In Medjugorje this time is lived in a special way because since the beginning of the apparitions there has been a call to conversion and to fasting. The seers tell us that the Queen of Peace calls us to the young with bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays.

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It is also a privileged time for spiritual retreats in this place.

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In March 2019 the spiritual retreat of the Secular Franciscan Order took place in Medjugorje. The Apostolic Visitor of the parish of Medjugorje, Bishop Höser, gave a conference there on the theme of the growth of spirituality. He said it was very disturbing that there are not enough priests in some countries of Western Europe as many faithful have started to get used to the Church without priests. “The Church without priests is the Church without the Eucharist, without food, ” he said. He also spoke about the importance of the sacraments. Confirmation is the sacrament of spiritual maturity, but in many countries it is said to be the young man's farewell to the Church. Once young people have received this sacrament, they no longer come to church and it is the sacrament by which they are invited to become witnesses of Jesus Christ ” . He also referred to the rosary saying that “the great treasure of Medjugorje is that the three mysteries are told every day. It is true catechesis since all the mysteries are the life of Jesus and of Mary. “

At the end, he noticed that people today are walking with headphones in their ears without paying attention to the sounds around them and he said, “People are terrified of silence as God speaks in silence. "

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During this Lenten season, in March 2019, the retreat for the parishioners of Medjugorje also took place. Bishop Höser also gave lectures and a homily there. He spoke in particular of the importance of the family. He spoke in French.

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                    “France was once called the eldest daughter of the Church, but so are Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was a Roman province from which some of the Church Fathers, such as Saint Jerome, were also from. (… ) It is a treasure that is part of your identity. Croatian identity is, among other things, endowed with a strong Christian faith and the family bond is also strong. We are witnesses to the deterioration of family life in the world The culture of family life, which you still have, is intact. In and around Medjugorje, I see families still intact. Not families with a father, mother and child, but families composed of several generations. If you lose this, you will lose your national unity and your connection with the Church. The family is something closely and firmly linked to the Church. The family is older than the Church: God the Creator had already created her in paradise you rest. We also call the family “miniature church” ”.

Bishop Höser then spoke of the task and mission of the family in the Church, as well as the education of children in the family through prayer, which "must be present in life".

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Also every year during this period an international spiritual retreat takes place for pilgrimage organizers, guides of peace centers and prayer groups. This year, in 2019, the theme of the gathering was: “Follow me. "(Mk 10,21)

                   

The parish priest of Medjugorje, Father Marinko Šakota, greeted the participants who were three hundred and fifty-one, from twenty-eight countries of the world. Bishop Hoser addressed those present. He spoke about the role of guides in the pilgrimage, as well as the history and significance of the pilgrimage itself. Bishop Höser said that we are immersed in a worldly life, but that the purpose of the pilgrimage is another world, one that belongs to God. “The purpose of the pilgrimage is the deification of man. We enter into the nature of God and become more and more like Him. The time and space of the pilgrimage transform our interiority, our heart. It will no longer be a heart of stone, but a sensitive heart. "

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What does the catechism of the Catholic Church tell us about the season of Lent?

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                          “1438 The times and days of penance during the liturgical year (the season of Lent, every Friday in memory of the Lord's death) are high points in the penitential practice of the Church (cf. SC 109- 110; ⇒ CIC, can. 1249-1253; CCEO, can. 880-883). These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as a sign of penance, voluntary privations such as fasting and alms, fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). "