Abbey-Roads2

Get a grip. 

Hyperbolical terms seek to express the infinite elevtion of God, as for example. “the superessence or the supergoodness of God,” or again the inferiority of the creature in relation to God, as “the nothingness of the creature.”- Garrigou-Lagrange

Abbey-Roads is just a weblog of my personal experience, opinion or observation - with news and reviews sprinkled in.  I’m not a theologian or a teacher.  As for spiritual things, I usually write from my own experience - or lack thereof,  (and/or mistakes),  with occasional reference to the experience of others I’ve met in my life.  I guess I have this odd notion that we often learn from the mistakes of others - at least by knowing the defects to be avoided.

The other day, when I wrote something to the effect that I, along with some others, have not even begun to begin the spiritual life, I was employing hyperbole based upon my own spiritual experience and the experience of other people who have discussed their spiritual journey with me over the years.  I did not mean to generalize about the spiritual life of others.

Like the rich man and the beggar Lazarus in the Gospel, I recognize the huge gulf that lays between myself and God:  That is, what is holy and what is not.  I’m not.  And that is not hyperbole.

So I’m not writing about “you” - I’m writing about me.  You see, it’s usually always about me, but if this can be a forum for you to express your views, you are most  welcome to do so.  But please pray for me and don’t be offended or imagine I’m writing about you.  After all, this is just  a blog.

(Art: The Rich Man and Lazarus - Artist: Christian Dare.)

Our Lady of Fatima 

The fifth apparition at Fatima in 1917 appears to be the shortest and most uneventful as far as any other from Our Lady, save for the fact that Our Lady indicated what was to happen at the 6th apparition in October.  As in each of her apparitions, the Blessed Virgin instructs the children (as well as all people) to pray the Rosary every day.

John Paul II said that the message of Fatima is more relevant today than it ever was.  Without doubt, there is an apocalyptic tone to the apparitions and message of Fatima, which seems more meaningful in our times.  Our Lady foretold the end of the First World War and the coming of the Second World War, including the spread of atheistic Communism, among other things.  The vision of the Third Secret perhaps shows us the effects of these evils, as well as the wars to come.

Cause and effect.

However, from what is revealed, Our Lady never directly mentioned events such as the Holocaust, the Second Vatican Council, the famines and genocides in Africa, the re-emergence of Islam, the sins of abortion and homosexuality, or any specific scourge of the 20th century.  Did she need to be specific about these things, or are we, who proudly refer to ourselves as the most highly educated people in the history of the world, not smart enough to know what she was talking about?

Reading Drudge sometimes seems like reading a page from the Apocalypse:  Yesterday there was an article about Israel bombing Syria claiming satellite photos reveal nuclear missle sites; there are weekly reports of Iran threatening Israel with extinction; this past week Russia tested the world’s largest non-nuclear device; in the last few days, UK troops have been mobilized to the Iranian border; and today a report that Austrian Jews are pleading with the Pope to intervene with Iran on behalf of Israel.  It all sounds rather apocalyptic to me.

The Mother’s remedy.

In various ages, Our Lady intervened with the remedy of the Rosary to counter the ills of society and the Church.  In the early days of militant Islam, I can’t recall any account relating that Our Lady appeared to warn the people or ever named Islam as an enemy.  I am only aware that the Mother of God answered the prayers of the Rosary with victory over the foes of Christianity.

Likewise, I know of no warning from the Virgin as regards the Protestant Reformation - thus I doubt that the Third Secret would be so explicit and divisive as to call into question the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, as some people assert.  Rather, it seems to me this  is what Fatima is all about - not a laundry list of what ails the Church and the world, but rather a call to conversion, prayer and penance, in obedience to the Gospel and the Church. While the remedy and means to attain this goal remains the prayers of the holy Rosary, as indicated by Our Lady of Fatima.

Although I wonder if we believe enough in the power of the prayers of the Rosary?  Or are we more intelligent than all of that?