Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

I received a very interesting email from a kind reader regarding a new Confraternity which is promoting the message and requests of our Lady of Fatima. The message said in part:

I received information on the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima and think you might want to spread this on your blog.  It was started by Bishop A. Schneider and the membership requirements are things traditional Catholics already do: Confession once a month; daily rosary of 5 decades; one daily act of simple penance and the wearing of the Brown Scapular plus praying the Prayer for the Holy Father to Consecrate Russia!  Hope you will consider including this. 

The Requirements (which are already what many of us already do):

The Prayer for the Holy Father to Consecrate Russia:


O Immaculate Heart of Mary, you are the holy Mother of God and our tender Mother. 

Look upon the distress in which the Church and the whole of humanity are living because of the spread of materialism and the persecution of the Church. 

In Fatima, you warned against these errors, as you spoke about the errors of Russia. 

You are the Mediatrix of all graces. Implore your Divine Son to grant this special grace for the Pope: that he might consecrate Russia to your Immaculate Heart, so that Russia will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world, and your Immaculate Heart will triumph, through an authentic renewal of the Church in the splendor of the purity of the Catholic Faith, of the sacredness of Divine worship and of the holiness of the Christian life. 

O Queen of the Holy Rosary and our sweet Mother, turn your merciful eyes to us and graciously hear this our trusting prayer.        

Amen.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Traditional Mass Propers for Our Lady of Fatima

May 13th, the anniversary of Our Lady appearing for the first time in Fatima, Portugal is the traditional feastday of St. Robert Bellarmine. In the Tridentine Mass, it is ordinarily St. Robert Bellarmine's feastday that is celebrated.

In a letter published and dated April 5, 2017, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima as a Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Such a privilege was intended though only for the 100 year anniversary in 2017.

However, even before Vatican II, Masses in honor of Our Lady of Fatima were likely celebrated in the Diocese of Leiria–Fátima where Fatima is located. The Traditional Propers for Our Lady of Fatima are the same as the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary from August 22nd except the following specific Collect, Secret, and Post Communion prayers:


Collect:

While the multitude of our sins prevaileth, O Lord, we run to the special assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we who are nurtured by the mercy of her Heart, may by the anticipation of Thy mercy obtain indulgence for our crimes. Through our Lord.

Peccatórum nostrórum, Dómine, multitúdine praevalénte, ad Beátae Mariae Virginis recúrrimos singuláre suffragium: ut, qui eiúsdem Cordis pietáte fovémur, tua misericórdia praeveniente, indulgéntiam delictórum consequámur. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum, Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sáecula saeculórum. Amen. [Latin Prayer Source]

Secret:

Convert, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our rebellious wills, and grant that through the aid of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, we may celebrate the Divine Mysteries with chaste favours. Through our Lord.

Post Communion:

Stretch out, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy right hand to Thy prayerful people, and grant aid, through the intercession the Virgin Mary, to them whom Thou benignly vouchsafest the affection of begging Thee, that they may turn away from all evil, and take possession of all good. Through our Lord.

The remaining propers are from the Immaculate Heart of Mary (August 22):

Introit:

Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need. My heart overflows with good tidings; I sing my song to the king. Glory be...

Epistle: Eccli. 24:23-31

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

Gospel: John 19:25-27

At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus, therefore, had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son." After that, he saith to the disciple: "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

Offertory:

My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

Communion:

Jesus said to His Mother, "Woman, behold, thy son." Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, thy mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
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Saturday, April 25, 2020
Third Secret of Fatima Still Not Revealed


Despite what some claim - that the third secret of Fatima referred to the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II - the actual details of the third secret have not yet been revealed. This allegation, long triumphed by the late Father Nicholas Gruner, has been affirmed in recent days by Archbishop Vigano, the critic of Pope Francis who has largely gone into hiding for publishing some of his errors.

Chris Ferrara in Archbishop Viganó on the Third Secret of Fatima: Father Gruner Vindicated quotes Vigano from a recent interview where he stated:
“In 2000, during the pontificate of John Paul II, Cardinal Sodano presented as the Third Secret a version of his own that in several elements appeared clearly incomplete. It is not surprising that the new Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, sought to draw attention away to an event in the past [the assassination attempt on John Paul on May 13, 1981] to cause the people of God to believe that the words of the Virgin [in 1917 when She appeared] had nothing to do with the crisis of the Church [in the decades after 1960] and the marriage of modernists and Freemasonry that was contracted behind the scenes at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Antonio Socci, who has carefully investigated the Third Secret, unmasked this harmful behavior on the part of Cardinal Bertone. In addition, it was Bertone himself who heavily discredited and censured the Madonnina delle Lacrime (Madonna of Tears) of Civitavecchia, whose message perfectly agrees with what she said at Fatima.”
Mr. Ferrara continues:
With this pontificate, says the Archbishop, we are witnessing an attack on ecclesiastical celibacy, the “attempt to introduce a form of ordained female ministry” and in general an “approach to the Church’s dogmas [that has] adopted the so-called ‘situation theology,’ whose theological pillars are accidental facts or subjects: the world, nature, the female figure, young people… This theology does not have God’s immutable and eternal truth as its founding center; on the contrary, it starts from the observation of whatever is the current pressing need of these phenomena in order to give answers that are consistent with the expectations of the contemporary world.”
Read the rest of the article on the Fatima Center's website. And support their work, especially the 54 Day Rosary Novena that is to begin on May 1st with the intention of the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart to bring an end to the COVID-19 Crisis and future calamities that await us until this is accomplished as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.
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Friday, October 13, 2017
100 Year Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun


With over 70,000 witnesses, the Miracle of the Sun is the greatest miracle that has occurred after Apostolic Times.  It is life changing.  May we all immediately change our lives to conform with the message of Our Lady of Fatima before it is too late.
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
Bishop Fellay's Sermon in Fatima

 
Excerpts from the SSPX Website:
He first recalled the vision of hell that the three shepherd children of Fatima contemplated with horror; he explained that this fear is salutary and that those who seek today to anesthetize consciences by offering them a broad path are truly assassins of souls.

Then Bishop Fellay emphasized that the message of Fatima is a message of hope: those who practice the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be saved. This divine promise of salvation offers us an easy means: all we have to do is take it seriously. We must make reparation for the offenses against the Most Blessed Mother of God. Like little Francisco, we must seek to console the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us accept all trials generously, offer them up, and sacrifice ourselves by faithfully accomplishing our duty of state, seeing souls through the eyes of Jesus Christ as He gazed at them from His Cross, and the eyes of Our Lady, standing at the foot of the same cross, stabat Mater.

In conclusion, the Superior General forcefully repeated that the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is willed by God for the world today. Not a superficial or mechanical devotion, but a profound one: her Heart must be our intimate refuge. The prelate also announced that he would renew the consecration of Russia right after the Mass, just as Archbishop Lefebvre did here in Fatima thirty years ago. Of course, it is up to the  Holy Father and all the bishops of the world in union with him to make this consecration. The Society’s act of consecration is a way of expressing its desire to answer Heaven’s request, while fully aware of its limits, with the lively hope that the Vicar of Christ will one day consecrate the country himself.

The Rosary Crusade draws to a close, but its spirit lives on: let us never cease to beg with our fervent prayers the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which will come when God wills. But we are assured it will come!
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Thursday, June 15, 2017
Receive Holy Communion as an Act of Reparation

An Act of Reparation From the Angel of of Peace at Fatima as taught to the three young children one year before Mary appeared in Fatima.  Let us pray this prayer during this Feast of Corpus Christi:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.
As we celebrate today the Most Glorious Eucharist, let us consider this article and perservere in our acts of reparation this day against sin.  Recall that Our Lord is already much offended as our Lady said at Fatima:

Reparation to the Sacred Heart
Fr. Raoul Plus, S. J.

Section III: The Practice of Reparation

THE spirit of reparation, if it is sincere and profound, will seek to manifest itself by a number of tangible proofs, by certain practices, which may be ranged under the following three heads: Affective reparation, effective reparation, and aiffictive reparation, according as the virtue especially exercised is love, self-sacrifice, or penance.

AFFECTIVE REPARATION

Sin and indifference deprive our Lord of love; therefore to make up for this we must give Him love. Hearts are turned away from God; then we must give Him ours. It is in prayer especially that the heart is given; and hence we have the practice of offering reparation by means of the Holy Hour. Our Lord is forgotten in His most Holy Sacrament. The object of this devotion is to give to our Lord not only one's own homage, but also the homage of those who deny His Real Presence, and so, according as one's duties permit, a certain time is spent in reparation before the Blessed Sacrament. These turns of prayer and watching before the Blessed Sacrament are organized and facilitated by certain Associations founded for the purpose.

Others may prefer to make a Novena of Reparation from the 1st to the 9th of each month. The purpose of this devotion is to console and compensate our Saviour for the insults He receives in the Blessed Sacrament. No exercises or set prayers are prescribed; you are advised to assist at Mass as often as possible, to receive Communion in reparation at least once, and to have a Mass said for the same intention at least once a year.

By reason of the fewness of vocations, in France alone 12,000 priests are lacking. This means that every day 12,000 Masses are not offered; there are 12,000 altars upon which the Precious Blood is not shed for the remission of sins, upon which Christ does not appear daily to restore the balance between Divine justice and man's iniquity. Why should there not be some souls who would take the place of these priests, souls devoted to the Passion and the Eucharistic sacrifice, filled with the spirit of redemption and love, who would try to make up, by the complete sacrifice of their hearts, for all these Masses that are lacking? The following method might be suggested: In the case of one who attends Mass daily, to offer the Mass for the said intention. If one is unable to attend Mass every day, to offer a particular half-hour of the day for that purpose, reciting the following or a similar prayer: "O Jesus, eternal Priest, deign to raise up numerous priests in whom Thou may fully livest Thy priestly life . . . Deign also to raise up many souls which by their detachment from the earth and their zeal for the salvation of souls will be coadjutors of the priesthood, and in a manner take the place of the priests that are lacking."

A practice taught by our Lord Himself is the devotion, in the spirit of reparation, of the First Friday. It is too well known to need much emphasis. Suffice it to quote two extracts from St. Margaret Mary's letters: "My Divine Saviour had bidden me to go to Communion on the first Friday of every month, to make reparation, so far as in me lies, for the insults that are offered to Him each month in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar." . . . "Let those who wish to honour the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a special way choose for this purpose the first Friday of each month, to offer Him homage according as their piety inspires them." (Ed. Paray, t. II, p. 72.)

Everyone knows the promises -----at first sight rather surprising-----which our Lord has attached to the faithful fulfilment of these practices. No wonder he speaks of the "exceeding mercy of His Divine Heart." Those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months "will not die in My disfavour, nor without receiving the Sacraments, and my Heart will be their refuge at their last hour." And it must be admitted that it is partly in view of these wonderful promises that the devotion of the faithful to the Nine Fridays has increased so rapidly.

But it must be understood that these promises of our Lord are not to be set on the same footing as the words of the Gospels. Their value -----though it must not be minimized-----is simply such as attaches to a private revelation approved by the Church.

Moreover, it may be asked whether these words are to be taken absolutely, or are we to add the implicit condition: "Provided that he who has made the nine Fridays does not wilfully expose himself to the peril of damnation"? Authors are disagreed as to the answer. It seems to us that in this, as in the case of the sabbatine promise connected with the scapular of Mount Carmel, the second explanation is the better one.

Another practice popular among devotees of reparation, and recommended by our Lord, is that of Holy Communion offered in reparation. Really if everyone properly understood the doctrine of the Eucharist and the intention with which Christ instituted this Sacrament, no Communion would ever be received except in a sacrificial spirit. Our Lord instituted the Eucharist not so much to give us the benefit of His Presence as to associate us closely with His sacrifice. On the altar, as we have said above, He still has the intention of offering Himself absolutely to His Father for His glory and for the salvation of the world; and as by our Baptism we have become an integral part of His Person, He asks us as members of Christ to unite our sacrificial oblation to that of the Head. Thus, while the minimum disposition for the reception of the Eucharist is the state of grace, the disposition which is necessary in order to receive the fullest benefit from the Sacrament is the spirit of sacrifice.

Since, however, many of those who go to Communion are far from having this comprehensive, and yet only truly exact, idea of the Eucharist, also because it is permissible to each individual to emphasize more or less the reparative aspect of  Holy Communion, we can understand why our Lord should have recommended in a particular way the offering of Masses and the reception of Holy Communion in reparation for the insults offered to the Blessed Sacrament.

In accordance with this desire of our Lord an Association was founded in I854 -----and erected canonically at Paray in I865-----with the special object of "consoling our Lord by the frequent reception of Holy Communion, of turning away from us the scourge of His anger and His chastisements, and of making reparation and expiation in a certain measure for the continual blasphemies committed against the Divine Majesty and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar." These are Pius Xl's own words.

This offering of oneself in reparation is specially recommended at Mass and Communion. But it may profitably be renewed at other moments during the day. Our Lord had suggested to St. Margaret Mary that she should offer a prayer or an act of reparation thirty-three times during the day in honour of the thirty-three years of His life on earth. The practice is a praiseworthy one, as long as too much stress is not laid on the mathematical aspect of the devotion. Others will prefer to make an offering to God for the sake of reparation at the thought that at this very minute our Lord is offering Himself to the Father in a Mass which is now being celebrated. Given the number of priests in the world it may be calculated that about four consecrations take place every second; hence it is certain that at whatever moment we may make the oblation of ourselves, our Lord is offering Himself too. In any case is not our Lord in the constant act of offering Himself, since in our tabernacles He remains always in the state of perpetual victimhood?

It is significant that in the Memoirs of St. Margaret Mary we find this request of our Lord: "Every time that I tell you of the ill-treatment which I receive from this soul, I want you, after receiving Me in Holy Communion, to prostrate yourself at My feet, to make amends to My love, offering to My eternal Father the bloody sacrifice of the Cross for this intention, and offering your whole being to give homage to Mine, and to make reparation for the indignities that are put upon Me by this soul. Setting Me on the throne of your heart, you will adore Me prostrate at My feet. You will offer yourself to My eternal Father to appease His just anger, and to urge His mercy to forgive them." (Ed. Paray, t. II, p. 147.)

More efficacious for reparation, because free from any defect whatever, are the acts of homage and reparation of our Lord Himself. It is true that we are called upon to fill up what is wanting of the sufferings of Christ, but however generous we may be, our offering will never be more than a mere drop in the wine of the chalice. Our Lord, fortunately, supplies all our deficiencies. Let us, then, offer our drop of water, but still more let us offer the Precious Blood of the Divine Head. The offering of that Blood is the great act of reparation, and by reason of my Baptismal vocation whereby I am one with Christ, I can take my humble part in it.

To give God a moment of the day in reparation is an excellent thing. But what if one could give Him the entire day? "I don't like sleeping," said a little girl once to her mother; "I don't like going to bed; so much time given to sleeping is so much time lost to loving." And what she said of sleep may be said too of external occupations. As a matter of fact, as we have explained elsewhere, both our sleep and our external occupations, although they are not explicit acts of prayer, may be transformed by us into a state of prayer through our intention. So that the child is not quite right, when it is a matter of the love of God.


Nevertheless, supposing that we were able to make every moment of our day an explicit act of prayer, what a harvest there would be! But what is not possible for one individual may become possible where there is a group; and this is the principle of the "Guard of Honour." In a celebrated vision to St. Margaret Mary the Angels offered to make an alliance with her, undertaking to adore the Blessed Sacrament in her place while she was busy with her domestic occupations (Ed. Paray, t. II, p. 108), and to make reparation "for all the daily acts of irreverence committed before the face of God."

The Saint thereupon desired that this idea should become widely known. In the year 1863 the practical formula was invented at the Visitation Convent at Bourg. Each member of the Guard of Honour chooses an hour of the day, undertaking during that time to think more than usual of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to offer to him at least one sacrifice and an act of love. No special practice of piety is prescribed; nothing more than the duty of the moment.

But sin abounds during the night as well as during the day. So some have adopted the pious custom of devoting an hour to prayer during the night from Thursday to Friday to commemorate the terrible night which Christ passed during His Agony. How can we think of the horrors of Gethsemane without wishing to offer to our Lord the homage of our adoration and reparation? Every devout soul must feel inclined to say with the young girl who was later to be Sister Claire of Jesus: "When you have meditated on the Passion of Christ how is it possible to lie down in bed, when you think that it is the hour in which our Lord suffered His Agony in the Garden! Can I think of Christ bowed under that weight of suffering and yet not seek with my tears, my prayers, my sacrifices and my love, to console my Divine Master and give Him a word of comfort?"

"The darkness of night seemed to open," so writes Huysmans of the Agony in the Garden, "and as in a frame of sombre shadows there appeared pictures lit up by a mysterious light. On a background that glowed with menacing radiance the centuries passed in procession, pushing before them sins of idolatry and incest, sacrileges and murders, all the ancient crimes that had been committed since the fall of Adam; and the cheers of wicked Angels greeted them as they passed. Jesus, overcome with grief, lowered His eyes. When He raised them again, these phantoms of past generations had disappeared; but there before Him now were the crimes of the Jews to whom He was preaching the Gospel, drawn up in menacing array. He saw Judas, He saw Caiphas, He saw Pilate . . . He saw Peter. He saw the brutes who would strike Him on the face, who would encircle His brow with the crown of thorns. Gaunt against the sinister sky rose the Cross, and groans were heard from the nether regions. He rose to His feet, and dizzy and tottering, reached out for a supporting arm. He was alone.

"He dragged Himself as far as the spot where He had left His disciples; and there they were asleep in the peaceful night. He aroused them. They looked at Him agape, filled with fright, wondering whether this man with the distraught gestures and strained eyes was indeed the same Jesus Whom they had seen transfigured before them on Mount Thabor, with radiant face and garment of snow. Our Lord could not but give them a pitying smile. He only reproached them with not having kept awake, and twice more He went back to suffer in his corner of the Garden.

"He knelt to pray, and this time it was no longer the past and the present, but still more terrible, the future that unfolded itself before His eyes; the centuries to come followed one after another, showing changing countries and changing towns; even the seas and the continents changed their form before His eyes; only men remained the same, though their costumes altered from age to age; they continued to steal and to kill, they persisted in crucifying their Saviour, to sate their greed for luxury and gain. Amidst the changing civilization of the ages, the Golden Calf stood there immovable, ruler of mankind. Then it was that, overcome with sorrow, Jesus sweated Blood and cried: 'Father, if it be possible let this chalice pass from Me.  . . . But Thy will be done.' "

Jesus Himself has asked for souls generous enough to share and thus console Him in His Agony: "Every Thursday night," He said to St. Margaret Mary, "I will make you share in the mortal sorrow that I suffered in the Garden of Olives, a sorrow which will give you an agony harder to bear even than death. And to keep Me company in the humble prayer which I then offered to the Father, you will prostrate yourself on your face, to appease the Divine justice, asking mercy for sinners." (Ed. Paray, t. II, p. 126.)

Compare this request with those sad words related in the Gospels: "Could you not watch one hour with Me?" (Mark xiv:38), and ask yourself whether you would not do well to adopt this beautiful devotion of the Holy Hour. Since it is not always possible or desirable for all to get up in the middle of the night, the Church permits that the Holy Hour should begin at any time after four, or even from two o'clock onwards during the shorter days of the year. Evidently, where it is possible, eleven o'clock at night is the hour indicated, because this is approximately the hour at which our Lord was in the Garden; this was the hour chosen by St. Margaret Mary; and moreover prayer at that time has an additional merit from the sacrifice of one's sleep. Plenty of pretexts may be found for refusing this act of devotion. A little generosity is needed. Why is it that a person who does not hesitate to sacrifice his or her night for some social function or to listen to the wireless, finds that it would be injurious to health to pray for an hour during the night once a week or once a month? Let us confess that we are weak; but let us not add hypocrisy to our weakness.

A very practical form of the Holy Hour is that invented by P ère Mateo; it is called "Night Watching in the Home." Seven persons, either in the same house or in different houses, undertake once a month to make an hour's adoration before the picture of the Sacred Heart, between ten o'clock in the evening and five in the morning. By December, 1928-----that is, within eighteen months from its inception-----this devotion had rallied 21,766 adherents, thus ensuring 2723 nights of adoration, or an average of 900 adorers every night, or 110 a minute. This movement has received the august approval of the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, all the archbishops and bishops of Portugal, eleven bishops of France, and several other prelates of Spain, Belgium, Uruguay and Venezuela. 
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Saturday, May 13, 2017
100th Anniversary of Fatima

Today is the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady appearing to the 3 shepherd children in Fatima.  Today is a cause of great concern for us.  You may click here to read about the history of these apparitions in detail.  But I would like to draw your attention to my post concerning The 17th Year of the Century: A Year of Disaster, Disorder, and Error

The Blessed Virgin Mary warned us that unless we be converted and Russia be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, there would be future disaster.  An unfortunately, the consecration was never done as Our Lady instructed it to be done.  If you are not familiar with the story of Fatima, now is the time to read again an overview of Fatima.  We must prepare for what may be a year of great disaster.

"The Present Moment is the most tragic the Church has seen since the Catacombs; this portentous scenario is dominated by Our Lady's appearance to the little shepherds.  Everything else that happens in the world is in function of her: Everything is unleashed because Our Lady was not heeded and her request was not obeyed" (Plinio Correa de Oliveira) 

While still Vatican Secretary of State, the future Pope Pius XII predicted: “A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted.  She will be tempted to believe that man has become God.  In our churches, Catholics will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them.  Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, “Where have they taken Him?”  
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Friday, May 5, 2017
Novena to Our Lady of Fatima Begins Today

Most Holy Virgin, who has deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three little shepherds the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary, inspire our hearts with sincere love of this devotion. 

By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in your Rosary, may we gather the fruits contained therein and obtain the conversion of sinners, the conversion of Russia, the Peace of Christ for the world, and this favor that I so earnestly seek of you in this novena....

(here mention your request)

I ask this of you, for the greater glory of God, for your own honor and for the good of all people. Amen

Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be (three times each)
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Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Prophetic Words of Blessed Jacinta

Note: Blessed Jacinta is set to be canonized this year.  She died at a very young age. But even as a young child, she was a seer of Our Lady of Fatima and her words have much wisdom and truth in them far beyond the age of a young girl:
 
"Tell everybody that God grants us His graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that they should ask her for them, that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be honored along with Him, that they should ask the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace because God has placed it in her keeping."

"Wars are nothing but punishments for the sins of the world."

"Our Lady can no longer hold back the arm of her beloved Son from the world.  It is necessary to do penance.  If people change their ways, Our Lord will still avail the world; but if they do not, the chastisement will come."

"If men do not change their ways, Our Lady will send the world a punishment like of which has never been seen.  It will fall first...upon Spain."


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Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Third Anniversary of Fatima - A Vision of Hell

Today is the 99th Anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary's appearance in Fatima and the Vision of Hell.  You can read a more thorough account of the apparition by clicking here.

The following is from today's newsletter of American Needs Fatima:

I have a rather controversial topic to share with you today – hell.  It’s not very popular these days. Some even doubt its existence or, saying it does exist, they say no one is actually sent there.

Well, Our Lady was never concerned about being popular, and she certainly believes hell exists. What’s more, the Mother of Mercy knew she had to show hell to us all – through the three shepherd children – in order to save souls from going there.

Because, regardless of the latest opinion poll – souls do go there. Our Lady said so. But, you may ask, did she really have to show hell and all its horrors to three little children?  Would she really scare them like that?

Sadly, yes, she did have to show them and, yes, it did scare them, big time! Here is a little of what Lucia, only 10 years old at the time wrote about it:
“Plunged in this fire were … souls in human form … amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair.” 
Had it not been for Mary’s promise to the children that they would indeed go to heaven, Lucia said: “we would have died of fear and terror.”
The Old Testament speaks of hell; Our Lord Jesus Christ referred to it often; and the Catholic Church has been teaching about its existence – and how to avoid it – for over 2,000 years. But Mother Mary knows her children – those in 1917 and those in 2016 – and she also knew that a picture is worth a thousand words… and this case a million. In the third Apparition of Fatima, hell was not just spoken of, it was made into a reality that those children saw with their own eyes.

All you have to do is look at their faces, and you know that hell is for real. Fortunately, that is not the end of our story. It would have been cruel for Our Lady to show them hell, but then not teach us how to avoid it. Mary just wouldn’t do that!

Our Lady of Fatima asks when we pray our rosary, to add this prayer after every “Glory Be”:  Oh 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.

I know you love Holy Mary. If you’re not praying this prayer already, maybe you could start today – 99 years after she showed the children hell, and most importantly, gave us all the Fatima solution.
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Sunday, July 10, 2016
SSPX Launches a New Rosary Crusade

Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X announced another Rosary Crusade as a spiritual preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

At the priestly ordinations in Zaitzkofen (Germany) on July 2, 2016, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X announced another Rosary Crusade as a spiritual preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima (May to October 1917).

This crusade will be held from August 15, 2016 to August 22, 2017.

It follows the intentions indicated by the Blessed Virgin herself: (I) Jesus wishes to establish in the world the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In order to do so, all the faithful are invited:
  1.     to recite the rosary daily, alone or as a family;
  2.     to accomplish the devotion of the reparatory communion on five first Saturdays, and to multiply their daily sacrifices in a spirit of reparation for the outrages against Mary;
  3.     to wear the miraculous medal themselves and to diffuse it around them;
  4.     to consecrate their homes to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Besides the propagation of this devotion, we will also pray (II) for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and (III) for the pope and all the bishops of the Catholic world to consecrate Russia to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

And as a special intention we will add (IV) the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Society of St. Pius X and all its members in addition to all the religious communities of Tradition.

The goal set by Bishop Bernard Fellay is a bouquet of 12 million rosaries and 50 million sacrifices for Our Lady of Fatima.

Source: SSPX.ORG
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Monday, May 16, 2016
Warning Before the 100th Anniversary of Fatima

This timely warning comes from the recent newsletter of the Society of St. Vincent Ferrer.  Let us do all that we can in the next year to spread the news of Fatima, to participate in our Lady's request for the Five First Saturdays, and to pray the Rosary daily.

In 1689, our Lord gave a message to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that the King of France was to consecrate France to His Sacred Heart. The king disobeyed our Lord's request and exactly one hundred years later, the French Revolution began. The Revolution in France, contrary to what we were all taught in school, caused so much devastation and destruction to the French way of life, the Catholic Church in France, and the lives of many French priests and nuns. (A side note: St. John Marie Vianney received his First Holy Communion in a barn in hiding as a direct result of the French Revolution.) 
 Imprisoned during the Revolution and shortly before losing his head at the guillotine, the French king finally made the consecration of his nation in obedience to God's request. The French Revolution truly devastated the Church in France and brought many, many evils. In many ways, the revolution we are seeing today (from the Errors of Russia) is but a continuation of the French Revolution on a global scale. 
We are nearing one hundred years that the popes have disobeyed Our Lady at Fatima. They have failed to reveal the full text of the Secret of Fatima (in totu) and they have not consecrated Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart in the manner requested by Heaven. Our Lord told Sr. Lucia that the pope would eventually consecrate Russia, but it would be too late, like the French king. Terrible chastisements have already inflicted our world and worse ones are coming so long as this disobedience continues. Terrible wars and natural disasters are on the horizon, nations will be annihilated, and the True Faith will be completely lost in many places. We must each do our best to do as our Lady asked. 
Our Lady has promised that once she is obeyed there will be a time of peace in the world (complete peace!). Russia will convert en masse to the one true and only Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. A period of glorious flourishing will occur for mankind and the Catholic Church. The Immaculate Heart of Mary will be honored everywhere. Let us pray that this glorious restoration will occur soon, and let us do our part. (Small note: The Miracle of Fatima took place on 13 Oct 1917, however, it was not until 1929 that Our Lord told Sr. Lucia that now was the time for the Holy Father to consecrate Russia.)

It is extremely important for every Catholic to be familiar with Our Lady's Message and strive to live it as best as possible. This includes (1) the Daily Recitation of the Rosary, (2) The First Saturday Devotion, (3) Making acts of Reparation to her Immaculate Heart (and the Sacred Heart and Blessed Sacrament), (4) Doing Penance, especially the duties of our state in life, (5) Wearing her Brown Scapular, and (6) Praying and doing penance for the Pope, especially so that the Pope, in union with all the bishops of the world, will consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  
Heaven gave us several unique and special prayers at Fatima. We should pray these often as well. You can find them HERE (just scroll down a bit).
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Sunday, December 20, 2015
An Excerpt: Fatima in Twilight

From the words of Our Lady of Fatima said to Sister Lucia on “the last times” and the “last 2 remedies” God is giving to the world, reported by Fr. Augustine Fuentes:

"Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but She made me understand this for three reasons."

“The *first* reason: ‘She told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the FINAL battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Also, from now on we MUST choose sides. Either we are for God OR we are for the devil. There IS NO other possibility.’

“The *second* reason: ‘She said to my cousins as well as to myself, that God is giving two last remedies to the world. These are the Holy Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the LAST two remedies which signify that there will be NO OTHERS.’ "

“The third reason: ‘God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever… He offers us with a certain trepidation the LAST means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother ... if you despise and repulse this ultimate means we will NOT have any more forgiveness from Heaven because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the Sin against the Holy Spirit… This Sin consists of openly rejecting with full knowledge and consent, the salvation which He offers. Let us remember that Jesus Christ is a very good Son and that He does NOT permit that we offend and despise His Holy Mother’…”

(From the words from Fr. Fuentes, of his interview with Sr. Lucia on December 26th, 1957. Quoted in “Fatima in Twilight” by Mark Fellows. Copyright, 2003. “Twilight Begins,” pp. 145-146.)
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Monday, July 13, 2015
98th Anniversary of the Secret of Fatima

Today marks the 98th Anniversary of when Our Lady of the Rosary, appearing at Fatima, revealed the Secret of Fatima to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco. The Secret consisted of three parts. In the First Part, she revealed hell, and how many souls go there because no one prays for them. In the Second Part, she revealed her desire to have Russia consecrated to her Immaculate Heart and that if this was not done, there would be worse wars, Russia would spread her errors across the world, and various nations would be annihilated. 

The Third Part of the Secret consists of two parts, a vision (which all; three children saw) and words of the Virgin Mary (which Francisco did not hear, but they were permitted to share with him). This Third Secret was supposed to be revealed in 1960 by the Pope, but he chose not to do so. Half of the Third Secret, the Vision portion, was finally revealed in 2000. However, to this day, the Words of the Virgin - which constitute a terrible message of warning for mankind and especially for the Church - have still not been revealed.

For more information on Fatima and the apparitions there, please click here for my prior article on the topic.

At Fatima, the Ever-Virgin and Blessed Mother of God requested that we pray the Rosary every day (at least five decades), that all Catholics practice the First Saturday devotion, and that the Holy Father consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.

Sadly, few Catholics are responding to her request faithfully and Russia remains unconsecrated. She promised our world and the pope would suffer much if we were disobedient, but that there would be peace if (when) this was done. Let us do our part, being faithful to Our Lady's request and doing our best to promote the Message of Fatima.

Please consider purchasing from the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation of the Message of Our Lady of Fatima by Fr. Rodriguez and a seven CD class on Our Lady of Fatima. I also recommend William Thomas Walsh's classic book, Our Lady of Fatima, written in 1954 after he personally interviewed Sr. Lucia.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

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Thursday, October 17, 2013
Bishop Fellay on Our Lady of Fatima & the Crisis in the Church


Bishop Fellay recently spoke about Our Lady of Fatima and her message and its relation to the crisis in the Church. The SSPX's Superior General gave a conference entitled "Our Lady of Fatima and the Crisis in the Church" on Saturday, October 12, during the 2013 Angelus Press Conference.

A 2-part audio of Bishop Fellay's conference is now available on the Society's website:
  1. Our Lady of Fatima and the Crisis in the Church: Part 1 
  2. Our Lady of Fatima and the Crisis in the Church: Part 2

Summary of Part 1:

  1. Overview of the 3 secrets of Fatima.
  2. The text of the Third Secret.
  3. The Third Secret has 2 parts; only 1 has been published proofs.
  4. Why wasn't the Third Secret fully revealed?
  5. Dire Fatima predictions: how to understand.
  6. The prophecies of Fatima and Akita are the same.

Summary of Part 2:

  1. The Third Secret concerns a "touchy" matter for the Church.
  2. Sister Lucy: "It's all in the Apocalypse, chapters 8-13".
  3. Third Secret concerns the Antichrist... and more.
  4. Pope Francis' Act of Entrustment, not Consecration.
  5. Fulfilling the Fatima message, prayer and penance.
  6. The Son of Perdition may already be among us.
  7. Dealing with the crisis.
  8. God's coming chastisement... and Providence.
  9. The necessity of devotion to Our Lady.
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Monday, September 30, 2013
Pope Francis to Consecrate World to the Immaculate Heart

In positive news, His Holiness Pope Francis has announced that on October 13th he will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In honor of this event, please join me in prayer as we honor the Immaculate Heart of the Holy Mother of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Please click here for prayers and devotions.
 
AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and tender Mother of men, in accordance with thy ardent wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate to thee myself, my brethren, my country, and the whole human race.

Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us, and around us, as It has reigned and triumphed in thee. Reign over us, dearest Mother, that we may be thine in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.

O most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and hearts and preserve them from the deluge of impurity which thou didst lament so sorrowfully at Fatima. We want to be pure like thee. We want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and thee. We want to call down upon our country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.

Therefore, we now promise to imitate thy virtues by the practice of a Christian life without regard to human respect.

We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the First Saturday of every month (or often if not possible every First Saturday) and to offer thee five decades of the Rosary each day, together with our sacrifices, in the spirit of reparation and penance. Amen.
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Saturday, March 2, 2013
First Saturday Devotions


First Saturdays Devotion

On Saturdays, Catholics traditionally have taken part in the "First Saturdays Devotion" which entails going to Mass and receiving Communion for the first Saturday of the month for 5 consecutive months in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  This devotion is not to be confused with the First Friday's Devotion, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On July 1, 1905, Pope Pius X approved and granted indulgences for the practice of the First Saturdays of twelve consecutive months in honor of the Immaculate Conception. The First Saturday Devotion did not originate as part of the apparitions of our Blessed Lady in Fatima, but the devotion did quickly spread further following our Lady's series of appearances to the three shepherd children in 1917.

Our Blessed Lady's words to Sr. Lucia of Fatima:
Look, my daughter, at my Heart encircled by these thorns with which men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, strive to console me, and so I announce: I promise to assist at the hour of death with the grace necessary for salvation all those who, with the intention of making reparation to me, will, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the beads, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.
The First Saturday Devotion consists of offering the First Saturday of the month for five consecutive months in reparation for the many and grievous sins committed in our world. A further explanation of our Lady's request is below:
  • You must go to the Sacrament of Confession.  Your reception of the Sacrament may be 8 days before the Saturday as long as you stay in a state of grace.
  • You must receive the Holy Eucharist and as always, it must be in the state of grace or risk the most grievous sin of sacrilege
  • You must pray 5 decades of the Holy Rosary of our Lady, including the Fatima Prayer.  
  • Finally, the last requirement consists of "keeping Mary company" for 15 minutes while meditating on all of the Mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to her. This can be done by reading Scripture or other writings relevant to the Mysteries, meditating on pictures of the Mysteries, or simple meditation. Materials for meditation and education on each of the Rosary mysteries are available online.

Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

While the laity is not bound to pray the Divine Office, they are still encouraged to pray the Divine Office (also known as the Liturgy of the Hours).  To pray the Divine Office, I would highly encourage you to pray the 1962 Breviary or even the 1955 version as opposed to the modern version which I find lacking in the spiritual depth present in the earlier editions.

Since you are not bound under ecclesial law to pray the Office, you can and should start by praying the English version of the Breviary.  You can find the Little Office in its traditional form available on Amazon.  For centuries Catholics prayed most commonly not with personal prayers and devotion as such individual prayers originated from protestant individualism.  Instead, Catholics prayed the Liturgical texts of the Church (e.g. the Prayers of the Holy Mass, the Rosary, etc) daily and many were saved.  In our world we see the majority of mankind entrenched in sin and debauchery.  Let us pray for a return to our praying the Liturgical prayers of the Holy Church.  Pray the Daily Rosary as Mary has asked of us!

However, please also consider, in addition, or instead of the standard Divine Office, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for your daily prayers! 
The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a shorter form of the Divine Office in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has long been the Church’s daily liturgical prayer to Our Lady, and these hours of praise have been used by Priests, religious and the laity throughout the centuries. Lay people used to flock to the great Cathedrals to publicly recite The Little Office during the Middle Ages, and during the great persecution, when the practice of the Catholic Faith was illegal in Great Britain, Bishop Challoner commended The Little Office to his flock.

Through its psalms, antiphons, readings, responsorials, and prayers the Little Office stresses the role Our Lady played in salvation history, and how through her fiat the divine Word took flesh in her womb and achieved salvation for us all; and how Our Lord granted her the first fruits of the general resurrection in her holy and glorious assumption.

All Catholics are called to a consistent prayer life. For those who do not feel called to recite the Divine Office, but still wish to participate in the liturgical prayer of the Church, or for those who have a particular devotion to the holy Mother of God, there is no finer form of prayer than the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Green Scapular


While certainly not only permitted for use on Saturdays, Saturday is an appropriate time to focus on the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin and on her great promises with the Green Scapular.  Many of you should be familiar with the Brown Scapular as you should have been invested in the Brown Scapular following your First Holy Communion.  I have written before on the merits of the Brown Scapular.  While they are not to be underestimated, I will not focus additional time on the Brown Scapular.  Instead, we focus in this post on the Green Scapular of our Lady.

The website of Fish Eaters succinctly and accurately describes the Green Scapular of our Lady:
In 1840, Mary appeared to Sister Justine Bisqueyburu (a Seminary Sister of the Daughters of Charity) in Paris, France and commended the Green Scapular to her. It's known as "the Scapular of Conversion," and its promises are the strengthening of faith, protection against Satan, a happy death for Catholics, and, most of all, for conversion for those outside the Church. It's to be worn or carried by the faithful, or given to an unbeliever for their conversion.
The following prayer is to be said daily by the wearer:
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death
Latin version:

Cor immaculatum Mariae, ora pro nobis nunc et in hora mortis nostrae

If the scapular is given to an unbeliever for their conversion, the person giving the scapular prays the prayer for them if the unbeliever does not want to pray the prayer himself. If the unbeliever does not want the scapular, it may be hidden in their vicinity and the prayers said for him. Enrollment in a Confraternity is not necessary for this scapular, but the scapular should be blessed by a priest before use.
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Saturday, October 13, 2012
Feast of our Lady of Fatima: Videos


Today 95 years ago, our Lady appeared to three small children in Portugal...our Blessed Mother revealed a message of hope and a warning to the faithful. Happy feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

Fatima, Portugal is the source of a beautiful miracle in our times. In 1917, between May 13 and October 13, 1917, Mary appeared six times to Lucy, Francisco, and Jacinta. Their small village of Fatima was persecuted by the government, but its citizens remained faithful to the Catholic Church.

In her requests, she promised that many souls would be saved if they listened to her requests. She told us that war was a punishment for sin along with hunger, persecution of the Church, and persecution of the Holy Father. She reminded us of the Commands of God; she added nothing new but renewed our urgency to follow Christ.

Since the 1930's the Church has approved and supported these apparitions as authentic. All following popes have also voiced their approval of these apparitions. They really happened!

Read about the monthly apparitions from May through October 1917.

 
On October 13, 1917, Mary appeared again to the three children and said, "I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honour. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes." By then there were thousands of witnesses.

Mary also said, "Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended."

At that, the Miracle of the Sun was witnessed by 70,000 people as it danced in the sky, changed colors, and was hurled towards earth as if to destroy it.


Let us pray (Oremus):

Dearest Mother, Queen of the Holy Rosary, who came to Fatima to reveal to all mankind the Divine plan for true Christian peace, of prayer, penance, and consecration, grant an abundance of grace, strength, and guidance to the members of Thy Fatima Crusade, here present and throughout the world. Inspire us to great zeal, oh great Mediatrix of All Graces, that we may be effective instruments in spreading devotion to Thy Rosary; that we may be faithful in wearing Thy scapular; that we may inspire our brothers in Christ to a life of sacrifice, penance, and modesty, and finally, that we may help to bring about that wonderful day when all men, through consecration to Thy Immaculate Heart, shall be one in Christ. Amen.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
More About Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Taken from the book "More About Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary" - Rev. Fr. V. Montes De Oca, C.S.Sp.

Chapter IX
THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
The Children's Comments


Lucy relates that on June 13th, 1917, after speaking at length about her Immaculate Heart, Our Lady of Fatima again stretched forth her hands, throwing on the children the rays of that immense light in which they saw themselves as if immersed in God . . . The Blessed Virgin held in her right hand a Heart surrounded by thorns, which pierced it from all sides. The seers understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, afflicted by all the sins of the world, which demanded penance and reparation. "It seems to me," said Lucy, "that on that day, the purpose of the light was to pour into us a special knowledge and love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as on other occasions it infused into us the knowledge and love of God, and the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. From that day, indeed, we experienced a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

Francis  had observed that this supernatural light, that the Blessed Virgin threw on them and on the world, seemed to come from her Heart. He afterwards asked Lucy: "Why did the Blessed Virgin hold a Heart in her hand throwing on the earth this great light which is God? You were with the Blessed Virgin in the light that went down to the earth, while Jacinta and I were in that which went up to heaven!"

"It is because you and Jacinta will soon go to heaven", said Lucy, "while I shall remain some time longer on earth with the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

"Is it the Blessed Virgin who explained to you the meaning of the two beams of light?"

"No, I saw it in the light that she put into our breasts." "That is right," interposed Jacinta, who followed the conversation, "I saw it also."

Jacinta seems to have received "a special light to understand intimately and in detail the meanings of these heavenly revelations." Before leaving for the hospital in 1919, she said to Lucy: "I am going soon to heaven. You will remain still on earth to make known to men that the Lord wishes to spread in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you have to speak about it, you will no longer have to hide yourself! Proclaim openly to the whole world that:

"It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that God wishes to grant us His graces!"

"It is from this Immaculate Heart that we must ask for them!"

"The Heart of Jesus wishes the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated with His own!"

"It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that peace must be asked, because it is to that Heart that the Lord has confided it."

"How I love the Immaculate Heart of Mary! It is the Heart of Our Heavenly Mother!"

"Oh! if only I could put into all hearts the fire I feel in my own, which makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so much!" Besides, the best commentary on the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary is that left us by the children in the admirable example of their lives. After the revelations, indeed they were true models of devotion and reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They loved this Immaculate Heart ardently, they invoked it constantly, they spoke about it enthusiastically, and they multiplied sacrifices to console it and to make reparation for all the blasphemies and offences that cause it to suffer.

PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART

We have already spoken of penance and the daily Rosary so much recommended by Our Lady of Fatima. We give now the three principal practices of devotion for which she has asked in honour of her Immaculate Heart; the First Saturday of the month, the Five First Saturdays and the Consecration.
They bear a marked similarity to the practices now so widespread in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

1. The practice of the First Saturdays consists of the following exercises, performed with the intention of consoling the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and making reparation to it for all the outrages and blasphemies of which it is the object on the part of ungrateful Christians: 1, the Rosary; 2, Communion of Reparation.

2. For the practice of the Five First Saturdays. In addition to the two exercises already mentioned, the following two are added on the first Saturday of five consecutive months: 3.  go to confession; 4. keep the company of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary. These two must be offered in reparation to the Immaculate Heart. .The meditation may be on one or several mysteries.

3. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As is known, Our Lady asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart and Lucia, the surviving seer has explained that She wants the Pope and all the bishops of the world to do this on one special day. If this is done She will convert
Russia and there will be peace. . .



AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and tender Mother of men, in accordance with thy ardent wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate to thee myself, my brethren, my country, and the whole human race.

Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us, and around us, as It has reigned and triumphed in thee. Reign over us, dearest Mother, that we may be thine in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.

O most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and hearts and preserve them from the deluge of impurity which thou didst lament so sorrowfully at Fatima. We want to be pure like thee. We want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and thee. We want to call down upon our country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.

Therefore, we now promise to imitate thy virtues by the practice of a Christian life without regard to human respect.

We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the First Saturday of every month (or often if not possible every First Saturday) and to offer thee five decades of the Rosary each day, together with our sacrifices, in the spirit of reparation and penance. Amen.
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Sunday, May 13, 2012
First Apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima : Sunday, May 13th, 1917

Today is the anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary's first apparition to Fatima on May 13th.  See my post on Fatima for more information and photos.

Sr. Lucia narrated the following:
While playing with Jacinta and Francisco on the hill, near Cova de Iria, we were building a wall with stones around a blooming plant, all of a sudden we saw a light like lightning.

“It is flashing,” I said. “A storm can come. It is better to return home.”

“Oh, yes, alright,” my cousins responded. We started to come down from the hill taking the sheep down the path. In the middle of our way on the slope, near the evergreen oak which still exists today, we saw a flash of lightning and after we took some more steps over the slope, we saw a Lady dressed in white, more brilliant than the sun, scattering clear and intense light, more than a ray of sunlight through a glass of water.
We were so close that we were in the light She irradiated. Our Lady said: “Don’t be afraid. I will not harm you.” I asked her: “ Where are you from ?”  “I’m from Heaven.”

Source: Pierced Hearts
Image Source:  Take from the Facebook Page (Marian Events).  The one who designed the photo is Mr. John Ryan M. Debil from the Philippines.
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