The kingdom of heaven...

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” Matthew, 10 : 7

Can it really be that Heaven is within reach of us all, here and now? Where is this kingdom if it is close at hand?

Some say that Medjugorje is like heaven on earth, such is the level of peace to be discovered there. “If only it could be like this at home” is a comment frequently heard in Medjugorje.

It’s not rocket science for any visitor to relate this phenomenon to the visitations of the Blessed Virgin these past 30 years, known by her title Our Lady Queen of Peace.

Her opening words in her first ever message, given to Marija on the third day of the apparitions, June 26, 1981, were: “Peace, peace, peace; only peace!” And in later messages she affirms all we have been taught by the Church and Scripture that peace can only come with the acceptance of her Son, Jesus.

In Medjugorje we rediscover God in our life, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Medjugorje, Mary, the mother of Jesus, responds to the request of her Son, “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”

In a special message to the visionary Mirjana just a year ago (July 2010), Our Lady said: “Dear children, my motherly call, which I direct to you today, is a call of truth and life. My Son, who is Life, loves you and knows you in truth. To come to know and to love yourself, you must come to know my Son; to come to know and to love others, you must see my Son in them. Therefore, my children, pray, pray, pray, that you comprehend and surrender with a spirit that is free; be completely transformed and, in this way, may have the Kingdom of Heaven in your heart on earth. Thank you!

And when we find this peace, when we discover the love of Jesus in our hearts, the kingdom of heaven, we become empowered, as the Apostles were, to proclaim the message and the gift received without charge: “The kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”

At Medjugorje we experience the closeness of heaven. We see the sick cured, lives resurrected, lepers cleansed and devils cast out. And then we cannot refrain from speaking of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4 : 20

So coming to Medjugorje in our search for peace is undertaking a journey to come to know Jesus and the love he offers to each of us. Where Mary is we find Jesus. Where Jesus is we find Mary. Two Inseparable Hearts, calling you and me to be one with them and to go on to call others and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.