The Fatima message, in all its parts, is arguably the most important private revelation ever given to the world. Our Lady makes clear that the consequences of a human race continuing its descent into sin will be catastrophic; she provides not only a glimpse of what the temporal consequences will be, but the eternal ones as well. And then she goes on to give specific guidance on what we must do to avoid such a terrible fate.
100 years later, the warning of Fatima resonates through a deeply troubled world and a deeply troubled Church. But what if the world changed? What if mankind chose to live in accordance with Our Lady’s requests at Fatima? What would that look like?
Brother André Marie, prior of the St. Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, recently considered this question in a short essay, entitled, A Worldview in the Light of Fatima, which anticipates an upcoming conference he will be hosting on the same topic. He says that while he didn’t remember it when chose to focus on this idea, it was a theme he first encountered nearly two decades ago in a talk given by the late John Vennari of Catholic Family News. With Brother André’s permission, I will excerpt at length his observations on just how such a worldview would take shape.
It is a theme worthy of your consideration, and so I am happy to reprint the bulk of it below.
First, a worldview in light of Fatima would be integrally Catholic. That is to say, such a worldview would embrace not only a total assent to Catholic doctrine and the moral code that goes with it for our personal lives, but would also include the supernatural worldview that all of man’s affairs — concerning the life of the family, the larger society of the State, and even geopolitics — are to be seen in light of divine revelation and man’s obligations towards his Creator. This is the same as saying that all of man’s problems and concerns are subjects of God’s providence, and, inasmuch as they all touch upon God’s Law in some way, they are also “religious” questions. We cannot be pious Catholics in our private and family lives, and be practical materialists and secularists in our businesses, economics, politics, etc.
Such a worldview would also be unapologetically Catholic. And here is where I will borrow (more) from the gifted Mr. Vennari, who capably showed how inimical the Fatima message is to certain current bad trends in the Church, including religious indifferentism and ecumenism. Rather than downplaying the differences between Catholics and non-Catholics, according to Mr. Vennari,
- by emphasizing the Rosary,
- by emphasizing devotion to Her Immaculate Heart,
- by emphasizing the Brown Scapular,
- by emphasizing Purgatory,
- by emphasizing the authority of the Papacy,
- by emphasizing the Sacrament of Confession,
- by emphasizing the Holy Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ,
Our Lady is emphasizing those very points that DIVIDE Catholics from Protestants, and that DIVIDE Catholics from every other religion on the face of the earth.
A worldview in the light of Fatima would be thoroughly imbued with the supernatural, as the words spoken of by the Holy Virgin are about Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Penance, sin, prayer, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, etc.
A worldview in the light of Fatima would be concerned with the rights of God, and not merely with the rights of man. While not discounting the genuine rights that men have both by nature and in light of their supernatural end, the correct worldview would consider God first and foremost both in the order of charity and in the order of justice. So many times, for instance, Our Lady speaks of God being offended by sin. She even speaks of the social effects of this when she says that war is a punishment for sin. She also speaks of blessings of peace for men and nations when her requests are heeded.
Such a worldview would see current events in light of Fatima. So many of our current problems are a fulfillment of the Virgin’s prophesy that “If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church.” The Cultural Marxism that plagues us is one of these many errors of Russia. Even the continued civil strife we see before our eyes right now — when some are even talking about the possibility of a second Civil War in these United States — can be blamed on a failure of Catholics to fulfill Our Lady’s request. For She did promise peace. And that blame falls on Catholics of low station and high, clerics and lay.
My first point, above, that the desired worldview would be integrally Catholic, included the idea that all man’s affairs, including those of the family, ought to be regulated according to God’s Will. But let us be more explicit. Our worldview must see the need to uphold and protect marriage and the family in the face of the hedonistic and unnatural attacks against these divine institutions. Consider the words of Sister Lucy to Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, one of the four signatories of the five dubia sent to the Holy Father regarding Amoris Laetitia:
…the final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family. Don’t be afraid, [she added,] because anyone who operates for the sanctity of marriage and the family will always be contended and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue.
Now, I do not pretend that my little catalogue of defining elements of a Fatima worldview is comprehensive. But I will close with an element that I consider very important, especially given our Congregation’s charism. A worldview in the light of Fatima would emphasize the necessity of the Church for salvation.
To explain this part of the worldview, I will quote from two sources. The first from Father Fuentes’ book, The Secret of Fatima, p. 106, and is his account of an interview the liberal Jesuit, Father Lombardi, had with Sister Lucy in 1954:
On February 7, 1954, Father Lombardi, after much insistence, but at an inopportune time for Sister Lucia, managed to speak with her in the parlor of the Carmelite convent in Coimbra. He wrote later of the impression she made on him: “Her face was simple, her voice clear and without the slightest trace of the artificiality which can be so easily assumed in certain situations. She was not well; in fact, she was running a temperature. I questioned her:
«Tell me if the Better World Movement (which was already known to her) is the Church’s response to the words of Our Lady to you.»
«Father,» she replied, «there is certainly need of this great renewal. Without it, and considering the present state of humanity, only a limited part of the human race will be saved.»
«Do you really believe that many people go to hell? I myself hope that God will save the greater number, and I even wrote it in a book entitled The Salvation of Those Who Have No Faith.»
«Father, many are condemned.»
«It is certain that the world is an abyss of vice….Still, there is always hope of salvation.»
«No, Father, many, many are lost.»”
The second is the recently disclosed (in 2014) account of Sister Lucy’s vision and Marian locution that gave her the strength she needed to commit to writing the Third Secret (here is my source for the text):
And the Mother of God said to her: “be at peace, and write what I have commanded you, but not, however, that which has been given to you to understand its meaning,” intending to allude to the meaning of the vision which the Virgin herself had revealed.
Immediately afterward, said Sister Lucia, “I felt my spirit inundated by a mystery of light that is God and in Him I saw and heard: the point of a lance like a flame that is detached, touches the axis of the earth, and it trembles: mountains, cities, towns and villages with their inhabitants are buried. The sea, the rivers, the clouds, exceed their boundaries, inundating and dragging with them, in a vortex, houses and people in a number that cannot be counted. It is the purification of the world from the sin in which it is immersed. Hatred, ambition, provoke the destructive war. After I felt my racing heart, in my spirit a soft voice said: ‘In time, one faith, one baptism, one Church, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. In eternity, Heaven!’ This word ‘Heaven’ filled my heart with peace and happiness in such a way that, almost without being aware of it, I kept repeating to myself for a long time: Heaven, Heaven.”
I sure hope it doesn’t have to come to some cataclysmic event to wake us all up.
Sorry, I have an opposite opinion.
Only cataclysmic events natural or manmade will be able to awake the billions people lured by Satan into believing that God never existed and that therefore they can sin without restrain.
The cardinal Wojtyla prophesied in 1976 in Philadelphia:
“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think that the wide circle of the American Society, or the whole wide circle of the Christian Community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the Antichrist. The confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God’s Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously.”
He added during an interview in 1981:
“We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ … With your and my prayer IT IS POSSIBLE TO MITIGATE THIS TRIBULATION, BUT IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO AVERT IT, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.”
Be careful for what your wish for
The book of Revelation already describes what’s coming, along with the book of Daniel.
Yet this man prayed with pagans and heathens, apostates and heretics at Assisi? He did not tell the Truth while he was pope. He says “it must be a trail which the Church must take up, and face courageously.” Then he turned around and did NOT face it courageously.
How was he courageous? He was as mealy-mouthed as Francis – half truths, couched in ecumenical terms so that Truth was blurred. He knew that Satan was HERE and yet he fled into indifferentism, syncretism, and he encouraged the idolatry of the body through his flawed theology and philosophy. Bah!
Oh, come on , Barbara. JPII was a giant of the Church, preaching the Gospel all over the world, setting doctrine straight in Veritatis Splendor, Evangelium Vitae, the Catechism, etc etc. Please don’t focus so very negatively on some rather small mistakes he made. Look at all the good!
How else will the Church ever be made to fully, spiritually, philosophically and intellectually, embrace the Message of Fatima? The institutional Church has been almost completely ‘missing from action’ with regards Fatima for one hundred years, and as a consequence, the ‘great unwashed’ masses of the baptised wallow in abysmal and blissful ignorance. Only a chastisement of unparalleled magnitude will suffice to, as you say, wake us up.”
Not a cataclysmic event but many cataclysmic events. Starting any time now.
Probably unavoidable. Pray the Rosary a lot.
The only way to reclaim our nations for Christ is for each of us to better live strongly Eucharistic lives. We can each of us commit to increasing our visits to Our Blessed Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. If we currently do one Holy hour, let’s do two. In a parish where there is no regular Eucharistic Adoration then each of us can begin it. It starts with recognition of its importance and Our Lord’s power and how much He deserves to be adored under the Eucharistic veil. Once we recognise we commit and then get organising it. Yes there will be obstacles and hurdles and setbacks but don’t let’s be discouraged or deterred. All it takes is one person to take the initiative and the Lord will surely bless this endeavour. A parish with regular Eucharistic Adoration is a strong parish. It is impossible for a parish to languish never mind wither and die where the Lord is adored in the Blessed Sacrament. The answer is staring us straight in the face. It is simplicity itself but the power is invincible. What are we waiting for?
In a parish nearby (that I don’t have to attend, thank God) a lady asked the pastor if he would ‘allow’ her to sit before the Blessed Sacrament for an hour a week. He said yes and she did this for a few weeks. She had to go to the parish secretary to be let in. She told him then, that several other ladies wanted to join her – well, he had a fit and told her “no one is going to tell me how to run my parish” – what that had to do with it who knows. (This happened within weeks of the local bishop asking for Adoration in parishes of this diocese – it never happened.)
This lady then stopped going. Big mistake! How soon we give up. There was Our Lord waiting for one to come. HE would have seen to it that over time more would be allowed to come…can He not work miracles of grace.
So yes, Feargone, we must not let barriers come between us and Our Lord. Even one praying before Our Lord is a miracle of grace and will bring so many graces on the parish that even sad, faithless priests like the one mentioned would have his heart softened.
The Pope must solemnly Consecrate RUSSIA to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in concert with all of the Bishops of the world; to stop the annihilation of nations, to give us her promised period of peace, to crush the head of the serpent, satan; to save our children and families from the devil’s scourge of abortion and abuse, and to convert Mother Russia to Catholicism, so Russia can convert the world. Our Mother is our only path now.
BRAVO, Josefa! The consecration of Russia by Pope Pius XII in 1952 was NOT done in union with all the Bishops of the world.
The 1984 consecration of the world (NOT Russia) specifically stated: *****”Enlighten especially the peoples whose consecration and entrustment by us you are awaiting.”****
This came AFTER PJPII consecrated the WORLD. +Fr. Amorth said that PJPII was afraid to mention Russia by name lest he offend the Orthodox (as 1P5 reported earlier).
The only way to peace is the Collegial Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the world. Not a “spiritual union” (as per EWTN) but each bishop must join the Holy Father in consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Example: If PF did it in Rome at 12 noon, Archbishops Chaput and Soroka of Philadelphia would join the Holy Father in reciting the same prayer at 7 or 8 am in Philadelphia (not sure of the time difference).
C.f. http://www.fatima.org.
I doubt seriously Francis could do it but I don’t have the mind of God. God can will whatever He likes.
Our Lady of Akita was a completion, an extension of Fatima….is this where we are with Cardinals and Bishops against one another….blessings of Our Lady to all!!!
https://youtu.be/zwqW6yNdibw
It may just be me but the continuity between Alita and Fatima makes me agree with you and believe that it is a sober complement to Fatima.
Akita’s warnings are also very much fulfilled nowadays, and so it may be worth studying it more in depth in order to ascertain just how compatible they are and to share them both.
Thanks for bringing it up, padre.
Yep!!! And just waiting for that fire falling from the sky.
“a punishment heavier than the Flood and more severe than ever before”
If there’s no need for “supernatural” events, then a nuclear explosion (man made) could be considered such terrible “punishment” for humanity, because war is the result of sins and lack of prayers.
A great chastisement will fall on the entire human race; not today as yet, not tomorrow, but in the second half of the twentieth century.
No longer does order reign anywhere and Satan will reign over the highest places directing the course of events. He (Satan) really will succeed in infiltrating to the top of the Church. Also for the Church a time of Her greatest trials will come. Cardinals will oppose Cardinals; Bishops will oppose Bishops and Satan will march amid their ranks, and in Rome there will be changes. What is rotten will fall, and what will fall will never rise again. The Church will be darkened and the world deranged by terror.
A great war will break out within the second half of the Twentieth Century, fire and smoke will fall from Heaven, the water of the oceans will become vapors and the foam will rise up flooding and sinking everything, millions and millions of people will die by the hour and the survivors will envy the dead.
Death will reign everywhere for the errors committed by the foolish and by the partisans of Satan, who, then and only then, will reign over the world. At last, those who will survive all of these events will once more proclaim God and His Glory and serve Him like before, when the world was not as corrupted.
Just to be clear. Fatima is not a private revelation. The miracle of the Sun was the official stamp from heaven to demonstrate this message was for the world, not for one individual. With all due respect, It is an error to say that it is private. Our Lady came down from Heaven to ask for the Consecration of Russia and to warn the world and ask people to pray for the conversion of sinners. This is for everyone. The miracle of the Sun was given to show that it WAS NOT private. Our Lady and Lord asked Sr. Lucia to promote the 5 First Saturdays and for the faithful to say the Rosary everyday. The Miracle of the Sun at Fatima was the most famous public visible miracle since the Resurrection.
The church defines public revelation as having ended with the death of the last apostle. Public revelation is binding for every Christian. Everything revealed after that is defined as private revelation, binding only on those who have received it. Private revelation does not belong to the deposit of Faith but exists to help Christians live more fully by Christ’s definitive revelation. (https://www.catholic.com/tract/private-revelation)
It is there not an error to call Fatima private revelation, no matter how many thousands of people were there to witness the miracle of the sun.
It seems to be in a category all its own, but it is nevertheless as you say, Pollybook. Thank you for a succinct explanation.
Fatima is a private revelation but it is utterly imprudent to ignore or disobey it. Disobedience cost us WWII.
Yes, it was private. Don’t forget it was years before the specifics of the message were revealed by Sr. Lucia, and as we know, there is still part of the message hidden from us. Does Our Lady not know what has happened?
She wanted the message to be spread so that all would know it. This is possible – that it become public – even though the ‘message’ itself was a private one to the children.
We have to use the words private and public in their proper context. First the private. Then the public knows about it – so it’s public. Simple. We waste a lot of time and energy (not to speak of charity) in arguing amongst ourselves over this side issue. The message is what is important.
Considering that the assembled bishops of the world at Vatican II laughed and jeered at the elderly, nearly blind Cardinal Ottaviani when his microphone was deliberately unplugged, I do not think that even in the early 1960’s it would have been possible for the Pope to have consecrated Russia, together with the bishops of the world. The best outcome could have been a forced compliance by the bishops, not a true prayer.
No wonder everything collapsed so rapidly after VII. Most of the bishops already wanted it to, if their laughter and jeers said anything about the;m.
Yes, and some also jeered when certain fathers asked for Our Lady to be declared Mother of the Church. There was a “hissing.”
Can you tell me where I can find the cite for that? I would like to be able to verify it when explaining VII to others. Thank you.
Please see here the article: http://catholicism.org/remembering-fr-bradley.html
Page 5. It was written by my husband, Dr. Robert Hickson who heard the report from an eye witness, Father Robert Bradley.
Thank you. I found it. Horrible.
Hissing. It makes me think of a nest of snakes.
And I do not recall ever, in my long life, hearing a crowd actually hiss. Many other forms of disapproval, yes, but never actually hissing. Only a crowd of prelates? Have any other readers ever heard a crowd literally hissing?
Hardly a private revelation: the messages were for the whole world; the Miracle of the Sun, the only miracle ever announced in advance, was seen up to 30 kms away.
There is a lot of confusion around what private revelation means within the Church. Everything that has been revealed after the death of the last apostle has been defined as private revelation by the Church herself. It doesn’t matter if 3 people saw the miracle of the sun or 3 billion people saw it. Fatima is private revelation. https://www.catholic.com/tract/private-revelation
This does not mean, of course, that private revelation does not play an important role in the Church. But it does mean that it is not binding on all Christians–as opposed to public revelation, which ended with the death of the apostles but is binding on each and every Christian.
Then, according to you the Rosary is a private revelation, All devotions, including the Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi are private revelations,. I always thought that these “revelations” embraced as truth by the Popes encompassed what is called “tradition” which along with scripture is magesterial teaching. The Rosary was never ‘dogmatically defined’, but is part of tradition and a “private” revelation to St Dominic. In fact it is known that devotion to the Rosary is a predisposition of salvation. Seems to me that is a “private” revelation worth shouting about. According to you , however, it is not necessary to be a Catholic in good standing.
Not according to me, but according to the Church’s definition. If you do not like it, take it up with our Holy Church, not with me.
Many, if not all, dogmas have been defined as such after the apostolic era: they are binding, of course. The reason is that what they say is an objective explication of what is contained in the Revelation. But our Christian lives are, objectively, a participation in the event of Revelation: for this reason, in same cases (such as Fatima) it seems strange and improper for me to relegate “private revelation” in a non-binding sphere, especially when the Church herself acknowledges that the event was a real apparition of the Holy Virgin. God sends Mary with a message, but we can safely ignore it? In fact, in the case of a real apparition, it could not possibly be a “private initiative” of the Virgin, distinct from the Revelation.
Similarly, when the Last Day arrives, would it be a private revelation, since by definition it will happen after the apostolic era?
Let’s not forget that most Catholics in the world do not know about Fatima. So it would be harsh of the Church to say it must be believed. In a perfect world, the Church would teach the messages, but this is not a perfect world.
Our Lady knows the system. Those to whom the messages of Fatima and Akita are known are asked to pray for all – and to spread the messages.
When we start arguing amongst ourselves about what is private and what is public etc. we take ourselves away from what the messages say. Let’s tell people what Our Lady is reported to have said. She will provide the graces, through us, which will prompt people to LISTEN to DO what the messages say.
It’s all about the rights of God. When Catholics forget those, for the sake of mere temporal matters, then everything goes wrong, for everyone. (E.g. see the “Reformation” in England).
I know this is off topic, but has anyone heard of the apparitions of Our Lady of America? I would love to see the people here on onepeterfive look into, and maybe even do a write up on it. The diary with the descriptions of the apparitions and our Lady’s messages to the sister who wrote it was approved by the Archbishop of Cincinnati back before Vatican ll. I have read the diary, and the messages it contains for the American people are beautiful. She warns how the family and the virtue of purity will especially be under attack. Fascinating really, and fascinating how so few people seem to know about it. Here is a link to a letter written to other US Bishop’s about it, by Cardinal Burke: http://www.ewtn.com/library/bishops/burkeolamer.htm
I would love to hear from anyone else who knows about this, and what they think.
-Kate
If it was approved by the archbishop then it’s as approved as Fatima, Lourdes or any other legitimate apparition. I’ll look it up! Thanks!
You’re most welcome. The letter from Cardinal Burke that I linked to gives a very good overview of the whole thing. Considering that it happened after Fatima and was specifically addressed to all of us in the USA makes me feel like more people need to know about it!
I am quite aware of this and all the Bishops of America have to do is process the statue of Our Lady of America into and formally install it in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. There was a bizarre lawsuit about the right to publish the messages, but it is now concluded. It it happened we wouldn’t be tearing down statues of Confederate soldiers and rent-a-mobs hitting conservatives with baseball bats.
I encourage everybody to read the background of the Our Lady of America messages, and to ponder the sanctity of the nun who received them, and the holiness of the bishop who approved them. They stress the importance and sanctity of the FAMILY.
What she asked seems so simple, really. I just find myself marveling that it was never done. And the way it has been silenced…….I come from a very large Catholic family (that includes several priests and religious who were alive when the apparitions/messages took place) which had lived for several generations under an hour from where our Lady first appeared to the sister. Everyone I have asked about it doesn’t remember anything. Now that the property is back in Catholic hands after being offered but The Way all those years, I am feeling more hopeful that something may finally be done. Though my Mother was up there recently and asked a staff memberif they knew anything about Our Lady of America. The response she got was yes, but that they were only aloud to talk about it if someone asked them, and couldn’t actively promote it! The whole way it is being handled is so confusing. And then, yes
Quite right, suppression and opposition to it is diabolical.
I suggest you begin a 54-day rosary novena to accomplish what OL America asked– it will mean a major turnaround for the nation and its morals.
But expect finishing the novena to be VERY difficult.
That’s a good idea, but I’d really love to see it taken even farther. If someone here did an article on it, and then called on all Americans (and anyone else, really) to start a rosary novena together on a specific date for our Lady’s intentions…. now that would be pulling out the big guns, so to speak. I don’t know if that would be allowed, but I think it would be amazing.
My best suggestion is to write to Michael Brown of “Spirit Daily” to get his vast readership to begin a national 54 day rosary Novena (say, starting September 8) to get Our Lady of America’s (OLA) statue installed in the National shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Motivated Catholics listen to him ! Everyone reading this little thread, e-mail him. If you are in a hurry just cut and paste this to him at
[email protected] .
And yourselves: Don’t wait for announcement on Spirit Daily! You yourself begin the 54-day novena on September 8 to obey OLA’ request.
It will work, because Our Lady keeps her promises both about 1) the 54-day novena (though you will find it VERY difficult to finish; if you break it, however, don’t give up; just start over. 2) the promise she made to renew & save our country once her statue is processed and installed in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Done. I hope he will consider it. In the meantime, I am planning to start my novena on Sept. 8th. Anyone who cares to join me is most welcome!
I will. And I have just written Mr Brown . . . Thanks.
Thank you! For the ideas in the first place, and for the support. We’re in this “fight” together!
Kate–just a post-script to say I completed the novena 31 October.
God Bless America.
Thank you. I did as well. We will not lose hope in our Lady! May God bless you.
Can we cross off “emphasizing the authority of the Papacy” until we get a Pope who will actually uphold Catholic teaching again?
Is it a coincidence that Mohammedans are serving as a tool for judgement of the Christian West?
This is the wrong question entirely. The essential message is always and everywhere the message of Christ and His Gospel.
They are the sine qua non for the Church and for any Christian.
It occurs to me …. perhaps when Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of nations, it was not meant in a “literal sense” in terms of bombed out buildings and destruction as in a war. We are witnessing, unfolding before our very eyes, the invasion of Europe and with it multiple terrorist attacks, murder, rapes, robberies, etc. The low birthrate in many of the European nations coupled with the high birthrate of the invaders, will literally be the death of European culture and civilization. Russia was not consecrated according to Our Lady’s instructions …. that much is apparent from the front page news.