by Dan Lynch
December 13, 2021
Mary told the Medjugorje visionaries that God sent her to the world to help us to convert our hearts and lives back to her Son, Jesus, true God and true man. In her motherly love for us, she promised to leave a visible sign on the hill where she first appeared so that the whole world would believe.
Visionary Mirjana told Father Vlasic, “Our Lady said people should prepare themselves spiritually, be ready, and not panic; be reconciled in their souls. They should be ready for the worst, to die tomorrow. They should accept God now so that they will not be afraid. They should accept God, and everything else. No one accepts death easily, but they can be at peace in their souls if they are believers. If they are committed to God, he will accept them. This means total conversion and surrender to God. I say to all people: convert! – the same as she said, ‘convert while there is time!’”
Conversion is a total interior change of heart, which proceeds from our repentance, reconciliation, and the submission of our wills to seek first the Kingdom of God. (See Matthew 3:2). We turn from following our own wills to follow the will of God, from our values to his and abandon, in trust, everything that takes us away from him.
The call of the prophets is to repent, meaning to convert, to turn to God, to change our ways, and to be reconciled with him and one another. The prophet Jeremiah called the Jews to conversion and said, “Cleanse your heart of evil.” (Jeremiah 4:14). Jesus said, “For from the heart, come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:19-20).
Mary’s first appearance at Medjugorje was on June 24, 1981, the feast of St. John the Baptist. This is significant since he was the last of the prophets before Jesus. Between him and Jesus, all righteousness was fulfilled. (See Matthew 3:15). They both gave the same call, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17).
Jesus has sent his mother to Medjugorje for the same reason that he sent St. Paul to the pagans – “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, and receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sins, and a share in the inheritance of the sanctified.” (Acts 26:18).
Conversion consists of a radical reformation of our hearts and lives by which we then acknowledge and confess our sins, turning from the values of the world to those of Jesus Christ and believing in and accepting the Gospel message and his person as the Son of God and our personal Lord and Savior. Through conversion, we turn from sin and selfishness, submit to Jesus as Lord of our minds and hearts, and change our ways of thinking and acting. True repentance requires a contrite heart (see Psalm 51:17) and sorrow for sin, and a firm purpose to amend our lives and to avoid the near occasions of sin in the future.
God’s grace brings, pardon and absolution for our sins, especially through the sacrament of Confession, by which we are reconciled to God and one another and become his friends and the friends of one another. This causes, through his grace, an interior transformation, producing fruits of prayer, self-denial, and charity. (See Acts 26:20). This is the foundation of all Christianity. (See Hebrews 6:1-2). Mary especially recommended the monthly reception of the sacrament of Confession.
Watch and Listen to This Short Video by Dan on Why You Need to Read His New Book.
You May Also Watch and Listen to This Short Video by Medjugorje Visionary Mirjana Soldo on What She Said About Medjugorje and the Ten Secrets, Including Some Parts Which are in Dan’s Book.You may also order your book here on Amazon in paperback or a digital Kindle version.
