Devotion to Medjugorje: Our Lady's Favorite Prayer
We know this from the history of the Church. It was you who gave it to us. The Rosary is a very simple prayer, deeply rooted in the Bible. In the fifteen mysteries we can be with Jesus and Mary in joy, pain and glory. And this is what we must teach people by praying the Rosary. For many, unfortunately, the Rosary is a repetition and it is boring, but the Rosary instead is the profound encounter with Jesus and Mary. Anyone who prays the Rosary sees how Jesus and Mary behave in joy and pain and when they experience glory. And this is exactly what each of us needs. We must look at them and change their behavior by following their example, in turn becoming an example for others. Still, the true secret of the Rosary is love for Jesus and for Mary. If we don't have love, the Rosary becomes a boring repetition. Often Maria's message pushes us to open our hearts, and now she tells us how to do it.
Through the Rosary you open your heart to me
... and this becomes the condition for which ...
I can help you
Whoever prays the three Mysteries will open more and more every day and will receive ever greater help. The heart opens to God because by praying the Rosary one looks at Mary and Jesus. They know well that when things go well our heart tends to close and they also know that the same can happen when things go wrong. And so there is distrust and anger against God because of our suffering. But in order for this not to happen, for neither good nor evil to close our hearts, we should be together with Mary and Jesus. In any situation, our hearts must remain open, like those of Mary and Jesus. It depends on us whether the heart remains open and can receive help. Perhaps it is worth remembering that on August 14, 1984, through Ivan, Mary invited us to pray the whole Rosary. On the eve of the Assumption of Mary, Ivan was preparing for Mass when he unexpectedly received the visit of Mary, who told him to pray the whole Rosary at this time. On that same occasion, Maria told us that we must fast twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, instead of once. So what should we say to priests and religious? To pray the Rosary and to teach others to pray it. If we just repeat that we have to pray, people will probably never start to do it, but if we say it like Mary and set an example first, then people will pray. If the parish priest proposes to conduct the Rosary before Mass, the faithful will certainly begin to come. And it is not the first time that I tell you that many priests have confessed that only here in Medjugorje have they started to pray the Rosary personally and collectively. This message should then provide us with a new stimulus to decide at this time to consider Mary as our mother and teacher, to stay with her on the path of holiness, to take up the Rosary. Even if we don't know the meaning of all this, we should behave like children, letting ourselves be led by the mother. And so be it. Let's pray…
Father Slavko Barbaric