Telephone conversation between Father Livio and Màrija Pavlovic – Lunetti
FL: Dear friends we have now Màrija live from Medjugorje who is going to tell us the November 25, 2021, message of the Queen of Peace. Hi Marjia.
M. Hello Fr. Livio and hello to all Radio Maria shipmates, today like every 25th of the month our Lady gave us the following message:
….Reading the message in Italian and in Croatian
FL. So Marjia I reckon this message is a great responsibility for us because our Mother calls us to be peace, love, hope, expression of Heaven, therefore we do have a great deal of responsibility answering with much energy and strength to the call for the mission our Lady is giving us.
M. Exactly it’s a wonderful message where our Mother is telling us God has sent her, gave her permission and through her invited us to be prayer, love and expression of Heaven here on Earth. Our Lady has become one of us, our Mother, not only Jesus’ and through these messages she says, she guides us to the Most High who has permitted Her to be with us. Tonight’s message is wonderful I see She is leading us with this strong desire of God of Heaven of prayer of peace because true peace only comes through prayer, from God.
She arrived here as Queen of Peace on June 24, 1981 so when we love, pray and sing to her as our Queen of Peace our Queen here in Medjugorje in a special way falling in love with Her, we acknowledge the fact that She leads us to Her Son Jesus and this is a wonderful thing. She wants to help us, guiding us to Heaven. And through her humility She shows the love She has for men, for human beings, she proclaims herself the lowly servant in a special way among men as the expression of God. Tonight in special way, she’ll be guiding us in the Church all night long with adoration as a way to say thank you for the message and her presence, together with an invitation to the knowledge of the fact that only through prayer we are able to feel God’s love.
It’s a great feeling to know that on apparition hill there are always pilgrims. For instance yesterday we celebrated the anniversary of Fr. Slavko’s death and Medjugorje was crowded with people who had an enormous love for him who was an example of a priest who lived under the shade of our Lady, lived her messages and brought them to others. Our Lady is calling us to entrust ourslebes to God’s will in order to become ourselves prayer, an expression of Heaven, and through Her presence among us she is giving us the same love of God.
FL. Listen Marjia, our Mother generally speaks about “ Time of Grace” but this time she used the word “Mercy”, “Time of Mercy”. It’s a nuance but does it suggest something to you, the fact that she said “Mercy” instead of “Grace”?
M. It’s awesome because I thought I was wrong when I heard it, but I have to recall myself to this “Time of Grace”, even more. To me it’s not a nuance but a reality because God with His Mercy, Love, Desire to help us, has sent us His Mother. This is an act of Mercy for so many who are lost, confused, so many people who don’t have a destination. Our Mother is calling us, our goal is God, our destination is Heaven, Eternal life; we are lost and this is why She is telling us “Return because this is the “Time of Mercy”.
FL. It’s beautiful
M. Our Lady is telling us to be Love, to be the Peace that God is giving us. Therefore, when we have peace, love, prayer, total trust in God, at that moment our heart sings with joy, what a wonderful, beautiful thing this is, nonetheless we yearn for Paradise and we want to build it here among us.
FL. Listen Marjia nevertheless the vocabulary word “Mercy” is also meant for the present time of sufferings throughout humanity. Even though we have walked away, denied the faith of the Cross, God has given us His Mother as to say, we have turned our back to Him, but He went to look for the lost sheep; there is this Goodness over this lost and pagan world just like She said in a previous message. We really should meditate over this greatness of the love of God.
M. Exactly, Our Lady wants to bring us toward this love of God, Paradise, Eternal life, fill our hearts with joy, faith; she wants us to have a total trust in God, to become men of God, men of prayer, fruit of love. We have an awesome word that means “carrier of peace” (In Croatian : Mirotvorci) – one vocabulary word, beautiful! For us to be “Mirotvorci” is wonderful! It refers to a man who is a carrier of peace and love. This is just what our Mother is telling us to be – expressions of love, Heaven, prayer, the will of God which will run over our own lives, every and each moment, because life and death are in God’s Hands. Often men want to create a world without God without thinking about Heaven. Instead our Mother is calling us to put our gaze upon Heaven.
FL. Listen Marjia Our Lady is using this expression a number of times: “The restless world in which we have our mission to bring joy and peace”, but we have to say that during this pandemic state of things and with Our Lady’s words like “war is in the world because hatred reins in your hearts”, it takes a great deal of effort for us, at all stages to become carriers of peace in families.
M. But thank God in Medjugorje even during this pandemic time we are still meeting and talking with family members. I can say that there is an even greater number of people returning to prayer, which makes it even more beautiful. It all happened when all activities stopped. We didn’t lose God, but modified that fast way of saying prayers and transformed it to a time of grace. Speaking to a friend of mine we both considered it as an “everlasting retreat” because of the unceasing prayers and the joy we experienced in perfect silence on the hills with very few pilgrims.
This is the right place if you want to meet God, His Mother, many Saints, Angels etc. because our hearts are always searching for Him. When we pray God manifests Himself gives us joy, peace, finding even more of what we are searching and asking for. We as Christians, are living this moment of grace towards Advent, by going every day to an early morning Holy Mass we call ( she says it in Croatian) celebrated at six o’clock, with very few candles lit up (although in this time of the year they are putting more lights up). Mothers wearing their pajamas underneath their coats and a special Mass is celebrated with the intention of the arrival of Jesus. It all has a sense, like for instance, making a wreath as a centerpiece in the house has a sense. We live intensely our story, our traditions.
I thank God and am so happy to be here in Medjugorje and to start this time of Advent thoroughly and in serenity, but am also hoping to be able to come back to Italy, I miss my “Little Italy” “Italietta”. I am praying for all of you with all my heart, for the huge family of Radio Maria and for the many people here in Medjugorje who are fond of Radio Maria. You are not alone, we pray for and with you and especially when we don’t know where to go, who to turn to it’s time to get closer to God and to prayer because only in God is our future as our Mother told us “he who prays is not afraid of the future”.
We are men and women of prayer. Our Lady instructed us and told us so, enrolling this school of love of God through her messages. She told us they are not new and She wants to bring us back to sacred scriptures and the commandments: “I want to bring the same Love God gave you throughout centuries”. He is not a God who abandoned us but He is with us and fights our daily life battles together with us. Tonight She said that God told her….I lost the message….
FL. God is inviting you through me… to be
M. Yes, through me to be prayer, love and expression of Heaven. Our Lady is really the “expression of Heaven” because of her beauty and her sweetness, her prayers, her trust in God.
We can only have joy by saying: “She is our Mother, our Queen, our Guide, our Morning Star”, She is the one who carries us, listens to us, intercedes for us.
Often when I am on the apparition hill I start my own litanies by saying: “you are my Mother, you are the Mother of my life, my heart, I trust in you my advocate”…. then I tell Her: “How many names have I called you tonight?!”
When I am on apparition hill how often I get closer to Her because She is the one who listens to me, reads perfectly my heart, She intercedes for me before God….
FL. Therefore Marjia I want to tell you that for Christmas you’ll have the joy of seeing Baby Jesus when She brings him….
M. Like each year, like each year we are awaiting and praying in trust and joy, we are preparing our heart during Advent; not only through Holy Communion, small renunciations, small fastings, not only through our homes decorating them, embellishing them – I already started making little hearts to put on the Christmas tree – but also through prayers, novenas, through many things we really want to make sure, through these little gestures we can live Christmas not only in a material way but also with a spiritual motion.
FL. What will you suggest to our families who are rushing for Christmas shopping this very month, what are the important things we must not to forget in order to get ready for Christmas?
M. The great and important thing is to welcome Jesus in our hearts, then just like I said earlier, it’s in our tradition to attend the early Mass, which is a breath taking, deeply felt among many people, because getting up at five o’clock it’s not easy but afterwards gets you joyful. There is this group called “Gospa, majka moja” present since last year that is singing and praying early in the morning and whoever feels up to, can join it gathering in a small open sanctuary or small grotto..(we have so many around here). I am not aware of the real situation now, if churches are open or not. Many prayer groups disappeared, many people are afraid of gathering together, but I often like to joke by saying: “Covid is not in supermarkets but, yes it’s in churches” since we are now afraid of going to church. Our Mother is calling us to support one another in prayer in order not to be afraid of entering churches, we have to pray because God listens to our prayers. Throughout this pandemic time we asked our Mother to intercede for us, so let’s have the courage to do it, Holy Mother listens to our prayers…
FL. We didn’t pray enough, if this pandemic lasts so long maybe it’s because we didn’t pray sufficiently.
M. I believe so that our Lord has to increase our faith and trust; we have witnessed through centuries a great number of Sanctuaries and churches built everywhere as fruit of prayer obtained by graces received. So we have to pray in order to obtain.
FL. Yes also because Our Lady said the miracles happen not only in our hearts but all over the world which means in our society, therefore She is able to make miracles happens today in the same way She did in the past.
M. Even more so, Father Livio, because our Mother is with us, She listens to us, we are able to see it through miracles! Take these days when people who give their testimony of their healings, graces etc. This is a profound thing, we are aware of all the help we are getting so as our faith grows stronger.
FL. The important thing for this coming Christmas is also learning that in order to make Jesus born in our hearts we have to get ready through confession; many people have left confession and daily and Sunday Holy Mass “present together” because of Covid. It’s time to wake up. We have now the job to rebuild the surviving Church for as much as we can.
M. Exactly, we have a good opportunity and a beautiful grace in this time of Advent to prepare not only our houses but our hearts as well, through prayer, confession, at the presence of Baby Jesus, in prayer groups that they have to be like our own families. We have to testify and share the intimacy of the love of God by little daily gestures in which Our Lord operates. Our Lady says that way we become carriers of peace. (and once again Marjia pronounces the word carriers of peace in Croatian).
FL. I also meant confession Marjia, it’s so important, maybe Medjugorje was born with this impetus. Our Lady sent you to confession, do you remember when you touched our Lady’s vest?
M. It’s awesome, even now Father Livio I have to say that groups of pilgrims are coming. Today a group from the East, simple and even poor people but rich inside, acted like living prayers and touched my heart as they were going up the hill (some of them back and forth) during the night, in the morning, in the evening unceasingly taking advantage of this special time to obtain graces from our Mother by fasting on bread and water and confessing. I am sure thy will get them!
FL. As a matter of fact though our Mother has said we have refused the faith of the Cross, what hit me most is the great faith among simple people; perhaps important persons are the one who lost the faith, whereas simple people even here in the secularized Europe still saved it and we have many conversions as well.
M. Thank God, I see in my own experience that a great number of high and educated famous people come here in search of God! We seem to think it is the opposite – that only humble and simple people have great faith. But here everyone has the chance to meet God through Mary who leads us to Her Son. By saying: “God gave me the permission to be among you”, She, as a lowly servant, is repeating to us every day, every day, God gave her the chance to be with us with a great deal of gratitude.
FL. Yes Marjia what I wanted to say is that coming here to Medjugorje what we experience is the living Mother among us. She truly talks to our hearts, she really touches our hearts. It’s really a special oasis she built on Earth! Such an incredible experience even for those who are far from God but who feel attracted to it.
M. It’s true, we see it through many people who were far away; suddenly they come to Medjugorje and after their conversion they are like an empty car the needs to be filled up, they have to recharge, to fill the heart with all the love we experience here in Medjugorje. The World is also cruel and often even through our jobs we lose graces. Here, we help one another. For instance I see people teaching others how to pray if they don’t know how, even by writing words down; it’s a place where people is stimulated in the growth of faith and prayers.
F.L. Listen Marjia I want to ask you one last question. When Mirjana met St. John Paul II and gave her testimony, he told her: “Take care of Medjugorje because it’s the hope for the world”. Again this sentence really hit me much because it was St. John Paul II who said it. Can you make a comment on it especially because today we are all frightened, pessimists, and this quote gives us so much strength. Tell us the reason why it’s the “hope for the world”.
M. Our Lady told us: “That is why I am with you, because He, the Most High, is sending me among you to encourage you to the hope; and you will be peacemakers in this peaceless world”.
She gave us the reasons why the Most High is sending Her among us: to help us, to guide us to tell us that hope never dies if we are with God, exactly just like St. John Paul II told us.
We have a way of saying here: “Medjugorje will never be Medjugorje without our Holy Mother”, that’s why this is a place of hope for so many people. For instance we have here a family from Latin America and together with their sons will stay throughout the whole Advent season. They got organized and because of this frightening time we are living, they decided to rent a small apartment and move here. Now each and everyday they climb Apparition hill and Krizevac. By doing so they are giving God to their children while other parents are convinced their children are more gratified with material goods.
Our Mother keeps on reminding us we have forgotten the most important thing: hope in God and the joy when you meet Him, this is why hope is so important for many people who are far away from God, and when they meet Him, the become a bridge for so many others who abandon the old sinful life and start a new one.
This is the same hope our Mother gave us in her message. Her presence is also hope for all of us building a new world of peace and hope, prayer, serenity, spiritual and physical healings everywhere.
Earlier when the telephone line dropped it reminded me of the communism regime we had in the past and when many times we were cut off in our conversations. (F. Livio is giggling). It was incredible!
Nowadays we are so dependent on science, and often we are so fragile and weak, so little, but if we have God at that point we also have the joy of being sons of God , of being part of this huge project God has for us through our Mother.
FL. Yes it’s true Marjia we don’t have to think only that a time of peace is coming, yes certainly our Mother promised that to us, a time of Spring, but starting from now with our faith and conversion we can live the joy of Heaven without having to wait any longer, now it’s the time to answer her call, now if possible it’s the time to be happy.
M. Yes but in reality just this evening at the moment of the apparition our Mother stayed a while longer and she was extremely beautiful, joyful.
When She comes we forget everything else, we have the taste of Heaven because She brings it with Her. My friends and relatives here with me tonight were looking at me after the apparition and asked me to tell them about it. But I yearned for Heaven, wondering why didn’t our Mother take me with Her? I then felt this strong desire and joy to contemplate the expression on Her face, listen to Her voice. When She appears She brings a Light with Her, there is a scent of the fragrance of Heaven that opens up my heart. My whole existence is based on reading Her messages over and over again trying to put them in practice, living them.
FL. Thank you Marjia, this last description of yours has been so important. We needed to feel this experience of Heaven through your testimony. For us it’s a very heartwarming feeling.
M. Imagine Father Livio that we must joyfully wait for the next month’s message. Even more because our Mother is coming with Baby Jesus!
FL. All right Marjia and let’s finish with our prayer.
(they always pray the Magnificat together with all shipmates before F. Livio’s blessings.)
Translated (with the permission of Radio Maria) by Marina Massa, a Mary TV shipmate!