catholic. 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Here, the communist police were 'Croatian,' 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and, when they took us for interrogations, 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they yelled, they swore at us, 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but nothing else. 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, in Sarajevo, 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the situation was completely different. 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In Sarajevo, there were true communists. 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And, mainly Muslims. 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Every single day, they came to my house. 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They would destroy everything around. 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And, they would take me with them. 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was just 15, then. 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I never knew if I would ever return home. 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I thought Our Lady would help me. 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, when I would have an apparition, 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 she told me the same things as told to the other visionaries. 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nothing regarding me, or my situation. 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I don't need to tell you how alone and abandoned I felt. 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The five of them were here, together, 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the village that loves and supports them. 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But in Sarajevo, I had only my parents and my brother. 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Everyone else was forced to distance themselves from us. 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But, through prayer, 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I understood, 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for God, for Our Lady, 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there are no privileged ones. 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you are having a hard time, 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 take Rosary, and pray. 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 God will not leave you alone. 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I felt that in my heart, 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I was able to deal with 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everything that hurt me, 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with far more strength. 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Also, now, in Medjugorje, 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 many times, people say, 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "I had a healing, 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I got to know the love of God." 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I have never met many of those people, in my life. 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, I was not the one who prayed for them. 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They had open hearts. 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They asked for Mother's help. 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She asked her Son, for them. 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am telling you this, so you may understand 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when you need Our Lady, our Mother, 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you do not need visionaries. 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The only thing you need is an open heart. 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady says, 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "Open your heart, and I will be with you." 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So, it is up to us, 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 if we want our Mother with us, to be at our side. 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Our Lady asked for prayer in families. 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says nothing unites family as well as praying together. 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 She says parents have a great responsibility to their children. 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Because, they are the ones who should put the rules of faith 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in their children. 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They can, if they pray together, 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and if they go to Holy Mass. 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999