Prayer groups in Medjugorje: what they are, how to create a group, what Our Lady looks for

First of all, you will have to give up everything and put yourself completely in the hands of God. Each member will have to give up all fear, because if you have completely entrusted yourself to God, there is no longer any place for fear. All the difficulties they will encounter will serve for their spiritual growth and for the glory of God. I especially invite the young and the unmarried, because those who are married have obligations, but all those who wish to can follow this program, at least partially. I will lead the group. "

In addition to the weekly meetings, Our Lady asked the group for one nocturnal adoration per month, which the group preferably held on the night of the first Saturday, ending it with Sunday Mass.

we can now try to answer a simple question: what is a prayer group?

The prayer group is a community of faithful who come together to pray one or more times a week or a month. It is a group of friends who pray the Rosary together, read the Holy Scriptures, celebrate Mass, visit each other and share their spiritual experiences. It is always recommended that the group be led by a priest but, if this is not possible, the group's prayer meeting should take place with great simplicity.

The visionaries always stress that the first and most important prayer group is, in reality, the family and that only starting from it can we speak of a true spiritual education which finds its continuation in a prayer group. Each member of the prayer group must be active, participate in prayer and share their experiences. Only in this way can a group be alive and grow.

The biblical and theological foundation of prayer groups is found, as well as in other passages, in the words of Christ: "Truly I say to you: if two of you agree on earth to ask anything of the Father, my Father who is in heaven he will grant it. Because where two or more are gathered in my name, I am among them "(Mt 18,19-20).

The first prayer group was formed in the first prayer novena after the Ascension of the Lord, when Our Lady prayed with the Apostles and waited for the Risen Lord to fulfill His promise and send the Holy Spirit, which was accomplished on the day of Pentecost (Acts, 2, 1-5). This practice has also been continued by the young Church, as St Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles: "They were assiduous in listening to the teaching of the Apostles, in fraternal union, in the fraction of bread and in prayers" (Acts, 2,42 , 2,44) and “All those who believed were together and had everything in common: those who owned or sold goods and shared the proceeds among all, according to the needs of each. Day by day, like one heart, they assiduously frequented the Temple and broke bread at home, taking meals with joy and simplicity of heart. They praised God and enjoyed the favor of all the people. And every day the Lord added to the community those who were saved "(Acts 47-XNUMX).