September 26, 2018 A.D.
The following was a Caritas Mission House report, sent yesterday morning, about the apparition of Our Lady to Marija on September 24, 2018.
(Community of Caritas, Medjugorje) – In Our Lady’s August 25, 2018 message She said, “pray more, speak less.” On the last day of the month in which we are underneath that message of Our Lady, waiting to receive a new message today, Our Lady Herself, witnessed to these words at Medjugorje visionary Marija’s apparition last night, September 24, 2018. Marija’s apparition was in the Chapel of the Two Hearts. Prior to this Chapel, Marija’s apparitions were in her house. Because Marija is the visionary that has always been the most open in allowing pilgrims to be present in the daily apparitions, her house was always filled with pilgrims, making it difficult for Marija and her family to have real family life in Medjugorje. It came to a point when Marija was going to have to close the apparitions to pilgrims, to allow more private time with her family. A Friend of Medjugorje was a step ahead of this, as he saw what was happening in Marija’s home. He told Marija to build a chapel outside her house. They both walked around Marija and her husband’s yard. She saw this way would allow her to continue to open up her apparitions to pilgrims, but also bring peace back into her house for her and her family. Marija immediately embraced this idea. A Friend of Medjugorje helped with the foundation for what would become the Chapel of the Two Hearts. Later, other Italians, joined and helped with its construction. It was completed in June of 2001. This is where Marija has most of her apparitions now, just as last night.
Present in Marija’s Chapel of the Two Hearts were about 50 pilgrims from locations around the world including Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Poland, Italy, the United States, Spain and Croatia. After praying two mysteries of the Rosary, Marija knelt before Our Lady’s statue and after just a few more prayers, her voice became silent while her head raised and her eyes were riveted and transfixed to one spot. As Marija spoke to Our Lady, those closest to her could hear the popping of her lips, though no sound came from her voice. The apparition lasted longer than what is normal in the daily apparitions of Marija. Her apparitions usually last for between 2-3 minutes. But on this day of September 24, 2018, it unexpectedly lasted for another one or two minutes, which is a beautiful grace to be given as it allows one to enter into a deeper prayer once the petitions given to Our Lady have been shared from the heart.
After the apparition, Marija stated that Our Lady prayed over everyone and blessed them. But then she added, Our Lady prayed a long time over everyone. One could hear Marija add this detail of the apparition in the various languages that were being translated. On one occasion, the translator failed to translate this, as if it were not significant, but Marija immediately had him add that point in the detail.
In many conversations over the years, Marija has discussed with a Friend of Medjugorje that the timing of Heaven doesn’t match the timing of the apparitions. What may be a “long” time for Marija, may only be felt by those present at an apparition just a few minutes. On July 31, 2005, when in the Living Room of the home of a Friend of Medjugorje, his wife, family and the Caritas Community in Alabama, Our Lady surprised Marija by laying Her hands on every person individually and praying over them throughout the apparition. It was a long apparition for those in the room, about 10 minutes, but to Marija who said that Our Lady prayed over each person for what seemed like 5-minutes per person, it was a very long apparition, 2 or 3 hours long. This is just one of the mysteries of the apparitions, a mystery not apparent to most who come to attend an apparition with Marija or the other visionaries, but seen by one who has witnessed many apparitions throughout nearly 37 years of Our Lady’s presence in Medjugorje and has come to notice the nuances of these brief moments when Our Lady is present to the visionaries.
A Friend of Medjugorje has long established that when Community members are in Medjugorje, they are present in each apparition of Our Lady. So among those who attended Marija’s apparition yesterday were three members of the Caritas Community. Among their own personal petitions that they carried to Our Lady for the apparition, they were also the emissaries for the Caritas Community who are in the middle of praying a special novena to Our Lady these days. Having the extra minutes to plead for grace for the Community’s novena was a particular gift. That gesture of Our Lady spending a longer time in prayer over everyone in Marija’s apparition was deeply moving. Our Lady said:
July 25, 2005
Everyone was blessed to have Our Lady stay longer than normal in yesterday’s apparition. This sign from Our Lady was a “special grace” that Our Lady was hearing our prayers. For those in the Caritas Community, it gave empowerment to their prayers believing Our Lady was taking the novena that was being prayed with the heart by those who have dedicated their lives to Our Lady to live and propagate Her messages and Her plans.
The above July 25, 2005 message continued:
Thousands gathered outside Marija’s Chapel of the Two Hearts, on August 5, 2014. Following the first public celebration of Our Lady’s birthday here at Caritas in Alabama, on August 4-5, 2005, Marija has had several public celebrations outside her Chapel of the Two Hearts. All Caritas Medjugorje pilgrims have the opportunity to pray in this chapel and consecrate their hearts to Jesus and Our Lady.
To bring this full circle, this monthly message was given in the home of a Friend of Medjugorje and his wife, in the Bedroom of Apparitions, while Marija was present to celebrate Our Lady’s 2021st birthday, on August 5, 2005, with thousands of pilgrims from all 50 States in the U.S. and around the world. Our founder, a Friend of Medjugorje, immediately responded to Our Lady’s message, by having the Community begin a daily 9-hour novena leading up to Our Lady’s birthday, and then asking the pilgrims to join us in these novenas to give as a gift for Our Lady’s intentions. Four days after initiating these novenas, the apparition which was mentioned earlier, took place in which Our Lady prayed over each member of the Community individually.
We may not always get a sign that our prayers are being heard, but through these loving gestures of Our Lady on these occasions, our faith is stronger to “know” that it is true, and that She is “near” us and is “interceding before God for each of us.”
– Community of Caritas in Medjugorje
