The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima are Heaven’s intervention, with a message of warning that is critical for us today.
As St. Pope John Paul II said in 1982, Our Lady’s message “is more relevant” and “more urgent” than it was when she first appeared to the children, and that it “is addressed to every human being.”
Likewise, Pope Benedict XVI warned in 2013 (years after Pope John Paul’s assassination attempt), “He deceives himself who thinks that the prophetic mission of Fatima is concluded.”
God sent His Blessed Mother with this unprecedented anguished plea that included a public miracle that was predicted three months in advance, witnessed by 70,000 people, and foretold future events that have been fulfilled with great accuracy.
Our Lady’s prophesies and the “errors” have been playing out for over a hundred years, and continue today with this great urgency, all depending on our response to her requests. Our Lady of Fatima’s words must be heard anew and transform our lives as we beg for God’s mercy and forgiveness in this broken world. Mary pleaded with us to live our lives in repentance, prayer, sacrifice, daily Rosary, staying close to Jesus in the Sacraments and living her First Saturday Devotional, all with a great responsibility of sharing this message with others.
ANGELIC VISITS OF FATIMA:
Beginning in the spring of 1916, Lucia dos Santos (also known to the world as Lucy), and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto while tending their sheep, had their first visit from the“Angel of Peace,” who came to ask them to pray with him. Kneeling and bowing their heads to the ground they prayed three times, “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee.”
The “Angel of Peace,” in the summer appeared again to the children and told them to “Pray! Pray a great deal! The hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy for you! Offer unceasingly to the Most High prayers and sacrifices. Offer up everything within your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended; and of supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus invoke peace upon your country. I am her Guardian Angel; the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you.”
A third visit by the “Angel of Peace” occurred in the autumn and he was holding a chalice in his hand. A Host was over it, and some drops of Blood fell into the chalice. The angel left the chalice and Host suspended in the air, and prostrated himself on the ground, repeating this prayer three times, “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Your Son, Jesus Christ, present in the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the sacrileges, outrages and indifference by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.”
The Angel gave the Host to Lucia and gave the contents of the chalice to Jacinta and Francisco telling them, “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”
OUR LADY OF FATIMA:
On May 13, 1917 – Our Lady appeared to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at the Cova de Ira in Fatima, and announced, “I am from Heaven.” “Come for six consecutive months, on the thirteenth day, at this same hour. I will tell you later who I am and what I want you to do.”The children were then asked by Our Lady to accept all the suffering God wished to send them, and they agreed. “Then you will suffer much, but God’s grace will strengthen you.”She then told them, “Say the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and the end of the war.”
June 13 – Our Lady instructed the children to “say the Rosary every day,” and add the following prayer to the end of each decade, “Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.” The children asked Our Lady to take them to Heaven. She responded, “Soon I will take Jacinta and Francisco, but Lucia is to stay a while longer.” “Jesus wishes to make use of you, to make Me known and loved.”
July 13 – Our Lady told the children, “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, for only she alone can save it.” She promised the children there would be a miracle so great that all would believe in the reality of the apparitions. Our Lady of Fatima taught the children this prayer, “Oh my Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for all the wrongs done to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that I sacrifice myself.”
Then the children were shown a vision of hell. They saw the devils “fierce and black, like animals” and human souls tumbling in an ocean of fire “screaming with terror.”The Lady explained, “You have seen Hell, where the souls of sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do as I shall ask, many souls will be converted and there will be peace. This war is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, not much time will elapse and during the Pontificate of Pius XI another and more terrible war will begin. When you shall see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign that God gives that the chastisement of the world for its many transgressions is at hand through war, famine, persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heard, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the entire world, fomenting wars and persecution of the Church. The goodwill suffers martyrdom; the Holy Father will suffer much; different nations will be annihilated. But in the end, my Immaculate Heart shall triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted and a period of peace will be granted to humanity. In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will be preserved, etc…”
August 19 – The children missed the August 13 meeting with Our Lady because they had been kidnapped, interrogated, threatened and held by the mayor. When Our Lady did appear to the children in a different field, she pleaded, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners. Many people are going to hell because they have no one to pray for them.” Once again, she urged, “I want you to continue praying the Rosary every day.”
September 13 – Our Lady continued her appeal for the children to pray the Rosary to obtain the end of the war. She reminded the children that on her next visit in October, she would perform a miracle for all to see and that St. Joseph and the Child Jesus would be with her.
October 13 – Mary told the children “I am Our Lady of the Rosary. Continue to say the Rosary every day.” Then on this day of torrential rain, Our Lady performed the Miracle of the Sun lasting for 12 minutes and witnessed by 70,000 people and seen 25 miles away. The Sun danced, twirled, spun, appeared to crash and was pulled back up again, as the rain-soaked ground, mud field, and the people were completely dry. It was a remarkable event with countless testimonies from eyewitnesses, and atheist newspapers printing headlines of the amazing miracle!
CONTINUED APPARITIONS OF SISTER LUCIA:
1925 – As a young Dorothean postulant, on December 10, 1925, Lucia was visited in her cell by the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mary. As Our Lady had mentioned to the children at the July apparition, God wished to establish a Communion of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world, through the First Saturday Devotion.
1927 – Lucia was a Dorothean nun when Our Blessed Mother appeared to her and told her that she had permission from heaven to release the first two secrets.
1929 – Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Lucia to explain, “Time has come to request the Holy Father to consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart in union with all the Bishops of the world.”
1931 – After two years passed and the consecration of Russia was not done. Our Lord appeared to Sister Lucia and proclaimed, “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.”
Jesus was speaking of the request He made to St Margaret Mary Alacoque on June 17, 1689, to the King of France, Louis the XIV to publicly consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was not done by him, his son, or grandson. Exactly one hundred years to the day on June 17, 1789 (the Feast of the Sacred Heart), the new revolutionary government took control of France, deposed King Louis XVI, and not long after had him executed.
In 1943 the Bishop of Fatima requested that Sister Lucia write down the Third Secret for his safekeeping. In a vow of obedience, Sister Lucia tried to write the Third Secret, but agonized and was physically was unable to comply. She said she was “too terrified” to write the Third Secret! It took the intervention of God for Sister Lucia to be able to write the Third Secret. On January 2, 1944, Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Lucia and told her it was God’s Will for her to write the Third Secret down. However, Our Lady asked that it be revealed to the world in 1960. When Sr. Lucia was later asked why the people had to wait until 1960 for the Third Secret to be revealed, she said, “Because the Blessed Virgin wishes it so,” and, “it(the Third Secret) will be clearer then.”
FATIMA PRAYERS:
The two prayers that were taught by the Angel:
“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for all those who do not believe in Thee, do not adore Thee, do not hope in Thee, do not love Thee.
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the same Son Jesus Christ, present in the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the sacrileges, outrages and indifference by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.”
The Three prayers that were taught by Our Lady:
“O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee; my God, my God, I love Thee in the Most BlessedSacrament.”
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.”
“O my Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer this sacrifice to Thee.”
The two prayers that were taught by Our Lord:
“Sweet Heart of Mary, be the salvation of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe, and the whole world.”
“By Thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, obtain for me the conversion of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe, and the whole world.”
THE FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION:
On December 10, 1925, Lucia as a Dorothean postulant, was visited in her cell by the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mary. As Our Lady had promised during the July apparition, “I shall come to ask that on the First Saturday of every month, Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world.”Now showing Sister Lucia a heart surrounded by thorns, Our Lady instructed her, “See, my daughter, my heart is surrounded by thorns which ungrateful men pierce at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude…Say to all those who, for five months, on the first Saturday, confess, receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, in a spirit of reparation, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls.”