“And when the wine gave out (in Cana), the mother of Jesus said to Him “They have no wine” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you: My hour has not yet come.”” John 2: 3-4 (NASB)
Medjugorje, Yugoslavia was a tiny town of 2,000 people that was overwhelmed with tourists seeking healing and answers to prayers. If the six kids were seeing Mother Mary daily, God must be there, right? People reported the sun spinning and turning colors. The very large church, St. James, was the center of activity and they held seven or more masses per day in different languages. Outside of the stone church, there were vendors selling all sorts of rosaries, trinkets, holy dirt and tickets to meet with the teenagers seeing the Mother Mary.
Miraculously, I saw my friends come out of the church the next day after the English mass. They were staying on the other side of town so we made plans when and where to meet each other. I was in their tour, so I had transportation.
People were seeing rainbow circles in the sky, crying, and praising God. Pilgrims were climbing up the hill where the visions occurred daily, on their knees.
Catholic Mania was there – but also a spiritual peace. There must be some change in the atmosphere anywhere thousands of people are praying daily to God in multiple languages. The message of the apparitions of Mother Mary was – Peace. That is it. Fascinating.
I went to Mass at least one time per day, and then my friend’s husband and I would sit and talk and drink beer during her second healing mass. He is Jewish and I am Protestant and we were there to support her hope for healing. She did not have a supernatural experience there, but was completely and miraculously healed when she returned to America. Hmmmm. What was in the air?
The town and its environs boomed economically after the war. Over a thousand hotel and hostel beds are available for pilgrims to the town. With approximately one million visitors annually, the municipality of Medjugorje has the most overnight stays in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (Source: Wikipedia)
Do you believe in miraculous healing? What is your perspective on religious pilgrimages, which have occurred for thousands of years? How does making a pilgrimage change people?