Interview with Vicka Ivankovic by Kresimir Sego

On the Hill of Apparitions Our Lady will Leave a Permanent, Visible and Indestructible Sign

In the first days of apparitions you and other visionaries were talking about a sign Our Lady was going to leave, a visible sign. Has anything changed about the sign, will it be given indeed?

Yes, it will. Nothing has changed. It is the third secret Our Lady gave. She will leave a sign on the apparition spot. The sign will be permanent, visible and indestructible, it will remain forever.

You know what kind of a sign it is?

Yes, we saw it once.

In the first days, months and years of apparitions a lot of people were expecting some kind of sign, a miracle, something extraordinary. Later on this seemed to be disappearing, and people prayed more, worked on their inner transformation. Is it so, and what do you have to say about that?

That's right. There are a lot of people who, when they come, say they see the sun spinning, they see some changes on Mt. Krizevac, they say their rosaries changed color. Our Lady says these are only small tokens, but it is most important that we change inside, that we change our heart. If you are given such a sign, it means it's time for you to start changing, and not to attach so much importance to it. It is important to change inside, but if you are given such a sign, then you must know that it was given because you should do something.

There have been some miraculous healings. Will you say something more about it?

Yes. But the parish office could give you a better answer for they have all the evidence of healings. The healed come to me after the event to say hello and give thanks, but I don't keep records on that, that's what the parish office does.

How is it possible to bring the rhythm, the speed of today's way of life, into accord with the requests of Our Lady's messages?

Nowadays we live very fast and we have to slow down. If we go on at such speed, go on living like this, we shall get nowhere. We should never say, "I have to, I have to". God's will is in everything, there's time for everything. The problem is in us. We are the ones who dictate the rhythm. If we say to ourselves, "Easy!" then the world will change, too. It is up to us, it's no fault of God, but ours. We imposed the speed on ourselves and assumed that we can't do without it. That way, we are not free, and we are not free because we don't want to be free. If you yourself want to be free, you will find the way to be so.

Which prayers does the Queen of Peace recommend most?

She recommends the Rosary. That is her favorite prayer: joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. Every prayer, Our Lady says, which comes from the heart, which is said with love, is good.

And the Creed, seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary's and Glory Be's?

That was the minimum. Later, after I had already been repeating these prayers for some time, she said, "We shall pray the rosary", but, she says, it is important to meditate on every word you utter. It's no use taking the rosary beads into the hands now, reciting three mysteries, if you remain as empty as before, maybe even emptier. Nothing will come of it. To say one Hail Mary, but so that it remains in your heart, avails more than your having said all the three rosaries without meditating.

The fifteenth year of apparitions is coming to its close. How much, in your opinion, has been realized of what the Blessed Virgin Mary has been recommending by her coming to Medjugorje?

I think that a lot has been realized. I can tell it by her look. But again, much more could have been done if we had been a bit different. A lot has been realized, Our Lady is not dissatisfied.

What is Our Lady expecting from us now?

At this moment? She is expecting what she has been expecting since the beginning. There are still people who are only starting, but there are also people who are going forward, so that Our Lady is expecting the same.

Are you in the position to discuss the future of the shrine?

I really can't say anything. It would be of no avail. For what I would project, would be my own making, but Our Lady knows what she wants. Our Lady will be announcing little by little what should be, so I am not worried at all, nor am I encumbered by that. I know that Our Lady is in control of everything.

You practically don't have a private life. You are always at the disposal of pilgrims and the sick, you take part in prayer meetings... Do you ever become tired of it?

No, it doesn't bother me. It is God's grace and God's will. I never become tired a bit. I often say, if one wants and wishes to do something, to be at Our Lady's service and do what she asks, he will never become tired of it. I often say, I can't manage everything the way I would like it, but at least I try as much as I can.

Your prayer, meetings with people, with pilgrims, and all you are doing, you do with your familiar, constant smile. Do you ever get angry?

I don't know. There's no need or reason for anger. Maybe it's a special grace, or I am of such character, I don't know. I have no time to be angry.