Another thought on Fatima ...

The only photo I have of the icon

I did for the World Apostolate of Fatima.

We must be very careful not to take one part of the message and allow it to overshadow and obscure the full truth of Fatima. I fear that some have concentrated only on the secret, the collegial consecration, the practical details of the conversion of Russia or the various phenomena such as the solar miracle or the vision of hell and by so doing miss or render myopic the Blessed Virgin's central teaching: The application of the grace of the redemption is accomplished through the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. By giving himself or herself unreservedly to God through conversion, prayer, sacrifice and other acts of charity, each member of the Church is called to be an instrument of Christ in the work of saving souls. - Fr. Frederick Miller

I know Fr. Miller.  I did an icon for him, and another which he commissioned for the World Apostolate of Fatima, which has since been lost BTW.  (Or painted over, but that's another story.)

Fr. Miller has always emphasized the theological and catechetical dimension of the message of Fatima, the call to holiness and fidelity to the Vicar of Christ.  I have not been in touch with him for many years, but I'm sure he has not changed in his promotion of the Fatima message and devotion.

 Rereading some of his writings, it seems very clear to me that he thinks in accord with the Church and not only accepts and believes the consecration was accomplished and accepted by heaven - he understands its significance and purpose.  Our Lady requested the consecration to prevent the spread of errors propagated by atheistic communism and for the conversion of Russia.  It was a message for the Pope.  It has been accomplished, though errors have spread.  Yet Russia has been converted, churches reopened and so on.  Communism has collapsed, the Soviet Union broken apart, and so on.  Communism may not be entirely eradicated on a global scale - principally because the errors of Russia have spread throughout the world.  In explaining why the entire Russian nation did not return to the faith in a mass conversion, Sr. Lucia said the Russian people are free to return to God - or not - God respects our free will.  Nevertheless, the Russian Church has been 'resurrected' so to speak.

Which is why I'm confused and disappointed by people who lobby to have the Pope consecrate Russia once again.  

Anyway.  I have to let it go.  I've spent too much time on the subject and my opinion doesn't have any effect upon Fatimists.  If they don't believe the Holy Father or the Church, or even the seer Sr. Lucia, they will never be convinced.

Tomorrow, August 19 is the 100 Anniversary of the Fourth Apparition of Our Lady at Fatima

"I Want you to continue to go to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, that you continue to say the Rosary every day. I, in the last month will make the miracle that all will believe." Then with a sadder appearance told them: "Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for the sinners. You know that many souls go the hell because there is none who pray for them." - OL of Fatima, August 19, 1917

Another word on Cardinal Burke

In another address, Cardinal Burke does demonstrate or links his opinion on Fatima, the apostasy, as well as the notion of an incomplete consecration of Russia to the interpretations of Frere Michel:

"I now return to the third part of the Secret or Message of Fatima. Without entering into a discussion regarding whether the third part of the Secret has been fully revealed [...] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, in his monumental study of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, writes the following regarding the third part of the Secret or what is often called the Third Secret:

In short, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary undoubtedly refers much more to the third Secret than even the second. For the recovery of peace will be a gift from Heaven, but it is not, properly speaking, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her victory is of another order, supernatural, and then temporal by addition. It will first be the victory of the Faith, which will put an end to the time of apostasy, and the great shortcomings of the Church’s pastors.[23]" - Source

Cardinal Burke obviously disagrees with Sr. Lucia and the Holy See that the consecration was accomplished and accepted by heaven - Lucia specifically stated that the consecration was indeed accepted by heaven, and therefore fulfilled Our Lady's request.  (Ed. note: As a reader pointed out to me, Cardinal Burke insists he believes the consecration was accomplished and accepted by heaven - he states that - yet despite that, he thinks a consecration should be made exactly as OL requested.  See my note in the com box.)

What Sr. Lucia stated very clearly:

The third part of the secret is a symbolic revelation, referring to this part of the Message, conditioned by whether we accept or not what the Message itself asks of us: ‘If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, etc.'.

Since we did not heed this appeal of the Message, we see that it has been fulfilled, Russia has invaded the world with her errors. And if we have not yet seen the complete fulfilment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides. If we do not reject the path of sin, hatred, revenge, injustice, violations of the rights of the human person, immorality and violence, etc.

And let us not say that it is God who is punishing us in this way; on the contrary it is people themselves who are preparing their own punishment. In his kindness God warns us and calls us to the right path, while respecting the freedom he has given us; hence people are responsible”. - Message of Fatima

As for the request made by Our Lady for the consecration of Russia, Sr. Lucia stated that is was finally fulfilled by Pope John Paul II in union with the bishops of the world in 1984. (Albeit late, as Our Lord foretold to Sr. Lucia.)

I come to answer your question, "If the consecration made by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984 in union with all the bishops of the world, accomplished the conditions for the consecration of Russia according to the request of Our Lady in Tuy on June 13 of 1929?" Yes, it was accomplished, and since then I have said that it was made. - Sr. Lucia

Everything else is speculation and invention - conspiracy theories feeding off of sensationalized interpretations of so-called secrets (occult) given to visionaries since the La Salette apparitions, so many variations of which make it difficult to ascertain credibility.

Sr Lucia stated more than once that the essential part of the message for the faithful to know had been revealed early on.

We are living the consequences.

Sr. Lucia pointed that out in one of her interviews.  Even without consideration of the secret of Fatima, we know that the good are martyred and the Holy Father does suffer much.  We see it happening before our eyes.

Yesterday someone commented saying he hoped the consecration of Russia would be made quickly - apparently because it is urgent to do so as soon as possible, as if to forestall some chastisement or disaster.  This is the attitude generated by those who dispute the affirmations by the Holy See and the testimony of Sr. Lucia that the consecration made by St. John Paul in 1984 was accepted.  It is as if it is not good enough for Fatimists, convinced they know better than the Church - even Our Lady herself.

"Private revelation is not on equal par with Scripture, Tradition, liturgy, magisterium." - Diakonos

In this centenary of Fatima, the clamor over the so called Third Secret has taken on the occult dimensions of Bayside-Necedah followers. Outrageous claims and conspiracy theories discrediting the Pope and Magisterium of the Catholic Church circulate everywhere.  Talk about the smoke of Satan infiltrating the Church.

I believe these people are adding to the confusion in the Church with their over reliance upon private revelations to defend their positions and opinions.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for clarifications concerning doctrinal content in Amoris laetitia or any other statement from the pope or fellow cardinals, but it seems to me it would be better to do so with respect, discretion, based upon sound theological and doctrinal principles.

I may be wrong.

What?

August 17 is the Liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Knock

Our Lady of Knock 

A mosaic of the apparition 

which took place on August 21, 1879.

The mirror of the Apocalypse.

I always thought the liturgical feast/memorial was celebrated on August 21, turns out it has been assigned to August 17.

Author Emmett O'Reagan believes this apparition at Knock has tremendous significance for our times, and is perhaps best understood in light of the Book of Revelation and the great silence in heaven, signaled by the opening of the seven seals by the Lamb.

O'Reagan "attempts to show how the apparitions which took place at Knock, in County Mayo in Ireland in 1879, were intended to announce the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals described in the Apocalypse. During these apparitions, the Blessed Virgin appeared alongside the Lamb of Revelation, together with St. Joseph and St. John. The presence of the author of the Book of Revelation together with Christ in the form of the Lamb of God gives us a strong connotation that this apparition is apocalyptic in character, and that it was chiefly concerned with the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals described in Rev 5." - Source

The anniversary of the apparition at Knock is commemorated on August 21, and some conjecture some sort of connection with the meaning of the apparition and the coming eclipse.

2017 is a year filled with omens, signs and symbols for many religious people.

The Fatimists' Big Bang Theory on the Eclipse and the Constellation Virgo ...

The Secret of Fatima

To the left, above the vision of hell

I included the constellation Virgo

as it is expected to manifest 

on September 23, 2016.

Watch for it.

The eclipse!  The eclipse!  The sign of signs - dividing the nation ... bringing untold catastrophies.  Next Monday!  The feast day of St. Pius X, Hammer of Modernists!  The vigil of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary!  Can anyone think of a more clear sign of the end?

Yes, we can.

September 23, 2017

The feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina too!

On November 20, 2016, an astronomical event begins that will last nine and a half months, culminating in startling concurrence with the vision of Revelation 12.

"And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered.”

The author of Revelation clearly indicates that this vision is one of a sign in heaven or in the sky.

While I am not an astronomer, all my research indicates that this astronomical event, in all its particulars, is unique in the history of man.

On November 20, 2016, Jupiter (the King planet) enters into the body (womb) of the constellation Virgo (the virgin). Jupiter, due its retrograde motion, will spend the next 9 ½ months within the womb of Virgo. This length of time corresponds with gestation period of a normal late-term baby. 

After 9 ½ months, Jupiter exits out of the womb of Virgo. Upon Jupiter’s exit (birth), on September 23, 2017, we see the constellation Virgo with the sun rise directly behind it (the woman clothed with the sun). At the feet of Virgo, we find the moon. And upon her head we find a crown of twelve stars, formed by the usual nine stars of the constellation Leo with the addition of the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

And then, and then, and then ...

October 13, 2017

Centenary of the miracle of the sun at Fatima ... 100 years to the day.  24 days after the great sign of Virgo on the 23 of September, the feast of Padre Pio, and then ... Bang!

Very seriously, the 100 year anniversary and all of these signs might have significance for our times, so I shouldn't be too glib about it - and this is why:

But what you may not know is that within the Fatima story itself, there are indications that a 100-year period might be significant. In August 1931, Sister Lucy was staying with a friend at Rianjo, Spain. There, Our Lord appeared to Sr. Lucy and He complained the requests of His mother had not been heeded saying, “Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command, they will follow him into misfortune. It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.”

And again in another text, Sr. Lucy quoted Our Lord as saying, “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.”

Those references to the King of France are very interesting for our discussion as this is an explicit reference to the requests of the Sacred Heart given through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on June 17, 1689 to the King of France. King Louis XIV and his successors failed to heed Our Lord’s request to publicly consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a result, on June 17, 1789, one hundred years to the day after the request, the National Assembly of the French Revolution rose up and declared itself the government of France and stripped the king of his power. Later, the king lost his head to the revolution. - Pat Archbold

Don't forget the eclipse of 2017

Anniversary of the apparition of OL of Knock is August 21.

August 17 is the liturgical memorial.

So, there.

Nevertheless, it seems a bit late to get all undone about it.  We already know, we have witnessed the signs of the times.  The errors of Russia, the errors have spread, far and wide.  We are experiencing and living through the consequences.  The good have been and are being martyred - and not just Roman Catholics - as Pope Francis points out in speaking of the ecumenism of blood, many of the good are Copts and Orthodox Christians.  The Holy Father will have much to suffer?  Look at what devout Catholics are doing and saying about him.  Look.  Listen.

Yet suddenly when things seem to be going from bad to worse in the West, suddenly now people are talking about Fatima and Our Lady's peace plan with such urgency?  As if we haven't participated, or at least tolerated, the errors which have spread throughout the world?

The message of Fatima which the faithful - the ordinary people need to know was fully revealed from the beginning.  People need to stop offending our Lord who is already so gravely offended.  We need to repent and pray the rosary and do penance.  We need to make reparation.  At least try to make reparation.

Would it not be more appropriate for followers of Mary to demonstrate the filial obedience required of Catholics by trusting the Popes, ceasing with the distracting accusations of Church-wide cover-ups and a faulty consecration, and focusing on the simple yet major request made by our Lady at Fatima: that Catholics say the rosary often, and at least one time in their lives go to confession and receive Holy Communion on five successive first Saturdays of the month, in reparation for sin? This was the central message of the Fatima revelations, a message that risks being lost amid the Fati­mists’ agitation for the re-consecration of Russia and their fascination with third- and fourth-secret conspiracy theories. Something even more miraculous than the tearing down of the Berlin Wall might result if this request were widely heeded. - Howard P. Kainz for New Oxford Review

Look at the sun!  Look directly at the sun!

What?

Very heavy burtations from Cardinal Burke.

On the apostasy in the Church.

Cardinal Burke is talking about apostasy in the Church and attributing to Sr. Lucia, and/or the Fatima message, statements purported to reveal an apostasy in the Church.  It seems to me he may be putting words on Our Lady's lips.

People talk about a de facto schism. I am absolutely in opposition to any kind of formal schism — a schism can never be correct. People can, however, be living in a schismatic situation if the teaching of Christ has been abandoned. The more appropriate word would be the one Our Lady used in her message of Fatima — apostasy. There can be apostasy within the Church and this, in fact, is what is going on. - Wanderer

I do not recall Our Lady ever using the word 'apostasy' in any of the messages of Fatima.  I know commentators have interpreted the third secret as referring to an apostasy in the Church - even beginning at the top.  I also know other private revelations, and or apparitions have claimed an apostasy in the Church:  Akita, La Salette, and a strange quote from a 1963, Neues Europa article to name three examples.

  “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres…churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.” - Akita  

Nothing from Sr. Lucia or in the revealed secret of Fatima directly addresses an apostasy - when Our Lady said the 'dogma of faith' will remain in Portugal, many jumped on that statement to decipher what Our Lady meant, even going so far as to discredit Vatican II.  These errors spread like wild fire online today.  From the sounds of it, it seems Burke may even accept them as true.

Do we really need a special revelation from our Lady to tell us that there is an internal crisis of faith and discipline in the Church? And to warn about terrible persecutions, already gathering momentum in many countries? Aren’t we capable of reading the signs of the times ourselves? It seems that the Fatimists’ sleuthing is really a desperate attempt to find in the secrets an authoritative reason to reject Vatican II and all the Popes since Pius XII. - Fatima and the secret ...

What Our Lady asked for is to pray the rosary, pointing out that 'the Holy Father will have much to suffer'.  There is an official interpretation of the Fatima revelations and the secret at the Vatican archives.  If Mariologists wish to compare notes with other alleged apparitions and locutions, let them.  But stop putting words on Our Lady's lips and spreading interpretations of the secret as if they are dogma.  They are not.

I'm the same age as Burke - we both grew up with the same Fatima interpretations, frequently sensationalized by speculative theories, often ignoring corrections from Sr. Lucia herself.  (Being from Wisconsin, Burke would know some of the looney interpretations as well.  We were little kids in the McCarthy era.)  Conspiracy theorists went so far as to claim the real Sr. Lucia was replaced with an impostor.  Fr. Gruner and his followers, including Christopher Ferrara, proposed all sorts of preposterous positions, including the idea that the consecration of Russia has not been done properly.  Card. Burke comes close to saying as much when he advocates for a new consecration as Our Lady asked.

If the Cardinal Burke Fatimists are looking for a great reversal of all that is wrong with the world, they may be mistaken, since Our Lord already told Lucia that the consecration would be made (it was) but it would be late (it was). I'm of the opinion that means the errors were spread, ingrained in world politics and religious 'apostasy'. In other words, the damage has been done. So we are living through the results. The consecration to the Sacred Heart in France was late, and the monarchy lost their heads, and the Revolution triumphed.

Part of the problems with apparition people is they think that if the whole world does this, that, and the other thing, according to the letter, God will have to reverse the consequences - on some level that may be true - as they say, 'if enough people' do it, it can be mitigated. Mitigated means the effects are lessened, but there will still be effects. The resolution to the problems - especially the loss of souls - has been given and made public since the apparitions at Fatima in 1917. The message of Fatima has been explicitly promoted by all of the Popes since Pius XII. It seems to me we need to continue to heed Our Lady's catechesis and peace plan, and accept whatever consequences there happen to be for not having followed Our Lady's requests from the outset. 

To repeat the consecration of Russia (and the entire world) would be good to do as an act of reparation perhaps, but 'Fatimists' still won't be satisfied, they'll blame the popes and bishops for not having done so according their exact prescriptions - they will continue to insist it had never been accomplished before - despite the fact Sr. Lucia is on record saying it was accomplished.

I think the Pope needs to invite Cardinal Burke to a private audience to discuss these things.

Many of the Fatimists believe

a novel is actual history.

   

The Lent of St. Michael

This year I need to do it.

St. Francis was famous for observing the fast in preparation for Michaelmas or the feast of St. Michael, September 29.  During the lent, on September 17, Francis received the stigmata at the solitude on Mt. Alvernia.  I think the Franciscans once observed the lent, as was the custom for the devout during medieval times - not sure if it is done today.

The lent begins today, the feast of the Assumption.  It seems appropriate to observe it this centenary year of Fatima, especially since it is believed St. Michael was the angel who appeared to prepare the children for Our Lady's apparitions, and was the angel with the sword in the vision of the secret.

Glorious things are said of you, O City of God.

Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising...

+

O Mary, conceived without sin
pray for us who have recourse to thee,
and for those who do not
have recourse to thee,
especially the enemies of the Church
and all those recommended to thee.

+

Immaculata, Queen and Mother of the Church, 

I renew my consecration to you for this day and for always, 

so that you might use me for the 

coming of the Kingdom of Jesus in the whole world. 

To this end I offer you all my prayers, actions and sacrifices of this day.

"Never be afraid of loving Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did." - St. Maximilian Kolbe.

Pope Bl. Paul VI tells us that we can never venerate Mary at the level she merits, precisely because of the mystery that unites her to Christ.

Therefore our Blessed [St. Maximilian Kolbe] is not to be reproved, nor the Church with him, because of their enthusiasm for the formal religious veneration of the Mother of God. This veneration with its rites and practices will never fully achieve the level it merits, nor the benefits it can bring, precisely because of the mystery that unites her to Christ, and which finds fascinating documentation in the New Testament. The result will never be “Mariolatry,” just as the sun will never be darkened by the moon; nor will the mission of salvation specifically entrusted to the ministry of the Church ever be distorted if the latter honors in Mary an exceptional Daughter and Spiritual Mother. The characteristic aspect, if you like, and the original quality of Blessed Kolbe’s devotion, of his “hyperdulia” to Mary, is the importance he attributes to it with regard to the present needs of the Church, the efficacy of her prophecy about the glory of the Lord and the vindication of the humble, the power of her intercession, the splendor of her exemplariness, the presence of her maternal charity. The [Second Vatican] Council confirmed us in these certainties, and now from heaven Father Kolbe is teaching us and helping us to meditate upon them and live them. This Marian profile of our new Blessed places him among the great saints and seers who have understood, venerated and sung the mystery of Mary. - Source

St. Maximilian on never becoming discouraged by our falls ...

A consoling thought from St. Maximilian Kolbe for the feast of the Assumption.

Whenever you feel guilty, even if it is because you have consciously committed a sin, a serious sin, something you have kept doing many, many times, never let the devil deceive you by allowing him to discourage you. Whenever you feel guilty, offer all your guilt to the Immaculate, without analyzing it or examining it, as something that belongs to her…

My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection.

In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces.

The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again.

If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently.

—Letter of Saint Maximilian Kolbe

St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Militia Centenary

*In 1917 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbon, renowned anti-Catholic and agnostic of Jewish lineage, St. Maximilian was moved by divine grace to found a pious association of the faithful known as the Militia of the Immaculate.

The Militia was to be a loosely organized tool in the hands of for the conversion and sanctification of non-Catholics, especially those inimical to the Church. Its members consecrated themselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoked Her daily for the conversion of sinners, and strove by every licit means to build up the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart throughout the world. - More here.

Detaching is the most difficult.

"A bird caught in birdlime has a two fold task: it must free itself and cleanse itself. And he who satisfies his appetite suffers in a twofold way: he must detach himself and, after being detached, cleanse himself of what has clung to him." - S. John of the Cross