The Pilgrim Statue of the Immaculate Heart visits St. Louis Church in Gallipolis, Ohio.
October 13, 2016 begins the 100th year
since the final
apparition of Mary at Fatima (1917) which ended with the
spectacular Miracle of the Sun (see my Blogs #95 & 96). In 1929
she asked through Sr. Lucia that the Pope,
in union with the
Bishops of the world, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate
Heart,
promising its eventual conversion and the hindering of its errors if
this is done. On Saturday October
15 we commemorated that event
with a Public Square Biblical Rosary Rally for
peace in the
Gallipolis (Ohio) City Park (See my Blog #143).
This year (2016) our Bishop Jeffrey Monforton
reconsecrated the Diocese of Steubenville to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary and a specially commissioned statue of her is traveling
to every parish in the diocese. The statue spent a week with us
from August 26 to September 2. The Knights of Columbus will
consecrate our Council 3335 to her Immaculate Heart at the 10 am
Mass on October 30, the Fifth Sunday Knights of Columbus Mass.
Furthermore, each knight is invited to begin the 33 Day individual
consecration to Mary according to St. Louis de Montfort, whose
statue is at the main entrance of our church. For a copy click on
http://www.quies.org/True-Consecration-33-Day.pdf.
The two biggest scourges of the 20th
century, the most violent century of all time, were Nazism
and Communism, two godless tyrannies of the extreme right and the extreme
left. Both fomented wars, persecuted
religion, trampled upon basic human rights.
While World War I was going on in 1917, Mary said that war would soon
end, but warned: “But if people do not cease
offending God... another and more terrible war will begin. When you see a night
illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign that God gives
that the chastisement of the world for its many transgressions is at hand
through war, famine, persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father." There was in indeed an unknown light,
an aurora borealis was seen from Budapest to Gibraltar, according to the London
Times on January 27, 1938 (see my Blogs # 95 & 96).
World War II.
People ignored Mary and the world suffered through World War II. Adolph Hitler rose up, appealing to German
nationalism and harping about the unjust and humiliating Versailles Treaty
after World War I. He promised to recover
territories taken away from Germany. People
followed even though it was atheistic.
Italy under Mussolini and Japan under Hirohito also had similar
nationalistic movements and were allied with Germany. It started on September 1, 1939 after Hitler
and Stalin of Russia (although hating each other) agreed to divide up Poland between
themselves as Prussia (Germany), Austria, and Russia did for 125 years until
1917 under the Partition. During those
years Poland did not exist as a country.
The Church was instrumental in maintaining national identity. The United States got into the war after the
surprise attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Prior to that the country was isolationist,
but the attack united the country as never before in fighting the axis powers.
As
a little boy I don’t remember much, but I do recall the air raid drills with
sirens at noon. I followed Superman and
Batman fighting for America through the comic books. We cheered for the troops listening to the
radio, watching newsreels in the movies; there was no television. My Mom would send me to the store with money and ration stamps to prevent hoarding of goods in short supply. The schools had us bring in flattened tin cans for scrap iron in the steel industry. The local steel mills were booming, manned by
older men exempt from the draft and women too along with Rosy the Riveter on
the assembly lines making military vehicles and tanks. In a fit of paranoia, the U.S. government
confined Japanese Americans to internment camps.
Ten
million American men fought in that war and 405,399 lost their lives compared to
116,516 in World War
I, not to mention the many more wounded, the millions dead from all sides, the
grieving families, and the systematic extermination of the Jews by the Nazis.. Anxious and prayerful American families would
put small banners with a star on their front door or window for each son in the
war. Our next door neighbor had a four
star banner. Many sons never did come
home. Every town would have a billboard with
the names of its sons in the war and every Church had a plaque with the names
of its parishioners in the war as the people prayed for them. Soldiers would bring home as trophies enemy
swords, guns, etc. I had a collection of
military badges that veterans gave to me.
Stan
Belback, the son of a Polish-American family, was part of the Normandy Invasion
in liberating France. Soldiers were
being mowed down all around him in charging the German bunkers on the top of
the hill. His wife prayed hard; Stanley
was hit in the chest; however, the bullet glazed off of a bead of the rosary
around his neck; Mary saved his life. He
and his wife showed us the rosary.
I
remember air shows at the Allegheny County Airport (Pittsburgh principle
airport at the time) and seeing tanks being hauled on railroad cars. People
were encouraged to have victory gardens to assure enough for the troops. People
were encouraged to have victory gardens to assure enough for the troops. It
was truly the Great Generation. German
cities were leveled by incessant bombings.
The war mercifully came to an end after the atomic bomb attack on
Hiroshima in 1945. Millions of people
suffered on all sides in the war. God
does not have to punish us; sin creates its own punishments with evil
consequences. He
actually makes good come out of it as people come back to Him in prayer with
trust and repentance.
Hiroshima
after the atomic bomb attack on August 6, 1945.
Some 80,000 people died immediately and another 60,000 slowly died from
the radioactive fallout. About the same
number of people died on the second attack on Nagasaki on August 9. Was this
carnage necessary? Could surrender have been achieved by a demonstration or complete isolation after destroying Japan’s
capability for carrying on the war.
Before the October
1917 Communist Revolution in Russia when nobody in the West knew what Communism
was, Mary warned the world: "To
prevent this, I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate
Heart, and Communions of reparation on the first Saturdays. If my requests are
heard, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will
spread her errors throughout the world, fomenting wars and persecution of the
Church. The good will suffer martyrdom; the Holy Father will suffer much;
different nations will be annihilated. But in the end my Immaculate Heart will
triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted,
and some time of peace will be granted to humanity.
In 1920
following World War I, the countries of Western Europe were weak, depleted, exhausted
from the war, and in economic ruin. The Bolsheviks
(Russian Communists) saw an opportunity to establish Communism in Europe; they were
poised to advance to the English Channel.
However, miraculously Polish troops, although outnumbered, stopped them
in the Battle of Warsaw. It is often
referred to as the “Miracle on the Vistula River” or “Cud nad Wisła” in Polish.
Mexico. The repressive
government of Mexico under Communist influence violently persecuted the Church,
executed priests, and many of the faithful.
Catholics revolted, demanding religious freedom in the Cristero War from
1926 – 1929 (See Blogs #42, 120, & 132).
In 1929
in a private revelation to Sr. Lucia, the only surviving seer of Fatima, Mary
promised that Russia would be converted if the Pope in union with the bishops
of the world would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. See the Appendix for the text of Sr. Lucia's letter to Pope Pius XII.
In the 1930s and 1940s the Communist Party of
the United States was quite significant since their founding in 1919, peaking
at 80,000 members in 1944. The Communists
had some success in infiltrating certain labor unions before being expelled in
1950 (see https://www.britannica.com/topic/Communist-Party-of-the-United-States-of-America). Russia even had spies who stole American
military secrets…….first the atomic bomb by the late l940s and then the
hydrogen bomb within the next decade.
Alger Hiss and Julius Rosenberg were the most notorious.
Spain. In the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939
Communist Russia greatly influenced and helped the Republicans on the left
while Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy aided the Nationalists on the right. The Republicans persecuted and killed many
Catholics, priests, and nuns. Ernest
Hemingway and leftist American youth fought with the Republicans. The Nationalists under General Franco
prevailed and religious freedom was preserved.
See https://www.britannica.com/event/Spanish-Civil-War. At least half a million people died. It was a prelude to World War II.
Russia was an
unreliable ally during World War II despite receiving
considerable help from the United States for the Eastern Front in Europe. Towards the end of the war, Franklin Roosevelt
(followed by Harry Truman) had conferences with Winston Churchill of Britain,
and Josef Stalin of Russia and made agreements at Yalta and Potsdam on occupying
Germany and the countries of eastern Europe involved in the war. Russia occupied Eastern Europe and East
Germany. Stalin simply treated those
countries as conqueo Stalin. Russia entered the Pacific Theater of the War toward its very end, occupsts and set up Communist governments in each one of them. My father and other ethnic Hungarians were
bitter, calling it a betrayal and a handover tying Manchuria, which became part of China as another Communist country.
Russia continued to spread its
errors after World War II…….suppress basic human rights and freedoms in the
countries under its control. It
aggressively persecuted the Church, jailed and executed priests, closed
churches, Catholic schools, newspapers, and institutions. It controlled the Press, jailed and executed
people who spoke out against the regime, etc.
In subsequent years Russia annexed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the
Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan under the name of “Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics”. By 1948
it established puppet Communist governments in the countries it occupied after
World War II…….Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia,
Albania, and East Germany. It threatened
to take over Greece, Italy, Austria, and Turkey, but the United States finally stood
firm. It helped the Chinese Communists
to take over China and equipped North Korea to attack South Korea in a three
year war.
In
the United States the Soviet Union had a spy network. Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs were the most
notorious. They were successful in
stealing American secrets for the Atomic Bomb and the Hydrogen Bomb. The Communist Party was active and made
inroads in infiltrating labor unions.
Saul
Alinsky (1909 – 1972), is considered to be the father of community organizing
and had a Marxist influenced methodology.
He has been able to influence liberals of today (including President
Obama who started out as a community organizer and is an admirer of Alinsky)
with secularist goals divorced from God.
They don’t call it Marxism, Communism, or even Socialism, but rather using
the terms: liberal, progressive, and democratic. Alinsky’s philosophy included the
Machiavellian “The end justifies the means” including violence and deceit to
achieve their goals even if they violate Christian morality, religious freedom,
and human rights. “You do what you can
and then you clothe it in moral garments, pick the target, freeze it,
personalize it, and polarize it”.
Alinsky
had a diabolican influence on many liberals of his time and today. He even had considerable success in
influencing Catholic leaders, intellectuals, and even Bishops of the
Church. That’s one of the reasons that
Vatican II was corrupted under the guise of “The Spirit of Vatican II” and
people believed them without ever having read what is in the Vatican II
documents. Shocking are some of the
quotes from his book “Rules for Radicals” and interview with Playboy Magazine a
few weeks before he died as saying that if there is an afterlife, he would
choose hell because his kind of people are there and he would organize them. For more detail watch the EWTN documentary by
clicking on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vny6OXXBSfM.
The Korean War.
In 1950 Communist North Korea with the help of Russia invaded free South
Korea. American troops intervened and fought until an
Armistice in 1953; 36,516 died Technically,
the two countries are still at war. Tensions
continue between the two countries today and a resumption of the war is still a
real possibility. Communist North Korea
is developing nuclear weapons. By this
time Russia developed atomic weapons. A
nuclear war was very much a possibility.
People talked about building bomb shelters and in some schools kids were
taught to crawl under their desks in case of an attack. As a kid in elementary school, I remember
being afraid, especially at night.
The Hungarian Revolution. In 1956 the Hungarian people revolted against
their puppet Communist government and the occupation by Soviet troops. It was a popular uprising for freedom. For a few days, it appeared that the Hungarians
freedom fighters were victorious as the Soviet Army retreated from
Budapest. The Soviets lured their new
premier, Imre Nagy to negotiate at the military headquarters. Masters of deceit, they captured him and a
larger Soviet army crushed the rebellion……killing 3000 people in a blood
bath. Once order was restored, they executed
many of the freedom fighters and their leaders, including Imre Nagy.
The Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1958 the Communists took over Cuba in a revolution led by Fidel Castro. Communism took root 90 miles from the United
States. In April 1961 the United States
helped a band of Cuban refugees in a failed attempt to overthrow the Castro
government with the Bay of Pigs invasion.
The failure was a major blow to American prestige. In retaliation Castro invited Russia to
station missiles with nuclear warheads that threatened the United States. Washington was within range. In October 1962 the United States blockaded
Russian ships from entering Cuba. This
resulted in a gigantic game of chicken that put the world on the brink of
nuclear war. A miscalculation by either
superpower or a mistake by one of the opposing commanders could have sparked a
nuclear war. People were deathly
afraid. Russia apparently gave in by
withdrawing its missiles, but secretly the United States agreed to remove its
missiles from Turkey close to the border with the Soviet Union.
The Berlin Wall. In 1961 refugees from the Communist countries
were streaming through Berlin to freedom in the West. Berlin was in the center of Communist East
Germany. However, West Berlin was
controlled by West Germany according to a previous treaty. Previously in 1948 Russia had tried to force
the allies out of Berlin, but the allies kept their occupied West Berlin supplied
through around the clock flights called the Berlin Airlift. To stop this flow of refugees, Nikita Khrushchev,
the dictator of the Soviet Union, ordered the construction of a wall topped by
barbed wire on August 13, 1961. See my
blogs #60 and 160. The United States retaliated
with a buildup. My active duty as a
young lieutenant was extended a year and I was sent to Orleans, France as part of a buildup in Europe. By the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis my
tour of duty was over.
Vietnam.
In 1965 Communist North Vietnam with the help of Russia invaded South
Vietnam. We were bogged down in that war
until 1973 when a treaty was negotiated.
American troops were withdrawn and North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam
in violation of the treaty; 58,209 American soldiers lost their lives. This was the only war that the United States
ever lost. However, it probably stopped
the Communist advance into other Asia countries.
St. Pope John Paul II. Karol
Wojtiła clandestinely studied for the priesthood during the Nazi occupation of
Poland inside the residence of the Archbishop of Krakow. As bishop and later Archbishop of Krakow
Cardinal Wojtiła resisted Communism. To
everyone’s surprise and shock to the Soviets, he was elected Pope John Paul II
in 1978. He triumphantly visited Poland
and quietly supported the Solidarity Movement for free unions.
Perceiving
the future saint as a threat, the Soviets put out a contract on his life and
was shot point blank on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of Mary’s first
appearance to the shepherd children in Fatima.
That wound to his abdomen should have been fatal, but miraculously the
bullet zigzagged through his body without hitting any artery or vital
organ. During his agony, he called out
to Maria for help and he attributed his life to her. Later the Pope visited Fatima and had the
bullet placed in the crown of Our Lady’s statue. When he recovered St. John Paul II met with
his attacker, Mehmet Ali Ağca, in jail and forgave him. We later learned that the Third Secret of
Fatima prophesized that there would be an attempt on the life of the Pope.
The agony of St. Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981.
St. John Paul II had a great devotion to Mary and even had a reference
to her on his coat of arms: “totus tuus”,
meaning “all yours”, in consecrating himself to her Immaculate Heart. As a boy he came closer to Mary, our
spiritual mother, after his earthly mother died. As Pope, he served as the Lord’s instrument in
the collapse of European Communism. He inspired
those in the Solidarity Movement in Poland.
He collaborated with President Ronald Reagan and Allen Dulles, the
Director of the CIA, by giving them information that the Vatican had. Furthermore, the Pope facilitated the
transfer of money to the Solidarity Movement.
Thus St. Pope John Paul II is credited with a significant role in the eventual
fall of Communism in Europe.
During
the Cold War, people prayed and St. Pope John Paul II did consecrate Russia to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984 in union with the bishops of the world. By 1991 European communism and the Iron
Curtain collapsed as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Russia has come a long way, but conversion is
still a long way off. A nationalistic
Russia has taken territory from the Ukraine, is a threat to its neighbors, and
has sided with the Syrian dictator.
The Berlin Wall comes tumbling down
like the Walls of Jericho.
Below
is the chronology of satisfying Mary’s request to consecrate Russia to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. The key dates
are underlined. It was not until March
25, 1984 that St. Pope John Paul II satisfied the conditions for the consecration
that Mary laid out. Note below that
after that date there was a series of events that led to the collapse of
European Communism and the Iron Curtain as the Berlin Wall came tumbling
down. Freedom to Poland, Hungary,
Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc.; and the disintegration of the Soviet
Union which was really a Russian Communist empire. Nobody expected this sequence of events. St. Pope John Paul II had an important role. We know that prayer did it.
Since
1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated, there has been a modest revival in
Russia. The number of churches have
increased from 400 to over 30,000; the number of monasteries from 22 to over
800; Theological Schools from 0 to 100.
Civil laws is beginning to reflect God’s moral law and Christianity is
growing in importance despite President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive
posture. Of course, the Christianization
of Russia still has a long way to go.
Time Line of the Consecration of Russia
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
and Related Events
July 13, 1917 Our Lady
promises to come and ask for the
consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
June 13, 1929 Our
Lady fulfills her promise, asking through Lucy "for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, promising its conversion through this means and
the hindering of the propagation of its errors."
date unknown Pius XI (1922-1939) is
informed of this request.
1938 Portuguese
Bishops ask Pius XI for the Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart.
It is said they were influenced to do this by the spiritual director of Bl.
Alexandrina da Costa (1904-1955).
June 1940 A request is made to Pius XII through the Bishop of Macau, and a little later through Father
Gonzaga de Fonseca. Mention is made of Our Lady asking for the Consecration of
Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
Dec. 1940 Sr. Lucia writes a letter to Pius
XII, saying that Our Lord Himself requests that the Pope "consecrate the
world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a special mention of Russia, and
order that all the Bishops of the world do the same in union with His Holiness."
Oct. 31, 1942 Pope Pius XII consecrates the world to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
July 7, 1952 Pope Pius XII consecrates the Russian
people to the Immaculate Heart.
Nov. 21, 1964 Pope Paul VI
renews, in the presence of the Fathers of the Vatican Council, but without their participation, the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.
May 13, 1982 Pope John Paul
II invites the bishops of the world to join him in consecrating the world and
with it Russia to the Immaculate Heart. Many do not receive the invitation in
time for the Pope's trip to Fatima, where he accomplishes the consecration. Sr. Lucia later said it did not fulfill the
conditions.
October 1983 Pope John Paul II, at the Synod of Bishops,
renews the 1982 Consecration.
March 25,1984 Pope John Paul II, "united with all the
pastors of the Church in a particular bond whereby we constitute a body and a
college," consecrates "the whole world, especially the peoples for
which by reason of their situation you have particular love and
solicitude." Apparently it was imprudent to mention Russia by name. Both the Pope and Sr. Lucia initially seemed
uncertain that the consecration had been fulfilled, but shortly thereafter Sr.
Lucia tells the papal nuncio to Portugal that the Consecration is fulfilled.
May 13, 1984 One of the
largest crowds in Fatima history gathers at the shrine to pray the Rosary for peace.
May 13, 1984 An
explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the
Soviet Navy has suffered since WWII.
Dec. 1984 The Soviet
Defense Minister, mastermind of the invasion plans for Western Europe, suddenly and mysteriously dies.
March 10, 1985 Soviet Chairman
Konstantin Chernenko dies.
March 11, 1985 Soviet Chairman
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected.
April 26, 1986 The Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown accident
spews a radioactive cloud over the Ukraine.
May 12, 1988 An explosion
wrecked the only factory that made the rocket motors for the Soviets’ deadly SS
24 long-range missiles, which carry ten nuclear bombs each.
Aug. 29, 1989 Sr. Lucia affirms in correspondence that the
consecration "has been accomplished" and that "God will keep His
word."
Nov. 9, 1989 The Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain go
down, reminiscent of the Walls of Jericho. Nobody expected it.
Nov-Dec 1989 Peaceful revolutions in Czechoslovakia,
Romania, Bulgaria and Albania drive out Communism.
1990 East and West Germany are
unified.......only a dream since the end of World War II in 1945.
Dec. 25, 1991 The Communist
government in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics disintegrates and collapses after subjugating millions, persecuting the Church, and being a
threat to civilization since the Russian Revolution of October 1917.
The 21st Century began
with hope, but the forces of evil continued to work and the
people drifted away from God. Since the
1970s, Secularism or secular humanism (ignoring God…….the rejection of
religious influence or morality in civil affairs, public education, and social
discourse) took over more and more of European and American society, culture,
public education, and government. When
the European Union was organized, the framers refused to acknowledge any
Christian contribution to European civilization and culture.
With
contraception and abortion, the population of Europe (about 1.6 children per
woman when population maintenance requires about 2.3) became stagnant with a
preponderance of older people. With a
shortage of young people to work and feed the older people, guest workers were
welcomed from Islamic countries. They
multiply and mosques began to crop up all over Europe. According to one projection, by 2050 Europe
will have an Islamic majority. This gave
rise to a fringe group of radical Islamists such as Al Qaida and ISIS (the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) that achieve their objectives through
terrorism both from within and from without.
They aspire to take over countries and establish Sharia Law. That is the scourge of the 21st
Century.
The War on Terror is
nothing new; it’s really a 1300 year old war, a threat to Western Civilization
since the 8th Century, when they took over the Middle East and
North Africa. In the 12th
Century the Crusades defended and tried to recover the Holy Land from its
Muslim conquerors. The Moors took over
much of Spain and Portugal in the 15th Century and the Ottoman Turks
conquered Hungary in the 17th Century. All of Europe was threatened and the people
went to Mary as a recourse. With Mary’s intercession
the advance of radical Islam was stopped at the Battle of Belgrade in 1456, the
Battle of Le Panto in 1571, and the Battle of Vienna on September 11, 1683. See my Blog #125.
Radical Islam was dormant for the next 300
years. It was revived by Palestinian
protesters against the Israeli occupation.
The suicide bombers believed that they would obtain salvation by being
martyrs to Jihad or holy war in “killing the infidels”. In 1997 a terrorist bomb was set off in the
basement of one of the Twin Towers.
The second plane hits
the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001
as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge.
The grim reality of Radical Islam hit home on September 11, 2001 which was chosen by Osama Bin Laden because it was the anniversary of the victory by King Sobieski of Poland over the Ottoman Turks in 1683. They attacked New York and Washington with four hijacked airliners that crashed into major buildings. American then took the War on Terror to Iraq and Afghanistan which was controlled by the Taliban and Al Qaida. ISIS threatens to take over Syria and Iraq with aspirations to fly their black flag over St. Peter’s in Rome.
Terrorists attacks have occurred numerous times since then in Europe and the United States. Now people realize that terrorism can occur at any time, anywhere.
Now again we appeal to Mary. The world of Islam admires Mary as the most
perfect woman that God created as stated in the Quran. The town of Fatima was named after Mohammed’s
favorite daughter after the Moors conquered Portugal. Mary chose to appear in Fatima, Portugal for
a reason. Perhaps Mary is the path to
reconciliation between Islam and Christianity.
See my Blog #4.
The
entire history of man has been marked by one war after another, but the 20th Century
was the bloodiest of all. Since 1914,
the start of World War I, the world has had to endure almost constant war somewhere in the world, millions
of human beings killed and millions more wounded, persecution of Jews, of
Christians, and other minorities, racism, terrorism, untold suffering. We have seen so much of it in real life, on
television, and in the movies that we are desensitized to violence. We have devalued life, especially the
unborn.
We
have become insensitive to statistics of the dead. Let us remember……the millions of dead are not
statistics; they are not simply abstract numbers; they are people crying out
that they are created according to the image and likeness of God……thus with
tremendous dignity. What has the world
gained from all the needless violence and death? True, suffering often does bring out heroic
virtue and God raises saints to carry us through it. Evil seems to be winning; the word devil
comes from division. We must turn the
tide. We can never do it alone. Let us turn back to God and pray for His help
and trust Him. Mary, pray for us.
Mary
will again be victorious if we come back to God and pray the rosary daily for
peace that Mary herself asks us to do (For meditations, see my Blogs #50, 73,
78, & 84). Her almost 2000 year
mission has been to bring people back to her Son. Mary thirsts for sinners the same as her Son
does. Thus we consecrate our Country,
our diocese, our Knights of Columbus Council, and ourselves to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. In the end the Immaculate
Heart will triumph. May each one of us
do our part by praying the rosary daily for peace as Mary requested at Fatima.
1940 Letter of Sr. Lucia to Pope Pius XII Requesting the Consecration of the World and Russia to the Immaculate Heart
Humbly prostrated at your feet, I come as the last sheep of the fold entrusted to you to open my heart, by order of my spiritual director.
I am the only survivor of the children to whom our Lady appeared in Fátima (Portugal) from the 13th of May to the 13th of October 1917. The Blessed Virgin has granted me many graces, the greatest of all being my admission to the Institute of Saint Dorothy. (To here this is copy of the sketch the Bishop sent me.)
I come, Most Holy Father, to renew a request that has already been brought to you several times. The request, Most Holy Father, is from our Lord and our good Mother in Heaven.
In 1917, in the portion of the apparitions that we have designated "the secret," the Blessed Virgin revealed the end of the war that was then afflicting Europe, and predicted another forthcoming, saying that to prevent it She would come and ask the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart as well as the Communion of reparation on the first Saturday. She promised peace and the conversion of that nation if Her request was attended to. She announced that otherwise this nation would spread her errors throughout the world, and there would be wars, persecutions of the Holy Church, martyrdom of many Christians, several persecutions and sufferings reserved for Your Holiness, and the annihilation of several nations.
Most Holy Father, this remained a secret until 1926 according to the express will of our Lady. Then, in a revelation She asked that the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months be propagated throughout the world, with its conditions of doing the following with the same purpose; going to confession, meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary and saying the Rosary with the aim of making reparation for the insults, sacrileges and indifferences committed against Her Immaculate Heart. Our good Heavenly Mother promises to assist the persons who practise this devotion, in the hour of their death, with all the necessary graces for their salvation. I exposed the request of our Lady to my confessor, who tried to have it fulfilled, but only on the 13th of September 1939 did His Excellency the Bishop of Leiria make public in Fatima this request of our Lady.
I take this opportunity, Most Holy Father, to ask you to bless and extend this devotion to the whole world. In 1929, through another apparition, our Lady asked for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, promising its conversion through this means and the hindering of the propagation of its errors.
Sometime afterwards I told my confessor of the request of our Lady. He tried to fulfill it by making it known to Pius XI.
In several intimate communications our Lord has not stopped insisting on this request, promising lately, to shorten the days of tribulation which He has determined to punish the nations for their crimes, through war, famine and several persecutions of the Holy Church and Your Holiness, if you will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a special mention for Russia, and order that all the Bishops of the world do the same in union with Your Holiness. I truly feel your sufferings, Most Holy Father! And, at much as I can through my humble prayers and sacrifices, I try to lessen them, close to our Lord and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Most Holy Father, if in the union of my soul with God I have not been deceived, our Lord promises a special protection to our country in this war, due to the consecration of the nation by the Portuguese Prelates, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; as proof of the graces that would have been granted to other nations, had they also consecrated themselves to Her.
Now, Most Holy Father, allow me to make one more request, which is but an ardent wish of my humble heart; that the feast in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary be extended throughout the whole world as one of the main feasts of the Holy Church.
With the deepest respect and reverence I ask for the Apostolic Blessing. May God protect Your Holiness.
Tuy, Spain, 2nd of December of 1940.
From Novos Documentos de Fátima, Fr. Anthony Mario Martins, SJ (Oporto: 1984). English edition:
THE REQUESTS OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY OF FATIMA
- THE DAILY ROSARY FOR PEACE:
"Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world . . . for she alone can save it." (Our Lady, July 13, 1917)
"God has placed peace in her hands, and it is from the Immaculate Heart that men must ask it." (Jacinta, shortly before her death)
"When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.' " (June 13, 1917)
(Every Rosary increases Mary's power to crush the head of the Serpent and to destroy his evil power in the world.)
- DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY:
"Jesus wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it." (June 13, 1917)
3. FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTIONS, which include:
- reception of Holy Communion, and Confession (within 8 days before or after)
- pray five decades of the Rosary
- spend 15 minutes in meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary.
(All the above to be offered up in reparation for sins and ingratitude against the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady.)
- OFFERING IN REPARATION - THE SACRIFICES, TRIALS AND CROSSES OF LIFE, especially those sacrifices involved in keeping God's Commandments, and in fulfilling the duties of one's state in life - offering them through the Immaculate Heart of Mary in reparation to the Divine Majesty so offended by sin, and for the conversion of sinners.
"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often whenever you make a sacrifice: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.' " (Our Lady, July 13, 1917)
"Pray much and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to hell because there is no one to make sacrifices for them." (Our Lady, August 19, 1917)
CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY. Any formula may be used which expresses a sincere confiding of oneself without reserve.
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Now again we appeal to Mary. The world of Islam admires Mary as the most
perfect woman that God created as stated in the Quran. The town of Fatima was named after Mohammed’s
favorite daughter after the Moors conquered Portugal. Mary chose to appear in Fatima, Portugal for
a reason. Perhaps Mary is the path to
reconciliation between Islam and Christianity.
See my Blog #4.
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