The fifth apparition, September 13, 1917
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?
September 13th, 2007 at 11:41 am
I made an Act of Consecration on my birthday, Sept. 8th (also the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mother) to Jesus through the hands of Mary. In that Consecration, I promised to pray the Rosary every day (gulp!). Anyone care to pray with me?
September 13th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Jeron,
I try to pray a decade with each of the kids who are old enough, each night. I’m not often successful, even though there are six of them who are old enough so I try to finish on my own afterward. Unfortunately, I fall asleep so often that “Hail Marys” are now a soporific.
Do you get stuck in traffic, or do you take public transportation to work? Some people pray then. Not me. See above
September 13th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Terry:
Couldn’t agree with you more. We are told we have everything we need for salvation. Expecting Our Lady give us a laundry list of the ills that will befall us if we don’t repent, certainly seems below her and wouldn’t change how most people conduct themselves, IMHO. People didn’t believe Jesus when He was here performing miracles before their eyes. He told us what we needed to do and what was expected of us. Our Lady pleads with us on behalf of her Son and because of her own motherly love. Wanting a check list for the things that will happen misses the point of her message.
As a mom, I know that sometimes a nebulous foreshadowing of potential punishment does more to correct behavior than anything specific I could “threaten” my kids with!
September 13th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
If we would all just pray the rosary everyday as Our Lady requested, many ills would be averted. The rosary is a powerful way to pray.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Jeanette, I drive everywhere I go. Where I live, public transportation is just not practical most of the time. Even if it were and I used it, I’d find it very very difficult to pray the Rosary on the metro or on a bus. I have a difficult time praying the Rosary in my car, because I’m so focused on what’s going on around me that I can’t focus on my prayers. I’m single-minded & suck at multitasking. I like praying my Rosary alone in my bedroom (which is my “cell”), or at the Adoration Chapel of my parish. Or in the woods.
September 16th, 2007 at 8:21 am
I say the rosary on the bus all the time. I’m discreet. Nobody except the most determined voyeur would have any idea of what I’m doing.