Staff Writer

MARIETTA--Spreading the message of Medjugorje, Ivan Dragicevic, one of the six original visionaries, urged parishioners and visitors to pray and love each other during a talk at St. Joseph's Church Jan. 3.

Dragicevic was 16 in 1981 when Mary reportedly began appearing to him and five other young people in the small village of Medjugorje in the former Yugoslavia. Nearly 17 years later, Dragicevic says he continues to receive visions once a day and he travels around the world, spreading the message of faith and peace.

Through an interpreter, Maria Dugandzic of Atlanta, Dragicevic said that Mary comes to bring her motherly love to all the children of the world.

"Our Lady did not come to make us fear or to bring catastrophe," he said. "She comes as a mother--a mother who wishes to raise (her) children and to teach them what is not good. Our Lady carries us all in her heart."

"Our Lady comes to show us the path to peace and to show us the path of God," he added. "In one of the callings she tells us, 'My children, I am with you and I am helping you to peace.'"

Dragicevic said the greatest contemporary crisis is that people have distanced themselves from God. Because of this, he said, Mary sends a message of prayer.

"Our Lady asks us to put the Mass in our lives--that it is the center of our life. Our Lady calls us to monthly confession. Our Lady call us to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady calls us to read the Bible with our family. Our Lady calls us to the prayer of the rosary...three times a day," he said.

"Our Lady asks us to open up our hearts to everyone," he said. "We should not criticize others, but pray for others...Prayer is a beautiful flower. It is a flower from the heart that will grow and grow."

His vision occurs daily at 5:40 p.m., no matter where he is, he said. He prepares for an hour beforehand by praying the rosary. Dragicevic said that Mary does not single anyone out.

"She doesn't single out, but always says 'my dear children,'" he said. "For her, everyone is important, whether they are big or small, healthy or sick, schooled or unschooled. For her, there is no difference for color or race."

Dragicevic also disagreed with reports of impending doom of which some say Mary is trying to warn us. He said there is no need to store food and supplies to prepare for this day.

"Take it out of your basement," Dragicevic said. "Our Lady's message is one of hope."

After Dragicevic's talk, those who attended were invited to participate in a question and answer session. Questioners from young children to adults asked about Mary's physical appearance, her message, and many wanted to know whether he has seen God.

"Our Lady always brings the baby Jesus on Christmas," he replied.

When Dragicevic was asked if Mary had given any indication of the way the Eucharist was to be received, he said it did not matter whether a person received the Eucharist on the tongue or in the hand, as long as the person believed he was receiving Christ.

Many who attended the program were moved by Dragicevic's words. Lynne Herndon, a parishioner of St. Ann's, Marietta, decided to become a Catholic after reading about the miracle at Medjugorje. She first heard Dragicevic speak in 1995 in Mobile, Ala.

"This time he spoke more about the actual message," Herndon said. "It was completely different, which was good. It made it more real." Herndon said she was touched by the simplicity of the message. "All the messages...were just so simple, but they are sometimes hard to do," she said.

Msgr. Don Kenny, pastor of St. Joseph's, said that he was also touched by the simplicity of Dragicevic's speech.

"It was simple and sincere," Msgr. Kenny said. "I thought the grace of God poured out from him."

Msgr. Kenny, who has been to Medjugorje twice, led a parish pilgrimage there in October 1997. His experiences in Medjugorje, he said, have changed his life.

Kathy Bunner, a parishioner of Transfiguration Church, Marietta, said that her goal is to go to Medjugorje during her lifetime.

"The Blessed Mother provides a model to me (of) how to be a good person, how to be a good wife and a loving mother. That's the perfect example," Bunner said.

Merci Howe of St. Theresa Church in Douglasville has been to Medjugorje. She said that after her trip she "felt like a soldier of Christ, like I was called to evangelize."

Howe was also moved by what Dragicevic had to say.

"This is a beautiful gift," she said. "I just feel blessed to be here."

Dragicevic's question and answer period was followed by the rosary. He reminded everyone who attended of the importance of prayer.

"In the school of prayer, there is no such thing as a weekend," he said.

Dragicevic does not know why he was chosen by Mary, but wishes everyone could share his experience.

"If you could see just one second of Our Lady, your life on earth would never be the same."

Msgr. Kenny said that he hopes to bring Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, another one of the Medjugorje visionaries, to the parish in the next few months.