The solemn feast of Mary, Mother of God, celebrated in Medjugorje, has a special significance. Indeed, the parish of Medjugorje lives an intense Marian devotion and honors the Mother of God as the Queen of Peace.

 

This January 1 is also  the World Day of Peace.

 

For the passage of the new year, the Apostolic Nuncio of Bosnia and Herzegovina Monsignor Luigi Pezzuto was present in Medjugorje and was the main celebrant of the Midnight Mass. He was also the main celebrant during the Solemn Mass on January 1, 2019. The fact that the Apostolic Nuncio of Bosnia and Herzegovina was there to celebrate this solemn feast shows the special attention of Pope Francis towards this international place of pilgrimage and towards all the parishioners of Medjugorje whose faith is deep. He concluded his homily by saying: “The Holy Father entrusts the policy of peace to Mary, Mother of Christ, and we do the same. May her maternal intercession and the protection of the Mother of Christ the Savior and of our Mother, the Queen of Peace, be always with us. "

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Bishop Henryck Höser, the Special Envoy of the Holy Father presented his wishes to the community of believers saying: “To each of you, I wish my best wishes for this new time: my wishes for happiness, joy, all my wishes hope for a peaceful life throughout this year of the Lord, 2019! Queen of Peace, pray for us! "

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What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church tell us about prayer to the Mother of God?

 

“In prayer, the Holy Spirit unites us to the Person of the Only Begotten, in his glorified Humanity. It is through her and in her that our filial prayer commune in the Church with the Mother of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:14). "

 

"2674 Since the consent given in faith to the Annunciation and maintained without hesitation under the cross, the motherhood of Mary now extends to the brothers and sisters of her Son" who are still pilgrims and who are in danger. and to miseries "(LG 62). Jesus, the unique Mediator, is the Path of our prayer; Mary, his Mother and our Mother, is completely transparent to him: she "shows the Way" (Hodoghitria), she is "the Sign" of it, according to traditional iconography in East and West. "

 

“2675 It is on the basis of this unique cooperation of Mary in the action of the Holy Spirit that the Churches have developed prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it on the Person of Christ manifested in her mysteries. In the countless hymns and antiphons which express this prayer, two movements usually alternate: one "magnifies" the Lord for the "great things" he has done for his humble servant, and through her, for all humans (cf. Lk 1, 46-55); the other entrusts to the Mother of Jesus the supplications and the praises of the children of God, since she now knows the humanity which in her is espoused by the Son of God. "

 

Source CEC: www.vatican.va