Medjugorje Visionary Ivanka’s talk given on March 18, 2010

Dear friends, first of all I would like to greet all of you with the most beautiful greeting, “Praised be Jesus and Mary.”

Everyday, 28 years, I’ve been asking myself, “Our Lady, Why did you choose me? I’m not any better or worse than any other person. You gave me enormous gift, but at the same time great, great responsibility.” I simply say, “I can’t do it on my own, but with You, yes.” I accepted and I’m walking that way. In 1981, I was a ordinary child just like any other child, I wasn’t different in any way. That year my family lived in Mostar, 20 miles away, and Mirjana’s family in Sarevejo. During vacation we would come here to Medjugorje. We have a custom that on feast days and on Sunday we do not do any work. June the 24th was St. John the Baptist Feast. After Mass, we children were completely free. That afternoon, me and Mirjana went outside of the village just in order to walk, waiting for other guys to come. I don’t know how long we were standing there, but we got kind of tired, and we were walking towards the houses. As we were going backward towards the village, something was kind of dragging me to look towards the hill. When I looked up there, I saw the Mother of God. Then I said to Mirjana, “Look up there, Our Lady.” Mirjana didn’t even turn to look because she said, “What kind of stupid things are you talking about.” Even I can’t say why, but we walked further. As we were reaching the first houses we met Milka, Marija’s sister. When she saw us she said “What you look like, what happened?” Going back with her, I told her what I saw. When we came back to that spot, the two of them both looked again and then they also saw. Our Lady was standing like 5 to 6 hundred meters above us, and She was calling us to come by Her hand. I say all the emotions were mixed but what we beheld was fear.

In the meantime, Vicka joined us and she was confused about what was happening with us. She said, “What are you doing, what’s happened?” We said hurry up, we see Our Lady. When we said this, she threw her slippers away and ran away back home. That is when she encountered two boys, two Ivans, and she told them what we were able to see. She came back with them, and they also saw the same thing as we did. Although there were more of us, we still did not dare to climb the hill. I don’t know how much time we spent there. Some went to their own homes, but a few of us went to the first house in the village. We were crying and frightened, but we said, we saw Our Lady. I remember there were some apples on the table, and they were hitting us with those apples, throwing them at us. They said, “Go home. Do not play like that. It is not possible, do not play games with God. Don’t ever say that again to anybody.” I came home, and I said to my grandma what I saw. My brother and sister were kind of making fun of me for every word that I would say about it. Grandma said, “My dear child that is impossible, it must be someone up there in the hill keeping the sheep, a shepherd.” After that moment, I didn’t know if Our Lady could appear or that She did appear before. I would say that was the longest night in my life. I was re-questioning myself, if I was even seeing, if I went crazy, did I really see it?

But that afternoon, the word spread throughout the other villages and surrounding area. So the next day we went back to the same spot. I remember my grandmother holding my hand saying, “No matter what there is, you are not going!” But when we saw light for three times, six of us visionaries were so fast climbing up the hill that no one was able to catch us. But when we approached Our Lady, up to this very day today, my eyes couldn’t see anything more beautiful than She really is. A young, 19 or 20 years old woman. She has a gray dress and white veil on Her, and crown of stars. She has blue eyes and dark hair, and She is floating on a cloud. That feeling, that love; I wish that every single person in this world may feel that. Simply, there are no such words in this world to explain it. At that very moment I simply knew, that is the Mother of God. God gave me this grace, that I was the first one to see Our Lady and the first one to address a word to Her. Two months before the first apparition my mother passed away. I asked Our Lady, “Where is my mother?” Our Lady smiled and She said, “She is with Me.” She looked at the six of us and She said, “Be not afraid, I will be with you all the time.”

In the meantime, a lot of people came, and they saw that there was something happening with us. The third day, before we went to the hill, they gave us holy water and said to sprinkle a few drops of holy water on the vision. When Our Lady came, Vicka sprinkled the holy water on Her, and she said “If you’re from God remain with us, if you’re not then better go.” That is when Our Lady smiled back to us, and She said, “I am the Queen of Peace.” The first message She gave us was the message of peace. We can reach peace with prayer, fasting, conversion and penance. From the first day up to this very day today those are the most important messages of Our Lady. I always simply say, those who live these messages, they will be able to find the answer to every question they ask. As Our Lady said on the first day, we should not be afraid of anything.
 

But then the problems started occurring. But everything was okay because She was with us. First difficulties we had was with our priests because they didn’t believe. They were interrogating us. Then we went to the doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and they would frighten us with many things – the political problems in Communism. But from the first moment up to this very day today, I can say let it all be for the grace of God. I always say a normal person would not be able to endure all of this without God’s intervention, without Our Lady.
 

The Medjugorje visionary, Ivanka, speaking to pilgrims on March 18, 2010. Ivanka was the first of the six visionaries to see Our Lady.

Until 1985, I was receiving daily apparitions. In all those years, Our Lady was telling me Her own life, about the future of the Church, and the future of the world. I was writing all of that. When Our Lady tells when and to whom, then I will give it to them. May the 7th, 1985, was my last daily apparition. That is when Our Lady stayed with me for an hour. That is when Our Lady revealed to me the tenth secret. She said to me that I wasn’t to see Her on a daily basis anymore. Since that day up to this very day today, I have only once a year apparition, June the 25th. And that day She gave a great, great gift to me. For me, but also for the entire world, because every single person is asking the question, “Is there a life after?” Here, I’m standing in front of you as a living witness that life after does exists. That is when, during that apparition, I was able to see my mother the same as I see you now. She embraced me, my mother embraced me, and said, “My child, I am proud of you.”

Every single day Our Lady invites us, She is embracing us, and She is repeating the words, “Dear children.” She is showing us the way that we should think. It is up to us whether we want to accept this walk of peace, conversion. We, people in the world, are aware of the fact that Heaven is open to us every single day, but we simply have to act. When everything goes well in life, we do not know God, but when the cross happens then we say, “God where are you?” He is always with us, but it is just important that we open our hearts. In the first days, Our Lady invited us to prayer on a daily basis, prayer of the Creed and then seven times Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. Then later on She invited us to add one Rosary a day as well. Then one day a week to fast on bread and water on Friday. Later on She invited us to add a second Rosary each day. Then to add the second day of the week to fast. And at the end, the third part of the Rosary as well. Because Our Lady said with prayer and fasting we are capable even to stop the war. And all the problems and difficulties we may face, we will be able to endure easier with prayer and fasting.

Simply, Our Lady doesn’t want to leave us. She desires to help us and to guide us. But I repeat once again, She is waiting for us to open our hearts. Everyone of us six visionaries, we have our own mission. Some pray for priests, some for those who have not come to know the love of God yet, some for sick, some for youth, and Our Lady invited me to pray for families. Our Lady invites us to respect the sacrament of marriage, to renew our family prayer, to attend the Holy Mass on Sundays, to come to Confession once a month, and the most important thing is to put the Bible in the center of our family. Every single day I pray for all families. But I’m also asking of you to pray for us, for our families.

I desire to thank you for your desire to hear the message of Our Lady. I would like to thank you even more if you decide that you will carry in your heart the message of Our Lady with you, and to spread it and to witness it with your own life. Because Medjugorje is not only here, but it is there where you spread the message of Our Lady. The main messages are peace, penance, conversion and fasting. You pray for us and we’ll pray for you. Thank you.
 

Part of the large group of pilgrims listening to the Medjugorje visionary, Ivanka, shares her experiences with Our Lady.