Medjugorje: “The City that Whispers”

By Steve Ryan

That the gentle hush of Medjugorje’s  character went unnoticed for the first 24 hours of my visit should not have been surprising. After all, Medjuigorje is renowned as a holy place of peace and a sacred place of prayer.  At times Medjugorje seems to be one big open Church.

But I had not paid much attention to Medjugorje’s unique quality until I asked my friends if they would be up for a cup of coffee at Colombo’s Cafe.  A rather harmless question I thought in virtually any part of the world.

We were walking along the grounds of St. James Church nearing the outdoor confessionals having just passed the adoration chapel when one of my friends in the group, who had been to Medjugorje numerous times, answered my question.

 

[wpdevart_like_box profile_id=”ministryvalues” connections=”hide” width=”300″ height=”125″ header=”small” cover_photo=”show” locale=”en_US”]

Now mind you I was not admonished by my compatriot for my tone of voice, but rather my question was simply answered with a  polite whisper. I did not hear the response at first and so I asked again. The second time was the charm. My friends wanted coffee.  But just as I was about to say “Great, I could really use….” I heard my voice interiorly as if it were booming, and then, as I looked around at the confessionals,  the adoration chapel, the pilgrims milling about, and then back at my friends who were talking quietly among themselves, I was silently thunderstruck as I realized that everybody in Medjugorje talks in a friendly whisper.  

On Apparition Hill,  on top of Cross Mountain, and along the streets of Medjugorje, streets that once had no names,  pilgrims, and town people all seem to converse in a pleasant tone, not quite a whisper, but a notch or two below the normal volume of conversation. It’s all rather delightful and soothing. I think this quality is unique in the world and it adds to the charming character of Medjugorje that is known around the world as a special place of peace.

But there is one exception to the quiet tones of conversation found throughout Medjugorje. And this exception is happily embraced the world over. The one person given a pass to disturb the peace is the irrepressible force of nature who goes by the name of  Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic.  Visionary Vicka, her smile, and her microphone rule the morning air completely as she gives her spellbinding testimony about her visits with the Blessed Mother to a packed crowd of silent pilgrims.

 

[wpdevart_like_box profile_id=”ministryvalues” connections=”hide” width=”300″ height=”175″ header=”small” cover_photo=”show” locale=”en_US”]

 


Steve Ryan recently authored Amazon best-selling novel, “The Madonna Files” and is a proud member of the International Thriller Writer’s society (ITW). ITW 

Steve runs MysticPost.com and is enormously grateful for the contributions to this “webazine” made by really amazing and talented people. Stephen has been interviewed numerous times in newspapers, radio and TV including Radio Maria and  Guadalupe Radio