Michael – Austria

I first heard about Medjugorje in 2005. I met some young guys, and they told me they were going to Medjugorje for New Year’s Eve. They invited me to come with them. 

I didn’t know what was happening there or what was going on. I didn’t know about any apparitions of Mary. But I thought, “The guys are nice, and they said it will be a nice party so let’s go.”

In my family we went to church for Christmas and Easter, but not on Sunday. My mom prayed with me and my sister in the evening to our guardian angel to protect us, but that was all the stuff we were doing for our faith. I didn’t have any relationship with Mary. I didn’t know what the Rosary was. 

My first trip was something special. There were great people, everyone was so funny and lovely and was welcoming me. I liked going to church and praying the Rosary, and also going to the shops and seeing all that stuff.

We went to the apparition on the 2nd of January, 2006. It was the first apparition I went to. The apparition was at Cenacolo, and we were sitting outside in a green tent. We didn’t see anything because the apparition was inside the house, and we didn’t know when it was going to start. 

We were sitting there, and suddenly people got quiet. I had a burning, warm feeling inside of me. It was really lovely. It was a feeling that I’ve never experienced before. 

“Dear children, My son was born! Your savior is here with you! What prevents your hearts from accepting Him? What is it that is false within your hearts? Cleanse them with fasting and prayer. Recognize and accept my Son. True peace and true love, that only He can give you. The path to eternal life is He, my Son. Thank you.”

The message from Our Lady to Mirjana on January 2, 2006

I continued to come every year on New Year’s Eve with this group. 

I was connected with these people, and I went to a prayer group every week. Slowly it was starting. Every week, every month, my faith was growing more and more. 

When I went to the statue of the Risen Christ with my friend, we went inside, and suddenly both of us stopped. We looked at each other and we both stopped because we were smelling roses. We looked everywhere, and no one was around us. There were no roses or oils or the rosaries that smell like that. Nothing was around us. We both looked at each other and said, “Okay, it’s Her. She’s here.” 

A lot of times, during adoration or something like that, you feel peace, you get healed of your wounds, you recognize things that you weren’t aware of that you have inside of your heart. These are the biggest miracles. The best experiences, the best miracles, are the tiny ones inside of you.

Describing Medjugorje is really hard because you have to experience it. 

Medjugorje is heaven on earth. If I had to decide to stay in one place my whole life and I couldn’t leave it, it would be Medjugorje for sure. It’s something very special. It’s just peace. It’s love. You meet people from all around the world. Everyone is at peace. There is prayer, there’s adoration, there’s Mass.

It’s Our Lady’s place. It’s Our Lady’s home.

My faith started with Our Lady on my first trip to Medjugorje, and then it continued with Our Lady. She’s doing a great job. She’s really awesome. She’s a mommy. She’s bringing you closer to God, closer to Jesus, and it’s just step by step. She’s not saying, “Now you have to do it, and if you don’t do it, it’s over.” If you can’t handle it, She will help you. She’s doing it in such tiny steps. It’s easier. Why shouldn’t we take this opportunity of help to get closer to Jesus.

She knows Jesus the best. She knows us the best. She’s our Mother. 

I can’t imagine being here, to be so close to Jesus and God without Our Lady. She’s bringing everyone closer to Jesus. 

Especially at the Youth Festival when you see all the flags and banners with the names of the countries. It’s amazing to see these people and that they’re all here for the same reason, and they are at peace.

It doesn’t matter if you’re from Congo or New Zealand or Paraguay or Austria, everyone is a child of God. Everyone is a child of Our Lady, and we’re here for the same reason. We are like brothers and sisters. That’s the most incredible thing to see, that people from all nations can live in peace, but we can only live in peace if we are all related to God. 

You experience such an amazing, beautiful faith, the beauty of our church, the beauty of the sacraments, you are experiencing it here. Sometimes in the western world, it’s just this old thing, people think you go to Mass and just pray. It’s not joy. Then you come here and have this experience, and you want everyone to get here to have this experience to renew their faith, to get new fire.

I really want to encourage everyone to come to Medjugorje. If it’s not possible to come to Medjugorje, give everything you have on your heart, all your wounds, all your desires, everything to Our Lady. She will handle it. She will take care of it.