I've just returned from a summer retreat in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with five peaceful days spent in the Marian shrine of Medjugorje. Each time I visit this town, I am stunned into silence by the profound and extraordinary peace that pervades the place, a peace so profound and so penetrating that it silences all doubts. An energy this holy cannot be based upon a lie. Still, I spent some time reviewing the many criticisms and accusations about the alleged apparitions still taking place here, and there are signs of contradiction and causes of concern, intermixed with lies and slanders and deliberate obfuscations. Clearly the Blessed Mother, if she is indeed appearing here (as I truly believe) has decided not to make it easy for anyone to reach a judgement about the place - not without considerable prayer and discernment.