In 1982, two 9-year-old girls who lived in the village of Medjugorje prayed fervently for Our Lady to appear also to them as to the other visionaries, Jelena and Marijana.  Though Our Lady did not give them the gift of apparitions, they were given a special grace of interior locutions.  Our Lady explained to them what their particular role would be in Her plan brought to Medjugorje.

December 29, 1982

Jelena asks if the ten secrets may be revealed to her:

“I do not appear to you as to the other six because my plan is different. To them I entrusted messages and secrets. Forgive me if I cannot tell you the secrets which I have entrusted to them. This is a grace which is for them, but not for you. I appeared to you for the purpose of helping you to progress in spiritual life and through your intermediary I want to lead people to holiness.”

Our Lady initiated the beginning of another prayer group through the two young girls, Jelena and Marijana.  Our Lady dictated the following rules for the prayer group of which all members were asked to embrace.  The rules give wisdom as to what Our Lady expects of those who answer the call to join a prayer group.  It is a serious calling and responsibility.

June 16, 1983

Our Lady dictates the rules for the prayer group which will be totally abandoned to Jesus to Jelena:

1. 
   “Renounce all passions and all inordinate desires. Avoid television, particularly evil programs, excessive sports, the unreasonable enjoyment of food and drink, alcohol, tobacco, etc.
   
   2. “Abandon yourselves to God without any restrictions.
   
   3. “Definitely eliminate all anguish. Whoever abandons himself to God does not have room in his heart for anguish. Difficulties will persist, but they will serve for spiritual growth and will render glory to God.
   
   4. “Love your enemies. Banish from your heart hatred, bitterness, pre-conceived judgments. Pray for your enemies and call the Divine Blessing over them.
   
   5. “Fast twice a week on bread and water. Join the group at least once a week.
   
   6. “Devote at least three hours to prayer daily, of which at least is half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. Holy Mass and the prayer of the Rosary are included in this time of prayer. Set aside moments of prayer in the course of the day, and each time that circumstances permit it, receive Holy Communion. Pray with great meditation. Do not look at your watch all the time, but allow yourself to be lead by the grace of God. Do not concern yourself too much with the things of this world, but entrust all that in prayer to Our Heavenly Father. If one is very preoccupied, he will not be able to pray well because internal serenity is lacking. God will contribute to lead to a successful end the things of here below if one strives to work for God’s things.
   
   “Those who attend school or go to work must pray half an hour in the morning and in the evening, and, if possible, participate in the Eucharist. It is necessary to extend the spirit of prayer to daily work, that is to say, to accompany work with prayer.
   
   7. “Be prudent because the devil tempts all those who have made a resolution to consecrate themselves to God, most particularly, those people. He will suggest to them that they are praying too much, they are fasting too much, that they must be like other young people and go in search of pleasures. Have them not listen to him, nor obey him. It is to the voice of the Blessed Virgin that they should pay attention. When they will be strengthened in their faith, the devil will no longer be able to seduce them.
   
   8. “Pray very much for the Bishop and for those who hold positions in the Church. No less than half of their prayers and sacrifices must be devoted to this intention.”

Our Lady tells Jelena:

“I have come to tell the world that God is truth; He exists. True happiness and the fullness of life are in Him. I have come here as Queen of Peace to tell the world that peace is necessary for the salvation of the world. In God, one finds true joy from which true peace is derived.”

April 17, 1986

To the prayer group which questioned Our Lady’s advice regarding watching television and reading newspapers as too difficult:

“If you look at the programs, if you look at the newspapers, your heads are filled with news, then there is no longer any place for me in your hearts.”

“Pray. Fast. Let God act!”

“Pray for the gift of love, for the gift of faith, for the gift of prayer, for the gift of fasting.”

A PRAYER MEETING OUTLINE DIRECTED BY OUR BLESSED MOTHER THROUGH JELENA—for the Monthly Prayer Group

This is the outline for a monthly prayer meeting. The large prayer group consisted of 40 to 50 members, and from this large group, smaller groups formed and met at other times in little groups either monthly, weekly or even a couple times a week.

• Open prayer meeting with Prayer to the Holy Spirit
• Sharing and Petitions
• Five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
• Our Lady of Medjugorje’s Message of the Month
• Five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
• Reading of Scriptural passage (or spiritual book)
• Five Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
• Other Petitions and Planning
• Creed, Seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary’s and Glory Be’s
• Consecration to Jesus and Mary as taught by Our Lady
• At times, they recite the Jesus Rosary (The Creed and 7 Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Bes). Jelena says that they must be very faithful to Her wishes; they must follow the procedure without adding or subtracting. Total time should not exceed 3 hours.

Other valuable suggestions for maintaining the same spirit of the group (for the smaller prayer groups):

• The same format could be followed above with eliminating some of the prayers in order to fit it into an hour or an hour and a half time frame.
• Always stay with the same starting time.
• There should be no more than 14 members (while this depends on each group, a small group will allow the formation of deeper relationships and unity within the group).
• If possible, a chaplain should be assigned as the spiritual director of the group. However, as that is not often possible, the chaplain can be a lay person.
• The prayer of the 7 Our Father’s, etc., will be said for the intentions of the host family.
• Meetings are held at member’s homes, each taking their turn.

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While these two prayer groups are the ones most known in the history of Medjugorje, in reality, there were many, many prayer groups that began around the same time as it was a call from Our Lady for everyone to belong to a prayer group.  The Rosary was central to all the prayer groups as well as reading and meditating on Our Lady’s messages and Scripture.