"They were fakes or they were hysterics or they were telling the truth"
By sally tarbox on 30 April 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
In this 2004 work, journalist Randall Sullivan begins by looking into an apparent apparition of the Virgin Mary in his native US before deciding to go and investigate the supernatural visions etc in Medjugorje (Bosnia).
As a non-religious person himself, Sullivan goes with an open mind. He meets the visionaries, who were aged between 10 and 17 when the apparition first began in 1981. He talks to those around them - Catholic priests both convinced and strongly opposed; doctors and scientists from all over the world, whose exhaustive tests indicate there is definitely something other-worldly going on. And he considers other manifestations - Lourdes, Fatima etc.
Set against the horrors of the war in Yugoslavia, Sullivan reports too on his own feelings - the doubts but also the times when he thinks he can feel something miraculous.
Not a book that can give you an easy answer; I don't think any reasonable individual could claim the Medjugorje seers were anything but honest and sincere, and that they definitely had visions. But when the messages were really in contravention to the Bible, one has to question their provenance. Mary takes the lead in all this, sometimes introducing her Son, as if it were she who were God's representative. Her messages for mankind are trite commands to pray and fast. Her 'secrets' which the seers have not been authorised to share yet, seem to be about the End of this System - intiguing but it's all in the Book of Revelastion if you look! And why secret? The Scriptures were written to be disseminated, not witheld. Although the young Bosnians seem a fine and devout crowd, I personally feel this is Satan transforming himself into an angel of light, in order to confuse. But hey, that's just my opinion!
VERY interesting read. ( )

In the war-torn country of Yugoslavia, late 1980's, a cluster of children (ages up through 16) began seeing the Virgin Mary and reporting her words. Medjugorje, if you've ever heard of the place, appeared protected from the war by the madonna.

The Miracle Detective describes Sullivan's trip into the world of miracles and the investigation of these miracles by the Catholic church. By the end of the book, even Sullivan has been deeply affected by his brush with the supernatural, and it is this personal journal by the author that makes the book most interesting.

Nearly all the experts that researched Medjugorje and interviewed (interrogated) the children came to the same conclusion: there was no attempt to deceive, and the children truly experienced the unexplainable. Others around them could not see Mary, yet the children's eyes moved in unison as they tracked her progress through the air; they reported the same message from heaven; and they showed no response to any pain or attention-grabbing administered by the "experts" while in their vision state. Many other visitors to this sacred site experienced supernatural healings. Surely, the madonna herself was to be found in this place!

But what did the Church think? It's still under investigation, 20-25 years later. As one priest explained to Sullivan, the Church does not merely test for the unexplainable; a true miracle from God must pass several tests, such as "theological correctness, usefulness to the Church, and a clear relationship between the messages the person reports and changes in the quality of their own lives." Unquestionably, the experiences rocked the lives of these children and many others who visited (and still visit) Medjugorje, but what is the Church to think when Mary, queen of heaven, arrives with the message that we should respect all religions, even (perhaps especially) Islam?

I found the book interesting, one I'm glad I read, though it was a bit long. But, sorry, I've no opinion yet on the authenticity of the visions. :) ( )