What the International Commission has been able to ascertain, in regard to the accusation of a possible seeking of profit, is that the witnesses of the supernatural sign originally addressed to them now effectively have a relation, ambiguous in certain aspects, with money (and with what in general can be called a preoccupation with their own “wellbeing”). [Final Report of the Pontifical International Commission of Inquiry on Medjugorje, in Saverio Gaeta, Dossier Medjugorje, San Paolo Edizioni, 2020, p. 81 and David Murgia, Rapporto su Medjugorje, Il Segno di Giona, 2020, p. 57]
And also this:
In the acts of the commission we read:
CDF’s protocol [...] requires us to take the "evident search for profit, strictly connected to the event" as a negative element.
In the case of the "seers" of Medjugorje it can certainly be said that this presents itself as the most critical aspect, which imparts a sense of profound unease.
[Appendix II - 22 February 2013 Proceedings - International Commission of Inquiry on Medjugorje, in David Murgia, Processo a Medjugorje, Rubbettino, 2021, p. 178]
RED FLAGS I’ve Personally found with a number of Medjugorje Messages:
*) Message of July 27, 1981
Theological Error: Our Lady says Jesus was tortured for His ‘faith’, which He could not have done as He did not have or need faith like we do.
Our Lady: “I send you my Son, Jesus, Who was tortured for His faith, and yet He endured everything.”
St. Paul teaches there is no hope or faith needed in Heaven as hope means we trust in God’s word that what He promises we will receive, and faith is believing what God has revealed to us without having seen, and believing in what God reveals to us we that need to have faith in or believe in for salvation. We have faith in God’s word about the unseen as He cannot deceive. When we are in Heaven we will have what has been promised, so we won’t need hope, and, we will finally see everything that was unseen, so we will not need faith to blieeve in it, we will see it, and so only charity remains there, which is why it is the greatest of these three virtues.
Christ, as Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and therefore also God, has seen and knows the Father and the Holy Spirit, and also Himself, therefore He did not need faith, He literally saw the Unseen, also created Heaven itself, and always enjoyed the Beatific vision, even after His conception. So, He did not need or have faith like we need to have.
Rather He died for revealing the truth, proclaiming He was the Messiah, and for revealing what we need to believing into be saved, but He was not tortured for ‘his faith’, which He did not need, or had.
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*) Message of October 12, 1981
Contradiction against Catholic Tradition regarding the death of the Blessed Virgin:
Our Lady says she
went to Heaven ‘before death’, which goes against traditional
teaching she died like all mankind, although was not a death of
illness or of a painful one, she died of love. According to Catholic teachings, she did die
first before her Assumption, but in Medjugorje this teaching is contradicted.
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*) Vision of October 31, 1981
ODDITY? ‘FEAR’ of seeing ‘Paradise’ (Heaven?) If this was a real vision and not one from Hell, why would anyone be afraid to see Heaven, and to see your loved ones there?
“Then Our Lady showed us a part of paradise. It was indescribably beautiful, with many people, particularly children. We were afraid. The Blessed Virgin told us not to be afraid. (Our Lady) "All those who are faithful to God will have that." Ivanka saw her mother in paradise as well as another person who was of her acquaintance.”
Why were they all afraid to see Paradise which they admit was ‘indescribably beautiful’?
Would you be terrified of seeing Paradise / Heaven? Saints and mystics who were shown Heaven say it is the most beautiful and peaceful place and they long to go there when they see it, but here the visionaries all were ‘afraid’? You would have to ask yourself, why?
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*) Message February 9, 1982
Indication of ‘needing to have faith in the apparitions’ to be healed there.
“Some of them do not even believe in God, and even less, in the apparitions, and then they ask for help from the Gospa!" (‘Gospa” Croatian for ‘Lady’ or ‘Madonna’, ‘the Virgin Mary’, etc.)
Red flag because 1) we do not need to believe in private revelations to be saved, it is NOT a sin to not believe in the messages of private revelations, even when they are approved, 2) we do NOT need to believe in these particular ‘apparitions’ to believe in Our Lady’s healing power.
The red flag is she said people ‘believe less in the apparitions’ at Medjugorje and then dare to ask for her help as if that was necessary for the healing there.
All we need is faith in her authority as the Mother of God to be healed if it is God’s will we receive a miraculous healing through her intercession.
The problem is Our Lady is saying people need to believe she is appearing there for her to help them there, which is NOT true! It is faith in Our Lady’s intercessory power that is needed, you don’t have to believe she is appearing anywhere in order to receive graces through her hands.
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*) Message of “July 24, 1982
DOCTRINAL ERROR ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY
Our Lady ‘declares’: “The body, drawn from the earth, decomposes after death. It never comes back to life again. Man receives a transfigured body.”
This is NOT according to the traditional teachings / doctrine of the Catholic Church. According to the “The Catechism Explained” by Spirago and Clarke (1899 – Based on the teachings from the Council of Trent) – we will receive our bodies back:
“Christ on the Last Day will raise the bodies of all men from the dead, and untie them to the soul forever. (...) God will awake our bodies to life again to prove His justice, and to honour Our Redeemer. (…) As to the state of our bodies after the resurrection, we have the following facts: 1) After the Resurrection we shall have the same bodies as we now have. 2) The bodies of the just will be glorious and those of the wicked hideous. (3) All the risen bodies will be without defect and immortal.”
So, there is a serious heresy here in this ‘message’ from Medjugorje.
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*) Message: “Spring 1983”
A ‘Useless Sign’?
There is supposed to be a ‘permanent sign’ that will appear (apparently before the chastisements?) to show the visions were ‘real’ and the chastisements close – etc, but then, Our Lady says when it appears it will be ‘too late’ for those who have not converted or who do not believe already?
Our Lady "Hasten your conversion. Do not await the sign, which has been announced, for those who do not believe. It will be too late. You who believe, be converted and deepen your faith."
Then what is the point of a ‘sign’ or great miracle like this if it is useless to help convert people? Even Our Lord said in the Bible those with faith do not need miracles or signs. So, why do the believers need a permanent sign to believe? It is the faithless that ask or need ‘signs’, and then, why would Heaven give it if it turns out to be useless for them? Even Our Lord said in the Bible if they didn’t believe His words, then look to His miracles! Miracles are given as signs to help covert people before it is too late, and yet, Our Lady says it will be ‘too late’?
Seems like a red flag to me.
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*) Message of January 25, 1984
Our Lady: “Pray and fast. You need enthusiasm in your prayer. May you pray in meditation for a long time and fervently."
Yes it is good to meet God joyfully in prayer and to be fervent, but what about the ‘spiritual dry’ times when it feels like there is no consolation in prayer, and you simply feel like you are praying out of habit? No joy, or fervor is felt.
It has been revealed to real mystics approved by the Church that more merit is gained by perseverance and good will in persisting, than by always feeling joy or delight in prayer or ‘enthusiasm’. So, being ‘enthusiastic’ is not always needed or required in prayer, but perseverance and good will is, even when we are distracted.
Also, yes, it is good to pray for as long as we can, but not to the detriment of our daily duties, and we are required to say vocal prayers, and, only spend 15 minutes a day in meditation (separate thing), but this is the absolute bare minimum of course to fulfill our daily prayer obligations.
I’m NOT saying to ‘do only fifteen minutes’, the point is, Heaven does not demand the impossible, or, demand anything that takes us away from our daily duties.
This message is saying we ‘need’ enthusiasm, (all the time? Which we don’t!), and then hints we should be doing long prayers and meditations and (constantly?) and fervently – well, we cannot do that all the time with our fallen nature, we get distracted easily, we have daily duties to do also, and, are permitted by God to go through ‘dry’ unenthusiastic, ‘joyless’ times to test our perseverance. Try sticking to this advice to do long meditations and ‘needing’ to be enthusiastic and fervent all the times, and you will be turned off prayer eventually.
Reminds me of a story I heard from an SSPX priest who said there was a family supposedly seeing the Blessed Mother, Our Lord, etc, who would have them say long prayers together in these beautiful ‘visions’ – but then turned to them after hours of praying together and said "Now you have to do you daily rosary and your required prayers for the day.”
Eventually, trying to keep this all up on top of their daily duties burned them out, and they stopped praying altogether, and I think they even stopped going to church if I remember what he told me correctly! So, the visions were demonic it turned out. Heaven does not demand the impossible that burns us out eventually and turns us away from prayer and the Church!
So, I cannot help but see a red flag here with the ‘necessity’ for ‘enthusiasm’ in prayer, then a ‘guilt trip’ type nudge into doing longer prayers and meditations.
We see this extended in the message of April 24, 1984 – “ Tell them this place is a place of prayer. Pray as much as you can, pray however you can, but pray more always. Each of you could pray even four hours a day. But I know that many do not understand because they think only of living for their work."
Basically Our Lady ‘guilt trips’ people that 'each' of us ‘could’ pray up to four hours a day, but people only ‘think of work’, – sorry, what about daily duties?
Frankly, to be able to pray fours hours a day would be a luxury compared with trying to work, run a home, and support a family these days! People in the world are not in a contemplative monastery. And, who could actually stay constantly fervent, ‘enthusiastic’ as requested four hours a day in prayer, with no distractions, no ‘dry spells’?
Yes, Our Lord said to ‘pray always’, and yes, vocal prayers and meditation each day are required, but there is a way to do it without ‘burn out’. Our very morning offerings turns our whole day and work into a prayer, when done right, without having to spend many hours on our knees. And, in addition to a morning and evening prayer, the rosary fulfills our prayer obligations each day as vocal prayer is combined with meditations on the mysteries. If we can do more, yes, but not to the detriment of our daily duties or the point of burn out.
What is suggested here in Medjugorje sounds like a prayer ‘burn-out’ plan to me.
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So far, these are the red flags I’ve seen, if I see any more pop up, they will be added here.
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