30th Anniversary Today! Extraordinary By the Queen of Peace To You Individually

November 29, 2018 A.D.

“On August 5, 1985, God gave Our Lady a gift, a wonderful gift. Why is it said that this is a gift? Because the above date is the first time we see Our Lady use the words, “SPECIAL BLESSING.” The significance of this is the date. Even though Our Lady’s birthday is recognized by the Church on September 8th, Our Lady revealed that the actual date of Her birth is August 5th. On that day, being the generous Mother that She is, She gave us a gift also. She gave this gift, announced without fanfare and simply.”

August 5, 1985 (Special Blessing)

Our Lady appeared dressed in golden splendor and was indescribable. Our Lady said to Ivan:

“Praised be Jesus Christ. My children, I’m happy to be with you this evening and to see you so numerous. I bless you with a Special Blessing. Make progress in holiness through the messages, I will help you. Give your utmost and we will go together, sensitive to the sweetness of life, light, and joy. Go in the peace of God, my children, my little children.”

Like many who first began going to Medjugorje, a Friend of Medjugorje was attracted by the deep peace he felt there, by the profound conversions that were taking place, by the simplicity of the village life, etc. But at certain point, after a dozen pilgrimages to Medjugorje, he was not satisfied with the interpretation being given by those heading the Medjugorje movement and also from the pulpit. He was hearing over and over again that Medjugorje was just another Fatima, just another Lourdes, Our Lady is just repeating the Scripture. The playbook coming from the pulpit was “keep Our Lady’s apparitions, but tone everything down so as not to rile up the Bishop.” If that were so, then he needed to get back to his normal life and business. He was troubled by what he was hearing. Something kept nagging him that there was something much more going on in Medjugorje than just a repeat of other apparitions. It was then that he turned to Our Lady’s messages. The messages weren’t being talked about. In fact, there wasn’t anyone who had actually compiled all the messages into a single book, so he started to compile them himself. As he began studying the messages, he found the opposite of what others were saying about Medjugorje. Our Lady Herself was saying that Medjugorje was a plan for the salvation of the entire world.

A Friend of Medjugorje became enraptured by the messages and began an intense prayer life with Our Lady’s words. He began to see things in the messages that others couldn’t see. One profound thing he saw concerned the Special Blessing. Our Lady gave a blessing in every apparition. Because this was normal, when She began speaking of a “Special Blessing,” few took notice of it. A Friend of Medjugorje was one of the few. He noticed Our Lady’s use of these words in special feast days and significant moments. Finally, on August 15, 1988, when Marija was speaking to a Caritas Pilgrimage group, a Friend of Medjugorje asked Marija about the significance of the Special Blessing and was amazed and excited to learn that there was something very powerful to this blessing of Our Lady.

Three months later, Marija was staying in the home of a Friend of Medjugorje and his wife in Alabama. On November 29, 1988, 30 years ago today, on an ordinary day—not a Feast Day, Our Lady gave the Special Blessing in the Bedroom of Apparitions, and this mobilized a Friend of Medjugorje to discuss further with Marija the meaning behind the Special Blessing. In the three months that Marija stayed in his home, Our Lady gave the Special Blessing on two more occasions. When in Medjugorje, She was only giving the blessing on rare occasions. There were three Special Blessings given within a 30-day period in a Friend of Medjugorje’s home. He became to feel prompted in his heart that Our Lady was doing something to make it known and to be spread and to clearly deposit this grace from those days of apparitions in the Bedroom of Apparitions. All these events led a Friend of Medjugorje into deep prayer regarding the Special Blessing. The outcome was a very important writing that draws back the veil to allow us to see the gift contained in this Blessing for the whole world. His short book entitled, “A Blessing to Help Save the World,” should be read by everyone who is serious about being an apostle of Our Lady. It can be downloaded free here.

Who speaks about the Special Blessing? Who keeps it alive? There is even confusion about it amongst the visionaries. Several years later, when the community began to be formed, a Friend of Medjugorje was the continuator of the Special Blessing to the members of the Community of Caritas. Giving it to them personally, he then mandated that spreading the Special Blessing is and will always be part of our apostolate. He stated of this action:

“The Special Blessing would have been lost because there was so much resistance against it. People would have let it fade away. If that were to happen, there would not be any provable lineage of the inheritance of this Extraordinary Blessing.”

Our Lady did what She did with a Friend of Medjugorje because it can be preserved for future generations after the apparitions end.

As is every gift from God, it is our faith in it that makes it powerful. So, too, with the Special Blessing. The Special Blessing is given by Our Lady with an attached request. Once one receives it, Our Lady wants it to be passed on to others. It can only be given from one individual to another, not to a whole group of people. Our Lady taught and gave a Friend of Medjugorje an understanding of this. A Friend of Medjugorje explains why:

“Plain concrete is hard but is weaker than concrete with many stones. We might think the Special Blessing might be good if we could bless whole groups, but it would be as concrete without stones which has no real strength even though it appears strong. The Special Blessing passed on individually, as each an individual stone, becomes stronger as each blessing is given, as more stones added to the concrete adds strength. The stone-filled concrete then becomes a base, a foundation, in which conversion happens, bringing more grace to the world and, thereby, bringing about a more favorable environment for conversions, even for non-believers. This Special Blessing follows Our Lady’s plan of conversion. Individual conversions will bring about the conversion of the world. Special Blessings will bring blessings, strength, and love for the world. All this happens through individuals, one to another. Marija has also said that Our Lady wishes, through this, to create a chain around the whole world—that as each person is as an individual link and not strong on its own, it becomes very powerful once linked together as a chain of which has many good uses. This gives greater understanding why Our Lady wants this to be passed from one person to the next, just as a chain is linked from one to the next, then village to village, region to region, nation to nation, the world to Heaven.”

– Friend of Medjugorje, 1991

The above quote was taken from “A Blessing to Help Save the World.” This writing is filled with insights concerning the Special Blessing that were given to a Friend of Medjugorje from Our Lady because of his desire to be taught by Her. He proved this desire through his devotedness and commitment to untiring prayer, fasting, climbing the mountains in Medjugorje, living an ongoing life of sacrifice and hardship, and being obedient to everything She has asked of him.

With Faith in Our Lady’s Plan of Conversion,
The Community of Caritas

P.S. To obtain the Special Blessing, seek out Medjugorje believers in your area and ask them if they have received the Special Blessing. If they have, they can bestow it on you. Or you can make a pilgrimage to Caritas of Birmingham and receive it directly from one of the Caritas Community members. Increase the grace of the Special Blessing by climbing to the Cross on Penitentiary Mountain, praying in the Field of Apparitions, and if you come during the December 8-12, 2018, Five Days of Prayer, you can also pray in the Bedroom of Apparitions which will be opened during this event.