Just when you thought things couldn't get any stranger with Medjugorje, we learn of special, "Medjugorje shoes." But wait, they are marked down from $329 to $159.
Spinning off of what a friend said, click them three times and you'll be home in Herzegovina. They are made of leather, but it doesn't specify what kind. I'm thinking snake skin leather that comes with a supply of snake oil.
Look, it's very rare that I poke fun at this stuff, but this is so far outside of bounds, I couldn't resist. And, I had to take snapshots because I couldn't believe what I was seeing at the Crown of Stars blog and figured it might disappear once reaction gets out. Here's the site where the shoes are sold.
I'd love to see the reaction of Pope Francis to this one.
And, the blogger, BG, thinks it was modeled after Krizevac.
"Apparitions" are for sale…
If the CDF intervened here in the United States to stop clergy and faithful from participating in events that presume authenticity, I'm wondering if they have done likewise in other countries, including Bosnia-Herzegovina where Ivan seems to be focusing his attention. Granted, it seems he is having "apparitions" on demand in his own home, but with other people who are paying. This is, like I explained last time, holding a public apparition in a private residence.
Here are a few snapshots from the 206 Tours page from a few minutes ago.
On the "Specials" page, we find this (I saved PDF's of these webpages taken today, so if they disappear, let me know and I'll upload those for reference).
The rest of this comes from the main 206 Tours page for Medjugorje.
That text certainly presumes authenticity of his apparitions. It does not leave the question to the Holy See as to whether or not the lady "appearing" to Ivan is the Blessed Virgin Mary; the advertisement makes it de facto. So, they are effectively selling the "apparitions." Here is the text from above if you care to read it.
ABOUT IVAN DRAGICEVIC:More than any other of the visionaries, Ivan Dragicevic (born May 25th 1965) has brought the apparitions to America: The Virgin Mary appears to the visionaries no matter where they are in the world, and upon his marriage to Laureen Murphy in 1994, Ivan has shared his time between Boston and Medjugorje between which he travels back and forth. The couple have three children: Two sons and a daughter. As a child Ivan was not particularly religious and he could barely wait for Sunday Mass to end. That changed abruptly when the apparitions began and a few months later Ivan entered the Franciscan seminary in Visoko. Later he had to give up a priestly vocation because his academic abilities did not suffice in courses such as philosophy and Latin. Instead he became the most extensively traveling among the Medjugorje visionaries, speaking and making his apparitions available to the public in churches upon invitation. Having received only nine of the ten secrets Ivan still has an apparition every day. Before the apparitions Ivan was very, very shy and though he became a lot more outspoken, he still dislikes the attention that goes along with being a visionary. Ivan is serious and deep. His special ministry, entrusted to him by the Virgin, is to pray for young people as well as for priests. When he is in Medjugorje, Ivan’s encounters with the Virgin Mary on the top of Apparition Hill makes for the pilgrims’ best opportunities to attend an apparition. These public apparitions usually take place on Fridays late in the evening. Ivan is usually in Medjugorje between the months of May and September.
Business is good… Wouldn't it be nice to know the profit line on this for "the visionary?" Look at the frequency and the cost. I don't know how many people are booked per trip, but the one in April is sold out, and the one in May is already down to limited seating.
Here's the heart of the tour:
Here's the text of the above. Since when does the Blessed Virgin Mary submit herself to bookings like this?
Days 3 to 8 - Medjugorje
Experience the beauty and peace of this simple village. During your stay in Medjugorje you will have the opportunity to share faith with pilgrims from all over the world. Here are some of the activities we'll be sharing with our fellow pilgrims: Each morning at 10am we assemble at St James Church for the English-language Mass (Feast days and Sundays English Mass is at Noon). Follow the path up Apparition Hill where the visionaries first encountered Our Lady. Touch and pray before the cross that commemorates the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries. Each evening at 6pm, we will join the villagers and pilgrims to pray the rosary. The apparition takes place at 6:40 daylight savings time, and then stay on for Croatian Mass. Don't miss on Thursdays and Saturdays Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and on Fridays Veneration of the Cross in the Church. Each evening during Croatian Mass, there is the Blessing of the Sick and blessing of the items you have with you. Our guide will arrange meetings with the visionaries at their own homes provided that they are in Medjugorje during your trip, and pending their availability. We will have the opportunity to climb Krizevac Mountain, where in 1933 the villagers built a 30' high cross on the anniversary of Jesus' crucifixion. Visit and pray at "Blue Cross", which is a place of great healings and graces- a very special place at the base of Apparition Hill.
We will visit the community of Cenacolo.
Online streaming of "apparitions" on Mary TV, and more...
But wait, there is more. Again, while the CDF wanted communicated to U.S. bishops, through the Aposotlic Nuncio, that "clerics and the faithful are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such 'apparitions' would be taken for granted," websites like this continue to go full speed ahead.
On April 2nd, Mirjana is going to have her "apparition" beamed across the world via MaryTV.
It seems that the least harm is probably coming from a third party holding a conference at a rented center, versus the amount of spread that is taking place via websites like this, and others including the propaganda site, Medjugorje Today; and Spirit Daily, among others.
If the CDF doesn't want people participating in conferences, meetings, and public speaking engagements, then what about those creating and visiting websites, making newsletters, medals, and other things which all presume authenticity of the alleged apparitions of Medjugorje?
I believe with all my being that if the Church has discerned this, and has determined that there is nothing supernatural, then this needs to come forth and we all have to trust God to take care of the lambs who have grown attached to it. As long as truth is delayed, truth is denied. There is nothing compassionate or charitable about allowing falsehood and exploitation to continue.
It's been five long years since the international commission on Medjugorje has been announced and more than a year since the Commission finished it's work and handed it off to the CDF, and has since given it to Pope Francis. How much longer must the faithful witness exploitation like those shown in this post, which are beneath the dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
I'm certainly open to anything the Holy See would present to get me to reconsider my negative position, which I have a right to hold and express. But, the evidence just mounts against authenticity.
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
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it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
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