Prayer is the center of Our Lady's plan and is the most frequent message in Medjugorje.

Our Lady asks us to pray 3 hours each day, and to pray with the heart. To pray with the heart is to pray with love, trust, abandonment, and concentration. Contained in our 3 hours of daily prayer can be:

"I would like the people to pray along with me these days. And to pray as much as possible! And to fast strictly on Wednesdays and Fridays, and every day to pray at least one Rosary: the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries." August 14, 1984

"Dear children! Today I call you especially now to advance against Satan by means of prayer. Satan wants to work still more now that you know he is at work. Dear children, put on the armor for battle and with the Rosary in your hand defeat him! Thank you for having responded to my call." August 8, 1985

"Dear children! Today I call you to begin to pray the Rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. You, dear children, wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I am not able to help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I am calling you to pray the Rosary and that your Rosary be an obligation which you shall fulfill with joy. That way you shall understand the reason I am with you this long. I desire to teach you to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call." June 12, 1986

"You know that I love you and am coming here out of love, so I could show you the path of peace and salvation for your souls. I want you to listen to me and not permit Satan to seduce you. Dear children, Satan is strong enough! Therefore, I ask you to dedicate your prayers so that those who are under his influence may be saved. Give witness by your life, sacrifice your lives for the salvation of the world. Therefore, little children, do not be afraid. If you pray, Satan cannot injure you, not even a little, because you are God's children and He is watching over you. Pray, and let the Rosary always be in your hands as a sign to Satan that you belong to me." (February 25, 1989)

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In Medjugorje Our Lady asks us to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays from midnight to midnight on bread and water. Our Lady tells us that this is the "best" fast. The amount of bread and water you consume or the frequency at which you consume it does not matter. What matters is we make this sacrifice and offer it to God. I have many times heard people ask the visionaries about including butter, jelly, coffee, etc., in their fasting. They always respond the same "We can only tell you what Our Lady has asked of us". There will be times when it is impossible, for whatever reason, to fast on bread and water. On those occasions we can always give up something we like: TV, internet, coffee, alchohol, sweets, cigarettes, etc. and offer it to God.

In the Old Testament and in the New Testament, there are many examples of fasting. Jesus fasted frequently. According to Tradition, fasting is encouraged especially in times of great temptation or severe trials. Certain devils, "can be cast out in no other way except by prayer and fasting", said Jesus. (Mark 9:29).

We have to realize the power of fasting. Our Lady tells us "You have forgotten that with prayer and fasting you can ward off wars, suspend natural laws." By combining prayer and fasting we increase the power of our prayers. This is important to remember when praying for a special or urgent intention. By prayer and fasting we allow our whole being to participate, and offer this sacrifice to God. We should also fast because we love God and want to be soldiers that offer our bodies in the battle against evil.

"The best fast is on bread and water. Through fasting and prayer one can stop wars, one can suspend the natural laws of nature. Works of charity cannot replace fasting... Everyone except the sick, has to fast." (July 21, 1982)

"Dear children! Today also I invite you to prayer. Only by prayer and fasting can war be stopped. Therefore, my dear little children, pray and by your life give witness that you are mine and that you belong to me, because Satan wishes in these turbulent days to seduce as many souls as possible. Therefore, I invite you to decide for God and He will protect you and show you what you should do and which path to take. I invite all those who have said "yes" to me to renew their consecration to my Son Jesus and to His Heart and to me so we can take you more intensely as instruments of peace in this unpeaceful world. Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. Therefore, dear children, accept the call to prayer with seriousness. I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call." April 25, 1992

"Dear children! Today I call you to renew prayer and fasting with even greater enthusiasm until prayer becomes a joy for you. Little children, the one who prays is not afraid of the future and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil. Once again, I repeat to you: only through prayer and fasting also wars can be stopped – wars of your unbelief and fear for the future. I am with you and am teaching you little children: your peace and hope are in God. That is why draw closer to God and put Him in the first place in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call." January 25, 2001

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Our Lady asks us to go to monthly confession. Pilgrims who come to Medjugorje are always impressed by the number of people waiting in line for confession and the number of priests hearing confession. Many priests have had extraordinary experiences during confessions in Medjugorje. Many of our pilgrims who have come with us to Medjugorje go to Confession for the first time in 20, 30, 40, even 50 years. It is one of the fruits and miracles of Medjugorje.

Many people have a hard time with confession. Some have had a bad experience. It is important that we overcome any aversions we may have to confession and trust in Our Lady's request. Confession is a Sacrament, and when we receive Absolution, we receive special graces. I know for many people when they start to go to monthly confession (or more often) their lives change dramatically. The more you go the more you become aware of your sins. The harder we work on our sins the more graces God will give us to overcome our sins. When we see through the eyes of confession, with a truly contrite heart, God begins to build us up with the virtues that we lack.

"Make your peace with God and among yourselves. For that, it is necessary to believe, to pray, to fast, and to go to confession." (June 26, 1981)

"Pray, pray! It is necessary to believe firmly, to go to confession regularly, and, likewise, to receive Holy Communion. It is the only salvation." (February 10, 1982)

"Whoever has done very much evil during his life can go straight to Heaven if he confesses, is sorry for what he has done, and receives Communion at the end of his life." (July 24, 1982)

"Do not go to confession through habit, to remain the same after that. No, it is not good. Confession should give an impulse to your faith. It should stimulate you and bring you closer to Jesus. If confession does not mean anything for you, really, you will be converted with great difficulty." (November 7, 1983)

"Dear children! Open your heart to God’s mercy in this lenten time. The heavenly Father desires to deliver each of you from the slavery of sin. Therefore, little children, make good use of this time and through meeting with God in confession, leave sin and decide for holiness. Do this out of love for Jesus, who redeemed you all with his blood, that you may be happy and in peace. Do not forget, little children: your freedom is your weakness, therefore follow my messages with seriousness. Thank you for having responded to my call." February 25, 2007

Confession should not be a habit that would "make sinning easy". Vicka says to every group of pilgrims, "Confession is something that has to make a new human being out of you. Our Lady does not want you to think that confession will free you from sin and allow you to continue the same life after that. No, confession is a call to transformation. You must become a new person!".

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Usually Our Lady comes to the visionaries happy and joyful. On one occasion, while talking about the Bible, She was crying. Our Lady said: "You have forgotten the Bible."

The Bible is a book different from any other book on earth. Vatican II says that all the canonical books of the Bible were, "..written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author." (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation) There is no writing even from a saint or inspired that can be compared to the Bible.

"Dear children! Today I call on you to read the Bible every day in your homes and let it be in a visible place so as always to encourage you to read it and to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call." October 18, 1984

"Dear children! Today is the day when I give you a message for the parish, but the whole parish is not accepting the messages and is not living them. I am saddened and I want you, dear children, to listen to me and to live my messages. Every family must pray family prayer and read the Bible! Thank you for having responded to my call." February 14, 1985

"Dear children! Today on this great day which you have given to me, I desire to bless all of you and to say: these days while I am with you are days of grace. I desire to teach you and help you to walk the way of holiness. There are many people who do not desire to understand my messages and to accept with seriousness what I am saying. But you I therefore call and ask that by your lives and by your daily living you witness my presence. If you pray, God will help you to discover the true reason for my coming. Therefore, little children, pray and read the Sacred Scriptures so that through my coming you discover the message in Sacred Scripture for you. Thank you for having responded to my call." June 25,1991

"Dear children! Listen, because I wish to speak to you and to invite you to have more faith and trust in God, who loves you immeasurably. Little children, you do not know how to live in the grace of God, that is why I call you all anew, to carry the word of God in your heart and in thoughts. Little children, place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family, and read and live it. Teach your children, because if you are not an example to them, children depart into godlessness. Reflect and pray and then God will be born in your heart and your heart will be joyous. Thank you for having for responded to my call." August 25, 1996

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Our Lady asks us to attend Sunday Mass, and when possible, daily Mass. Our Lady has said to the visionaries that if they have to choose between seeing Her and going to Mass, they must choose Holy Mass. This statement tells us just how important Holy Mass and the Eucharist are.

Marija tells us Our Lady wants us to see the Holy Mass as "the highest form of prayer" and "the center of our lives".

Vicka tells us that the Blessed Mother sees the Mass as "the most important and the most holy moment in our lives. We have to be prepared and pure to receive Jesus with a great respect. The Mass should be the center of our lives"

"Mass is the greatest prayer of God. You will never be able to understand its greatness. That is why you must be perfect and humble at Mass, and you should prepare yourselves for it." (1983)

"Dear children! Today I call you to renew prayer in your families. Dear children, encourage the very young to prayer and the children to go to Holy Mass. Thank you for having responded to my call." March 7, 1985

"Dear children! I am calling you to a more active prayer and attendance at Holy Mass. I wish your Mass to be an experience of God. I wish especially to say to the young people: be open to the Holy Spirit because God wishes to draw you to Himself in these days when Satan is at work. Thank you for having responded to my call." May 16, 1985

"Dear children! I wish to call you to a living of the Holy Mass. There are many of you who have sensed the beauty of the Holy Mass, but there are also those who come unwillingly. I have chosen you, dear children, but Jesus gives you His graces in the Mass. Therefore, consciously live the Holy Mass and let your coming to it be a joyful one. Come to it with love and make the Mass your own. Thank you for having responded to my call." April 3, 1986

"Dear children! God wants to make you holy. Therefore, through me He is inviting you to complete surrender. Let Holy Mass be your life. Understand that the church is God's palace, the place in which I gather you and want to show you the way to God. Come and pray. Neither look at others nor slander them, but rather, let your life be a testimony on the way of holiness. Churches deserve respect and are set apart as holy because God, who became man, dwells in them day and night. Therefore, little children, believe and pray that the Father increase your faith, and then ask for whatever you need. I am with you and I am rejoicing because of you conversion and I am protecting you with my motherly mantle. Thank you for having responded to my call." April 25, 1988

"Dear children! These years I have been calling you to pray, to live what I am telling you, but you are living my messages a little. You talk, but do not live, that is why little children, this war is lasting so long. I invite you to open yourselves to God and in your hearts to live with God, living the good and giving witness to my messages. I love you and wish to protect you from every evil, but you do not desire it. Dear children, I cannot help you if you do not live God's commandments, if you do not live the Mass, if you do not give up sin. I invite you to be apostles of love and goodness. In this world of unrest give witness to God and God's love, and God will bless you and give you what you seek from Him. Thank you for having responded to my call." October 25, 1993

"Dear children! Today again I call all of you to prayer. Only with prayer, dear children, will your heart change, become better, and be more sensitive to the Word of God. Little children, do not permit Satan to pull you apart and to do with you what he wants. I call you to be responsible and determined and to consecrate each day to God in prayer. May Holy Mass, little children, not be a habit for you, but life. By living Holy Mass each day, you will feel the need for holiness and you will grow in holiness. I am close to you and intercede before God for each of you, so that He may give you strength to change your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call." January 25, 1998

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