“Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with Her children.”
— St. John Vianney
At the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to a Son who She will name Jesus who is the Son of God, at times, I ponder what would have happened to us if Mary had said “No.”
“For nothing will be impossible with God,” said Archangel Gabriel. Mary’s response, as written in Luke 1:37-38 “Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord, let it be done to me according to Thy Word,” speaks of Her profound humility, of Her love, of Her complete trust, and faith in God.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the King of kings, the Creator of this universe, entrusted Himself to Mary when He chose Her to be His mother. He humbled Himself and became small — a baby in Mary’s womb, His first Tabernacle — for nine months until His birth. Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will, sang the angels in the field the night of His birth. O, what joy it must have been for the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, to finally see, hold, kiss and hug the long-awaited promised Messiah! O what joy it must have been for the shepherds to see and hear the countless angels, the bright shining star, the baby Jesus, to be the first guests of our Savior!
There is no other human being who knows Jesus more than His Mother Mary. The first 30 of the 33 years of Jesus’ life on earth were spent with Mary. She is the first and the most perfect disciple. At the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle, it was through Mary’s intercession that Jesus transformed the water to the best wine. During His pontificate, Saint Pope John Paul II’s “Totus Tuus” or Totally Yours reflected this profound devotion of total consecration to Jesus through Mary. St. Louis-Marie De Montfort teaches us that a true devotion to Mary is the surest way to a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus. God’s entrusting Himself to Mary is a perfect example for all of us, too — to entrust ourselves to Mary. Mary is the surest way to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through Mary to Jesus is the surest and best way to return home to Heaven!
While dying on the cross, before He breathed His last, Jesus entrusted us to His Mother, Mary. By His act of love, Mary became our mother, too. John 19: 26-27 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom He loved, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After Jesus’ ascension to Heaven, Mary guided the early apostles. Mary was there, in the Supper room, when the Holy Spirit, the Advocate promised by Jesus, descended to the apostles. Mary was there when Peter celebrated the first Holy Mass — in the breaking of the bread and the drinking of wine in the chalice. Mary was there, too, to strengthen the apostles as they went on to fulfill their mission, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This, by the way, is also our mission.
Our Lady of the Pilar is the earliest traditionally recognized apparition in 40 AD where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to the Apostle St. James in Zaragoza, Spain. According to tradition, St. James traveled to Spain to evangelize and when he was at his lowest point, Mary, accompanied by thousands of angels appeared to him at the banks of the Ebro River to console and encourage him. This is the only Marian apparition that happened while the Virgin Mary was still alive when she was living with St. John the Apostle in Jerusalem.
After Mary’s assumption to Heaven, she continues to look after all Her children, guiding, imploring, pleading with us to return to Jesus. In Medjugorje, Our Lady said if we have a choice between seeing Her and attending Mass, to choose Mass because Her Son is truly present in every Holy Mass. As our Mother, She is constantly leading us to Jesus. She wants to make sure that all Her children return safely home to Heaven at the end of this life’s pilgrimage.
From Heaven, she comes down to earth often. These supernatural appearances of the Virgin Mary to a person or group, which are usually accompanied by messages or signs to inspire faith are called Marian apparitions.
Currently, 16 Marian apparitions are officially recognized by the Catholic Church: Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in 1531; Our Lady of Lezajsk in Poland in 1578; Our Lady of Silvua in Lithuania in 1608-1612; Our Lady of Laus in France from 1664-1718; Our Lady of Miraculous Medal in France in 830; Our Lady of Zion in Rome in 1842; Our Lady of La Salette in France in 1846; our Lady of Lourdes in France in 1858; Our Lady of Pontmain in France in 1871; Our Lady of Gietzwald in Poland in 1877; Our Lady of Knock in Ireland in 1879; Our Lady Help of Christians in Czech Republic in 1885; Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in 1917; Our Lady of the Golden Heart in Belgium 1932; Our Lady of Banneux in Belgium in 1933; and Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda from 1981-1989.
For over 44 years now, since June 24, 1981, the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Medjugorje has been appearing daily to six young children in the tiny village of Medjugorje, Bosnia Herzegovina (former Yugoslavia). As of today, three of the six original visionaries still see and converse with Our Lady every day. The other three visionaries still see Our Lady once a year.
These Medjugorje apparitions are, so far, the longest in Marian history. As of Sept. 9, Our Lady has appeared at least 16,131 times to the Medjugorje visionaries! Of the estimated 8.2 billion world population, so far, over 50 million people had visited Medjugorje.
As of September 2024 the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the assent of Pope Francis, grants approval for devotion linked to Medjugorje, recognizing the abundant spiritual fruits received at the Sanctuary of the Queen of Peace without making a declaration on the supernatural character of the Marian apparitions.
Through the visionaries, Our Lady continues to give messages for the world, inviting us to live Her messages, urging prayer without ceasing, fasting, confession, reading the Bible, and Holy Mass. Every 25th of the month, a new Message is given and is shared with the world.
Below are the Messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje for the world these last four months:
May 25, 2025: “Dear children, In this time of grace, I am calling you to be people of hope, peace and joy, so that every person may be a peacemaker and a lover of life. Pray, little children, to the Holy Spirit to fill you with the strength of His own Holy Spirit of courage and surrender. And this time for you will be a gift and a walk in holiness towards eternal life. I am with you, and I love you. Thank you for having responded to my call. “
June 25, 2025: “Dear children, also today I thank the Almighty that I am with you and that I can lead you towards the God of love and peace. The ideologies which destroy you and your spiritual life are transitory. I am calling you, little children: return to God, because with God you have a future and eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
July 25, 2025: “Dear children! In this time of grace, when the Most High permits me to love you and lead you on the way of holiness, Satan wants to entangle you with the cord of peacelessness and hatred. Do not permit him to prevail, but, little children, fight for the holiness of every life. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Aug. 25, 2025: “Dear children, my little children, my beloved ones; you are chosen because you have responded, you have put into practice my instructions and love God above all else. Therefore, little children, pray with all your heart that my words may be realized. Fast, sacrifice yourselves, love out of love for God Who created you, and be, little children, my extended hands to this world that has not come to know the God of love. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
According to the visionaries, the apparitions in Medjugorje will be Mary’s last apparitions on earth. When the Medjugorje apparitions are over, She will no longer appear on earth. There will be a permanent sign at the Apparition hill where Mary first appeared in 1981. The visionary, Mirjana said about the sign “Everybody will see that She was truly present there and that is something from God. It will be something that when you see it, it will be clear that it could not have been created by human hands.”
Our Lady said, “If you knew how much I love you you’d cry of joy.” She is speaking to all of us — Her spiritual children — all over the world! She is calling us to conversion back to God; to a life of holiness while there is time. As a mother who loves Her children very much, She has given us through Her messages the five stones of Medjugorje. Like the five stones that David used to defeat the giant Goliath, these five stones of Medjugorje are given to defeat the power of evil and sin during our earthly pilgrimage: 1. Daily prayer, especially the Rosary Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious 2. Fasting bread and water every Wednesday and Friday 3. Attending Holy Mass 4. Daily reading of the Bible 5. Monthly confession.
As we await the Second Coming of Jesus, Our Holy Mother Mary is very busy leading us all to a life of holiness. May we all answer Our Holy Mother’s call while there is time.
Through inner locution with Fr. Stepano Gobbi, as recorded in “The Marian Movement of Priests,” Our Lady said “I urge you to consecrate yourselves to my Immaculate Heart, entrusting yourselves to Me as little children, so that I may be able to lead you along the road of holiness, in the joyous practice of all virtues: of faith, of hope, of charity, of prudence, of fortitude, of justice, of temperance, of silence, of humility, of purity, of mercy. I am the Mother of the Second Advent. Allow yourselves therefore to be formed and prepared by Me, during these years, so that you can be ready to receive Jesus, who will come in glory to restore among you His reign of love, holiness, of justice and of peace.”
In closing, I will leave you with this Consecration prayer to Mary’s Immaculate Heart that She gave in Medjugorje:
O Immaculate Heart of Mary
Overflowing with goodness
Show us your love for us
May the flame of Your heart O Mary
Descend upon all mankind.
We love you so.
Impress true love in our hearts
That we may have a continuous desire for You
O Mary meek and humble of heart
Remember us when we are in sin
You know that all men sin
Grant to us by means of Your Immaculate heart
Healing from every spiritual illness
In doing so we will then be able to gaze
upon the goodness of your maternal heart
And thus be converted through the flame of your heart.
Amen.
• Gina Del Rosario is a Roman Catholic who was born and raised in the Philippines, and is a parishioner at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in Juneau. “Living & Growing” is a weekly column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders. It appears every Saturday on the Juneau Empire’s Faith page.
