90th
ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY'S FIRST APPARITION IN FATIMA
Dear Friends and
Benefactors of the Society in Ireland,
At the beginning of the Month of Mary, your priests in
Ireland ask the Blessed Mother to cover your families under her
mantle, and to shower each one of you with countless blessings. Take
advantage of this beautiful month to honour her every day by
reciting the holy rosary and the litanies of Loreto, by offering
spiritual bouquets, and by performing those acts of virtue which are
especially loved by Our Lady. Children of Mary, our souls must
resemble the most pure soul of our heavenly Mother.
Ninety years ago, on 13 May 1917, the Queen of heaven
and earth appeared to the children of Fatima to give the world a
message of prayer, reparation, and confidence in the intercession of
her Immaculate Heart. What makes unique the message of Fatima is its
universal appeal. It addresses and solves the problems of the
individuals, of the nations, and of the Church. It is a solid
blueprint for life. It cries out to be put into practice for the
preservation of the entire world and for the salvation of the
souls.
I would like to point out some of the teachings of the
message of Fatima, calling to mind with new emphasis the very truths
which the confused twentieth century risked to forget:
- The dogma of the Holy Trinity, during the great vision at Tuy, 13 June 1929, when Sister Lucia saw "suddenly the
whole chapel illumined by a supernatural light, and a cross of light
appeared above the altar, reaching to the ceiling. In a bright light
at the upper part of the cross could be seen the face of a man and
his body to the waist (Father) on his breast there was a dove also
of light (Holy Ghost) and, nailed to the cross, was the body of
another man (Son). Somewhat above the waist, I could see a chalice
and a large host suspended in the air, on to which drops of blood
were falling from the face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in
His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the
chalice. Our Lady was beneath the right arm of the cross ( it was
Our Lady of Fatima with her Immaculate Heart; without sword or
roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of
the cross, large letters, as of crystal clear water which ran down
over the altar, formed these words: Graces and Mercy. I understood
that it was the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to
me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not
permitted to reveal."
- The providence of God, directing and governing
the world and presiding over the events of human history.
- The omnipotence and omniscience of God, Who
knows and realizes all things according to His designs. It foretold
future events (the second world war, persecutions, the spreading of
Communism) and revealed miraculous signs to prove the truth of God's
predictions. The miracle of the "dancing sun", October
1917, was witnessed by
seventy thousand spectators, some of whom were instantly converted
from atheism by this wondrous portent.
- The mercy and justice of God, Who rewards or
punishes according to the good and evil done.
- The reality of
heaven, purgatory, hell, and the devils. "I
come from Heaven"... "Amelia will be in Purgatory till the end of the
world"... "At this time the Lady opened her hands once more, and the
rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw as it were a
sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human
form, like transparent burning embers all blackened or burnished
bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air
by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great
clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge
fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of
pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear.
The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent
likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent
like burning coal"... "many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice
themselves and to pray for them."
- The existence of the
Angels, and of the Guardian Angels of nations: "Do not be
afraid. I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me"... "Offer up everything within your
power as a sacrifice to the Lord in reparation for the sins by which
he is so much offended and of supplication for the conversion of
sinners. Thus bring down peace upon your country. I am the Guardian
Angel of Portugal."
-
The real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament, and the immense reverence required to approach Him, as
well as the need for reparation: "Leaving both chalice and host
suspended in air, the angel prostrated himself upon the ground and
three times prayed: Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
I adore Thee profoundly and I offer Thee the most precious Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the
tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges
and indifference by which He Himself is offended. And by the
infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners."
- The reality of sin as an offence against God and
also against Our Lady, with tragic consequences for sinners
and for the apostate nations: "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say
many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it
is for the love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in the
reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of
Mary"... "The war is going to end; but if people do not cease
offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of
Pius XI."
- The
intercession of the Mother of God
as a powerful mediatrix and dispenser of graces. During her final illness,
Jacinta told Lucia: "Tell everybody that God gives His graces
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from
her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together
with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the
peace of the world to her."
- The
necessity of penance and prayer, with their value of atonement and
intercession: "Then looking very sad the Lady said: Pray, pray
very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to
hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for
them."
- The
importance of Marian devotions, particularly the efficacy of the
holy rosary, the brown scapular, and the devotion to the Immaculate
Heart: "I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the
Rosary every day"... "You have seen hell, where the souls of poor
sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world
devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many
souls will be saved and there will be peace"... "I shall come to
ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the
Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are
heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not,
she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and
persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy
Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and
a period of peace will be granted to the world"... "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 me before His throne."
- The
sanctification of the family, in imitation of the Holy Family of
Nazareth,
as seen in the vivid scene of the great mariophany of October 1917:
"We beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in
white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child
Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the
Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition
disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it
was Our Lady of Dolours. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the
same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished,
and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of
Carmel."
-
True episcopal collegiality. Our Lord to Sister Lucia, 12 June
1941: "Make it known to the archbishop that I ardently desire the
bishops to meet in a retreat to arrange among themselves and
determine with a common accord the means to be employed for the
reform of the Christian people and to remedy the laxity of the
clergy and a great part of religious. The number of those who serve
Me in the practice of sacrifice is very limited. I have need of
souls and of priests who serve Me by sacrificing themselves for Me
and for souls." And Sister Lucia writes: "What Our Lady wants is
that the Pope and all the bishops in the world shall consecrate
Russia to her Immaculate Heart on one special day. If this is done,
she will convert Russia and there will be peace. If it is not done,
the errors of Russia will spread through every country in the
world."
- The
submission of the civil powers to God's holy rule. Our Lord at Riaño,
August 1931: "Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow
the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My
requests, they will follow him into misfortune. It is never too late
to have recourse to Jesus and Mary"... "They did not wish to heed My
request! Like the King of France they will repent of it, and they
will do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its
errors in the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the
Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer."
-
Devotion to St. Joseph, love and prayers for the Holy Father, and
the necessity of purity of heart and modesty in dress.
By the family well, at Arneiro,
Jacinta had a vision of the pope: "I saw the Holy Father, in a very
big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands,
and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some
of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad
language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray much for him!"
and then at the Lapa do Cabeço she saw the pope
once again and said to Lucia: "Can't you see all those highways and
roads full of people, who are crying with hunger and have nothing to
eat? And the Holy Father in a church praying before the Immaculate
Heart of Mary? And so many people praying with him?"
Concerning immodest dress,
Jacinta said to Lucia: "Certain
fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much."
- The
final triumph of Mary: "In the end my Immaculate Heart will
triumph, Russia will be converted and there will be peace."
Pope Pius XI did not make the
consecration which Our Lady had asked Lucia to make known. Pius XII
in his turn did not consecrate Russia in the original form, he
consecrated alone the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a
particular mention of Russia in
1942, and later consecrated the Russian people in 1952.
Pope John Paul II consecrated the world to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary in different
occasions,
without explicit mention of Russia.
Keep praying for the Holy Father, along with all the bishops of the
world, to consecrate Russia according to Our Lady's request. In that
glorious day, the true Europe will rise again under the banner of
Christ the King and Mary our Queen! But at the risk of irritating some of my readers, I must
remind you, dear friends, that, when all is said and done, our
primary responsibility is not the conversion of Russia or the
prevention of world wars, not even the global resurrection of
Christendom. Our first and imperative duty is to work for the salvation of that
little world within ourselves over which, with the help of God's
grace, we must
exercise control, and for which we shall one day have to render an
account to God in judgment. What will it profit us, even if Russia
is converted and an era of peace be granted to humanity, if we have
failed in the great work for which we were created, the salvation of
our own immortal souls? Let us start therefore with a true personal
conversion of heart, a task for every
day of our lives. The rest is in Mother Mary's hands.
Father Ramón
Anglés
