Fatima 100 Years later: a Marian
Call for the whole Church
by Fr. Serafino M. Lanzetta
This year the Church is particularly blessed for the celebration of the
Centenary of the Fatima apparitions. The ‘White Lady’ came to speak – from May
to October 1917 on the thirteenth of each month – to three little shepherds,
Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. The last two were canonised last 13th
May by Pope Francis, while the process for the canonization of Lucia is progressing.
Of all the private revelations approved by the Church, Fatima is one of particular
significance give its theological vision of history. Our Lady not only delivered
a supernatural message – a call to penance and prayer for rescuing sinners from
eternal perdition in hell, but also foretold what would happen if her call were
unheeded. As a celestial appeal, Fatima is not something belonging to the past,
but a prophecy for the Church today.
It is extremely interesting to revisit what Pope Benedict XVI said at
Fatima in his homily during the Mass on 13th May 2010, which sounded
to many like a ‘correction’ of what he had previously said as a Prefect of the
Congregation for the Faith, when, in giving the official theological
explication of the third part of the Secret (revealed in the year 2000), he declared
that the vision of a city half in ruins with corpses of bishops, priests,
religious and lay people laying on the ground was something referred to the
great persecution of the Church in the 20th century. Therefore,
something already accomplished. As a pope, Benedict put forth a new scenario
stating:
“We
would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete. […] In sacred Scripture we often find that God
seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the
same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: ‘Do you want to offer yourselves to
God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of
reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the
conversion of sinners?’ (Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, I, 162)”.
Fatima tells us that it is God who guides the course of history; his
Divine Providence leads all events to a salvific end, though the personal
judgement is different: eternal happiness for those who accept to do God’s Will,
but perdition for those who freely choose to reject God. The history of mankind
is not a place where conflicting human interests and powers of all kinds meet
and fight each other, but the place of human events guided by God’s love. If He
is cast out of society – as it is nowadays – the history can be but a very dark
scenario: either the occult strength of a fate will determine the will of men
or a pessimistic vision of a collective non-sense will take over and be truly
overwhelming. Historical events are not pre-fabricated and unavoidable
situations. They can change if man changes in them: if he converts and returns
to God with all his heart. This opening of one’s heart to God is the beginning
of a change that affects more people and finally the whole society. Penance,
conversion and prayer are the means of a true revolution in history and
properly what Our Lady asked for.
In fact, when she appeared on 13th July 1917, she revealed
the so called ‘Secret of Fatima’ in three parts perfectly linked with one
other. The first is the vision of hell, “where
the souls of poor sinner go”. In the apparition of August, Our Lady also said
why many souls go to hell: “because there
is no one to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them”. Hence, She gave
the little children an important mission, the very heart of the Fatima message:
“Pray, pray very much, and make
sacrifices for sinners”. In order to counter an easy fall of souls into
eternal perdition, Our Lady revealed the divine remedy: “To save them, God wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
If what I say to you is done many souls will be saved and there will be peace.
The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one
will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night
illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by
God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war,
famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father”.
The theological vision of history here is very clear. A different way of
approaching human events is laid down. Yet there is a remedy to implore a
change to these tragic events. The ‘White Lady’ continued: “To prevent this, I shall ask for the consecration of Russia to my
Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. 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
of the Church”. Once again the prophetical role of Fatima among all Marian
revelations is here outlined. The outbreak of a new World War and the spread of
ideological errors, such as materialism and atheism, would have been halted by
two Marian devotions: consecration of Russia, of all Nations and of every
single person to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the First Five Saturdays of
the month in reparation for sins and outrages committed against the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. Two humble practises would have changed the course of events! Of
course they still will do if we only accept this message and put it into
practise.
However, as a new World War broke out so also the materialism of the
Russian Communism – a condition to be truly human living without God - spread. Our
Lady was pointing not only to the collapse of the Soviet Empire of terror and
atheism, but specifically to the end of the diffusion of that ideology in the
world. Materialism in its many faces – not least the gender theory teaching
that man is creator of himself – is like a ‘dogma’ in public as well as private
affairs of Nations and of our Europe in particular. Where is God? Where is
faith in Him? This tragic loss of faith was foreseen at Fatima. Faith is like a
hinge between the second and the third part of the secret with these very
emblematic words: “In Portugal the dogma
of faith will be preserved”, as to say that in many other lands and hearts
that dogma would have not been preserved. What about inside the Church? Is this
not our present situation? That “Portugal” might be, beside the Portuguese
nation, also every heart that welcomes the message of Fatima and consecrates
itself to the Immaculate Heart. God is present where the Immaculate Heart of
Mary is at the centre of faith and devotion, because He can only abide where
purity and grace are kept. God is in this Immaculate Heart, and through it He
wishes to reign among as. This is the meaning of the words spoken during the
apparition of June, when Our Lady said: “He
(God) wishes to establish in the world
devotion to my Immaculate Heart”. This devotion together with Marian
consecration is a bulwark where true faith is genuinely held.
All this (and much more to discover) is one of the motives to carefully
study the Fatima Message in order to show its reality 100 years later, and to
promote it. Fatima is indeed at the heart of the faith and the Church.
“In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph”. This is the great promise of Our Lady and the hope that individual and national consecration to Her will hasten this moment so as to shower the Church with heavenly graces. She will triumph over errors and enkindle the gift of faith into all hearts. After a necessary purification and chastisement – “The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated” – the great hope of this triumph was so described by Sister Lucia: “In time, one faith, one baptism, one Church, Holy Catholic and Apostolic. In eternity, Heaven!”.
***
Invitation: A two days Conference to be held at Buckfast Abbey - Devon on 12th
and 13th October 2017 will investigate all these aspects. The key-note
speech will be given by Cardinal Raymond Burke on the relationship between
Fatima, the Faith and the Church. Other important theologians, such as Fr
Manfred Hauke (Switzerland), Fr Thomas Crean, OP (England), Dr Andrew Beards
(England) and well known clergy from across the UK will outline in a
theological as well as spiritual way the grandeur and actuality of Fatima.
The Conference aims at giving a new theological contribution to the
study of Fatima and at promoting on a devotional-spiritual level the knowledge
and practise of this grace-filled message. Conferences will be followed by
presentations focussing on several spiritual topics, such as the First Five
Saturdays Devotion, the importance of the Holy Rosary and the Scapular of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel.
