fatima
FATIMA REVISITED
09 14 , 12:29 Filed in: Mary
Pope Francis' pontificate was consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima last year on May 13. And in May of 2010 Pope Benedict visited Fatima . The Pope Emeritus is linked to Fatima by the very fact that as Cardinal Ratzinger he authored the church's official explanation of the third Fatima secret. This is all very mysterious to us, but the curious thing about Fatima to me is not so much its mysterious nature but rather the compelling - or should I say overwhelming - objectivity of the final apparition. Really, one would be hard-pressed to doubt that something truly magnificent happened on that amazing day! I am referring to the "miracle of the sun" which occurred on October 13, 1917.
In any event, I gathered up some of my Fatima books and reviewed the compelling facts which point to the validity of the Fatima apparitions. From my own review of the facts it would appear that the following circumstances are established beyond any reasonable doubt:
1. The Fatima children (the seers) made known that the Virgin Mary would return to the Cova da Iria on October 13, 1917 and that a miracle would take place at that time to authenticate the apparitions;
2. That a huge crowd, most definitely in the tens of thousands, showed up at the Cova that day to see what might take place; and
3. That (as also reported in the secular press) at the appointed time and place a spectacular solar phenomenon took place which, as the well respected Catholic author Thomas Walsh states, has been established "beyond any doubt"
(p. 150, Our Lady of Fatima).
Francis Johnston sets forth many credible testimonies of this solar miracle in his book, Fatima: The Great sign, including verbatim descriptions of the event from the secular and atheistic press (see chapter 5). In summary, then, the sign promised by the seers to take place on October 13, 1917 did in fact occur. By any reasonable standard of authenticating evidence, the events mentioned above have been firmly and most definitely established. My sense of Fatima is, well, given what took place, pay very close attention to its message.
But the message of Fatima was not an easy one for modern ears, especially with its emphasis on conversion, penance and living an expiatory life-style (in many respects it sounded back to the Gospel message of repent and turn away from sin, reflected not only in John the Baptist and Jesus but in all the writers of the New Testament).
In the strange occurrences following Vatican II, there was a mad rush in certain Catholic circles to redefine Catholicism and, most especially, to rewrite the moral theology text books, with this aim: to make sin, and especially sexual sin, more acceptable. A desperate attempt was made, to varying degrees and progressively, to approve contraception, masturbation, active homosexuality and even abortion (and incredible damage was done to the church, to Catholics and to society by the confusion and immorality which followed, a price we are paying dearly for today).
Fortunately, the Holy Spirit sent us Saint John Paul II, the Fatima Pope, who put the brakes on this mischief (and foul interpretation of Vatican II) by issuing two incredibly important encyclicals: The Splendor of Truth and The Gospel of Life. Even now, given all the harm done, the church is still in recovery mode.
At Fatima, Mary came to us as Our Lady of the Rosary. She came to warn us that God is deeply offended by sin (and our lack of repentance). She offered us the safety and security of her Immaculate heart and, among other things, she urged us to pray the daily rosary.
Dear friend, those rosary beads are one of the most powerful weapons we have to turn away from sin, purify our hearts, and draw closer to Jesus. Dear friend, pray the rosary!!!!!
Tom
P.S. The new and excellent movie, The 13th Day, is a wonderful way to reappropriate the Fatima message. I should add that Francisco and Jacinta, two of the Fatima seers, were Beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2000 and are now Blessed Francisco Marto and Blessed Jacinta Marto (brother and sister).
FATIMA REVISITED
09 14 , 12:29 Filed in: Mary
Pope Francis' pontificate was consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima last year on May 13. And in May of 2010 Pope Benedict visited Fatima . The Pope Emeritus is linked to Fatima by the very fact that as Cardinal Ratzinger he authored the church's official explanation of the third Fatima secret. This is all very mysterious to us, but the curious thing about Fatima to me is not so much its mysterious nature but rather the compelling - or should I say overwhelming - objectivity of the final apparition. Really, one would be hard-pressed to doubt that something truly magnificent happened on that amazing day! I am referring to the "miracle of the sun" which occurred on October 13, 1917.
In any event, I gathered up some of my Fatima books and reviewed the compelling facts which point to the validity of the Fatima apparitions. From my own review of the facts it would appear that the following circumstances are established beyond any reasonable doubt:
1. The Fatima children (the seers) made known that the Virgin Mary would return to the Cova da Iria on October 13, 1917 and that a miracle would take place at that time to authenticate the apparitions;
2. That a huge crowd, most definitely in the tens of thousands, showed up at the Cova that day to see what might take place; and
3. That (as also reported in the secular press) at the appointed time and place a spectacular solar phenomenon took place which, as the well respected Catholic author Thomas Walsh states, has been established "beyond any doubt"
(p. 150, Our Lady of Fatima).
Francis Johnston sets forth many credible testimonies of this solar miracle in his book, Fatima: The Great sign, including verbatim descriptions of the event from the secular and atheistic press (see chapter 5). In summary, then, the sign promised by the seers to take place on October 13, 1917 did in fact occur. By any reasonable standard of authenticating evidence, the events mentioned above have been firmly and most definitely established. My sense of Fatima is, well, given what took place, pay very close attention to its message.
But the message of Fatima was not an easy one for modern ears, especially with its emphasis on conversion, penance and living an expiatory life-style (in many respects it sounded back to the Gospel message of repent and turn away from sin, reflected not only in John the Baptist and Jesus but in all the writers of the New Testament).
In the strange occurrences following Vatican II, there was a mad rush in certain Catholic circles to redefine Catholicism and, most especially, to rewrite the moral theology text books, with this aim: to make sin, and especially sexual sin, more acceptable. A desperate attempt was made, to varying degrees and progressively, to approve contraception, masturbation, active homosexuality and even abortion (and incredible damage was done to the church, to Catholics and to society by the confusion and immorality which followed, a price we are paying dearly for today).
Fortunately, the Holy Spirit sent us Saint John Paul II, the Fatima Pope, who put the brakes on this mischief (and foul interpretation of Vatican II) by issuing two incredibly important encyclicals: The Splendor of Truth and The Gospel of Life. Even now, given all the harm done, the church is still in recovery mode.
At Fatima, Mary came to us as Our Lady of the Rosary. She came to warn us that God is deeply offended by sin (and our lack of repentance). She offered us the safety and security of her Immaculate heart and, among other things, she urged us to pray the daily rosary.
Dear friend, those rosary beads are one of the most powerful weapons we have to turn away from sin, purify our hearts, and draw closer to Jesus. Dear friend, pray the rosary!!!!!
Tom
P.S. The new and excellent movie, The 13th Day, is a wonderful way to reappropriate the Fatima message. I should add that Francisco and Jacinta, two of the Fatima seers, were Beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2000 and are now Blessed Francisco Marto and Blessed Jacinta Marto (brother and sister).
Our Lady of Fátima
11 13 , 13:07 Filed in: Mary
The message from Our Lady of Fátima comes from a visitation from the Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children, Lucia dos Santos (9), Francisco Marto (8), and Jacinta Marto (6), in Fátima, Portugal in 1916. The Virgin Mary appeared to them six times from May to October and gave them a message of warning and promise. She said to the children that God’s punishment to the sinning on earth was war, hunger, and persecution of the Catholic church, and that his punishment would become more severe as sinning and unfaithful misconduct become more prevalent. Although her messaged seemed grave, she promised the children that if they prayed everyday, said rosaries, and followed the path of God, they would attain peace. Further, that the same message of peace held true for the population of the world. Specifically, if Catholics had faith and prayed and devoted themselves regularly, following the correct way of God, that they should find peace and be allowed into Heaven.
With her fifth apparition, the Virgin Mary continued to give the children her important message of sinners and sacrifice. It was during this particular visit that she told them and namely Lucia, the oldest child, that she would perform a miracle in October. She said that Saint Joseph will appear with the child Jesus to bless the world. She also said that she would appear as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel to bless the world separately.
During her sixth and final visit on October 17, Lucia asked the Virgin for favors. Lucia hoped that the sick may be cured from illness, and that sinners may be converted. The Virgin Mary then told her that she would cure some, but many sinners needed to change the way of their lives and ask forgiveness. When she left, she reflected light as bright as the sun.
In her recollection of the events from the last apparition, Lucia wrote that she was internally inspired to call out to the people of her town. She called upon everyone to gather at Fátima to observe the miracle Mary said she would produce. While 70 to 100 thousand people gathered, believers and doubters alike, Saint Joseph appeared with Jesus; they blessed the world by making signs of the cross. After that apparition had faded, they were followed by images of Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel, respectively, and they both made signs of the cross as Saint Joseph and Jesus had done. As the apparition of the Virgin Mary faded, the sun became a pale spectacle resembling more silver that normal light. The citizens were able to look directly at it, and while they were observing in awe, bright rays shot from the sun as appeared to rotate on an axis, touching earth’s surface with powerful multicolored rays of light. These horrifying light bursts gave the citizens a direct look at the fire ridden vision of hell. Upon seeing hell, the people of the town collapsed to their knees in absolute fear of God’s power. Seeing their fate, the sinning citizens realized that they truly did not want to die in ways of sin, and many begged for mercy. Lucia and the other two children later wrote that the vision of hell was so powerful, they would have been frightened to death, had they not known that they not known of their promised path to heaven.
The days prior to the final miracle were filled with torrential downpours that soaked the earth and the citizens. The pit where the apparition site was turned to puddled mud. The mantle and garments that were put forth for Mary were soaked with water. After the miracle was performed, it was documented that the pit had completely dried, along with the garments.
The people of Fátima collapse to the ground in awe at the Lord’s power.
Jacinta Marto, Lucia Santos, and Francisco Marto holding rosaries.
Newspaper account of the miracle run by a socialist government, and a journalist who did not believe in God. Even he found the miracle undeniable and unexplainable.
Sources:
http://www.medjugorjeusa.org/fatima.htm
http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/story1.asp
http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/default.aspx
http://www.fatima.org/crusader/truestory/pdf/tspg53.pdf
http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/our_lady_of_fatima.php
http://www.theimmaculateheart.com/