Answers to criticisms of Medjugorje

Answers to criticisms of Medjugorje.

Whilst it is normal and wise for people to be wary of false prophets, we believe Mary is truly appearing in Medjugorje and that the messages coming from there are authentic. However there are people who's attitude ranges from simple doubts to complete opposition of Medjugorje. In order to alleviate their concerns, we'd like to try and answer the common fears and accusations.

1 Medjugorje is the work of the Devil.

It is certainly possible for Satan to deceive us, because the 2nd book of Corinthians chapter 11 says "…And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light". Because of this, let's look at the messages of Medjugorje to see if they are of Satanic origin.

Eucharist. This is the body of Christ - Satan's enemy. Why would Satan be asking us to receive his enemy?
Confession This is our chance to undo the sins that we were tempted by Satan to commit, why would Satan get us to undo his work.
Reading the Bible. This is our guide for living as Christians, it is totally against following Satan.
Peace. Since when does the Devil promote peace.
Fasting. Fasting is a way of heightening our awareness. Take the exact opposite, having eaten too much. Most of us have had that bloated feeling at some time or another: and my, how it affects us! We feel dull, lethargic, sluggish. Awareness can be dulled by many kinds of over-indulgence, not only food, but also alcohol and even being slumped for too long in front of the TV. Fasting is a way of restoring the balance. A little bit of self-denial can open us up to God, by making us more aware, more alert, as we move through life. Open, in fact, to our own depths, where God is often to be found, in the silences and in the questioning that we usually keep away by another bar of chocolate, another film or another beer. Fasting challenges us to find a discipline again, in which these things are held in a more healthy balance. Why would Satan want us to open ourselves up to God ?

2. Anyone can claim to see Our Lady, how can we prove these apparitions are really happening ?

It is never easy to confirm the supernatural nature of any reported apparition. However, as Christ said "…by their fruits you shall know them. The fruits of Medjugorje are numerous conversions and the return to the faith by many thousands of people. Compare Medjugorje with false prophets like The Little Pebble and see where the largest number of satisfied followers are".

3. Medjugorje has not been approved by the Church - I should not be following it yet.

It is true that the church has not approved it yet, but then it is the churches tradition to not pass judgement on an apparition site until after the apparitions have finished. In the case of Medjugorje, they are continuing. If the church found that Medjugorje was opposed to it's teaching, a notification would have been issued which condemns it. So far this has not happened. Remember at Fatima, Our Lady said "the war will end soon but if people do not stop offending God, another much worse one will start in the reign of Pius XI….". This referred to the First and Second World Wars. Whilst Medjugorje has not had any apocolyptic messages, Our Lady said it is the last time she'd be appearing on Earth. Therefore it is well worthwhile strongly heeding her messages. The visionaries are receiving secrets relating to our future. Even though they are urging us to concentrate on improving our lives rather than worrying about the contents of the secrets, they have hinted that some secrets are relating to grave matters, which can be reduced by prayer and fasting. In light of what we've learned from Fatima, it would be worthwhile listening to what we're being told.

4. The visionaries, priests and villagers only wanted to bring people to Medjugorje to make money out of souvenirs and other tourism related ventures

If this is the case, they chose a rather unusual place for a tourist spot. Whilst Medjugorje is not ugly, it is certainly nowhere near as attractive as other parts of their country. They could have chosen Dubrovnik - which has a cross at the top of the hill, similar to Krizevac, or numerous other places that would have had more tourist appeal and still be a believable setting for Our Lady's appearances. Even after all these years, the only things in Medjugorje for the visitors are souvenir shops, restaurants, accommodation and the church. There is no entertainment. Even Fatima, Lourdes and Rome have souvenirs and other money making ventures. At Medjugorje, they don't "shove the items in your face like they do in Rome". Also the Croatians don't teach their children to pick pokets like the Italians and some other nationalities do.

5.Medjugorje is a propoganda stunt.

Programs on Fatima and Lourdes can be seen on our TVs (The pulpit of our times - Paul VI). But for Medjugorje which receives millions of pilgrims, not even one tenth of the means the church has at her disposition is used to transmit these messages. If Medjugorje is a fake why is Fr Jozo still so dedicated to it despite the torture and imprisonment he recieved from the communists ? Surely if it was fake, he'd have given up years ago. It could be argued that he is mentally unbalanced, but to attend one of his talks will convince you of his sanity.