On the 43rd Anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions in Medjugorje, in addition to the numerous pilgrims from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were also groups of pilgrims from: Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine , Lithuania, Ireland, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, the USA, Brazil, Korea, China and New Zealand.
Throughout the day, as in the days before the anniversary, many parishioners and pilgrims were at all Medjugorje prayer places, as well as in the lines for confession, and during the day 20 Holy Masses were celebrated.
The central Holy Mass celebration at 7 p.m. was presided over by the former parish vicar in Medjugorje, and today the guardian of the Franciscan monastery in Tomislavgrad, Fr. Bože Milić. Among the concelebrants were the Provincial and Vicar of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina, Br. Jozo Grbeš and Br. Miro Šego, the parish priest of Međugorje, Br. Zvonimir Pavičić, and 364 other priests.
At the beginning of the Holy Mass, Br. Bože Milić called for prayer for peace in the world, for peace in families, especially for peace in our hearts.
“Peace is found in the human heart or it is not found anywhere. In the human heart, either the war begins, or the peace is made. Let that be our prayer tonight. We may express our personal prayers and needs to the Lord through the Blessed Virgin Mary. That is good and that is why we’re here. Let us sing out our hearts before the Lord and Our Lady. He understands us, He knows what we need, and we are allowed to express what we need and why we came here, but here we are first gathered as a community, as a Church, and may our intentions be great and be broad. We pray for the church, we pray for the whole world…”, Br. Bože Milić invited us at the beginning of the Holy Mass, and spoke in his sermon about the power and importance of prayer, which Our Lady invites us to.
“This year we gathered around the Queen of Peace, as we have been doing for more than 40 years. This year too, we want to give something to Her, the Mother and Queen of Peace, by praying for ourselves and for the whole world. We thank the Lord who sends us his Mother to be with us in these times of great change. She understands us best, she can help us best, because she knows what is good for our time and what needs to be done. Our Lady has been our comfort and refuge all these years. She follows what is happening with great love and concern and actively participates in our life and the whole world. She carefully observes what is needed in today’s world,” said Br. Bože Milić, adding that Our Lady also sees our needs, everyday ordinary little things, as well as needs on special occasions.
“We are grateful because here we all find food that pleases every taste, food suitable for every soul that seeks, that thirsts… here everyone gets what honest hearts are looking for. Someone is looking for comfort, someone for healing, someone for meaning, someone for peace, someone for a new beginning, someone is looking for a way to continue despite all the problems, and Mary comes to us and guides us clearly and safely. Here, the motherly and God’s hand hugs us all, encourages us and tells us to trust in God’s providence and that things will go in the right direction, tells us to surrender to God’s will following the example of her who did it in a perfect and complete way. , said Br. Boze, emphasizing that while we express our prayers and needs, “here we first speak, let it be according to Your word, because that is the best for me, for us and for the whole world”.
“We believers know that it is best when God’s will is done through us, not that we believers do something, but that God’s will is done through us,” said Br. Boze, explaining how Our Lady encourages us to boldly enter into communication with the Lord.
“We also have to take a step. We too must decide to start praying. We too must decide to live sacramentally. We too have to stand in line in front of the confessional. We are the ones who have to take perhaps a decisive step with God’s help, because we are free beings. We are people of free will, capable of relationship and communication with God. Our Lady encourages us to be brave here, not to be afraid. This is not the time to be afraid. This is not the moment to hesitate. This is the time when courage, determination is required, when believers are asked to allow God to act in their lives. This is the time when God shows us through Mary what happens when a person allows God to work in his life. Then things fall into place, then events take their course”, said Br. Bože and explained that when we allow God to act in our lives, we will not be free from problems, worries, illnesses, but in all of this we will feel and experience God’s help and look at happy solutions.
After the Holy Mass, there was a joint one-hour adoration of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which continued in silence until 7 in the morning.
