In her apparitions, in Fátima, Our Lady entrusted the three shepherd children with a message that remains current for us.
In 1917, Our Lady appeared in Fátima to three children: Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta, to reveal to the world a message that was significant for that time, but which has not lost its importance in our days. In his book “Light of the World”, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that the message of Fátima helps us “understand a critical moment in history: the one in which all the force of evil that crystallized in the great dictatorships is unleashed and that, otherwise, it still acts today”1. These two great dictatorships, Nazism and Communism, which together killed hundreds of millions of people, devastated Europe and Asia, and, after the “fall”, spread their errors throughout the world.
The defiant response to all these errors “does not consist of great political actions, but, ultimately, it can only come from the transformation of hearts. In this sense, the message of Fatima is not completed, even if the two great dictatorships have disappeared”2, as the suffering of the Church remains, the threat to people remains, which is present not only through persecution, violence, slavery, of death, as we see in the Islamic world and in communist countries, but also in ideologies: relativism, feminism, gender ideology, culture of death and many other errors that corrupt cultures and societies around the world.
The apparitions of Fátima and Penance for the salvation of souls
To face all these evils, the answer given to us in the message of Fátima remains current, the guidance that Mary revealed to us through Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta persists. As the Blessed Virgin prophesied, our time is marked by great tribulations. Today, the power of darkness threatens to trample our faith in every possible way. Therefore, in our days, as in the past, the teachings that the Mother of God transmitted to the three shepherd children are necessary.
In the letter with the third secret of Fátima, revealed by Our Lady to the shepherd children, on July 13, 1917, Sister Lúcia describes an extraordinary vision that helps us understand the importance of penance, especially for our time: “(…) we saw on the left side of Our Lady, a little higher, an angel with a sword of fire in his left hand; when it sparkled, it released flames that seemed to set the world on fire; but they were extinguished by the contact of the glow that Our Lady sent towards her from her right hand. The angel, pointing with his right hand towards the earth, with a loud voice said: Penance, Penance, Penance!”3
The word “penance” appears no less than 57 times in the “Critical Documentation of Fátima”. In her apparitions, Our Lady insistently recommended that everyone do penance, including the three children, seers of the apparitions. Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta did hard penances, mainly for the conversion and salvation of sinners.
Among the penances asked of us by the Virgin of Fátima, the word “sacrifice”, which appears 38 times in the Documentation, is also very important for understanding the Message of Fátima. In the 4th apparition, on August 19, 1917, Our Lady gave an express order to the little shepherds: “Pray, pray a lot, and make sacrifices for sinners”, she said. “Many souls go to hell because there is no one to sacrifice themselves and ask for them”4. Because it is one of the means that the Virgin Mary revealed to us to ward off the evils of the world. Some sacrifices were taught by the Virgin herself, such as praying on her knees, fasting and abstinence. But others were the three children who had inspiration, as happened once, when they found a rough rope on the path they were walking on. The three little shepherds took the rope and divided it to wear around their waists like a hair shirt 5, day and night.
Our Lady and the Holy Rosary for the salvation of sinners
O is of great importance in the message of Fátima. The very title with which the Virgin Mary introduced herself reveals the great importance of this Marian prayer for the Church in our time. Our Lady introduced herself to the shepherd children under the title of “Lady of the Rosary”. This name appears 121 times in the Documentation of the apparitions. The term “Rosary” appears 282 times; and the name “Our Lady of the Rosary”, 51 times in the Document.
Read more:
In fact, the Virgin herself asked Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta to pray the rosary to Our Lady of the Rosary. Firstly, for their own sins, but also and, mainly, for the salvation of sinners. Devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary began with the construction of a chapel dedicated to her, in Cova da Iria, the place of the apparitions. With the increasing pilgrimage of the faithful and their manifest desire, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima was erected, which was later elevated to a Sanctuary.
Our Lady insistently asked the little shepherds to pray the Rosary in a private way for the salvation of the souls in hell. At first, the three children did not take the Virgin Mary’s request very seriously. They quickly prayed to have more time for the games common to children their age. But, in a short time, they began to pray the Holy Rosary with great fervor, as they understood the importance of praying the Rosary for the salvation of souls.
Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary
On June 13, 1917, in the second of her apparitions in Fátima, Our Lady entrusted a special mission to little Lúcia, precisely when she asked to take the three of them to heaven. The Blessed Virgin replied: “Yes. Jacinta and Francisco, I’ll take them soon; but you’ll stay here for a while longer. Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my To whoever embraces it, I promise salvation and these souls will be dear to God, like flowers placed by me to adorn his throne”. “Am I staying here alone?” she said sadly. “No, daughter, I will never leave you, my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God.”6
After hearing these words, Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta saw the Virgin Mary with a heart in her hand, surrounded by thorns. The little shepherds understood that this was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, which needed reparation. In the next apparition, on July 13, the Blessed Virgin repeated the same words and said that she would return to ask for the reparative devotion of the first Saturdays. Seven years later, on December 10, 1925, in Pontevedra, Spain, the reparative devotion of the five first Saturdays was revealed to Sister Lúcia, at the time a postulant at the Institute of Santa Dorothea. At first, the Sister was perplexed and did not want to expose the fact. Only in December 1927, by order of her confessor, Lúcia wrote the words addressed to her by the Blessed Virgin: “Look, my daughter, at my heart surrounded by thorns, which ungrateful men constantly prick me with blasphemies and ingratitude. . You, at least, console me and say that all those who, for five months, on the first Saturday, go to confession, receiving a Rosary to pray, and keep me company for fifteen minutes, meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with In order to make amends, I promise to assist them at the time of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of these souls”7.
The message of Fatima as a remedy against the evils of today’s world
Thus, the message of Fátima had great importance at that historical moment. However, almost a hundred years later, Our Lady’s message remains current. Perhaps, today, more than at that time, penances will be effective remedies against the unbridled search for material things, pleasure and power. The Holy Rosary will be a “weapon” against the power of demons. The devotion of the First Saturdays, in reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, will be the safe path for many souls to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today, the great dictatorships continue to operate today, through false religions, struggles for power and wealth. In Fátima, the answer given to us by the Virgin Mary does not consist of great political actions, but in the transformation of hearts through penance and sacrifice, the prayer of the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
If we listen to the appeals of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, we will see, in Brazil and in all parts of the world, what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI saw: “In Fátima, I saw hundreds of thousands of people who, through what Mary had entrusted children, in this world full of obstacles and closures, to somehow regain access to God”8. Our encounter with the Lord will be the great triumph prophesied by the Virgin Mary: “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph”9.
Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima, pray for us!
References:
1 POPE BENEDICT XVI. Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the signs of the times, p. 197.
https://www.paulinas.org.br/loja/luz-do-mundo
2 Idem, ibid.
3 CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH. The message of Fatima.
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_po.html
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_po.html
4 FATHER PAULO RICARDO. The Miracle of the Sun, “so that everyone may believe”.
https://padrepauloricardo.org/blog/o-milagre- do-sol- para-que- todos-acreditem
5 “The cilice is an object that is used to bother the skin, and can be made up of rough fabrics, burlap bags or even small irons that, far from piercing the skin, cause some discomfort, being effective in mortifying the sense of touch” . FATHER PAULO RICARDO. Does the Church still approve the use of a hair shirt? https://padrepauloricardo.org/episodios/a-igreja-still-aprova-o-uso-do-cilicio
6 SANCTUARY OF FÁTIMA. Critical Documentation of Fátima Selection of documents (1917-1930), p. 354. http://www.fatima.pt/files/upload/fontes/F001_DCF_selecao.pdf
7 Idem, ibid.
8 POPE BENEDICT XVI. Op. cit., p. 196.
9 CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH. Op. cit.