The Spirit of Medjugorje

"Dear children, in this time of grace when you are called to conversion, I am encouraging you, little children: offer me your prayers, sufferings and tears for conversion of hearts that are far from the Heart of my Son Jesus. Pray with me, because, little children, without God you do not have a future or eternal life. I love you, but I cannot help you without you; therefore, say 'yes' to God. Thank you for having responded to my call. (With Ecclesiastical approval)"

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Our Lady's Motherly Blessing

By June Klins

      In March, I received an email from a reader named Mark, who wrote, "Our Lady at Medjugorje blesses religious articles with Her motherly blessing. I know She has asked that a priest bless them too. Do they have to get Our Lady's blessing first, since I heard She will not impose Her blessing on a blessed article? Is it supposed to be blessed by Her first, THEN be offered to a priest? Or, She blesses all religious articles no matter what? I've heard both and cannot find an answer in my research. So... if I went to Medjugorje and took my First Communion rosary, blessed years ago, it would receive Our Lady's blessing, too, or not, because it's already blessed? Second question, what is the reason for and function of Our Lady blessing things and what are the rewards of receiving such blessings on religious articles? What has She said?"
     After praying to answer these questions the best I could, I sent a reply, but also offered to send his note to Fr. Ray, our spiritual advisor, for his viewpoint. Fr. Ray's reply was very beautiful, so I asked his permission to share it with you.
     Fr. Ray wrote, "ANY religious object you want blessed, whether it was already blessed by a priest or not blessed at all, our dear Mother will bless with Her Motherly Blessings. When I first went to Medjugorje, I held up my Rosary that I had for a long time, and during the Holy Apparition, our Mother blessed all the religious articles, including that Rosary, and I watched and so did my group, as it turned to gold.
     "There are many kinds of blessings. The priest's blessings are SACRAMENTAL BLESSINGS. He has the authority to bless and make Holy anything through his authority from Holy Mother Church and Jesus Christ, Himself, through his holy consecration and ordination.

     "My mother would trace the sign of the cross on me at night, as a child, and many times as I left for school; that is a motherly blessing, it isn't Sacramental, but it is nonetheless, a blessing.
     "They don't always do it today, but when a young couple wanted to get married, the groom-to-be went to the woman's parents and asked for a blessing; this was a blessing of good will and giving their consent.
     "Our Lady's Blessings are coming from the Mother of God. They are NOT Sacramental, because as Our Lady and Mother tells us, 'I give you My Motherly Blessing,' and has said many times, 'But go and have a priest bless this, as I am not a priest'. See how humble Our Lady is, and how humbling it is for any priest to bless something, as She is showing the Love She has for Her children, and yet showing us the authority God has given to His priests? I think this is where Mark may have thought to have the Blessed Mother bless first, then a priest, but She is only saying She knows many people in Medjugorje have just purchased many religious articles and have not had time for them to be blessed, so She reminds them.
     "Also, remember... every single day at ALL the Holy Masses at Saint James Church in Medjugorje, at the end of Holy Mass, the priests BLESS ALL the articles they want Our Lady to bless, and those Masses are usually BEFORE the Apparition, (except in the evening Mass); so, whether it is before, or after, makes no difference. Our Lady, our dear Heavenly Mother blesses ALL we have to bless, but also reminds us, whether it is before, or after, have a priest bless them, too.

A rosary listing the 5 stones, blessed by a priest and by Our Lady

     "Many people, before I go to Medjugorje, give me their relics, holy cards, Sacramentals like rosaries, medals, etc. to have our Mother bless them, and they have already been blessed at home by a priest or deacon, some many years ago, even pictures of their loved ones who are living, or who have died, but they want Our Lady to bless them, and She does!
     "Many groups come and have not had things already blessed or have had things already blessed. Our Mother's Blessing is a very Holy Blessing, as is a blessing from our moms and dads and loved ones, but this is the Mother of ALL Mothers and the Mother of Jesus, the Savior, Our Savior!
     "So, don't worry, it makes no difference in order Who blesses it first, the priest or Our Lady. What a wonderful gift to have anything blessed – it defends us against all evil and protects us with Blessings from God and the special holy Blessings of our Mother. The rewards of our Mother's Motherly Blessings are countless, Graces given to Her by God to give to US: love, peace, guidance, hope, and Grace to bring us to the very Heart of our Mother and the Heart of Jesus that beat and grew in the very person of Mary, our Mother, and the Mother of Her Son, Jesus Christ!!"
     Thank you, Father, for taking the time to answer these questions for Mark and enlighten our readers as well.