Visions of Our Lady: 2000 Italians Climb Mountain with Visionary Ivan

November 25, 2011 | Medjugorje Today TV

(By Jakob Marschner)  - The parallels to Medjugorje were obvious and many when visionary Ivan Dragicevic’s apparition on November 21 took place on a mountain with a Cross on top of it. But Ivan was in Palestrina, Italy, whose local parish priest likened the experience to the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. Two messages to Ivan both call to Christmas preparations.

Despite a bitter cold, on November 21 even people in wheelchairs made it all the 1,400 meters ( 1 mile) to the top of Mount Scalambra above the town of Palestrina, 35 kilometers east of Rome, Italy. They were following in the footsteps of Medjugorje visionary Ivan Dragicvevic, and in climbing the mountain with five shrines on its slopes and a Cross on its top, they also revisited some early Medjugorje history.

Particularly in the 1980s, the first decade of the apparitions, Ivan’s prayer group consisting of his friends and oftentimes joined by fellow visionaries Vicka Ivankovic and Marija Pavlovic quite often climbed Medjugorje’s Cross Mountain together. Many appartions took place there and members of Ivan’s prayer group are still telling stories of wonders, big and small.

Some of that same atmosphere was present when Ivan brought about 2,000 people along for his mountaineering in the Ernici Range in the afternoon of November 21:

“In front of an audience in religious silence, the visionary’s face transfigured in a state of contemplation and just after the recitation of the second part of The Holy Rosary, his eyes were illuminated while an immense smile appeared on his lips as Our Lady spoke to him” the news website Ecco la Notizia reports.

Upon witnessing Ivan’s apparition, the local parish priest likewise drew attention to how Ivan’s face was transfigured. In his experience, he saw a New Testament narration being repeated:

“When Jesus found Himself (on Mount Tabor) with his disciples Peter, James and John, they saw the face of Jesus’ transfigured. We can say that today we saw something similar, in the face of the visionary Ivan we have seen the joy of his intimate experience of the vision of the Heavenly Mother who was appearing at that time”, Fr Primo told Ecco la Notizia. (1)

“Certainly, we have all experienced some of that joy that we saw on his face. The Madonna has certainly distributed special to our hearts,. Now with this grace, with the strength of the Holy Spirit which has increased in us after this wonderful experience of prayer and faith, the Lord asks us to go back down and give this testimony of faith, and announce it in our daily lives” the parish priest added.

Whether consciously or not, Fr. Primo paragraphed the message given by the Virgin Mary on June 24th 1986 when at least 30,000 people had gathered on Cross Mountain in Medjugorje, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the apparitions:

“You are on a Tabor. You receive blessings, strength, and love. Carry them into your families and into your homes. To each one of you, I grant a special blessing. Continue in joy, prayer, and reconciliation” the Virgin Mary said back then.

According to Ivan’s description of the apparition on November 21, the Virgin Mary came “very, very joyful and happy”. She prayed for the Pope and for all the people present before she gave a message that drew the attention to Advent:

“Dear children, again I call you today at the time of grace that is coming. Pray in your families, renew family prayer, and pray for your parish, for your priests, pray for vocations in the Church. Thank you, dear children, because you responded to my call this evening.”

24 hours earlier, on November 20, the message given to Ivan during his apparition in Casale Monferrato further north in Italy had also focused on Advent:

“Dear children, today I rejoice with you. My heart rejoices and is fully filled. Also today, at this time of Advent, I call you to decorate your home, but especially your heart. Let the light of my little Son enter your heart. Dear children, pray, pray, pray! Thank you, dear children, for having responded to my call today” the Virgin Mary said on November 20, according to Ivan.

In the morning of December 8, the Italian TG1 will broadcast a commented resume of the events on Mount Scalambra. TG1 or TeleGiornale 1 airs domestically on Rai Uno, across Europe on Rai News 24, and on Raitalia for overseas viewers.

(1) The Transfiguration of Jesus is a part of all three Synoptic Gospels as narrations of how Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant on top of Mount Tabor. Matthew 17: 1-9, Mark 9: 2-8, and Luke 9: 28-36 describe the event, and 2 Peter 1: 16-18 refers to it. The only Gospel miracle to take place to Jesus Himself, the pivotal Doctor of the Church St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) considered the Transfiguration “the greatest miracle” in that it complemented baptism and showed the perfection of life in Heaven.

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