"Miracle at Medjugorje"
By: Wayne Weible
Introduction
The articles contained in this tabloid were written and published individually over a period of six months in a local newspaper in Myrtle Beach, SC. This issue contains an updated article, current through January, 1989. Also there is an informational sheet on the back for purchasing books, videos, and information on pilgrimages. Bulk quantities may be purchased.
Wayne Weible
It is reported that since June, 1981, the Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of Jesus has been appearing daily to a group of young people in a remote mountain village in Yugoslavia.
"You are my son..."
The little hamlet of Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, is by all outward appearances a most unlikely place where an event of a supernatural religious nature would occur. It is a simple rural village of approximately 400 families, located in the remote inland mountains and hills of this communist-governed country. Accessibility by modern-day transportation, including the automobile, is difficult. Once there, tourist amenities are almost non-existent; no hotels or motels and few eating establishments. Yet, millions of people from all over the world have come to Medjugorje during the last five years.
They have come for one reason: the reported daily appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, to a group of six young people who live there. She has been appearing daily to these young people since June, 1981, bringing an urgent message to the whole world to reconcile with God now and bring peace to a dangerously troubled world.
Just as Medjugorje is an unlikely place for such an even to happen, so, too is my personal involvement with the events there. Prior to November, 1985, I knew little about the Virgin Mary outside of what is written in the bible. I knew nothing about past apparitions that had occurred in Fatima, Portugal, or in Lourdes, France. That was all soon to change.
I first heard about Medjugorje in a Sunday School class I was teaching at the Lutheran Church my family and I had attended for the past five years. The subject of the lesson was modern-day miracles. Toward the end of the class, someone mentioned what was happening in Yugoslavia in this little village. She knew only that the Mother of Jesus was supposedly appearing to some children and that it had been going on for some time.
As publisher of four weekly community newspapers, and as a columnist for the past nine years, I was curious to find out more. That was my only interest; simply, that it would make a good column for the coming Christmas season.
After the class, I asked the person who had mentioned it where she had heard about it. She directed me to a mutual friend who had a book and a video tape on the background of the alleged appearances. After obtaining the materials and reading the book, I still felt nothing other than curiosity. Several nights later after getting our two young children to bed, my wife, Terri, and I settled down to watch the video tape. What happened during the viewing of that video changed my life completely.
About midway through watching the film, I suddenly "felt" a strong message within myself. I really don't know how to explain it. I heard no audible voice, but the message was there just as clear as though I had actually heard it. In essence it said, "You are my son, and you are to do my Son's work. Write about the events in Medjugorje. Afterwards you will no longer be in this work (newspapers), for your life will be devoted to the spreading of the message."
Stunned and in a near state of shock, I sat up the entire night thinking about what had happened. There was no doubt in my heart about the source of the message or that it had actually happened. It was from Mary, the Blessed Virgin. I just kept wondering, why me? I knew so little and felt totally unworthy.
The columns tell the rest of the story. In December, I began a series of four columns on the apparitions. Later, other articles giving my personal feelings and updated information were added. Also, by the end of December, we were contacted by a company that owned a chain of newspapers and in March, 1986, our four newspapers were sold, leaving us with a printing company and a contract to print the same newspapers for the next four years.
Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary had predicted, my work is now dedicated to spreading the Medjugorje message on a full time basis.
For two years now, I have been traveling across the United States, and into several foreign countries such as Ireland, giving lectures on the message of Medjugorje. I have made trips there and have come to personally know many of the visionaries and priests.
All of the columns I wrote, beginning in December, 1985, are contained here. After receiving hundreds of requests for them, I decided to print them into a collected tabloid for easier distribution. The initial printing was 2,500 in September, 1986. It was thought that that would be adequate for a year, as I planned to use them only when giving talks. As of December, 1987, more than eight million copies have been sent to all corners of the world, an incredible miracle in itself since it was never intended that they be used outside of Myrtle Beach, SC
I hope that as you read these columns and information on Medjugorje, your life, too, will change and your relationship with God will be strengthened. Its message is simple and direct: return to the ways of God; pray as often as possible for the salvation of this world; offer penance to God by giving up useless things in your life. In other words, live the message that is contained in the bible, for the message of Medjugorje is the message of Jesus Christ, urgently emphasized by his most holy messenger and mother, Mary.
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
