Recent Articles by Wayne Weible
We present some of the recent articles published in the Medjugorje monthly newsletter. The articles can be copied and reproduced without written permission. Comments can be made through use of our Questions for Wayne page.
Discernment of Medjugorje Apparitions
Now in Direct Control of Vatican
By Wayne Weible
April, 2008
Word long awaited by followers of the Medjugorje apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary has now been confirmed:
The apparitions will not be accepted or rejected by local or regional Church officials until they are directed how and when to do so by Rome, Vatican officials now report.
This is, in my opinion, the most significant development in the nearly 27 years of daily apparitions since its onset.
I commend the decision of the official Church that confirms the “unofficial” interest and affection in the apparitions by the late beloved Pope John Paul II, who now surely prays for the truth of the Holy Spirit to surface completely concerning this incredible event.
As Michael Brown, noted author and founder of the web site Spirit Daily on the site on April 9, 2008, “It came as a complete surprise and we have now confirmed it. It is nearly as if the hand of John Paul II himself is in it. Or is it simply that Benedict XVI is a bit more mystical than many perceived?”
Brown’s article went on to state, “It is true, we are now told authoritatively. ‘I can confirm it,’ states Monsignor Mato Zovkic, vicar general of the Sarajevo archdiocese.”
The article went on to state that Monsignor Zovkic, who is spokesman for the Cardinal of Sarajevo and who previously indicated negative feelings about the the Medjugorje apparitions, now tells Spirit Daily “the situation is that people keep coming to Medjugorje, they feel something nice, and they are reconciled sacramentally. The Vatican seems to be very interested and so this should be respected.”
Headed by Cardinal Vinko Puljić, the national commission based in Sarajevo was formed after the Vatican took away the authority of discernment from the local bishop, who usually rules on such matters. Now the national commission has also been subjected to higher Church authorities.
The vicar emphasized that the national commission no longer plans to take action until it hears direct instructions from the Vatican. “This is our viewpoint,” said Zovkic, who is also a professor at the seminary in Sarajevo.
This is a major change from its previous position, which was that the commission would make a determination after the apparitions stopped. “As things are now, yes,” the commission will wait for the Vatican, he repeated.
Brown points out that this is no minor statement. For years, many have been under the misconception that the claims at Medjugorje are under the authority of the bishop in Mostar—whose diocese includes Medjugorje and who has been strongly negative, even seeking to condemn it. The matter long ago was taken out of those hands, however, and given to a national commission headed by Cardinal Puljić.
Here is more from Michael Brown’s article on Spirit Daily posted on April 3:
Now, it will go even higher—indicating, perhaps, that Rome believes Medjugorje exceeds not just local but also regional discernment.
The original decision to revoke the authority of Mostar was likewise taken under the direction of Pope Benedict when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
A Bible scholar, Monsignor Zovkic said he plans to hold special meetings in Medjugorje on May 7, along with a moral theologian and a canon lawyer. The goal, he said, is to review how priests should conduct themselves during the sacraments, especially Confession—which is unusually intense at the apparition site, with booths set up for more than a dozen languages and long lines of pilgrims seeking reconciliation. The authority of local ecclesiastic officials has thus shifted from discernment of the apparitions to sacramental and liturgical administration.
Monsignor Zovkic—who himself previously had expressed misgiving about the site—said
that “I am looking forward to seeing Medjugorje.” He alluded to recent statements
by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone—the current secretary of state at the Vatican and as
such second only to the Pope—to the effect that the matter necessitated re-
The new statements in one fell swoop erase objections by those who have long asserted that Medjugorje was rejected or condemned because local bishops in Mostar have been unfavorable. Complicated and even tortured arguments that the site had been rejected can be immediately set aside, pending word from Rome itself.
Long considered a rigid intellectual—and feared by those who believed he would quash private revelations—Pope Benedict XVI has thus far taken no such action and instead has hinted at the deep mystical influence of his predecessor.
In recalling John Paul II at a memorial Mass last week, in fact, he mentioned the “supernatural” nature of that pontiff (“Among many human and supernatural qualities, he had an exceptional spiritual and mystical sensibility,” intoned the Pope), as did John Paul’s former aide, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, who cited numerous miraculous cures attributed to the Pope and said that “I accompanied him for almost forty years, now he is accompanying me — and whenever I have a problem I turn to him.”
The question was whether that spirit was also influencing the official take on Medjugorje—which was dear to John Paul II’s heart (and in danger of condemnation).
In Vecernji List, when asked if the Bishops Conference for Bosnia-
“Our conference has not discussed this matter, because the phenomenon of Medjugorje does not come within our competence. At the moment when the Holy See takes the decision and gives a task, we shall think about what to do. This is why it is not necessary to speculate, unless concrete instructions come. After the work of the commission, the [conference] has already decided to accompany the phenomenon pastorally. This is nothing new, but the implementation of the first decision of the conference about the phenomenon Medjugorje.”
It was as remarkable as it was startling because the cardinal who was in charge of the discernment was now stating that he was no longer in charge, and neither was the national conference—unless the Vatican asked.
That was a turnaround from statements made at the Cardinal’s chancery several years ago, when his vicar general told Spirit Dailythe matter was in the hands of the national commission—headed by Cardinal Puljic—and would not be decided until the apparitions conclude.
At the time, Father Zovkic had intimated that the cardinal was leaning against the
apparitions, as had the Bishop of Mostar, Ratko Peric (and his predecessor, Pavao
Zanic), whose authority to rule on the site was removed in 1986 by then-
Such was long thought to have been done at the behest of John Paul II.
Private letters between the late Pope John Paul II and a couple in Krakow, Poland,
have confirmed in writing that the late pontiff had a positive view of Medjugorje
and even a daily devotion attached to the site of apparitions in Bosnia-
The letters, dated March 30, 1991, May 28, 1992, December 8, 1992, and February 25, 1994, and addressed to Zofia and Marek (“Z. M.”) Skwarniccy, make several references to Medjugorje (in Polish, “Medziugorje”) by name.
“And let everything be well on the journey to Medjugorje-
Similar indications have been given by bishops who have said the late Pope expressed a highly favorable view in private conversation—but did not want to offend the Mostar chancery. Many have compared Medjugorje to historic apparitions such as those at Fatima and Lourdes. It has drawn millions of pilgrims, tens of thousands of priests, and hundreds of bishops and cardinals from around the world. It is regularly quietly monitored by officials from the Vatican.
But no one knew what Cardinal Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict—himself thought, with contradicting indications. On the one hand, it was he who rejected the document by Mostar which would have condemned Medjugorje, and the current Pope also who, in a book called The Ratzinger Report, when asked about Medjugorje, dodged a direct answer by saying that in general the multiplication of alleged apparitions seemed like a “sign of the times.” On the other hand, there were reports that he too had misgivings over the conduct of certain parties in Medjugorje.
But it appears that once more Pope Benedict may have stepped in to prevent an unfavorable ruling. Three of the four members of the national commission—which includes the bishop of Mostar—seemed poised to issue a negative discernment when the time came.
Has that now been permanently changed, or only for the time being? Has the Vatican decided that Medjugorje is too large and global for the discernment of so few—in a region where there is great ethnic and religious antagonism (including between Franciscans and secular dioceses)?
Such action—like the 1986 removal of Mostar’s authority—would be unprecedented. However, so is the reach of Medjugorje, which continues to break records as pilgrims fill to overflowing the Franciscan church.
Several years ago a report claimed that Cardinal Puljić had publicly complained at
the Synod of Bishops that Medjugorje had created division between the secular diocese
and Franciscans (due to a controversy back in the 1980s with two Franciscans) and
referred to “pseudo-
Ironically, the latest issue arose right at the anniversary of John Paul II’s death and at a time when Dziwisz had added, according to another newspaper, that John Paul and Benedict were “true friends” and recalled anecdotes from his decades with John Paul, describing, for example, how the pontiff used to bless the city of Rome before going to sleep.
With the latest report, it seems that the late pontiff is also blessing Medjugorje.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, who have faithfully followed the apparitions,
let us rejoice in prayer and fasting and penance, that the Church will find what
we have during these past 26-
RETURN TO THE "SECOND PROMISED LAND"
By Wayne Weible
March 2008
Let's talk politics.
I know, the old adage is you're not supposed to mix religion and politics and since this is a "religious" newsletter in that we are all about spiritual apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, we shouldn't discuss political issues.
In my humble opinion, the premise of not mixing politics and religion is wrong and
here's why: the people of today in what is probably the greatest country in the history
of the world, are so brain-
Without moral foundation, the business of politics falls under the same corrupt code
that has blackened the history of government from its early formation. It is a corruption
run by the dark force of evil, using the familiar tools of power and greed. Can you
see these elements at work in modern-
Let me state my point that I am sure will be perceived by liberal-
The tools are the same as those offered to us by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje. We are to pray, fast and do penance. We are to put God in the first place in our lives and let everything else be guided by Him though His moral code.
I have always thought of our country as the Second Promised Land. We are the ethnic and cultural melting pot of the world. We are Everyone from Everywhere. A majority of our founding fathers were people of faith. The entire purpose of coming to the New World, was to have the most basic freedom of being able to believe and worship God as the Creator of all.
It was to begin with the establishment of a government whose general code was to be based on the moral code of the Ten Commandments. Is this the code seen and followed in our present, agonizingly long political campaign to elect candidates for the highest office of government in the Second Promised Land? Suffice it to say, the answer is a resounding and embarrassing, no.
George Washington, first president of the United States, is the greatest example I can give as proof that this country was to be a special promised land of freedom and goodness. Washington was a firm believer in the importance of religion for republican government. During his speech in leaving the office as the first president, he remarked that it was "unrealistic to expect that a whole nation, whatever might be said of minds of peculiar structure, could long be moral without religion, that national morality is necessary for good government, and that politicians should cherish religion's support of national morality."
Often accused in writings and conversation of the times of having no real religious
faith, Washington's adopted daughter, Nelly Custis-
As if there is any doubt that politics must follow a code of morality, Washington, in his own words, wrote: "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.
He continued: "In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the
duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought
to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with
private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property,
for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths,
which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with
caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion.
Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality
can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."My dear friends, America still has
a chance. It has a chance to return to the God-
One last thing. America is "Her's." this Second Promised Land is under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The very first bishop of the United States, Bishop John Carroll, united Our Lady with the United States strengthening a "Sacred Bond." Bishop Carroll's consecration of the United States, permanently entrusting the new nation to the Holy Virgin Mary, is well documented.
Here's an interesting sidebar; Bishop Carroll and George Washington knew each other well. It is reasonably accepted that George Washington was most likely aware of the consecration of this land to the Blessed Virgin, and that he himself realized the consequences of such an action. Washington was known for seeking out the thoughts of others, even receiving advice outside of his own thinking. It is thought that he very probably spoke to Bishop Carroll about a spiritual experience he (Washington) had at Valley Forge.
Washington was in his darkest hour at Valley Forge. With his troops starving, wearing
ragged clothing, freezing against the bitter cold, he faced a situation that literally
forced him on his knees in the snow. There is a famous painting that shows him kneeling
down, depicting the events that were witnessed by many of his men at a distance.
He was imploring God's intervention and, at Valley Forge, experienced a profound
spiritual experience in answer to his prayers! Somewhere between December 18-
America, the Second Promised Land!
WHAT'S BEST FOR US?
By Wayne Weible
January 2008
It's a new year and a time to renew or revive those things in life that matter to us most. We do it by way of making resolutions. We make them and then within a matter of a few days, a month or so, they fade or fall away.
That's the way it is with most of us. We have good intentions, but -
From that comment, our priest was able to build a very insightful homily, one that struck me as right on the mark.
In essence, our pastor pointed out that in today's contemporary world, we generally focus on what is best for us regardless of the circumstances. Rather, he commented, we should be concerned for what is best for all of us. Thus, my New Year's resolution, rather than worrying about personal things, is to concentrate on what is generally best for all concerned.
What is best for our world?
What is best for our country?
What is best for our community?
What is best for our neighborhood?
What is best for our families and for the individuals who compose it?
What is certainly best for all of the above mentioned is peace, a peace that passes all understanding. It is the peace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is the heart and soul of the message of the Queen of Peace who comes to Medjugorje daily and continues through thousands of encounters with the visionaries to urge us to do exactly what my very astute pastor pointed out in his New Year's Day homily.
Peace can only be achieved by individual effort. With all individuals thinking in terms of what is best for all, it happens. True peace lies in love of God above all else, and love of neighbor as self. Any compromise or departure from this path does not serve God, mankind or self.
Let this be the year that this particular resolution lasts beyond the norm.
COME TO OUR LADY!
By Wayne Weible
August 2007
During the first week of August in Medjugorje, as has been the case for the past 16 years, the International Youth Festival was held. Young people from 58 countries were present and the little town was packed. It was a tremendous week with many young people going to confession and learning of Our Lady's stay there over the last 26 years. It was a week of great conversion and new life for many youth.
Unfortunately, it was one of the few times in the past twelve months that the village has been filled with pilgrims. There is a marked drop off in pilgrimages even though the Blessed Virgin Mary has come daily for these 26 years and two months and counting. There are noticeable signs of lack of interest in the different countries in daily living of and spreading of the vital messages of peace. There are very noticeable signs of lack of interest especially here in the United States.
Agencies that promote pilgrimages to Medjugorje are now few in number and shrinking. Far too many agencies are or were involved in pilgrimages to Medjugorje simply for the commercial value. There is competition between companies as though this was just another business. But it isn't; it is The Most Important Event Taking Place in the World Today!
The messages given to us through the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje compose a pleading, urging, begging call for us to come to conversion. She is asking us to come to her so that she can lead us in holiness, through prayer, fasting and penance. It is the Final Harvest of souls.
I have always felt that the messages given to visionary Mirjana were far more blunt and direct in comparison to the monthly messages given through Marija. Mirjana is the visionary that has been given the task of choosing the priest who will reveal the secrets one by one when the Blessed Mother has made her last apparition to the final visionary. We don't k now when that is or who will be the last visionary of Medjugorje. However, we can know the time table approximately by the tone of the messages. I could quote many of the past year's messages to make the point, but instead will use the most recent: the messages given to Mirjana on the second day of each month; in fact, the past two messages given on the second. It is all that is really needed as you might see.
First, listen to Our Lady's message to Mirjana on July 2, 2007: "Dear children! In the great love of God, I come to you today to lead you on the way of humility and meekness. The first station on that way, my children, is confession. Reject your pride and kneel down before my Son. Comprehend, my children, that you have nothing and you can do nothing. The only thing that is yours and what you possess is sin. Be cleansed and accept meekness and humility. My Son could have won with strength, but He chose meekness, humility and love. Follow my Son and give me your hand so that, together, we may climb the mountain and win. Thank you!"
This message I feel is directed not to the hard-
As if this message of July 2 is not direct enough, the Blessed Virgin follows it with an intense recourse directed specifically to the unbeliever. That is to the unbeliever who is claimed believer but of a different faith; that is to the unbeliever who out of anger or other issues totally rejects such grace; and, that is to the unbeliever who deliberately refuses to change his or her heart. To these children she says on August 2, 2007: "Dear children! Today I look in your hearts and looking at them my Heart seizes with pain. My children! I ask of you unconditional, pure love for God. You will know that you are on the right path when you will be on earth with your body and with your soul always with God. Through this unconditional and pure love, you will see My Son in every person. You will feel oneness in God. As a Mother, I will be happy because I will have your holy and united hearts. My children, I will have your salvation. Thank you."
I ask all who are involved in the work of Medjugorje to renew the commitment first made, that is, to refocus on her words and lessons. Stop fighting, stop gossiping, stop competing. Listen to my messages. And live them daily as best you can.
My dear brothers and sisters, Our Lady is calling us to come to her. Let us as a family brought together by her motherly love, respond though meekness, humility and love.