The statue of Our Lady that stands on Apparition Hill in Medjugorje was repaired today by a team of sculptors from Italy. Just recently the statue was vandalised and the extended hand cut off. The nose was also damaged.

Did not our God come into the world to restore our brokenness? Isn’t this the message of Medjugorje – restoration?

I see this repair as a far more positive ‘sign’ than some of the speculation circulating about ‘broken hands’ and suggesting that Our Lady’s grace is being withdrawn. Shows me we have to be patient in these matters and trust in God and not allow the enemy to plant negativity and anxiety in our hearts!

God restores through the work and hands of his children. Hands mirror the heart in action!

And with regard to today’s repair to the statue, there are two more correlations that are worth considering:

(1) The statue has been restored on the day the Church remembers the death of the Korean Martyrs. The statue was given to the parish of Medjugorje by a Korean pilgrim family in thanksgiving for the miraculous healing of their child at Medjugorje.
(2) The statue was damaged on the day the Church acknowledged the martyrdom and mutilation of John the Baptist, beheaded at the request of the daughter of Herodias and then handed on a plate to her mother.

So we see that two significant dates in the Church’s calendar, both memorials of martyrdom, correlate in a special way with the damage and repair to Our Lady’s statue. What does this tell us, if anything, of the Church and its prophets, its priests and proclaimers? What does this tell us of Mary’s role as Mother of the Church?

Finally, when we pray, “Hail Mary, full of grace”, then surely we must accept that the grace of Our Lady is never withdrawn, but that we can choose to avail ourselves or not of this grace. The choice is ours. God does not withhold his grace dispensed through his Mother. She is ALWAYS full of grace. The Lord is ALWAYS with her, and she is ALWAYS blessed.

• full details from: medjugorje.net

Another story of “Our Lady of Mountains” comes from the Medjugorje parish website and shows this photograph of the renowned Italian mountain climber, Nadia Tiraboschi, who led a team to the top of Mt Everest last year and was then pictured with the famous image of Our Lady at the top of the world! • Full story: Queen of Peace Shrine