Medjugorje Blue Book

This book is the second of the four volumes of sermons and discourses given by Fr. Slavko Barbaric and Fr. Tomislav Vlasic during 1984 - 1987 in Medjugorje, and contains discourses given from January to June 1985.

30 Chapters of this book are now completed

When we say "pray" to the people, many do not know what it means

From the point of view of spiritual progress, Our Lady always calls to conversion, to prayer and to fasting.

When we priests speak of this, we come up against some problems. These messages are given along the way of spiritual progress, but many people do not know what we mean when we say "pray". It means prayer but at the same time it means entering deeper and deeper into the heart of prayer.

For example, I have just finished with a class of thirteen year old children who are unable to find that peace and tranquillity. But when I made them say the Our Father as Our Lady had taught us we spent a whole half hour just saying the Our Father.

We can that in every stage of our lives, if we pray in the right way, both children and adults are able to be quiet and are happy to be with God. I tell you this because , during the second week of Lent, Our Lady practised this prayer with the prayer group. And now I can tell you that if we want to pray well, we must live the Lord's Prayer every morning in a way that really touches us. The Our Father is enough to pray for the whole world, because He is our Father, because in two words, we can embrace the whole world, both friends and enemies, as the sun shines on all, both good and bad. We must emphasize that in these messages, Our Lady told us that we have become so accustomed to our prayers. Prayer must not be a habit, but an inner need like the need to eat. not a need to pronounce words but a need to meet the Father, to meet God. if we pray like this, to meet God, to meet the Father, every prayer will make us happy, every prayer will change us.

If we do not feel this liberation, this happiness during prayer, then we have not prayed well; we have said the prayer but we have not met God, we have not met the Father. And to those who follow the rhythm of these messages, She brings us all to the heart of life, so people feel very very happy.

The other day a girl said to me: 'I cannot get married now.' I asked 'Why ?' 'I feel that the family binds me and I want to live in God, for God. I could accept a family life only if God were to say to me 'Take this cross and bear it'. I want to live for God.' This girl has had this inner experience ; that with God there is life, whoever enters God finds life and the fulness of life. Now you can understand how people are able to pray day and night: they have found life. Now you can understand why people can pray in the fields, while they are working - they interrupt their work and pray - because they feel the need to pray, as they feel the need to eat or drink ...

Our Lady brings us to this state of mind and there is no need to ask. What prayers ? Our Lady's idea is this : to bring us to a state of humility, simplicity, sincerity and love. And in this state of mind, we should say the Our Father and Hail Mary.

One Hail Mary or one Our Father is enough for us to live the whole day . There is too little time to say an Our Father, because if we enter into the depth of prayer, it will open out to embrace new meaning all the time.

For my part I will make this suggestion: go to Medjugorje and say every word of the Our Father, the Hail Mary with your whole heart; everything is wonderful when you enter into prayer. It is enough to remember the words "Our Father, give us today our daily bread" and then you see that the world is crying out, searching and does not know what it is searching for. It is God who can give us bread. "Forgive us our trespasses": the poor nations are destroying themselves because they are so indebted and all mankind must be forgiven. We ask for this. When you enter into the Lord's Prayer, you can see that prayer brings you to faith and faith develops and opens every heart as a bud opens into a flower.

And now I say to you; Happy Easter, but not yesterday's Easter, the Easter you must live today, tomorrow, because now if you try to put into practice what Our Lady told us, very soon you will understand the importance of the apparitions after the death of Jesus.

The apparitions come as a necessary stage along the way of salvation. When we live what God offers us today, through Our Lady, we are able to be open to the time of the Holy Spirit.

Christians commit a big sin when they try to pray a little more or fast during Lent but when Easter day is over, just let everything become empty. Easter lasts forty days and never ends.

And so I wish you a Happy Easter which may never end. Every day I bring you to the Immaculate Heart.

Goodbye

(Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, 19th April 1985)