Our Lady of Medjugorje’s July 25, 2026 monthly message:
“Dear children! While darkness and peacelessness rule in many hearts, you, little children, be prayer and My
extended hands of love. Little children, place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it, so
that it may be an encouragement for you to conversion and a new life; because satan is strong and seduces hearts.
Your hearts, through My Maternal Heart, I desire to commend to the Heart of My Son Jesus, so that He, the Risen
One, may reign in you and joy may begin to reign in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to My
call” (with Ecclesiastical approval) .
1. “While darkness and peacelessness rule in many hearts, you, little children, be prayer and My extended hands
of love”.
Our Lady shows us the diagnosis of the situation: darkness and peacelessness rule in the hearts of many people. It is
not a problem if the darkness and peacelesness grow inside us because we are human and we are weak. Therefore this is
nothing unusual. The problem is that darkness and peacelessness “rule”, that darkness and peacelessness are stronger
than light and peace. This happens if a negative opinion, word, bad reaction, conflict, disagreement, hostility or sadness
prevails and overcomes within us. In such moments evil wins within us and through us.
However, Our Lady never stops at diagnosing the situation instead She offers us a new perspective: “Be prayer and My
extended hands of love” This means: “You can do something different from those mentioned above. You are different
from them”.
This reminds us of Jesus Who asks His disciples to be different from the world: “But Jesus called them together and
said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It
shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first
among you must be your slave” (Mt. 20, 25-27).
When people do not pray, Our Lady desires us to pray. When people are the extended hands of evil, darkness and peacelessness,
Our Lady desires us to be Her extended hands of love. This is an alternative to the modern world. That is exactly what God
expected of the people of Israel. He says through the prophet Jeremiah: “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand,
Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). John the Baptist considers himself a voice: “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness: “Make straight
the way for the Lord ”” (John 1:23). He is not a word but a voice of the Word. Paul revealed to Christians their true nature – that
they are earthen vessels”
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (2 Corinthians 4,7). Mother
Tereza said about herself: “I am a pencil in the hand of God”.
The attitude of all these people mentioned above is clear : “Lord, act through me. I do not act but You do”. It goes without saying
that I act but this work is something different as I do not work alone because I consider myself a co-worker with God. Therefore,
there is no tension, nervousness or anxiety in my work. I am relaxed leaving the results of my work to the Lord. My only concern is
to work and to trust firmly in God.
2. “Place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it, so that it may be an encouragement
for you to conversion and a new life”
Our Lady invites us to be Her collaborators and offers us help in our lives with a new perspective: reading Sacred
Scripture in our families.
During a recent fasting and prayer retreat with a group of Hungarians one person shared a testimony: “In my family we
do everything together: cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, praying and reading God’s word. We do it all together – my
wife, my children and I”.
Sacred Scripture should be an encouragement toward conversion and a new life when we see ourselves in the text we
read. Initially, we see others (for example, Zacchaeus) and this is merely knowledge. This is important but it is not
sufficient. If we recognize ourselves in Zacchaeus we feel the need for conversion and change. Of course, this means the
need for our own conversion, not that of others.
3. “Because satan is strong and seduces hearts”. Satan is strong. This is true, however it is important to add
something: we are weak. If we were stronger, satan would not have been able to defeat us.
How does satan act?
He seduces hearts. He seduces and it means that he lies. He deceives and misleads us the moment we believe him. We
believe him because we are blind. Everything he does is presented as something splendid and good for us. If we are not
vigilant, he will lead us astray.
A horse was tied to a fence. Satan came – an old and cunning serpent – and untied it. The horse entered the neighbor’s
courtyard, destroying his entire garden and hard labor. When the neighbor saw the destruction, he grew furious and
killed the horse. Upon seeing that his horse had been killed, the owner retaliated and killed the neighbor. Soon after, the
neighbor’s son came seeking to avenge his father; he opened fire on the owner’s house, killing his entire family.
A saint witnessed this tragedy and asked the devil: “Why did you do this?” Devil answered: “I just untied the horse”.
4. “Your hearts, through My Maternal Heart, I desire to commend to the Heart of My Son Jesus, so that He,
the Risen One, may reign in you and joy may begin to reign in you and around you”.
Our Lady desires for Jesus to reign in us. When Jesus reigns in us we are stronger. We can not prevent satan from
acting or trying to seduce us but we can withstand him when Jesus reigns within us. Jesus reigns in us if His love
within us is stronger than hatred or other negative emotions and thoughts.
From ancient Greek mythology we know the story of Heracles and Antaeus. They were fighting however Heracles
was not able to conquer Antaneus, the son of earth. After he had noticed that Antaneus was drawing his strength
from the land to which he had always been connected, Heracles separated him from it and by doing so he finally
defeated him.
From his own experience Paul tells about how evil attacked him but did not overcome him: “We are hard pressed
on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9)
Why did evil not conquer him?
The reason is that he was connected to Christ: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? In all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him Who loved us” (Romans 8:35–37)
In another place he says: “I can do all this through Him Who gives me strength”.
We should pray to Jesus to strengthen us and grant us the strength for a new day, along with the unique encounters
and challenges it brings. Morning is an especially appropriate time for such prayer. Here is one of the ways of
prayer:
“Jesus, strengthen my faith and my trust in You… Strengthen Your love within me so that Your love may reign in
me and conquer all evil. Give me a genuine love for You… Give me love for each member of my family and for
each person I encounter today… Increase my patience within me… Grant me wisdom… Strengthen my inner
freedom so that there may be more free space for me to speak better, to react better and to discern better what is
good and what is not… Grant me with the gift to listen to and understand others…”
When we allow Jesus to reign in us, when His love conquers in us, joy becomes the natural fruit. Joy in us and
around us