"And Mary said, 'My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has has done great things for me—holy is His name.'"
- Luke 1:46-49
On November 15th the Medjugorje visionary, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, came to the University of Notre Dame for one of her daily apparitions. She came to witness to those living in South Bend, IN about the Medjugorje messages coming from Our Lady. My cousin, Lauren, attends the University of Notre Dame and she was fortunate to be able to go to this event with my aunt. Mary TV also streamed a live video feed online. (Click here to read Cathy Nolan's reflection of this event from Mary TV's perspective.) This was such a blessing! Because of this broadcast my family and I were present for the apparition as well, via the internet.
During the apparition you could see the peace of Our Lady's presence come upon Marija while she was in ecstasy. It must be so wonderful to see the beauty of the Blessed Mother everyday! What a gift! I cannot even imagine.
After the vision, Marija gave her testimony to all who gathered there. I was surprised to hear her speaking in English. Since I have done a lot of research about Medjugorje I know that this particular visionary never studied the English language. It was absolutely amazing to hear her witness in our own native tongue. When I went to Medjugorje in 2010 my family and I stayed with the visionary Ivan. Even though he knew how to speak English, he would always use a translator while giving a testimony since he was more comfortable speaking in Croatian. I am so glad Marija choose to speak in English this time. It was much easier for us to relate to her by hearing the witness given in our language.
While Marija spoke she reflected upon the reasons of why Our Lady is coming. Is is very apparent that our society today is corrupted in sin and in great need of the Blessed Mother's presence. At the event Marija relayed the message of God which came from the Blessed Mother, stating, "I am God, the Resurrection. I am the God who was crucified and died. But I am resurrected! I am with you and I died for you. But I give you freedom. In this freedom you have a choice. Good or bad. I call you for goodness." The Blessed Mother also added, "I call you for new life. It's your choice. It's your choice to say yes or no."
It is so sad that numerous people across the globe have stopped following Christ. They have given up on Him and are looking to the world for their satisfaction. Some people even claim to be "spiritual" but not "religious." Spirituality can be very dangerous if it is not within a religious context, such as Christianity. This usually means they are following New Age trends or satanic influences. Those involved in these cults and/or do not believe in God are in grave danger. What they do not realize is that they are putting their own soul at risk of losing the opportunity of enteral life. That is why Our Lady is coming for them. She is coming to give them hope. She is coming to give all of us hope and the grace of conversion.
Marija's testimony rang with truth and conviction. Like she said, we need to give our "YES" to God. We need to accept Him into our lives to strengthen our faith day by day. Only in this way can we inherit His holy kingdom. Paradise is waiting for us! All of us! If people seriously knew this who would ever say no to happily ever after? But, as Marija testified, it is our choice. It is our choice to accept or reject. By rejecting Christ we have essentially rejected eternal life. But if we accept Him into our life and our hearts we accept His glorious kingdom. During this "Year of Faith" let us give our entire "YES" to God. Let us glorify the Lord like Mary did with her "YES" to becoming the mother of Jesus. For she has truly given us the greatest example in accepting the Will of the Father.
