Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
A Cry from Fatima
Today Fatima is one of the greatest Marian shrines in the world. Annually, it is visited by about 4 million pilgrims and tourists, with the greatest increase on May 13 and October 13, the anniversary of the beginning and end of the apparitions. The main church in Fatima is the neoclassical basilica, consecrated in 1947. A colonnade, similar to the one in St. Peter in Rome, closes part of the square, which can accommodate approx. 300 thousand people. There are several dozen hotels around the sanctuary. All of this brings us to the question: Why does Fatima, once a small village, attracts so many people? What is Our Lady telling us in her sanctuary?
At the beginning of the 20th century, anti-church propaganda took hold of Portugal. In 1908, Portugal was declared a republic. A period of violent persecution of the Church began. All monasteries have been disbanded. The monks and nuns were removed from their property and their church property was confiscated. The state demanded the right to appoint professors in seminaries. Public religious ceremonies were forbidden. On April 20, 1911, the law on the separation of Church and State entered into force. Its creator, Alfonso Costa, declared: "Thanks to this law, Catholicism will be completely removed from Portugal in two generations." Meanwhile, the world was moving faster and faster towards the abyss. War broke out. Soon the Bolshevik revolution and the programmatic atheism started. All this was envisaged by Pope Benedict XV. That is why he published a letter to the whole Christian world, in which he called for peace and earnest prayer through the Mother of Mercy, and he ordered to add the invocation to the Litany of Loreto: "Queen of Peace, pray for us!”
These prayers of the Church did not go unnoticed. In 1916, in a meadow in the Cova da Iria valley, 3 km from a poor Portuguese village - Fatima, the angel appeared to three children: 6-year-old Jacinta, her 2 years older brother - Francisco and their cousin, 9-year-old Lucia. During three meetings, the angel prepared the children to meet Mary.
The following year, in 1917, on May 13 to be exact, Our Lady appeared in the same place. She asked these children to come there 6 times in a row, on the 13th of the month. The Lady of Heaven promised them that in October she would tell who she was and what she expected from them. She encouraged the children to pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world. Subsequent apparitions took place in June, July, August, September, and October. Each time, the number of people who wanted to personally participate in such an unusual event grew. On July 13, Mary asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. She said: "If my wish is granted, Russia will convert and there will be peace. If not, godless propaganda will spread its erroneous teachings around the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church. Good people will be persecuted and the Holy Father will suffer much."
During the last meeting, the Lady of Heaven said: "I am the Queen of the Holy Rosary. I come to encourage the faithful to change their lives, so that they do not grieve the Savior who is so offended with their sins. Let them say the Holy Rosary, correct themselves and do penance for their sins. I want a chapel built here in my honor." As she was leaving, on October 13, 1917, a crowd of 70,000 believers saw the "miracle with the sun" - his fabulous dance among a beam of multicolored rays.
From then on, Fatima became a place of pilgrimage. People built a chapel, they wentthere every day, and they prayed and sang. However, secular authorities forbade people to gather in Cova da Iria, and even sent thugs to blow up the chapel. Any orders to stop anyone from entering Fatima were fruitless. They hadthe opposite effect. The many healings that took place there, as well as the fact that the Church confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions in 1930, influenced such a rapid development of the veneration of Mary in Fatima.
Fatima has gained a new meaning now, after the attack on John Paul II, after entrusting the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - made in union with all the bishops of the world on March 25, 1984 - and as a consequence of the sudden collapse of the communist empire and Russia's embarking on the path of conversion.
What exactly does Our Lady want in her message? The main points of her message are: prayer, especially the rosary; conversion; devotion to the Eucharist; personal consecration to the Heart of Mary; devotion on the first Saturdays of the month - Mary promised that she would come to the rescue at the hour of death to those who on the first 5 Saturdays of the month will make confession, receive Holy Communion, say the Rosary and for 15 minutes meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary in order to atone for sins committed in the world ; penance for sins - she encouraged her devotees to voluntarily give up pleasures and pastimes out of love for God.
Mary's message stretches to the distant future, and the promises of her prophecy apply not only to Portugal but to the whole world. Some have already come true, others we are witnessing, and others refer to the times towards which we are heading.
Portugal accepted this call. In 1942, Patriarch Cerejeira of Lisbon said: "If someone closed his eyes 25 years ago to open them again today, he would not recognize Portugal. Such profound changes were made by a humble and invisible factor - the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima."
We cannot stand aside either. We must listen to the voice of the Lady of Fatima and take up her call, which still remains valid. It is even more relevant than a few decades ago. It is even more urgent. Mary's call is not a one-time call. Its appeal must be taken up from generation to generation. We must keep coming back to it. It has to be taken up over and over again.
Our Lady of Fatima addressed her message to all people of good will. She also called us to prayer (especially the rosary), conversion, reparation for sins, cult of the Eucharist, and devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Have you already responded with your life to this penitential appeal of Mary? So, what have you made concrete and what are you going to decide for the future so that the message of Fatima may be your program of life, and Mary the host of your heart?
In September 21 – October 01, 2021, our Institute is organizing a thanksgiving pilgrimage to Lourdes and Fatima. We cordially invite you to participate in this pilgrimage. This pilgrimage was designed for those who would like to pray, reflect, and spend more time in Lourdes and Fatima. The Lay Institute of Divine Mercy thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, is able to subsidize $ 750.00 to each person. Your price is only $ 2,550.00. Reserve your Place as soon as possible. The program is attached.
Pope Francis recalls 40th anniversary of attack on Saint Pope John Paul II
In his greetings to pilgrims present in the Courtyard of St Damasus for the weekly General Audience Pope Francis recalled the attack on St Pope John Paul II 40 years ago, the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
“He was certain that he owed his life to Our Lady of Fatima,” he said, noting that “that this makes us aware that our lives and the history of the world are in God’s hands.”
Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded as he passed through St Peter’s Square in an open car during the General Audience on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, on the liturgical Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
“Let’s entrust the Church, ourselves and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let’s pray for peace, for the end of the pandemic, for a spirit of penitence and for our conversion. Let us place ourselves with trust under Her maternal protection, especially when we find ourselves in difficulty during our prayer life” the Pope said.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george