Interview with the Medjugorje visionary Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez
Here is a little background on Ivanka.
Ivanka was the first to see Our Lady on June 24, 1981, and is the youngest of the 4 girls and was born on July 21, 1966, in Bijakovici. Ivanka's prayer mission from Our Lady is to pray for families. Ivanka has one brother and one sister. Her Mother Jagoda, died in May 1981. When the apparitions first began, Ivanka asked the Blessed Mother about her mother. Our Lady told her that her mother was with her in heaven. God has allowed Ivanka to see and speak to her mother, who is in heaven, five times over the years.
She had daily apparitions from June 24, 1981, until May 7, 1985. On that day Our Lady confided to her the last of her ten secrets. Our Lady told her that for her entire life she will have an apparition every year on June 25, the anniversary of the apparitions. And so far it has been just that way. Ivanka is living in the parish of Medjugorje, is married and has three children.
Ivanka: "When the apparitions began, I was only a child. I prayed and went to church when my parents asked me to. Now when I pray, I feel united with God and Our Lady. Before, when I went to Mass, I didn't feel anything special. Now, I know God is alive at the Holy Mass and gives Himself completely to us in the Host.
Concerning my own future, I leave it completely to God - my path will go in the direction God leads me. I have some advice for young people: I want to tell them to turn to God as soon as possible because He's the only one who can lead them to happiness and truth. We simply must ray more and live the messages of Medjugorje."
Ivanka Interview:
Queen of Peace, pray for us.
At the beginning of this meeting, I want to greet you with the most beautiful greeting: "Praised be Jesus Christ".
Always be praised!
Why am I now in front of you? Who am I? What can I tell you? I am a simple mortal person like each of you.
In all these years I constantly ask myself: "Lord, why did you choose me? Why did you give me this great, great gift, but at the same time great responsibility? " Here on earth, but also one day when I arrive before Him. I accepted all of this. This great gift and great responsibility. I only pray to God to give me the strength to keep going on the road that He wants from me.
Here I can only testify that God is alive; that He is among us; who has not strayed from us. It is we who have moved away from him. Our Lady is a mother who loves us. She doesn't want to leave us alone. It shows us the way that leads us to His Son. This is the only true way on this earth. I can also tell you that my prayer is like your prayer. My closeness to God is the same closeness that you have to Him. Everything depends on me and you: how much we entrust ourselves to you and how much we can accept your messages.
Seeing the Madonna with your own eyes is a beautiful thing. Instead, seeing it with your eyes and not having it in your heart counts for nothing. Each of us can feel it in our heart if we want and can open our heart.
In 1981 I was a 15 year old girl. Although I come from a Christian family where we have always prayed until then, I did not know that the Madonna could appear and that she had appeared somewhere. Even less could I have imagined that I could see you someday. In 1981 my family lived in Mostar and Mirjana's in Sarajevo. After school, during the holidays, we used to come here.
We have a habit of not working on Sundays and public holidays and if you can go to Mass. That day, June 24, St. John the Baptist, after Mass we girls agreed to meet in the afternoon for a walk. Mirjana and I met first that afternoon. Waiting for the other girls to arrive we chatted as girls do at 15. We got tired of waiting for them and we walked towards the houses.
Even today I don't know why during the dialogue I turned to the hill; I don't know what attracted me. When I turned around, I saw the Mother of God. I don't even know where those words came from when I said to Mirjana: "Look: the Madonna is up there!" She, without looking, said to me: “What are you saying? What happened with you? " I was silent and we kept on walking. We arrived at the first house where we met Milka, Marija's sister, who was going to bring the sheep back. I don't know what he saw on my face and asked me: “Ivanka, what happened with you? You look strange. " Going back, I told her what I saw. When we got to the place where I had the vision, they too turned their heads and saw what I had seen before.
I can only tell you that all the emotions I had inside me got messed up. So, there was prayer, song, tears... In the meantime, Vicka also came and saw that something was happening with all of us. We said to her: “Run, run, because we see the Madonna here. Instead, she took off her sandals and ran away home. On the way he met two boys named Ivan and told them what we saw. So, three came back to us and they also saw what we saw.
The Madonna was 400 - 600 meters away from us and with the sign of the hand she indicated that we were getting closer.
As I said, all the emotions mixed within me, but what prevailed was fear. Even though we were a nice little group, we didn't dare go to her.
Now I don't know how long we stopped there. I only remember that some of us went directly to the house, while others went to the home of a certain Giovanni who was celebrating the name day. Filled with tears and fear we entered that house and said: "We have seen the Madonna". I remember there were apples on the table and they were throwing them at us. We were told, "Run straight to your house. Don't tell these things. You cannot play with these things. Don't repeat what you've told us! "
When we got home, I told my grandmother, brother and sister what I had seen. Whatever I said my brother and sister mocked me. Grandmother said to me: “My daughter, this is impossible. You probably saw someone who was grazing the sheep. "
There has never been a longer night in my life than that. I kept asking myself: "What happened to me? Did I really see what I saw? I'm out of my mind. What happened to me? "
To any adult we said what we had seen, he replied that it was impossible.
Already that evening and the next day what we saw had spread.
That afternoon we said: "come on, let's go back to the same place and see if we can see again what we saw yesterday". I remember that my grandmother held me by the hand and said to me: “You don't go. Stay here with me! "
When we saw a light three times, we ran so fast that nobody could reach us. But when we got close to you ...
Dear friends, I don't know how to convey this love, this beauty, these divine feelings that I felt. I can only tell you that until today my eyes have never seen a more beautiful thing. A young girl aged 19 - 21, with a gray dress, white veil and the crown of stars on her head. He has beautiful and tender blue eyes. He has black hair and flies on a cloud.
That inner feeling, that beauty, that tenderness and that Love of a Mother cannot be described with words. You have to try it and live it. At that moment I knew: "This is the Mother of God".
Two months before that event my mother had died. I asked: "Madonna mia, where is my mother?" Smiling, she said that she is with her. Then she looked at each of us six and told us not to be afraid, because she will always be with us.
In all these years, if you had not been with us, we simple and human people could not have endured everything.
She introduced herself here as Queen of Peace. His first message was: "Peace. Peace. Peace". We can only reach peace with prayer, fasting, penance and the most holy Eucharist.
From the first day until today these are the most important messages here in Medjugorje. Those who live these messages find the questions and also the answers.
From 1981 to 1985 I saw it every day. During those years you told me about your life, the future of the world, the future of the Church. I wrote all this. When you tell me who to deliver this script to, I will do it.
On May 7, 1985, I had my last daily appearance. Our Lady told me that I would never see her again every day. From 1985 until today I see you once a year on June 25th. In that last daily meeting, God and Our Lady gave me a great, great gift for me. A great gift for me, but also for the whole world. If you ask yourself here if there is life after this life I am here as a witness before you. I can tell you that here on earth we are only making a very short road to eternity. In that meeting I saw my mother as I now see each of you. She embraced me and said: "My daughter, I am proud of you".
Behold, heaven opens and says to us: "Dear children, return to the path of peace, of conversion, fasting and penance". We have been taught the way and we are free to choose the way we want.
Each of us six visionaries have their own mission. Some pray for priests, others for the sick, others for young people, some pray for those who have not known the love of God and my mission is to pray for families.
Our Lady invites us to respect the sacrament of marriage, because our families must be holy. He invites us to renew family prayer, to go to Holy Mass on Sunday, to confess monthly and the most important thing is that the Bible is at the center of our family.
Therefore, dear friend, if you want to change your life, the first step would be to achieve peace. Peace with yourself. This cannot be found anywhere except in the confessional, because you reconcile yourself. Then go to the center of Christian life, where Jesus is alive. Open your heart and He will heal all your wounds and you will more easily bring all the difficulties you have in your life.
Awaken your family with prayer. Do not allow her to accept what the world offers her. Because today we need holy families. Because if the evil one destroys the family it will destroy the whole world. It comes from a good family so well: good politicians, good doctors, good priests.
You cannot say that you do not have time for prayer, because God has given us time and we are the ones who dedicate it to various things.
When a catastrophe, illness or something serious happens, we leave everything to help those in need. God and Our Lady give us the strongest medicines against any disease in this world. This is prayer with the heart.
Already in the first days you invited us to pray the Creed and 7 Pater, Ave, Gloria. Then he invited us to pray one rosary a day. In all these years he invites us to fast twice a week on bread and water and to pray the holy rosary every day. Our Lady told us that with prayer and fasting we can also stop wars and catastrophes. I invite you not to let Sunday lie down to rest. True rest occurs in Holy Mass. Only there can you have real rest. Because if we allow the Holy Spirit to enter our heart it will be much easier to bring all the problems and difficulties we have in our life.
You don't have to be a Christian just on paper. Churches are not just buildings: we are the living Church. We are different from the others. We are full of love for our brother. We are happy and we are a sign for our brothers and sisters, because Jesus wants us to be the apostles at this moment on earth. He also wants to thank you, because you wanted to hear the message of Our Lady. Thank you even more if you want to bring this message into your hearts. Bring them to your families, your churches, your states. Not only to speak with the language, but to testify with one's life.
Once again, I want to thank you by stressing that you listen to what Our Lady said in the first days to us visionaries: "Do not be afraid of anything, because I am with you every day". It is the exact same thing he says to each of us.
I pray every day for all the families of this world, but at the same time I ask all of you to pray for our families, so that we can unite to be one in prayer. Now with prayer we thank God for this meeting.
End of Interview....