|
OUR LADY OF FATIMA Our
Lady of Fatima received that title from her
apparitions to three children at a little Portuguese
town of that name in the year 1917.
The purpose of those appearances was to appeal
to the world to say the Holy Rosary for the
conversion of sinners and for peace among all
mankind. Our
Blessed Mother also requested that at the end of
each decade of the Rosary the following prayer be
recited: “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to
Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.” It was to three young children, less than 100 years ago that Our Blessed Lord revealed through His Mother a profound message for modern times. As Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta tended their sheep that Spring day in l9l7, they looked up and saw a beautiful woman clothed in the sun, sent by God. She told them, "Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world, and the end of war." She asked them to return on the l3th of each month for five months and promised a sign in her final appearance. The children responded faithfully to her request, and on October 13, l9l7 a tremendous prodigy happened just as Our Lady had promised. For four minutes, the noontime sun spun around giving off various colors, one after the other. If a person at Fatima that day had on a white shirt -- it would turn red, green and blue as the sun spun around. It stopped and started again for four more minutes, this time giving off even more beautiful colors. Then it stopped again. Then it started again. This time it detached itself from its regular position and began to zigzag in the sky. It "danced" for about four minutes, then started to plummet to the earth. It looked like it was the end of the world. Many people fell on their knees to ask for mercy of God. The sun then returned to its original position in the sky. It was witnessed by over 70,000 people, including both believers and non-believers. All came away acknowledging that a great miracle had occurred. This was the dramatic climax of the six Fatima apparitions, the message of which was plain: "Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world." We
celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th.
It was on this day in 1917, that Our Lady made her
first appearance to the three shepherd children,
Jacinta (age 7), Francisco (age 9) and Lucia (age
10), at Fatima in Portugal. The lives of the
three children of Fatima were entirely transformed
by the heavenly apparitions. While fulfilling
the duties of their state with the greatest
fidelity, those children seemed now to live only for
prayer and sacrifice, which they offered in a spirit
of reparation to obtain peace and the conversion of
sinners. They deprived themselves of water
during the periods of great heat; they gave their
lunch to poor children; they abstained from innocent
pleasures and urged one another to the practice of
prayer and penance with an ardor comparable to that
of the great Saints. Our
Lady communicated with Lucia, the oldest of the
three children, in her six monthly appearances.
She asked the Blessed Virgin Mary to take them to
Heaven. "Yes," Our Lady answered,
"I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon.
You, however, are to stay here a longer time.
Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved.
He wants to establish the devotion to my
Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise
salvation to those who embrace it and their souls
will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to
adorn His Throne". Jacinta
seems to have received "a special light to
understand intimately and in detail the meanings of
these heavenly revelations." Before
leaving for the hospital in 1919, she said to Lucia:
"I am going soon to Heaven. You will
remain still on earth to make known to men that the
Lord wishes to spread in the world devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you have to
speak about it, you will no longer have to hide
yourself! Proclaim openly to the whole world
that: It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary
that God wishes to grant us His graces! It is from
this Immaculate Heart that we must ask for them! The
Sacred Heart of Jesus wishes the Immaculate Heart of
Mary to be venerated with His own! It is through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary that peace must be asked,
because it is to that Heart that the Lord has
confided it. How I love the Immaculate Heart of
Mary! It is the Heart of Our Heavenly Mother!
Oh! If only I could put into all hearts the fire I
feel in my own, which makes me love the Hearts of
Jesus and Mary so much!" In
each of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, she
insisted on praying the Holy Rosary.
"Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for
the world." Lucia often repeated and
emphasized what Our Lady had first recommended to
her: "Yes, she wishes people to recite
the Rosary; people must recite the Rosary."
In the final apparition on October 13, 1917, the
Blessed Virgin Mary appeared as Our Lady of Mt.
Carmel and silently held out the Brown
Scapular. Lucia had said that the
Blessed Mother wants everyone to wear it:
"The Scapular and the Rosary are
inseparable." Lucia
spoke to Our Lady of the sick who had been
recommended to her. "Yes, I shall cure some of
them within the year." But she went on
teaching them to pray rather for the health of souls
than of bodies. "Pray! Pray a great deal
and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go
to Hell for not having someone to pray and make
sacrifices for them." Jacinta
preached amendment of life with great ardor, not
only to sinners, but also to faithful souls!
How she insisted on flight from sin, the practice of
the Christian virtues and penance!
"Oh!" she said to the Superioress of the
Orphanage in Lisbon, "if men only knew what
eternity is, how they would make all possible
efforts to amend their lives! Dear Godmother
(she addressed the Superioress in this way),
mortification and sacrifice give great pleasure to
Our Divine Lord! Oh! Fly luxury! Fly riches!
Love holy poverty and silence. Be very
charitable even towards the wicked! Never
speak evil of anyone and avoid those who do.
Be very patient because patience leads to Heaven.
Pray much for sinners! Pray much for Priests, for
Religious, for Governments! The sins of the world
are too great! The sins which lead most souls
to hell are sins of the flesh! Certain fashions are
going to be introduced which will offend Our Lord
very much. Those who serve God should not follow
these fashions. The Church has no fashions; Our Lord
is always the same. Many marriages are not good;
they do not please Our Lord and are not of God. . .
. Oh! Men must do penance! If they amend
their lives Our Lord will still pardon the world;
but if they do not, the chastisement will come!
Priests should occupy themselves only with the
affairs of the Church! They must be pure, very
pure." Mother Godinho asked her: "Do you
know what it means to be pure?" "Yes, Yes.
I know to be pure in body means to be chaste, to be
pure in mind means not to commit sins; not to look
at what one should not see, not to steal or lie, and
always to speak the truth, even if it is hard.
The disobedience of Priests and of Religious to
their Superiors and to the Holy Father offends Our
Lord very much! If Government left the Church
in peace and liberty to our holy religion, they
would be blessed by God. Our Lady said that there
are many wars and discords in the world. Wars
are only punishments for the sins of the world.
She stated that she could not stay the arm of her
Beloved Son upon the world anymore. It is
necessary to do penance. If people amend
themselves, Our Lord shall still come to the aid of
the world. If they do not amend themselves,
punishment shall come." |
|
