While
many Fatima devotees know the salient aspects of Our Lady’s message and
the various events surrounding the apparitions, certain details or
nuances could yet be overlooked. We dare offer here several points for
study and reflection in the hope they will help one better appreciate
the meaning of the Fatima message:
1. A seventh apparition
Our Lady appeared six times at Fatima from May, 1917 to October,
1917. However, during the first apparition Our Lady mentioned that she
will return to Cova the Iria, the site of the apparition, a seventh
time. In her own words Our Lady said,
“I have come here to ask you to come
here for six months in succession on the thirteenth day of each month at
this same hour. Later I will tell you who I am and what I want.
Afterward, I will return here a seventh time.”
Although Fatima specialists differ in their opinions with regard to
its interpretation, nothing against Faith prevents a Catholic to hope
and confide that this promise would be fulfilled in the near future.
Certainly it is a glorious and most singular event a faithful Catholic
could eagerly look forward to especially in our confusing and chaotic
times. Perhaps, the seventh apparition would usher in the time of peace
that St. Louis Grignion de Montfort described as the Reign of Mary and
which Our Lady prophesied as the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart.
2. The Rosary and Purgatory
Also on the above occasion, Our Lady revealed to the three children
that Francisco must say many Rosaries before he will go to Heaven and
that a certain Amelia will be in Purgatory until the end of the world.
Here, Our Lady reiterates the salutary practice of praying the most
Holy Rosary as a means to save one’s soul and offers it as a guarantee
to Francisco’s safe passage to Heaven -certainly an invaluable counsel
from the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
She likewise points out the very reality of the existence of
Purgatory and even cites a striking example of a poor yet already saved
soul who will endure its purifying fires till the end of the world.
According to the research done by Father Sebastião Martins dos Reis,
Amelia died under circumstances involving dishonor in matters of
chastity. Shocking as this fact may had been to Father Thomas McGlynn,
O.P. during his own interview, Sister Lucia recalled that more tragic
were those souls who suffered the fires of hell forever because of a
single mortal sin!
3. The difference between the Angel’s and Our Lady’s apparitions
The children’s physical, emotional and psychological experience with
the Angel of Portugal and Our Lady were different. In her memoirs,
Sister Lucia writes,
“I do not know why, but the fact is
that the apparitions of Our Lady had a very different effect on us.
There was the same intimate gladness, the same peace and happiness. But
instead of physical weariness, we felt a certain expansive liveliness, a
sense of glee instead of that annihilation in the Divine Presence, a
certain communicative enthusiasm instead of that difficulty in
speaking…”
One stark contrast between the angel and Our Lady is their different
natures. The former is pure spirit while the latter is flesh and spirit;
body and soul. The angel’s superior nature drained much energy from the
children which left them in a state of annihilation.
Since the children are of the same nature as Our Lady, one could
surmise that this may explain why the children were more at ease with
Our Lady. The human nature they shared with Our Lady found a pleasing
and lively consonance with her. One could feel assurance and confidence
in Lucia’s observation and experience that, indeed, Our Lady was assumed
into Heaven in both body and soul – a dogma of the Faith.
4. The importance of prayer, penance, sacrifices and mortification for the conversion of sinners.
While it is true that the above is the constant and recurring theme
of Our Lady’s Fatima message, it behooves Catholics to understand how
and why it is so; especially in modern minds where the notion of
mortification and penance is watered down or simply brushed aside as
archaic or medieval.
The gravity of the moral crisis pervasive in the world requires
continued prayers, penances and sacrifices which prompted the three
children especially little Francisco and Jacinta to practice them to an
extreme and heroic degree. At the height of their innocence, the two
younger children understood their necessity and offered themselves
admirably as expiatory victims. But Our Lady’s appeal for prayer and
penance made to the children also applies to the rest of mankind.
According to Father Fredrick William Faber, D.D. in his book,
Growth in Holiness,
much is to be gained by us lesser mortals in the practice of
mortification for it tames the body and brings the unruly passions under
the control of grace and our superior will. It increases the range of
our spiritual vision and makes our conscience more sensitive to the
discernment of the subtleties that separate not only those between
venial and mortal sins but also those between what is faulty and
imperfect.
Suffering easily becomes power in the things of God. For isn’t it
true that Our Lord redeemed mankind through His bloody sacrifice and
immense suffering on Calvary?
Leading mortified lives encourages us to persevere in prayer, gives
us strength in resisting temptations, makes us unworldly and frees our
heart from earthly vanities and attachments.
5. The persecutions suffered by the children from family and friends, people and media because of the apparitions
Lucia, in particular, was most aggrieved by the incredulity of her
mother and kin as well as by the withdrawal of their affectionate
treatment of her. Her sufferings were much more intensified given her
tender age.
Francisco and Jacinta fared better within their family for their
parents never held a hostile attitude towards the apparitions. Yet, they
weren’t spared from the jokes and wisecracks of neighbors and from the
laughter and sneers of by-standers along the road.
The skeptical and secular media of their day were no less forgiving
in subjecting them to ridicule and sarcasm. Nationwide, newspapers
staged a bitter campaign of hatred and denigration to discredit the
apparitions.
Nevertheless, despite all these ill-treatment and vitriolic affronts,
the children bore them with admirable patience and charity always
mindful of Our Lady’s request to offer their sacrifices for the sake of
poor sinners. An edifying example one should emulate in the daily
inconveniences one encounters everyday. Here one is reminded of St.
Therése of the Child Jesus’ little way.
6. Modifications to the Five First Saturday Devotion to facilitate its practice
The original request of Our Lady asks one to confess and receive
Communion on five consecutive first Saturdays; to say five decades of
the Rosary; to meditate during 15 minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary
for the purpose of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in
reparation for the sins of men.
In subsequent private visions and apparitions however, Sister Lucia
presented to Our Lord the difficulties that devotees encountered in
fulfilling some conditions. With loving condescension and solicitude,
Our Lord deigned to relax the rules to make this devotion easy to
observe:
- Confession may be done on other
days other than the First Saturday so long as one receives Our Lord
worthily and has the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary.
- Even if one forgets to make the
intention, it may be done on the next confession, taking advantage of
the first occasion to go to confession.
- Sister Lucia also clarified that
it is not necessary to meditate on ALL mysteries of the Rosary on each
First Saturday. One or several suffice.
With much latitude granted by Our Lord Himself, there is no reason
for the faithful to hesitate or delay this pious practice in the spirit
of reparation which the Immaculate Heart of Mary urgently asks.
7. Reasons for the Five First Saturdays Devotion
This may seem academic to some but it would be good to recapitulate
here the reasons for they can be forgotten. Devotions have intentions
attached to them and knowing them adds merit and weight to the practice.
The five first Saturdays correspond to the five kinds of offenses and
blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They are:
a. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception
b. Blasphemies against her virginity
c. Blasphemies against her divine maternity, at the same time the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all men
d. Instilling indifference, scorn and even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children
e. Direct insults against Her sacred images
8. A greater miracle denied
Sister Lucia revealed later in her life that the miracle of the sun
could have been greater had the children not been abducted by Arthur
Oliveira Santos, the cruel and conniving administrator of the
Administrative Council of Vila Nova de Ourém. She originally expressed
this remarkable detail in the interrogation done by Father Manuel
Marques Ferreira on August 21, 1917, two days after the apparition but
which she left out in her 1941 report.
Here is a fitting example of a transgression committed against the
wishes of Our Lady which she left unpunished. Though no fault of the
children, it is lamentably sad to note that the multitudes at Fatima on
the afternoon of October 13, 1917 were deprived of a far greater miracle
if not for the deception, trickery and malice of civil authorities.
9. Unknown light or Aurora Borealis?
Sister Lucia considered the extraordinary light that illuminated the
skies of Europe on the night of January 25-26, 1938 during the hours of
8:45 p.m. to 1:15 a.m., as
“the great sign” - the unknown light that Our Lady predicted that would signal that war was near.
Astronomers and skeptic brush it off as a mere aurora borealis though its character was remarkably unprecedented.
Interestingly enough, the book,
The Secrets of Fatima explains:
"This aurora appeared as far south as
Galicia, Spain, where Sister Lucy was then cloistered, and she, the
only survivor of the three Fatima shepherds, recognized it immediately
as the sign. Visible even to Pius XI in Rome, the unprecedented aurora
was accompanied by a ‘crackling' sound, possibly attributable to
discharges of atmospheric energy. Indeed, in many areas of Europe, panic
broke out; as the populace concluded that the world was on fire and
that the End had come."
The New York Times for January 26, 1938, carried the following:
"London, January 25th, 1938. The
Aurora Borealis rarely seen in Southern or Western Europe spread fear in
parts of Portugal and lower Austria tonight while thousands of Britons
were brought running into the streets in wonderment. The ruddy glow led
many to think half the city was ablaze. The Windsor Fire Department was
called out thinking that Windsor Castle was afire. The lights were
clearly seen in Italy, Spain, and even Gibraltar. The glow bathing
snow-clad mountain tops in Austria and Switzerland was a beautiful sight
but firemen turned out to chase non-existent fires. Portuguese
villagers rushed in fright from their homes fearing the end of the
world."
10. Jacinta’s last words:
Tempered and molded by extraordinary penance and sacrifice,
10-year-old Jacinta proved to be precocious and prophetic in her vision
of things. She had many private apparitions and countless revelations.
Such was her supernatural illumination and holy wisdom that Mother
Godinho, the directress of the Lisbon orphanage where Jacinta stayed
prior to her death in the hospital, could only asked in awe and wonder,
“Who taught you all these things?” The following statements uttered by
Jacinta showed her depth of soul in face of the moral decay ravishing
the world:
- The sins which cause most souls to go to Hell are the sins of the flesh.
- To be pure of body is to keep chastity. To be pure in soul is not to
commit sins, not look at what one should not see, not to steal, never
to lie, always to tell the truth however hard it may be.
- Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear. People who
serve God should not follow fashions. The Church has no fashions. Our
Lord is always the same.
- Doctors do not have the light to cure the sick because they do not have love of God
- Priests should only occupy themselves with the affairs of the
Church. Priests should be pure, very pure. The disobedience of priests
and religious to their superiors and to the Holy Father greatly offends
Our Lord.
- To be a woman religious, it is necessary to be very pure in soul and body.
- Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord, and they are not of God.
- Confession is a sacrament of mercy. Therefore, one must approach the confessional with confidence and joy.
- My godmother, pray much for those who govern! Woe to those who
persecute the religion of Our Lord. If the government left the Church in
peace and gave freedom to the holy Faith, it would be blessed by God.
- Wars are nothing but punishments for the sins of the world.
- Our Lady can no longer hold back the arm of her beloved Son from the
world. It is necessary to do penance. If people change their ways, Our
Lord will still spare the world; but if they do not, the chastisement
will come.
Sources:a. Fatima: A Message More urgent than Ever, Luiz Sergio Solimeob. Our Lady of Fatima: Prophecies of Tragedy and Hope, Augusto A. Borellic. Growth in Holiness, Father William Fredrick Faber, D.D.
William,
Archbishop of York, is a rather intriguing saint due to the conflicts
surrounding his “on again, off again” reign as archbishop, due in part
to its timing. It was during a period of great civil unrest in England
known as the Anarchy (1135-54) when the armies of the two cousins –
Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda – were fighting each other for the
English crown. William was the nephew of Stephen of Blois, which
launched his ecclesiastical career right into the middle of the
political conflict.
However,
the Cistercians of Yorkshire, who had supported Henry Murdac, the
Cistercian Abbot of Fountains Abbey, in the election, with the support
and help of the renowned St. Bernard of Clairvaux, succeeded in accusing
him of simony, sins against chastity, and intrusion, resulting in his
deposition by Pope Eugenius III (also a Cistercian) and the
corresponding appointment of Henry Murdac to head the diocese in
William's place. However, the clergy of York refused to admit Murdac
into the city and he was forced to withdraw and retire to Beverley for
the remainder of his days. He died in 1147.
Anthony
Maria Gianelli was born in 1789 into a middle-class family living near
Genoa in the north of Italy. As a child, people were often struck by his
gentle nature, industriousness, and extraordinary intelligence. When he
came of age, the lady who owned the farm his family lived on became his
generous benefactress and financed his schooling and entry into the
ecclesiastical seminary in Genoa.
Norbert
was born in the year 1080 in Xanten, Germany, to a noble and wealthy
family. Norbert lived a life of pleasure until one day he lost
consciousness after being thrown from his horse during a thunderstorm.
He awoke an hour later, and said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
“Turn from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it,” came the
heavenly reply.
Boniface
was born Winfrid around the year 680 to a respected and noble English
family, and it was to his father’s great displeasure that, at the young
age of five, his son devoted himself to the monastic life.
One
day while she was repeating the Rosary, and praying to Mother Mary to
assist her in this persecution, she saw a letter fall from above. The
paper was of purest white, feeling almost silky to Jane’s touch. The
script flowed along the page as if it were dancing the most elegant of
dances. On the outside were written these words: "Mary, mother of God, to her daughter Jane, greeting;" and within :
On
October 15, 1563 Francis Caracciolo was born into a noble Italian
family. When he was twenty-two, he developed a skin disease similar to
leprosy. The disease was incurable, but Francis vowed that if he was
healed, he would dedicate his life to God and the service of others. He
quickly recovered after his vow and the healing was reported to be
miraculous.
When
Mwanga began to see the Catholics as a threat to his rule, he sentenced
them to death. He ordered his pages into a great room and ordered the
Catholics to separate themselves from the rest. Then he asked if they
intended to remain true to their faith, even when faced with
persecution. “Until death!” they responded.
Although
not much is known about these two early martyrs, we do know that
Marcellinus was a priest in Rome and Peter was an exorcist who worked in
close association with him. They were both renowned for their zeal and
piety and attracted many followers to Christ.
If
an impenitent humanity has every reason to fear every catastrophe, a
repentant humanity has every reason to expect every mercy. Indeed, for
God’s mercy to be poured on the contrite sinner, his repentance need not
have run its full course. Even while still in the depths of the pit, if
the sinner but sincerely and earnestly turn to God with a budding
repentance in his heart, he will immediately find help, for God never
disregards him.
God
is charity, so the simple mention of the Most Holy Name of Jesus evokes
love. It is the infinite, limitless love that drove the Second Person
of the Most Holy Trinity to become man. It is the love expressed in the
utter humiliation of a God Who comes to us as a poor infant, born in a
cave. It is the love shown in those thirty years of hidden life spent in
the humility of the strictest poverty, in the three grueling years of
evangelization, when the Son of Man traveled highways and country roads,
climbed mountains, crossed valleys, rivers and lakes, visited cities
and villages, walked through deserts and hamlets, spoke to rich and
poor, dispensing love and, for the most part, reaping ingratitude. It is
the love manifested in that supreme moment of the Last Supper when,
after generously washing the feet of His apostles, He instituted the
Holy Eucharist. It is the love of that last kiss taken from Judas, of
that poignant look at Peter, of those insults received and born
patiently and meekly, of those sufferings endured until the last drop of
blood was shed. It is the love in that last pardon of Dismas, which
enabled the dying thief to steal heaven. Finally, it is the love
manifested in the supreme gift of a heavenly mother for a wretched
humanity! Each of these episodes has been painstakingly studied by the
learned, wondrously reproduced by artists, devoutly contemplated by
saints, and, above all, incomparably celebrated in the Divine Liturgy.
Many
and beautiful are the invocations used by Holy Mother Church in
reference to Our Blessed Lady. Yet, every single one of these clearly
underscores her relationship to God’s love. Each celebrates either a
gift of God to her, to which she was perfectly faithful, or some special
power or influence she has with her Divine Son.
Íñigo
was born in the eleventh century and was reportedly a native of Bilbao
in northern Spain. Early in life he was drawn to a life of solitude and
left to become a hermit. Later, he traveled to Aragon where he received
the religious habit of a monk at San Juan de Peña, eventually being
elected Prior. His term completed, Íñigo was again drawn to the hermit’s
“desert” and he resumed his hermetical life in the mountains of Aragon.
However, in 1029, King Sancho the Great sought out and was able to
convince Íñigo to become the Abbot of a group of monks in a monastery at
Oña. The monastery, founded by Sancho's father-in-law, was in need of
reform, and he wanted Íñigo to lead the process.
The
feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth
was established throughout the Church in the thirteenth or fourteenth
century.
Promptly
harnessing their donkey, Saint Joseph helped his bride on, and taking
the reins, set out on the ninety-mile trip. Unbeknownst to the holy man,
Mary was already the temple of God-made-man, then only a four-day-old
resplendent little fetus in her virginal womb, now the living Ark of the
Covenant.
A
beautiful detail Venerable Maria of Agreda tells us of this visit is
that wherever Mary went, her burning charity made her ever so attentive
to the needs of those around her.
Joan
of Arc’s story is nothing but extraordinary. Born in Domremy,
Champagne, in 1412, she was a peasant girl who received from on high the
mission of leading France militarily against the invading English.
Accompanied
by respectful soldiers, and dressed in a man’s clothing for her
personal protection, Joan traveled to the court of Charles VII who,
wishing to test the visionary maiden, hid himself among his courtiers.
But Joan promptly picked him out, and set at rest for him an intimate
doubt he had secretly prayed about as to his legitimacy as true son of
the king of France, Charles VI.
William
Arnaud, a Dominican, and companions were sent to Toulouse in the South
of France by Pope Gregory IX to combat the Albigensian heresy then
entrenched throughout the region.
One
day, when Saint Mechtilde was praying and trying to think of some way
in which she could express her love of the Blessed Mother better than
she had done before, she fell into ecstasy.
Germanus,
one of the glories of the Church in France, was born near Autun, about
496. From his early youth he was exceedingly pious, never missing
midnight vespers at a church a mile from his home, regardless of the
weather.