Parts of An Interview With Visionary Ivan Dragicevic
From the Medjugorje Newsletter, by Weible Columns
Do you think it of vital importance how the visionaries lead their married lives?
Undoubtedly, we know that the eyes of the world are upon us, and so we must be an example for others. We must show ourselves attending Holy Mass, receiving Holy Communion, praying together, and having time for one another. In short, living according to the wishes of Our Lady.
Did the Gospa want you to get married and have a family?
God and the Gospa left the possibility open for us to decide freely. We chose this path and with the help of our daily prayer, we hope to succeed in it.
Do you intend to stay in Medjugorje or will you eventually go to the United States?
My wife and I put in the forefront our work with youth. We will go where we are called. All things considered, I would prefer to remain in Medjugorje dedicated to being with the pilgrims experiencing Our Lady's messages to them.
The Gospa speaks to you daily. Does She say anything special? Does She confide secrets to you or do you simply pray together?
Our Lady tells me nothing special. We converse and pray together for peace and world conversion. The Gospa guides my path as a mother does. As surprising as it may seem, I can tell you without exaggeration that every apparition is a new and unique experience. Many times the pilgrims complain that the Gospa repeats so many times: "Pray, pray!" It's true, but every call to prayer is a new invitation. If Our Lady says: "My children are sleeping, but it is important that they awake", we must understand this as a new call. Every message contains something new and gives us a new opportunity to change ourselves and take a new road.
The Gospa said, that the time of Her apparitions is a time rich in grace. Has She also said something about the coming of Jesus?
I must keep quiet about many things, but it's true that this time is a time rich with graces. Every day is a grace, but we can only open ourselves to this grace through prayer. Without our prayers nothing will happen. It is equally important to live the messages. Nobody can be so presumptuous as to believe that peace is something natural. Peace is much more a grace that is given to us.
Ivan, I ask you for a final word for our readers
I think it is very important that we understand the heart of the messages. The Gospa also calls us to faith, love, conversion, prayer, fasting, and penitence. But these don't have to be empty words, if we will only give them life in our lives. I wish for all the friends of Medjugorje to find the strength to decide irrevocably for God and for prayer, just as the Gospa asks us. No one can judge anybody, but we must begin to work in ourselves for our own conversion. By our prayer and by our lives, each one of us must be a sign and thus become a missionary of Our Lady.
