Promoting Medjugorje in your parish

Promoting Medjugorje in your parish.

Introduction:

Throughout history, the bible and the appearances of our Blessed Mother in Medjugorje there has always been a call to prayer. Again, at the end of every message she says: Thank you for responding to my call. Her call is to pray, to attend Mass, to pray for Peace, to pray with the body in fasting, to pray the rosary, to pray by reading and living the bible and to pray to know and to love God above all else. There has also been a call for prayer groups which are spreading throughout the world because people are responding to her call. A lot of the information in this article was obtained from Steve Shawl's website www.medjugorje.org. Many thanks to Steve for this.

Spreading the news of Medjugorje.

It is obviously best to start by speaking to your parish priest to get his permission to promote Medjugorje. Remember some priests are still wary of Medjugorje as the church has not yet passed judgement on it. If your priest has reservations, please respect this but show that you are not going to be promoting anything against the church's teaching. Outline to him, the messages of Medjugorje.

Once you have his permission, you may also wish to get a speaker along to your parish hall or distribute copies of the various Books videos and magazinesavailable.

Starting a Prayer Group

Our Blessed Mother's messages on prayer groups.

"I wish for a prayer group...I will guide this group and later, when I say so, other groups can be formed in the world." She continued, "I want a prayer group here. I will lead the group and give rules of sanctification to it. Through these rules all others in the world can consecrate themselves." Words said to Jelena Vasilj, locutionist and prayer group leader in Medjugorje, by our Blessed Mother in March of 1983.

"All people should be part of a prayer group."

"Every parish should have a prayer group."

"I would like to recommend that all my priests start a prayer group with the youth and teach them, giving them good advice."

"Today I invite you to renew prayer in your families. Dear children, Encourage the very young to pray and to go to Holy Mass." (March 7, 1985)

"Pray, especially before the cross from which great graces are coming.

"Now, in your homes make a special consecration to the cross of the Lord." (September 12, 1985)

Sometimes this desire to start a prayer group is such a strong desire that it's as if you are being called by our Blessed Mother to start a group. She loves her prayer groups and will help them as long as the members realize that SHE is the leader of the group and she will guide you. The Primary reasons for having prayer groups is to help each other to grow in holiness, and to lead people to Jesus through our Blessed Mother's messages in Medjugorje.

First of all, you need to ask the priest of the Parish where your group is going to be to see if he does not object to having a Medjugorje prayer group. This is very important Because although our Blessed Mother wants prayer groups to be formed, she still abides by what the priests in the Parish say and we all need to be obedient to the pastors wishes. Also, space might be a problem in some parishes. If the priest is open to your prayer group then wonderful!! He will be able to help you and also be a very important part of the group helping with the spiritual direction of the members. If the priest is NOT open to your prayer group you might want to see if you can use someone's house or another meeting place for your group. Ask him to participate when he can and keep him in your prayers. Creating by-laws for your group is also a good idea. Some priests of big parishes want to know what your Medjugorje prayer group is and what you will be doing. Some ask for mission statements and it's good to have this anyway, but some want more specifically the rules your group will follow. The rules for the Lane Cove Medjugorje Prayer Group in Sydney are:

We are a family brought together by the queen of peace. Stick with her and her messages with humility and love for each other.
The group must respect the wishes of the Parish Priest. His permission is to be sought when: getting a guest speaker or visiting priest, arranging an outing etc.
We are to focus only on Medjugorje and it's messages. Other apparition sites and religious topics, regardless of their credibility are not to be discussed during the main part of the meeting. Medjugorje's messages will provide plenty of discussion topics. In the past groups have failed because they've lost focus and because some people have been put off by "controversial topics".
Our group is to follow the traditional Catholic practices and not the Charismatic practice for the same reason. Medjugorje is not Charismatic, neither are it's priests.
The group is not to concern itself with the 10 secrets being given by Our Lady to the 6 visionaries. These will be revealed when Our Lady wants them to be revealed. She keeps reminding us that the important thing is to concentrate on following her messages.

The leader of the prayer group:

Our Blessed Mother has said, "It would be best if the priests gather the people around, but that a lay person can lead a prayer group. If it is a lay person who takes charge then he or she should really know their faith. They should read the bible and be advanced in spiritual knowledge." They should know the teachings of the church and use frequently the Catechism. It is best if the formation of the prayer group starts in the family first with parents leading the children.

It is the leaders role to create the environment to help members grow in holiness. You need to practice what you preach by way of the messages of Medjugorje so that you are an example to the others in your group, that they can learn from you. Prayer group leaders should be enthusiastic, filled with God's love and knowledge of His word to help the others grow spiritually. He or she needs to welcome new members warmly. Some might have troubled lives and you need to be warm and compassionate to these people. The leader must know our Blessed Mothers messages in Medjugorje so that he or she gives correct information to the rest of the group. The Medjugorje prayer group needs to be kept free from talk about other apparitions since some might not be known about, or some might even be condemned by the church. The message of Medjugorje can get confused with other apparitions if they are all talked about in the group. The message needs to be kept pure.

If there is dissention, the group leader must keep the peace and pray. he/she must respect others in the group and avoid judging others or force his or her judgments or advice on the members; the leaders greatest influence will be felt in the life witness to Christian values. The Leader will have a big responsibility and will need the support of each member of the group. It is a good idea to pray a blessing for the leader on occasion before beginning the group.

Group Format

The prayer group can be large or small. Some may last for 30 minutes and others might last for three hours but it all depends on the needs of the particular group. All prayer groups are unique because Our Blessed Mother is leading them in a special way. The following format is how the Lane Cove Medjugorje Prayer Group holds their meetings.

7.00pm Welcome.

7.05pm Consecration prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Consecration prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, prayer for Priests, prayer for Youth, prayer to Saint Michael.

7.10pm Rosary

7.25pm Reading from the Bible. At the first meeting we'll start on the first chapter of Matthew and at each meeting gradually progress through until we've read all 4 main books. Then start again.

7.40pm General discussion/ Speaker. Note the discussions should be kept reasonably simple and practical to everyday life so that everyone can understand and apply the topics to everyday life. See the back of this leaflet for a sample calendar

8.00pm Supper.

You may occasionally like to have special items such as the following added to your calendar:

A mass for the prayer group. If the priest has been to Medjugorje this is wonderful.
A speaker on Medjugorje.
Plan outings such as Marian convention, listen to speakers etc.
It is also good to have a pot luck or special dinner just for the group.

Some guidelines and tips for having a successful prayer group:

The time you have your group should be consistent and also the place that you meet so it is a regular occurrence for your prayer group members.
Make a prayer book just for the prayer group to hand out. We also have extra Rosaries for someone to use if they didn't have one.
Literature regarding Medjugorje and also a calendar of events for your group would be very helpful.
Find a nice Statue of Our Blessed Mother, a Crucifix, icons and candles for a prayer table which could be the center of your group.
Put together an address list.

Church Bulletin announcements of your Medjugorje Rosary prayer group is a great thing to keep up. You can advertise speakers that you might be having, outings and the like.

Obtain speakers from your parish or other parishes for helping live Mary's messages.
In closing your meeting, it's always nice to gather afterwards for a little refreshment. You will meet some new and lasting friends and it gives the group a warm family feel.

Problems That Can Arise

Well, when we're talking about prayer groups you would hardly think that they could possibly have

Problems. After all, you're praying and there should be no problems right? Well, not really. Our Blessed Mother said in one of her messages that Wherever she is, Satan is not far behind. He does not like prayer groups and even there, you will see his ugly face. I think just about every group will have some problems down the line but if you keep focused, and prayerful and know how to overcome some of these difficulties, the problem might not become overwhelming.

Ivan said that when dissension would start in his prayer group, he would fast and pray at least 3 Rosaries. If you ask everyone in the group to do the same, there' s no way that things will stay the same. They might come to a head but, it should get back to normal and be even possibly stronger then before.

Most common problems

1.Not sticking to the topic of Medjugorje. This might not sound like such a big deal but it is. This is one of the most important. Everyone is very interested in learning about the message of Medjugorje, you are a Medjugorje prayer group, you're there to spread the messages of that wonderful place and stay on the path to conversion so you can be an example to others about Our Blessed Mother and her Sons' plan there. A Medjugorje prayer group isn't the place to talk about other apparitions because the message of Medjugorje can get convoluted. It's also not a place to bring up controversial topics, this will cause dissention. It's not a place to bring in books that are non Catholic, New age and to give talks on these things. If you want to talk about all of these things, then a good time to share this might be after the group has ended and just having conversation. The message of Medjugorje needs to be kept pure and focused on Medjugorje. Our Lady, Queen of Peace is enough for anyone. It's enough just to try to live her messages there. Everything you need to know in order to live a good life and pass from this one to the next in Gods grace is in her messages. She says not to be like butterflies. Just to fully go over her message and what it means and how to live it in our every day lives is enough for any Medjugorje prayer group.

2. Ego. This is a toughy because no body's perfect but we need to remember to be humble and think of how Jesus would do it. I have seen this in several groups where there is a person or people who want to change the group and see it take another direction, changing things for their own liking instead of the good of the entire group. Be open to what the group members are saying. You are a family brought together by the Queen of Peace. Stick with her and her messages with love for each other and humility.

3.Gossip. Please refrain from gossip in the group. You're not there for that and it's not a very good example to others possibly wanting to join the group let alone hurting others while you're there to pray and learn to love.

4.This is not really a problem but it is a concern for those who want to belong to a Medjugorje prayer group but are not comfortable with other forms of prayer and that is having the Medjugorje group a Charismatic group. In most churches there are several different types of groups, some Fatima prayer groups, Renew groups, Youth prayer groups, Charismatic prayer groups and hopefully a Medjugorje prayer group. Since Medjugorje is not charismatic and the priests are not, it's best to keep the Charismatic group Charismatic and the Medjugorje group, traditional. Some might think that this is the way Medjugorje is and if they are not comfortable with that form of prayer it might discourage them from learning about the messages of Medjugorje which is the most important reason for having the group so please be sensitive to this when planning to start a Medjugorje prayer group. In a book regarding Medjugorje, one author stated that Father Jozo is a charismatic priest. He is not Charismatic in the sense of how he prays but he has charisma that attracts many people). It is best to keep these two types of prayer groups separate.

5.Get Permission. Another big problem is a group who won't ask permission from the priest to do specific things. The priest gets upset and so do the members of the prayer group. We need to remember that if you have a group at a church, in the parish hall or on church property that we need to be obedient to the authority of the priest. When getting a speaker to talk for your group, ask permission, when wanting to use the church for a mass and if another priest comes in, get permission, and then, if he gives you an answer you don't like, well, he's the priest and you need to offer this up and remember to pray for your priests. If you are unsure how to approach your priest to ask for a prayer group to be started in your parish, a sample letter is provided below.

For more information

The Lane Cove Medjugorje Prayer Group has a website on the internet at http://www.geocities.com/lcmedjugorje which includes a copy of this pamphlet, their handbook which contains a lot of information and also notes from the discussion topics which will be helpful for you to get started.

Sample Letter

Dear Father,

I am writing to you to request permission for me to set up a Medjugorje Prayer Group in our Parish. I realise the church has not yet approved Medjugorje, however, they have not banned people from going there or promoting it, provided they do not say anything that contradicts the church's teaching. In the last 20 years, I have seen nothing come out of Medjugorje that has contradicted the church. If, tomorrow it was shown to be a fraud, I would have to say that Medjugorje was still a wonderful thing due to the number of people who have returned to prayer, mass and confession because of Medjugorje.

Our group would promote the 5 messages of Medjugorje: Peace, Eucharist, Confession, Reading the Bible and Fasting. The format of the meeting would be:

(1) Welcome

(2) Prayers:

(3) Bible Reading - This would consist of 1 chapter of the New Testament each week, starting from Matthew and proceeding through to the Acts of the Apostles.

(4) Discussion Topic This would be either related to Medjugorje and it's messages or if necessary on an item from the Bible reading that needed clarifying. I have attached a sample calendar. Note the topics in quotes are from the Medjugorje messages.

(5) Supper

Please take a look at the copy of our Handbook for some more information and please let me know if there are any changes required.

Yours Faithfully

Sample Calendar

DATE Discussion Topic

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27/5/2001 Inaugural Meeting. Brief overview of Medjugorje and future direction of the group.

3/6/2001 Comparison of Medjugorje to Lourdes and Fatima.

17/6/2001 Prayer Part 1: How do we stop prayer from becoming monotonous or boring.

24/6/2001 Why should we read the Bible ?

1/7/2001 What is a pilgrimage?, what do I do if I can't make a pilgrimage?

8/7/2001 Comprehending our Christian vocation.

22/7/2001 "You are here on earth on the way to eternity"

29/7/2001 "I am calling you to be my apostles."

5/8/2001 Prayer part 2: Praying with the heart.

12/8/2001 "Open your hearts to the Holy Spirit"

19/8/2001 "Put more blessed objects in your homes."

26/8/2001 The beauty of the Mass.

2/9/2001 How do we concentrate on saying the Rosary and meditating the mysteries at the same time.

9/9/2001 Can we really live the message of "Peace, Peace and Only Peace" in our world ?