Ivan of Medjugorje "what Our Lady wants from prayer groups"

Here is what Ivan tells us: “Our group was formed completely spontaneously on July 4, 1982, and it arose like this: after the start of the apparitions, we young people of the village, having examined different possibilities, we oriented ourselves on the idea to form a prayer group, which had to commit itself to follow the Mother of God and to put her messages into practice. The proposal had come not from me but from some friends. Since I am one of the visionaries, they asked me to transmit this desire to the Madonna during an apparition. What I did on the same day. She was extremely happy with this. Currently our prayer group has 16 members, including four young couples.

About two months after her formation, Our Lady began to give special messages of guidance through me for this prayer group. Since then you have not stopped giving them to each of our meetings, but because we live them. Only in this way will we be able to help you make your plans for the world, for Medjugorje and for the group. In addition. She wants us to pray for the hungry and sick and that we are ready to help all those in serious need.

Each message fits into practical life.

I believe that so far we have carried out his program well enough. Our spiritual growth and development has reached a good level. With the joy she gives us, the Mother of God also gives us enough strength to carry out the task. While at the beginning we used to meet three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), now we only meet twice. 11 Friday we follow the Via Crucis to Krizevac (Our Lady asked to offer this for her intentions), on Monday we meet on Podbrdo, where I have an apparition in which I receive a message for the group. It doesn't matter at all if in those evenings it rains or in good weather, whether there is snow or thunderstorm: we go full of love up the hill to obey the wishes of the Gospa. What is the dominant reason for the messages to our group during the six years and more in which the Mother of God is leading us in this way? The answer is that all these messages have internal consistency. Every message that she gives us is closely related to life. We must translate it into the context of our life so that it has a weight in it. The fact of living and growing according to his words equates to being born again, which brings a great inner peace to us. How Satan works: through our neglect. Satan has also been very active in this time. Every now and then you can understand its influence very well in everyone's life. When the Mother of God sees her malevolent action, she especially attracts our attention to someone or everyone, so that we can run for cover and prevent her interference in our lives. I believe that satan works mainly because of our neglect. Everyone frequently drops each of us, without exception. Nobody can say that this does not concern him. But the worst is when one falls and does not realize that he has sinned, that he has fallen. It is precisely there that Satan works to the maximum degree, grasping that person and making him unable to do what Jesus and Mary invite him to do. The core of the messages: the prayer of the heart.

What Our Lady highlights above all in her message to our group is the prayer of the heart. The prayer done only with the lips is empty, it is a simple sound of words without meaning. What you want from us is the prayer of the heart: this is the main message of Medjugorje.

She has told us that even wars can be turned away by such a prayer.

When our prayer group meets on one or the other hill, we gather for an hour and a half before the apparition and spend time praying and singing hymns. Around 22 pm, a little before the Mother of God arrives, we remain silent for about 10 minutes to prepare for the meeting and wait for her with joy. Every message that Mary gives us is attached to life. How long the Madonna will continue to lead the group we don't know. Sometimes we are asked if it is true that Maria invited our group to visit the sick and poor. Yes, it did and it is important that we show our love and availability to such people. It really is a great experience to do, not only here, because even in the richest countries we find poor people who have no help. Love spreads by itself. They ask me if Our Lady also said to me, as in Mania Pavlovic: "I give you my love so that you can pass it on to others". Yes, Our Lady gave me this message which concerns everyone. The Mother of God gives her love to us because in turn we can pour it out towards others ".