Medjugorje - Place & Events

The Cultic content of Community Prayer

By Father Leonard Orec. Source: http://www.medjugorje.org/orec.htm

At a glance, there's nothing unusual about what happens at Medjugorje. Everything is much the same as in other places of pilgrimage. a) Mass is celebrated, b) pilgrims participate in the sacrament of penance c) the rosary is prayed, d) the way of the cross is prayed and e) there is prayer for the sick. However, the way of celebrating is somehow different; the emphasis and effects of which are best seen in the frame of mind of the pilgrim. At Medjugorje, it's not the exterior course of the ritual which differs, but the spirituality in which it is saturated.

a) The evening Eucharistic celebration is central to the daily gatherings of the pilgrims. Previous to this, the joyful and sorrowful mysteries of the rosary are prayed, and the glorious mysteries are prayed afterwards. Mass is celebrated in accordance with the liturgical calendar using the Roman missal. The gospel is read in the language of the groups who partake in the Mass. The sermon is usually based on the daily gospel and is conducted through the Croatian language, although sometimes a summary is given in one or two of the pre-dominant languages. Part of the Eucharistic prayer is prayed in Latin and Latin hymns are often sung. Holy communion is distributed according to the wish of the individual i.e. in the hand or on the tongue.

b) Immediately following the Mass, the Creed, seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary's and Glory Be's are prayed kneeling. This is followed by a blessing of religious objects. Afterwards there is prayer for the sick and the third part of the rosary. Apart from evening services, individual Masses for the different language groups are celebrated at the shrine with hymns and sermons in the respective languages.

As the years go by, the practice of individual, group and community worship of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, is becoming more sought after. Community adoration takes place every Thursday after the evening mass, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays there is a holy hour at 9p.m. (10p.m. in Summertime). There is also an "adoration chapel" at the shrine, in which pilgrims can pray in silence in front of the monstrance, which is exposed for that purpose every day from 1p.m. until 5p.m. (6p.m. in Summertime).

c) With regards to the Sacrament of Penance, it seems that Medjugorje in recent times, has become well-known the whole world over. People come from all over the world to reconcile in the sacrament of penance, with themselves, with God and with those around them. Here, a generous number of confessors are always on call ready to offer the necessary attention, to listen to their needs and to open up the treasury of God's mercy to the sinner. Medjugorje is actually referred to by many as the "world's confessional". The atmosphere alone of Medjugorje is often enough to aid visitors in the sacramental encounter, and to help them experience a conversion, and a real turning point in their lives as believers. Often group preparation for confession is useful, in the form of a penitential service or in some other way. But probably the best way is, in open discussion with a confessor.

d) The rosary is one of the most popular and loved devotions of the pilgrimage to Medjugorje. At the Parish evening services, the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries are prayed with a short introductory meditation before each mystery. When possible, this is translated into other languages also. Often the prayer is interrupted by brief refrains in honor of Our Lord or The Blessed Mother. The rosary is also prayed as a form of pilgrim devotion on Apparition Hill on Sundays at 2p.m. (or 4p.m. in summertime). Besides this, the rosary is often prayed even going from station to station either in groups or singularly. At any time of the day or night, groups varying in number and race, can be seen fingering their beads around the Church or on the Hills praying either aloud or within their hearts.

e) The Way of the Cross is also one of the popular devotions of the pilgrim to Medjugorje. Anyone who is able-bodied enough, climbs up the steep and rugged path of Krizevac pausing to observe the bronze image at each station. Those who cannot climb the Hill have the opportunity to meditate on the mysteries of Christ's passion by praying the Stations of the Cross in the Church. There the work of the Italian artist Peppina Sacchi depicts the scenes. Meditating on the Passion, the pilgrim keeps Jesus company and is encouraged to unite the sufferings of his/her own life, (or the sufferings of relatives and friends) with the cross of Jesus. Sometimes they have to offer up and pray for those who represent a cross for themselves personally or indeed for those for whom they are a cross. The Way of the Cross is prayed on Fridays at 2p.m. (4p.m. in Summertime) as a form of pilgrim devotion and also in the Parish Church on the Fridays and Sundays during Lent.

f) Prayer for the sick in Medjugorje is woven into the Evening services as a form of thanksgiving for the Eucharistic celebration. It is more often referred to as prayer for the healing of body and soul. Humanity, but more particularly the pilgrim, is searching for healing in many senses of the word. The Latin root of the word "salus" has the broader implication of both bodily health and salvation for the soul.

Prayer Zones

There are three main areas where the pilgrims gather in Medjugorje:

a. Apparition Hill
This is how the area of Podbrdo, above the village of Bijakovici is now referred to. This is where the visionaries claim to have first seen Our Lady. This happened at the end of June back in 1981. Since then pilgrims gather there to pray the rosary. By day and by night, groups can be seen making their way to the place of the first apparition. Up until 1989, there was nothing to be seen there except boulders and rustic crosses which some of the many visitors had left. Today, on the ascent, images in cast bronze, (work of the well-known Florentine artist Carmelo Puzzolo) recall the joyful sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the rosary.

b. Krizevac
is the hill above Medjugorje. Here, in 1934, the people of the village of Medjugorje erected an eight meter high concrete cross in commemoration of the 1900th anniversary of Jesus' death. In this place, both groups and individuals of the faithful pay homage in the way of the Cross, praying as they go from station to station. In the first years the stations were marked by wooden crosses. Since 1988, however, bronze images depicting the various stations have been placed at each cross, again the work of the Italian sculptor Carmelo Puzzolo. Cross Mountain (Krizevac) has become the "Calvary" of the shrine where pilgrims remember the passion of Christ.

c. The Parish Church and surrounding area
is the area where the Mass and sacramental life in general is celebrated. The old Parish Church, built at the end of the last century, was destroyed during an earth tremor. The new Church was completed in 1969. The church as well as the Parish are consecrated to St. James, (the older) apostle and patron of pilgrims. In 1991 twenty new confessionals were added and an outdoor altar was erected for larger gatherings (when weather permits). Within the Church grounds, there is also a building which houses "the adoration chapel" and seminar rooms for church purposes. There are also two large marquees (which can be joined together to make a larger one ) at the disposal of the Parish for various purposes. Overall the need for "sacral-premises" is ever on the increase.

The schedule of events

Basically we can categorize the events as follows a)daily, b)weekly, and c)annual events.

a) Daily gatherings. Mass in the different language groups are as follows:

*Croatian speaking 7.30a.m. daily (Saturday also at 1p.m.) 8a.m. and 11a.m. Sundays

*East European 8a.m. daily 7a.m. Sundays

*German speaking 9a.m. daily 9a.m. Sundays

*English speaking 10a.m. daily 12 noon Sundays

*Italian speaking 11a.m. daily 10 a.m. Sundays

*French speaking 12 noon daily 1p.m. Sundays

The evening program of the Parish begins at 5 p.m. in wintertime (6p.m. summertime). It commences with the joyful and sorrowful mysteries of the rosary as a preparation for the celebration of the Eucharist which begins at 6p.m. in wintertime (7p.m. in Summertime) and continues afterwards with thanksgiving and the glorious mysteries until 8p.m. in wintertime ( 9p.m. in Summertime).

Masses in other languages can be arranged at other times in consultation with the Parish office.

b) Weekly gatherings:

community reciting of the rosary on Sundays at 2p.m. on Apparition Hill. ( 4p.m. in summertime)

community procession of prayer up Krizevac (Way of the Cross) on Fridays at 2p.m. (4p.m. in summertime)

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9p.m. (10p.m. in summertime)

Eucharistic adoration as thanksgiving after the Thursday evening mass.

Adoration of the Cross as thanksgiving after Friday evening mass.

c) Annual gatherings:

on the greater Marian feast-days such as the Annunciation, the Assumption, Immaculate Conception etc.

on the greater church holidays such as Christmas, New Years, Easter, Pentecost...etc

during the Marian months, of May and October, (pilgrim numbers increase)

the greatest number of pilgrims come for the anniversary of the apparitions (25th June) and for the Exaltation of the Cross (first Sunday after the Nativity of Our Lady(Sept)).

Besides the above, there are also some events which have become part of the customary annual gatherings. These are:

*the prayer vigil to see in the New Year (Dec 31)
*the International Peace walk from Humac to Medjugorje on June 24th
*the International Youth Festival from July 31st to August 6th

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