Introduction to Fatima-Divine Mercy and Role of Poland-Russia in Crushing Liberalism

New Era World News

This series is being written because of the immense importance of Fatima for the modern world.

THIS YEAR THE CHURCH IS CELEBRATING the centenary of the appearance of the Mother of God at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Since that time Fatima has become the world’s most prominent center of Marian devotion, a place that John Paul II referred to as the “Marian capitol of the world.”  Given the fact that the Our Lady of Fatima precisely foretold the outbreak of World War II, the rise of communism and the persecution of the Church, Her other prophecies concerning the conversion of Russia to be correlated with an “Era of Peace” are of especial relevance since, unlike the former that have already occurred, these prophesied events are in  the process of occurring.  Any impartial observer of global events can discern the Hand of God at work in the world as Russia is being converted and the nations of the world are one by one in the process of rejecting global liberalism while many are reasserting their Christian patrimonies (Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Poland, France, Asia, Argentina, Middle East).

While New Era has been reporting on these changes since its inception, secular and liberal pundits have also begun to observe the many changes occurring world-wide.  They are, however, misinterpreting, and thus misrepresenting, them as a political movements, movements referred to asPopulist“, when in fact these are primarily moral, cultural, spiritual and religious movements. Unlike other populist movements that have focused on economic and social justice, equal rights for the little guy etc. this new “populist movement” differs from previous populist movements because of its global scope and because it is characterized by moral and spiritual dimensions including the frothy rejection of liberalism that, all taken together, indicate or hint at its religious nature.  Although the movement has profound political ramifications, it is not political in essence. At its core, the populist movement sweeping the globe is related to Our Lady’s promises made at Fatima, promises pertaining to the “Conversion of Russia” and a corollary “Era of Peace“. This highly unusual global movement has a religious or theological etiology that intersects with politics, what New Era refers to as theo-politcal or “Theopolitcs“.

It behooves everyone, Catholic, Protestant and non-Christian to know the Fatima Message due to the import of its contents, contents that are unfolding in front of our eyes on a daily basis.  The current spiritual movement was foreseen by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. De Montfort is a highy significant saint for our times. His evangelical work is so exceptional, that another saint, Saint John Paul II, exhorted the “apostles of today” to draw inspiration from his life and work:

“Now that the need for a new evangelization has become imperative in most parts of the world, Fr de Montfort’s zeal for the Word of God, his solicitude for the very poor, his ability to make himself understood by the simplest folk and to stimulate their piety, his qualities for organizing, his initiatives to sustain fervour by founding spiritual movements and to involve the laity in the service of the poor, all that, with practical adaptations, can inspire the apostles of today” (Letter on 50th anniversary of de Montfort’s canonization).

De Montfort’s facund treatises on the Virgin Mary are so exceptional that John Paul II (in his Encyclical Redemptoris Mater) recommended de Montfort’s Marian spirituality to all the faithful:

“Marian spirituality, like its corresponding devotion, finds a very rich source in the historical experience of individuals and of the various Christian communities present among the different peoples and nations of the world. In this regard, I would like to recall, among the many witnesses and teachers of this spirituality, the figure of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who proposes consecration to Christ through the hands of Mary, as an effective means for Christians to live faithfully their baptismal commitments”.

One of the main reasons for De Montfort’s contemporary relevance is his perspicacious understanding of the role of the Virgin Mary in the “End Times”, times which we are entering.

How do we know we are entering the end times?  One complex and difficult way is the study of sacred scripture especially eschatological literature.  A more simple approach is the fact that Jesus promised to be with His Church until the end of time:

“Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matt 28:20)

And that the Holy Trinity would reveal to the Church all that was going to happen:

“I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you” (John 16: 12-13).

Then, years after His Ascension, Jesus appeared to Saint John on the island of Patmos and He has continued to appear to His saints at special times throughout history.

“And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two edged sword: and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.”

 

And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, And alive, and was dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and of hell. Write therefore the things which thou hast seen, and which are, and which must be done hereafter” (Revelation 1: 12-19).

In the 20th century Jesus revealed Himself to a highly regarded Polish saint, Saint Faustina Kowalska, a poor Polish nun to whom He appeared prior to World War II.  Among other things, He confided to her His love for humanity and His desire to bless the world with an outpouring of Divine Mercy before His final coming as “Just Judge”.  He also revealed His special love for the nation of Poland from which He said would come the “spark” that would prepare the world for His Second Coming.

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Saint Faustina Divine Mercy Message and the End Times

The Divine Mercy Message and Devotion is based on revelations given by Jesus Christ to Saint Faustina  who recorded the revelations she received about the Mercy of God in a voluminous diary, which contains the Message of Divine Mercy (PDF), mercy that God intends for all humanity, especially for those most steeped in sin. Thanks to the love and work of Saint Faustina, Devotion to the Divine Mercy has spread throughout the world.

(c) Knights of Columbus Supreme Council

Devotion to Divine Mercy has gained the highest approbation of the Catholic Church. It has been placed on the universal liturgical calendar of the Church as the Feast of Divine Mercy celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter, also the day on which Pope John Paul II, the “Pope of Mercy” breathed his last breath as the Vicar of Christ and “Apostle of Mercy.”

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JESUS SPOKE TO SAINT FAUSTINA ABOUT HIS SPECIAL LOVE FOR POLAND
“I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming” (Diary, 1732).
The spark of fire that would come forth from Poland began with the pontificate of Saint John Paul II and is spreading around the globe. Poland is the first nation in the 21st century to actually declare Jesus Christ as its king and the Mother of God as its Queen, acts that were carried out by the nation’s president, prime minister, parliament and princes of the Church including the Primate of Poland.

In the presence of President Andrej Duda, Prime Minister, Beata Szydło, and other ranking state officials the bishops prayed: “We entrust to you the Polish people and Polish leaders. Let them exercise their power fairly and in accordance with Your laws.”

 

“Rule us, Christ! Reign in our homeland and reign in every nation — for the greater glory of the Most Holy Trinity and the salvation of mankind.”

The Polish Parliament (Sejm) announced its conviction that the Mother of God has a place of “special importance” for the nation, so special  that they, the Polish Parliament itself, have officially declared 2017 as a jubilee year in honor of Mary whose coronation they have formally recognized as Queen of Poland.

“The Polish Sejm, convinced of the special importance of Marian devotion for our homeland – not only in the religious aspect, but also social, cultural and patriotic – establishes 2017 (as) the Year of the 300th anniversary of the Coronation of the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa,”

The world press is only now beginning to take notice of the special tenor of the events  happening in Poland and related events happening around the globe. The liberal establishment is being shaken to its foundations as Poland is being joined by Hungary, Slovakia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Malaysia, France, Austria, Moldova, Bulgaria and Russia et al. A general global uprising of Euro-skeptic Christian political parties and social movements is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the continent as well as in Asia and Africa. Increasing numbers are rising to challenge secular liberalism and reasserting their Christian or native patrimonies.
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Russia is being converted as promised at Fatima, but Poland has stepped forward igniting the flame of love promised by Jesus. From Poland is coming forth the spark of spiritual renewal, of life giving and cleansing mercy, that flows from the Heart of Christ the King.

Jesus told Saint Faustina that Poland would be the instrumental “spark” that would prepare the world for His “final coming”. Images of that spark that is igniting a fire across Europe and beyond can be viewed in the video below.

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We are living in or about to enter into the “Hour of Mercy”, the time preparatory to Christ’s final coming, a time foreseen by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, a time, in his words, when

 “…great men filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary” …will destroy sin and establish the kingdom of Jesus Christ.”

 

“They are the “great souls filled with . . . zeal” (True Devotion 48), “superior to all creatures by their great zeal” (True Devotion 54). The action of the “true apostles of the end times” (True Devotion 58) consists of spreading “the fire of divine love” everywhere; they are themselves “a flaming fire” (True Devotion 56). In the battle against evil and the enemies of God, these great saints “will become, in Mary’s powerful hands, like sharp arrows,” and they will leave “an odor of death” among the worldly (True Devotion 56). Their work will not be limited to reforming the Church, but will include extending it to “the idolators and Muslims” (True Devotion 59).

De Montfort wrote of the Second Coming of Christ to “reign over all the earth and to judge the living and the dead”. Prior to His coming, he foresaw “great men filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary”, men whom he said will “destroy sin and establish the kingdom of Jesus Christ.”  Poland has already taken the first steps in bringing this eschatological vision of De Montfort to fruition.  As of November 1, 2016, Jesus Christ is the King of Poland.

“These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides. They will be exceptionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Illumined by her light, strengthened by her spirit, supported by her arms, sheltered under her protection, they will fight with one hand and build with the other.”

De Montfort concludes:

“Towards the end of the world … Almighty God and His holy Mother are to raise up saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above little shrubs….Mary scarcely appeared in the first coming of Christ….

 

“But in the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary must be known and openly revealed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus may be known, loved and served through her.”

All the above provide strong reason to believe that the world is entering (or has already entered) into a graced moment of sacred history, a time that Jesus, Himself, said was preparatory to His final coming, a time that has been confirmed by the highest authority in the Church, a time in which the Virgin Mary’s Fatima prophecies pertaining to the conversion of Russia and a corollary Era of Peace are being fulfilled. Since there is strong reason to believe what Our Lady foretold at Fatima is upon us (during this 100th anniversary year of Her 1917 appearances), it is through this “Fatima Lens” that we can correctly discern what is happening around the globe – the so-called global populist phenomenon is a prodigious phenomenon related to Fatima and the coming Christian renewal during an Era of Peace prior to the final onslaught by the anti-Christ at the end of the world.

It is the purpose of this “Fatima Series” to  familiarize the reader with the Fatima Message beginning with the three visits by the archangel Michael in 1916, followed by six visits of Our Lady in 1917 and other visits to Sister Lucia at Tuy and Pontevedra, Spain and Rianjo.  The series will also include an article on the Three Secrets of Fatima and another about the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.  This later article will conclude the series; it is also the most contentious issue in Fatima circles. There are many strong Catholic traditionalists who argue that the consecration requested by Our Lady has not been fulfilled because She specifically asked for the consecration of “Russia”, but John Paul II, who made the consecration in 1984, did not mention Russia.

Specifically, instead of “Russia”, John Paul II consecratedindividuals and nationsand theworld” but not Russia.

“In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be entrusted and consecrated.”

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“In entrusting to you, oh Mother, the world, all individuals and peoples, we also entrust to you this very consecration of the world, placing it in your motherly Heart.”

Because he did not mention “Russia” specifically, many have wrongly concluded that the consecration is invalid – even though affirmed by every pope since John Paul II and by Sister Lucia herself.

New Era will demonstrate the erroneous nature of this false contention. Using the formal Fatima literature accepted by both parties (those who accept and those who reject the validity of John Paul II’s 1984 consecration) it will be demonstrated that Pope John Paul II’s 1984 Act of Consecration accurately fulfill’s Our Lady’s requests and that the far-right Fatima detractors are not only disobedient but also in gross error.

In fact, for the first time it will be shown from the Fatima documents themselves that it was the “world” not “Russia” that should have been consecrated  In other words, John Paul II after studying the literature brought to him in Gemelli Hospital (where he was treated and recovering from assassin’s wounds) acted correctly: The “world” not just “Russia” needed to be consecrated.  The pope was not derelict in his papal duties; he was not hemmed in by diplomatic agreements (ostpolitik), nor did he suffer from fear of Communist retaliation as maintained by many ultra-traditionalists.  John Paul II acting in his role as Supreme Pontiff understood the Fatima Message and its cultural and historical contexts, the contexts in which it was given in 1917 and in which the Church was living in 1984.  After conducting an exhaustive and prayerful study of the documents, graced by wounds he united to the blood of Christ, he purposefully worded the consecration the way it was delivered because it was the correct prayer formula as requested by both Our Lord and Our Lady as will be shown.

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UNDERSCORING THE IMPORTANCE OF FATIMA FOR THE MODERN WORLD

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Beginning with Pope Pius XII, every modern pope has either pointed out the importance of Fatima, visited  Fatima, or consecrated “humanity”, the “world”, or “Russia” to Our Lady of Fatima. Modern papal consecrations include:

  • Pope Pius XII October 31, 1942  consecrated all of humanity over Vatican radio in Portuguese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
  • Pope Pius XII December 28, 1942 repeated the consecration at St. Peter’s
  • Then on July 7, 1952, the same pope consecrated all the people in Russian lands to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
  • Pope Paul VI November 21, 1964 renewed in the presence of the Fathers of the Vatican Council (but without their participation) the consecration of  Russia to the Immaculate Heart.
  • Pope John Paul II May 13, 1982 on a trip to Fatima to thank Virgin for miraculous recovery,  consecrated the world to the Mother of all Peoples.
  • Then on March 25, 1984, Pope John Paul II conducted a worldwide collegial consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Peter’s Square before statue of Our Lady of Fatima flown in from Fatima.

Later Sister Lucia, the last survivor of the three children to whom Our Lady appeared in 1917, confirmed the validity of the March 25 consecration made by Pope John Paul II.

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WHERE IS FATIMA AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Fatima is situated in the foothills of the Serra de Aire Mountains about one hundred miles north of Lisbon, Portugal.  It has become a worldwide pilgrimage destination and international shrine visited by every modern pope as a place of human spiritual and social renewal. Saint John Paul II referred to Fatima as the, “Marian capitol of the world.” Fatima was once a little known Portuguese village, until a series of three angelic apparitions prepared the way for a visitation by Blessed Virgin Mary to three small children thereafter drawing more than four million visitors annually to the site. Fatima is of such contemporary importance that one of the first actions taken by newly elected Pope Francis was to consecrate his entire pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima. This was followed by World Youth Day in Rio de Janero, which he also entrusted to Our Lady of Fatima. Then, on Oct. 13, 2013 he entrusted the entire world to Our Lady of Fatima followed by conversations with Vladimir Putin relevant to Christianity in the modern world and the role of Russia in defending Christians in the Middle East as will be detailed in this series of articles on Fatima.

The first apparition of Our Lady took place on May 13, 1917, just prior to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.  On this date the Mother of Jesus appeared at Fatima to three shepherd children, Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto.  She came to turn the nations embroiled in world war back to God and to make an appeal for world peace.

Thereafter, she visited the children on the 13th of every month for six consecutive months making a number of prophecies now popularly known as the “Three Secrets of Fatima.” According to the official Catholic interpretation, the three secrets involve Hell, World War I and World War II, and the attempted assassination by gunshot of Pope John Paul II. The apparitions culminated with the unprecedented “Miracle of the Sun,” which she performed before a gathering of some 70,000 pilgrims and skeptics (including atheists and Free Masons) on October 13, 1917 as she had said she would so that “all might believe”.

The Virgin Mary told the children that Holy Mother Russia, the bastion of Orthodox Christianity, would become a communist nation and that it would lead a world-wide persecution of the church and that various nations would be annihilated.

She also told the children that in the end Russia would be converted if and when the pope in union with all the bishops of the world consecrated Russia to her Immaculate Heart.

After much stalling, intrigue and diplomacy, as mentioned above, Pope John Paul II finally made the requested consecration on March 25, 1984. He was moved to do this for several reasons, chief among them the would-be assassin’s bullets that struck him landed on May 13, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, which he was celebrating in Rome.  In his own words,

“It was a mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path and in his throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death” (Pope John Paul II, Meditation from the Policlinico Gemelli to the Italian Bishops, 13 May 1994).

While recovering in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital he had the Fatima texts removed from the Vatican Archives and personally presented to him. Lying in the hospital, prayerfully studying the Fatima dossier, he recognized himself as the pope “dressed in white” spoken about in the “third secret”, the pope whom Our Lady referred to when she told the children that the “holy father” would have much to suffer, implicitly at the hands of the communists.

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Pope John Paul II Recognized Himself as the Pope Dressed in White in the Third Secret of Fatima

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Subsequently, he had the bullet removed from his body sent to Fatima to be placed in the crown of the Virgin statue. Then, on March 25, 1984, he proceeded to consecrate the world to Our Lady of Fatima in union with the bishops. Following that collegial act he then also decided to publicly reveal the much guarded “Third Secret of Fatima” for the first time since it was given to the children in 1917.

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Pope John Paul II Consecrating the World to Our Lady of Fatima

Following the 1984 papal consecration, as promised, communism was toppled, the Solidarity movement gained momentum in Poland, the Berlin wall came down and one after another the nations behind the “Iron Curtain” were given political and then religious freedom – Russia was being converted as Our Lady of Fatima had promised.

The granting of religious freedom in Russia was followed by an increasing number of significant events including the removal of the communist flag from over the Kremlin for the last time on Christmas day, December 25, 1991 thereby symbolizing the end of atheistic communism and foreshadowing the return of Russia as a world power to its ancient Christian patrimony—the rebirth of Christianity on Christmas day.

A new spring-time was occurring in the North. Russia had reemerged as a sovereign nation granting religious freedom to Christians and other world religions. and then Vladimir Putin committed Russia to the protection of Christians throughout the Middle East. On June 1, 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a new law commemorating July 28 as a national holiday thereby officially recognizing the founding of Russia as a Christian nation with the baptism of Prince Vladimir in Kiev in 988.  Speaking at the annual celebration commemorating the “Baptism of the Russ,” he said:

“The continual work of the Russian Orthodox Church will affect the revival of Christianity in our nation. Thanks to the Orthodox faith, Russian culture through the years, has acquired Biblical values on which the system of moral ideals for our nation is built” (US Department of State, 2010).

It is the purpose of this “Fatima Series” to familiarize the reader with Fatima beginning with the three visits by the archangel Michael in 1916, followed by six visits of Our Lady in 1917 and other visits to Sister Lucia at Tuy and Pontevedra, Spain and Rianjo. In all there were 14 apparitions and locutions: Three angelic apparitions prior to the six consecutive appearances of Our Lady in 1917. These were followed by five more post 1917 apparitions/locutions to Sister Lucia from 1925 through 1931 and several important communications between Sister Lucia and her spiritual director that are essential to the Message of Fatima.

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NOTE

The following articles will focus on the essential communications that took place on each of these dates. Description of the apparitions are borrowed from Sister Lucia’s Memoirs: “Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words”  (2007), Fatima, Portugal.




Introduction to Fatima: The Three Angelic Apparitions of 1916

New Era World News

IN THE WORDS OF Prof. Americo Lopez Ortiz, International President of the World Apostolate of Fatima

“The Message of Fatima has it all: The doctrinal richness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; its freshness, images, gestures of the primitive Christian catechesis; the calls to penance from Saint John the Baptist, preparing the way for the Redeemer; the strong eschatological accents of Christ before the ruins of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44); the didactic force of Jesus’ parables; the simple life of the villagers, their emotional gestures and learned prayers; the prophetic contents of the Book of Revelation with the confrontation between “the Woman clothed with the sun… and the red dragon”; as well as God’s seal with the Miracle of the Sun October 13, 1917 (video 5:32) and the profound spiritual peace found in that holy place where heaven and earth meet for the welfare of humanity.

Fatima might be called a “Concise Summa of the Catholic Faith“, as Prof Americo states, “Fatima has it all.” Nonetheless, the immense compilation of theological truths began in a very simple yet profound way with the appearance of an angel who came three times as a messenger to prepare the children for subsequent visitations by the Mother of God (video 3:02). Our Lady appeared six times on the 13th of six consecutive months beginning in May and culminating in October, 1917. These visits were followed by a seventh, which was a special visit to Lucia on her departure from Fatima. These seven visitations were followed by two lesser known additional visitations each of great significance: Pontevedra and Tuy, Spain.

The visitations can be studied individually but bear more fruit when studied systematically as one body forming “a unique and perfect message coming from heaven, having the objective of explaining the Gospel of the beloved Son of God for our times so that nobody could excuse himself or herself from being unable to read ‘the signs for our time’”.

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FIRST ANGELIC APPARITION

BETWEEN APRIL AND OCTOBER 1916, the “Guardian Angel of Portugal” also referred to as the “Angel of Peace” appeared to Jacinta and Francisco Marto and Lucia dos Santos.

The children were tending sheep and wandered into an olive grove on their godfather’s parent’s property. After eating lunch the began to pray the rosary followed by some games when a strong wind began to bellow through the trees.  Looking to the east from which direction the wind was blowing they beheld a “light whiter than snow and in the form of a young man, transparent and brighter than crystal pierced by the sun.” The young man proceeded closer and closer until the children could clearly see his facial features.

His first words were:

“Do not be afraid. I am the angel of peace. Pray with me.”

The angel then knelt down bending his forehead to the ground. Motivated by a supernatural impulse the children did the same, repeating the words they heard the angel saying, words that constitute the first prayer taught to the children at Fatima – a Trinitarian prayer of faith, adoration, hope, love and intercession:

“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You.”

After repeating this prayer three times the angel rose and said to us:

“Pray in this way. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are ready to listen to you.”

The Angel then disappeared leaving the children enveloped in a supernatural aura that was so intense that they remained unaware of their own existence for a long time afterward even extending into the following day. Although secrecy was not required of them, they felt an interior impulse that they should not talk about the event to anyone.

Because the prayer was repeated three times, it can be interpreted as an intercessory prayer of reparation to the Holy Trinity for atheists (those who do not believe in God) and for tepid souls who believe in Him but do not adore Him, love Him or hope in Him. The children were being taught to repair for the sins of unbelief, for souls too immersed in themselves and the world to love God by their own acts of belief, adoration, hope and love, which the children were taught to make for them.  The first Fatima petition is a petition to pardon atheists (those who do not believe) presaging the forth-coming growth of Atheistic Communism that the Mother of God will address later in July of 1917.

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SECOND ANGELIC APPARITION

In this visit the Angel, in addition to prayers for pardon requested at his first visit, urges the children to pray constantly and to offer sacrifices in order to make to make reparation for sins.

“Suddenly we saw an angel beside us”:

“What are you doing?” he said.  “Pray, Pray very much! The hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High”

“How are we to make sacrifices?”

Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for sins by which he is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of poor sinners.  You will thus draw down peace upon your country, I am its Angel Guardian, the Angel of Portugal. Above all accept and bear with submission the suffering which the Lord will send you.”

This apparition enveloped the children in the same supernatural aura that the first had. Francisco was able to see, but he did not hear what the angel had to say nor would the girls reveal it to him until an entire day had passed. The angel’s words were so efficacious and trenchant that, according to Lucia they

“Sank into our souls like a gleaming torch showing us Who God is, what is His love for us, and how he wants us to love Him too; the value of sacrifice and how it pleases Him; how He receives it for the conversion of sinners. That is why from that moment we began to offer Him whatever mortified us.”

The children were being taken deeper into the meaning of reparation prayer and the ineffable mystery of Divine Love that unites Father to Son and man to God in the Son.  They were being led along the road of spiritual perfection in imitation of Christ; they were being taught to offer their lives as a sacrifice of love for the sins of others in order to win grace from the Holy Trinity for their conversion and to draw down peace upon their country

In addition to the rosary taught them by their parents and other prayers a child raised in a Catholic country might know, they had been taught only one prayer from the Angel of Peace:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You.”

Armed with so few prayers, they were nonetheless equipped to move heaven. Here, in this second apparition, the Angel of Peace adds a request for sacrifice to enhance the power of their prayer. Prayer enhanced by sacrifice with the intention of making reparation merits grace for the pardon of sinners and draws down peace upon a country.

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THIRD ANGELIC APPARITION

In “October or towards the “end of September” (1916) on the slope of a small hill facing Aljustrel the children stopped to say their rosary and the prayer taught them by the Angel during the first apparition.

During this visit the Angel of Peace reveals that the Lord is greatly offended by sins against the Blessed Sacrament.  Their simple prayers and sincere sacrifices are now elevated and given Eucharistic meaning. They are taught to offer the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the greatest and only acceptable sacrifice (the Eucharist), to the Holy Trinity for offenses with which He is offended. Therefore, the Angel of Portugal appeared in front of the children holding a chalice with a host suspended above it from which dripped some drops of blood that fell into the sacred vessel.

The Angel left the chalice and host suspended in the air, he again prostrated himself on the ground and repeated a new prayer (a pre-communion prayer) again, three times.

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly, and I offer You 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 with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of you the conversion of poor sinners.”

He then took the chalice and host in his hands and gave the host to Lucia and the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco saying as he did so:

“Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, HORRIBLY OUTRAGED by ungrateful men.  (1) Repair their crimes and (2) console your God.”

Then he showed the children how to console and make reparation to the Holy Trinity for sins committed against the Body and Blood of Christ:

The angel prostrated himself on the ground and three times repeated the pre-communion prayer, which is also the post-communion prayer, a  prayer of adoration and reparation to the “Most Holy Trinity” for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference that are so offensive to Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world and for the conversion of poor sinners.

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in (1) REPARATION for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (2) I beg of you the CONVERSION of poor sinners.”

The angel then disappeared.

During this visit the Angel revealed that the gravest sins must be atoned for by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  These sins the angel refers to as “horrible outrages”.  They are committed by men and women who do not appreciate the agony and suffering born of love that the Son of God bore for them on the Cross and the agony He still endures by outrages committed against Him in the the Eucharist, outrages committed by ungrateful men, which apparently had already reached a large number by 1916, a number that was going to grow.

The angel also taught the children to pray for “poor sinners”.  He did not say that Jesus is “horribly outraged” by poor sinners.  He refers to them only as poor sinners, sinners in need of consolation; sinners led astray, sinners who are perhaps ignorant and weak, sinners who have been neglected and mal-formed by those who call themselves leaders, those who claim to know the truths about God but are blind:

“And Jesus said: For judgment I am come into this world; that they who see not, may see; and they who see, may become blind. And some of the Pharisees, who were with him, heard: and they said unto him: Are we also blind? Jesus said to them: If you were blind, you should not have sin: but now you say: We see. Your sin remaineth” (John 9: 39-41).

Leaders such as these, although they claim to have wisdom (esoteric wisdom) and to know the paths that lead to God, leaders such as these (men who horribly outrage God while thinking they are doing a service to man) make those who follow them more fit for hell then they ever were before they met these “blind guides”:

“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves” (Matt 23:15).

The Angel of Peace defined two groups of sinners here; he was indicating the growth of atheists and theosophists who were manning the secret societies of communism and masonry.  He made a distinction between those who “horribly outrage” God and those referred to as “poor sinners.” This idea is echoed in the Gospels where the Lord refers to evil men who do not believe Him and who conspire against Him as “Sons of the Devil”:

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But if I say the truth, you believe me not. Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God” (John 8:44-47).

The other group, the poor sinners are also represented in the Gospel; they are the “sheep without a shepherd”, poor sinners on whom He had compassion (Matt 9:36). The first group are to be punished more severely, the second, hardly at all. (Luke 12: 47-48).

But it is not the Lord’s intent to punish anyone; He came not to punish but to save:

“For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him” (John 3: 16-17).

Therefore, He wants all degrees of sin repaired and all sinners to be pardoned and converted; He wants His little children to participate in the salvation of many by imitating Him, by their prayer and sacrifice united to His prayer and sacrifice.

Finally, the angel revealed the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary, which will have a prominent place in the visitations of the Blessed Mother when she appears in 1917.  The Messages and lessons taught by the Angel of Peace can be seen as propaedeutic or preparatory to the lessons that will be taught by the Blessed Mother.  The children were being prepared to receive her.  Clearly, the best way to prepare the heart to receive graces from the Queen of Heaven is prayer and sacrifice united to and in imitation of Her Divine Son, especially the rosary offered in conjunction with the Eucharist in reparation for “poor sinners” and for outrageous sinners whom Jesus desires to win back from the clutches of darkness.

For the third time, the prayer taught to the children at the culmination of the visits by the Angel of Peace is a Eucharistic prayer and an invocation to the Sacred Hearts for both evil men deeply steeped in sin, esp. sins against the Eucharist and for poor sinners, men an women who sin through weakness and ignorance or willfully commit sins but not outrageous sacrileges.

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in
(1) REPARATION for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended” 
(as the Angel said Jesus is HORRIBLY OUTRAGED by ungrateful men). “And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (2) I beg of you the CONVERSION of poor sinners.”

This prayer was to be both the children’s pre-communion prayer at the elevation of the host and also their post-communion prayer of consolation and reparation to the Holy Trinity for the conversion of sinners as taught to them by the Angel of Peace.

This is a prayer worthy of committing to memory.  It is a prayer repeated by angels and taught directly by the Angel of Peace to the children at Fatima for the consolation of Jesus, for the conversion of sinners, and as the final preparation for the visit of the Virgin Mary seven months later.

rfr

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NOTES

It is important to note that although the Holy Trinity is eternally happy, nonetheless God does have emotions and can be outraged, feel pain etc. This is possible in the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ who is both true God and true man.  As a man, Jesus Christ can suffer pain and anguish caused by ungrateful men who commit outrages and sacrileges against the Eucharist and to a lesser extent by anyone who shows indifference to Him in the sacrament of love, that is in the Holy Eucharist.

This final prayer also introduces the Virgin Mary into the Fatima dialogue and associates Her Immaculate Heart with the redemptive work of her Divine Son.

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What are Outrages – Sacrileges – Indifferences?

The Lord’s greatest gift to the world is the Eucharist  -The sacrifice that makes us whole and by which He is wedding humanity to His Divinity thereby making us divine as the Body of Christ.

Sacrilege and indifference are verbs for sins committed against the Holy Trinity especially in the Eucharist. These are sins against Jesus Christ Himself.

  • Outrages: are acts that arouse fierce anger, shock, or indignation
  • Sacrileges: are violations or injurious treatments of sacred objects dedicated to the worship of God. 

There are three kinds of sacrilege: sacrilege of person, of place, and of things (real sacrilege).

A person commits a sacilege by the administration or reception of the sacraments while in the state of mortal sin. Deliberate and notable irreverence towards the Holy Eucharist is reputed the worst of all sacrileges.

Sacrilege also includes conscious maltreatment of sacred pictures or relics or the perversion of Holy Scripture or sacred vessels by using them for profane purposes. Sometimes the guilt of sacrilege may be incurred by omitting what is required for the proper administration of the sacraments or celebration of the sacrifice, as for example, if one were to say Mass without the sacred vestments.

  • Indifference

Indifference entails the neglect of religious duties either by those who do or do not believe in the necessity and utility of religion.

Indifference extends especially to failures related to the precepts of the Church:

  • Observance of Fast Days
  • Attendance at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days
  • Reception of the Eucharist at least once a year
  • Confession once a year at Easter,
  • Observance of the Church’s marriage laws
  • Help provided for needs of church

Article Two Fatima Series
Article One Introduction