Mir Movement’s mission is two-fold: to share the story of Medjugorje and to encourage
“peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”
The first part of this mission is pretty self-explanatory. But, what is “peace, peace,
peace – and only peace!”? Where did the idea come from? What does it mean? How do
we get it?
It’s a very good question. In fact, it’s more than a good question. It’s THE question.
It’s the question that lies at the very heart of what Mir Movement is trying to achieve.
After all, if people don’t know what “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is, how
can they be encouraged to do anything with or for it?
Given the importance of the question, then, I figured I better provide my answer.
This I will do over the course of four articles:
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Article #1 (this article) will simply explain where the idea of "peace, peace, peace
- and only peace!" came from and what, in general terms, it means;
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Article #2 will explain how to achieve "peace, peace, peace - and only peace!" (i.e.
faith, conversion, prayer and fasting);
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Article #3 will providea a number of everyday examples that demontrate practical
applications of "peace, peace, peace - and only peace!";
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And the last article will take a look at why we often find the idea of "peace, peace,
peace - and only peace!" difficult to embrace.
As you can see, we gots lots to cover. We best get to it.
Going backwards to go forwards
In order to proceed, I must first regress, a little. That’s because the idea of “peace,
peace, peace – and only peace!” can only be properly understood by recalling from
where, and from whom, it came:
Location: The village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Date: June 24, 1981
Time: About 6pm
It was a normal day in the village of Medjugorje. Following their normal routine of
school and work, six children were hanging around at the outskirts of the village.
Behind them was a large hill called Podbrdo. Looking up at the hill, one of the children
noticed an “incredibly beautiful woman” standing above them. Oddly, the woman had
a child in her arms. The woman did not say anything; she just gestured with her hand
for the children to come forward. But, the children did not go: they were too afraid.
Instead , they went to their homes telling their families that they had seen “Gospa!”
(the local term of endearment for Mary, the mother of Jesus).
The next day, feeling an inner urge to return to the hill, four of the children from
the previous day returned – along with two other children. Accompanying the children
were some family members and other villagers.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the woman reappeared (without a baby in her
arms). This time, however, the children were not afraid. When the woman again gestured
for them to come forward, they quickly ran up the hill to her, knelt down and began
to pray.
Soon, their prayers stopped and their questions began. Who are you? Why have you come?
Why are you appearing to us? The woman answered some of their questions and then,
just as suddenly as she had appeared, said to them, “God be with you my angels,” and
left.
By the third day, upwards of 3000 people were gathered for the anticipated apparition.
As the children approached the hill, all present witnessed three flashes of light.
Soon after the flashes, the woman appeared.
During this appearance, the children “tested” the apparition by throwing holy water
at it and saying, “If you are Our Blessed Mother, please stay, and if you are not,
go away from us!” The woman smiled and remained. When asked again who she was, the
woman identified herself as the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What happened next explained the purpose of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s visit to the
village.
At the conclusion of the third apparition, the visionaries were separated (people
were clutching and grabbing for them in an attempt to hear about the Virgin's message
and ask them questions). One of the visionaries, however, managed to slip away and
start down the hill – alone.
Unexpectedly, during the visionary’s decent, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared again
to this visionary. She – the Blessed Virgin – was not happy as She had been during
Her appearance minutes before. Instead, She was concerned and crying and there was
a Cross in the sky behind Her. And then She said to the visionary, “Peace, peace,
peace – and only peace!” After which, She repeated twice, “Peace must reign between
God and man and between men!”
My confusion
I have to admit that the first time I arrived at this point in the Medjugorje story,
I was a little confused. I remember just being like, “What?!? I don’t get it.”
I mean, here is the Mother of God, the greatest of all Saints, Queen of Heaven and
Earth; She has come down from Heaven to make another startling appearance on Earth;
She has disrupted the life of this little village – not to mention the mental stability
of the poor children; She has drawn together 3000 people to participate in the phenomenon;
and now, She has isolated one of the visionaries in order to deliver an out-of-routine
message and is presenting Herself hovering on a cloud, crying, with a Cross in the
sky behind Her.
This is dramatic. This is big. All indications are that this is a climactic moment
in this story. She seems poised to say something momentous. What could it be? The
visionary is waiting...by herself...scared?...confused?...who can imagine what she
is thinking?...her heart is surely beating faster and harder than it ever has before...she
probably hasn’t breathed in a couple minutes...and then the Blessed Virgin Mary speaks:
“Peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”
Whaaat!?!
That’s it? That’s all She had to say? That’s one sentence. Six words. Four of those
words are the same. A child could think of that. Isn’t there anything else She wanted
to say on the matter? We are in need of some REAL help down here and She gave us “peace,
peace, peace – and only peace!” What’s that? It’s just so...so...simple!
But, then it hit me:
Therein lies the beauty: it IS so simple. So very, very simple.
IN just one sentence. IN just six words. Our Lady had perfectly summed up why She
had come to Medjugorje: She desired to lead the world to a state of “peace, peace,
peace – and only peace!” She couldn’t have said more, ‘cause that’s all there was
to say. There was no other reason for Her appearance, no other goal. Peace. Peace.
Peace. And only peace! This was – is – Her entire point, Her only desire. She just
wants to lead the world to a state of “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” Simple.
The plan
And just as simple as Her goal – Our Lady would soon explain through Her continued
daily appearances at Medjugorje – was Her plan for achieving it.
Knowing that She couldn’t force us into “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” -
even if it was for our own good – Our Lady planned to demonstrate why the world in
a state of “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” would be infinitely better than
the world in its current – or any other – state.
In order to do this, She needed some co-workers: some people with whom She could share
Her message of “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” and be assured that they would
put it to work in their own lives. This was the crux of the plan. That’s because Our
Lady knew that if She found co-workers who would live Her message, their lives would
be transformed. And when others saw the transformation that took place in the lives
of those living Our Lady’s message, they too would want to learn about, and live,
that message.
In Medjugorje, Our Lady had found the six co-workers for whom She was looking. So,
it was there that She had headed – on a recruiting trip, of sorts.
Success! Much to the delight of Our Lady, Her young protégés quickly and willingly
took up the work.
And so Our Lady's plan for "peace, peace, peace - and only peace!" could continue
to unfold. Over the weeks and months that followed Our Lady explained to the visionaries
how, exactly, to go about achieving "peace, peace, peace - and only peace!" As the
messages were given, the visionaries were asked to put them to work in their lives
and then share them with their village. In turn, their village was asked to live Our
Lady’s messages and share them with their region. In turn, their region was asked
to live Our Lady’s messages and share them with their country...
Soon, it was apparent that Our Lady’s plan would culminate in the eventual transmission
of Her messages to every person on the planet. In this way, every individual would
have the opportunity to participate in the realization of "peace, peace, peace - and
only peace!"- by putting Our Lady’s messages to work in their life and sharing them
with those whom they were able – or not.
But, what IS “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”?
Ok, so we now know (or have been reminded) from where, and from whom, the idea of
“peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” came. But, what IS it?
Don't worry, I’m almost there.
But before explaining what “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is, I must clarify
what it is NOT:
First and foremost, “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is NOT just the end of
all war. Of course, ending all wars would be a fantastic start towards the ultimate
goal of “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”, but it would be only that – a start.
Even if every war on the planet was to end tomorrow, our world would still be inundated
with conflict: husbands would still be beating wives; bullies would still be tormenting
peers; gangs would still be offing rivals; teenagers would still be torturing themselves
(due to unhealthy self-images); addicts would still be abusing drugs...So, while a
world without war would certainly be far more peaceful, it would remain a long way
from “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”
Second, “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is NOT a dream to be dreamt or a philosophy
to be contemplated or a question to be debated or a future just to be hoped for. No.
Instead, “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is (drum roll please) a very
real and very tangible and very matter-of-fact and very immediate call to action.
And the action we are called to is this: first, commit to making peace the
number one priority in our lives; and second, ensure that every one of our thoughts,
words and actions uphold this commitment.
In other words, we must commit to never again think, speak or do anything
without first asking ourselves, “What is the most peaceful thing I can do in this
situation?”
If an individual can do this, that individual will achieve “peace, peace, peace –
and only peace!” And if many individuals in a family can do this, that family will
achieve “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” And if many families in a community
can do this, that community will achieve “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” And
so on...until the entire world finds itself in a state of “peace, peace, peace – and
only peace!”
“But, that’s impossible!”
“But that’s impossible!” This is the usual rebuttal I hear whenever I present this
idea of “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” And the reason I hear this rebuttal
so often, I think, is because...it’s true. “Peace, peace, peace – and only peace!”
is NOT realistic, it’s NOT doable, it IS impossible...without God, that is.
I will explain:
While we certainly posses the ability to bring about mass change in our world,
we lack the heart to make such change for peace.
What I mean is that time and time again we have shown that we can change societal
attitudes and behaviour when we are motivated to do so. For example, when we decided
drinking and driving was bad, we found the time and passion and resources to significantly
curb that behaviour. We did the same in regards to smoking. And driving without seatbelts.
And recycling. And these are just some simple examples. Slavery. Women’s rights. Racism.
All huge issues. All required (and, I realize, still require) mass change. All have
seen that change happen – or, at least, begin to happen. All prove that we possess
the ability to bring about fundamental change.
So, why haven’t we experienced this kind of change in regards to peace, then?
The answer: because peace is not truly a priority of ours...it’s not in our hearts.
If peace was a priority, if it was in our hearts, we would see the same kind of momentous
change towards that goal as we have seen towards the previously mentioned goals. But,
we haven’t.
Instead, worldly pursuits such as money, power, sex, self-satisfaction and reputation
are our priorities. These are the things we find in our hearts. These are the things
to which we commit the majority of our time and energy and resources. These are the
things that take priority in our lives. These are the things that get us up in the
morning. These are the things that dictate how we think, speak and act. And so, these
are the goals we achieve – goals that are in direct opposition to the goal of “peace,
peace, peace – and only peace!”
The point is: the goals we hold in our hearts are the goals we will achieve.
Following this logic, then, if we want to achieve “peace, peace, peace – and only
peace!”, we have to put peace in our hearts, that is, make it a priority. Once we
do this, peace – not money or power or sex or whatever else we currently hold in our
hearts – will become the thing to which we commit most of our time and energy and
resources. Peace will take priority in our lives. Peace will get us up in the morning.
Peace will dictate how we think, speak and act. And “peace, peace, peace – and only
peace!” will be the goal we achieve.
There is only one problem: it’s simply not within our nature to give priority to magnanimous
goals such as peace over base goals such as money and power and self-satisfaction.
Our human nature doesn’t allow it. It’s not natural. That’s why we require the supernatural
– God – to achieve this change of heart, this conversion.
And that’s why I previously stated that “'Peace, peace, peace – and only peace!'...is
impossible...without God...” It is. Try as we may, we could never, ever, EVER change
our hearts – that is, what fundamentally motivates us – without the helping hand of
God. It is simply beyond us.
This fact - that "peace, peace, peace - and only peace!" can only be achieved with,
in and through God - is so certain, so absolute, so unequivocal that Our Lady has
spent the past twenty seven years at Medjugorje trying to get us to understand and
accept it.
Despite Her efforts, however, the world - as a whole - continues to choose against
God. And because we choose against God, we can't experience conversion. And without
conversion, peace doesn't become a priority. And if peace isn't a priority, we don't
invest our time, energy and resources into it. And so, we continue to live in a peaceless
world - Our Lady's words, not mine - despite the fact that "peace, peace, peace -
and only peace!" is well within our grasp.
Summary and next question
Yikes. That is a lot of information.
Let’s pause here, then, and take inventory of what we have figured out, so far:
First, “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” is a call to action: we must commit
to making peace the number one priority in our lives and ensure that every one of
our thoughts, words and actions uphold this commitment.
Second, achieving “peace, peace, peace – and only peace!” requires us to change our
hearts (that is, change what fundamentally motivates us). This change of heart is
called conversion.
Third, conversion can only be achieved with God’s help.
Make sense? Good.
The next logical question, then, is: How do we get God’s help?
The short answer is that we get God’s help through faith, conversion, prayer and fasting.
The long answer will be provided in next article of this series. Stay tuned.
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