“At the end of May 1984, [locutionists] Jelena and Marijana, with whom I spoke on June 10, had received from the Virgin a call to celebrate August 5 as the 2,000 birthday of her birth. The feast was to be celebrated by two days of fasting and a day of celebration… The three days of fast (they added one) ended in a day of intense prayer in the Church and on the hill (of apparitions). There were many conversions and confessions. One of the priests said to me: “I will remember this day more than my 20 previous years as a confessor.” According to the young people (the visionaries), Mary had said who had heard confessions that day would have great joy..”

-Rene Laurentin (Is the Virgin Mary Appearing at Medjugorje?)

“In the first few days of the Apparitions, the Blessed Mother was most gracious about the fear of the six visionaries, and gentle about the personal suffering each was enduring. She told the children: ‘Do you know my real birthday is August the 5th?’ The children said no, they did not know that. The Blessed Mother continued: ‘Would you children like to give me some presents?‘ Jacov sorrowfully blurted, ‘Dear Blessed Mother, I don’t have any money!’ The Blessed Mother smiled joyfully and said: ‘Oh Jacov, my dearest little one, you don’t need money for my birthday presents! Tonight when you go home, no matter what your feelings tell you, no matter how you are stimulated, rather than speak the pain in your heart, run outside and look at the heavens and cry out, ‘Its all for the love of you, Dear Jesus.’”

-seer Mirjana from an Interview with Jan Connell (Visions of  the Children)a