ANNO DOMINI

Fatima in Focus

"The Blessed Virgin Mary told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. From now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility"........ Sister Lucy dos Santos, oldest child seer of Fatima

The message of Fatima is dire, grim and unequivocal. There are only two choices: we are for God or we serve the devil. This message was given to the world in 1917. Leading up to the message, three young children of Portugal began seeing "a beautiful Lady" who appeared to them with messages and instructions. As a climax to her appearances the Lady told them she would perform a miracle for all the world to see in October. This promise was repeated in two more apparitions in August and September.

Much interest was aroused by the apparitions, and on the promised day of October 13 a great crowd was assembled. It included believers, scoffers, men of science, reporters, and the tormentors of the three seers. A drenching rain had turned the Cova, (the place of the apparitions), to mud. Nonetheless, the seers looked up to Heaven with full confidence. The Lady appeared and told Lucy who she was and what she wanted: a chapel on the spot in Her honor. She announced that she was the Lady of the Rosary.

The miracle began. Witnesses from the anti-clerical newspapers as well as men of science and devout believers all agreed on the basic facts of the miracle. The sun began to move in an unprecedented way. It was said to have come down to the height of the clouds and began to whirl giddily. Others attested to the fact that one could look upon the sun directly with no discomfort nor any ill effects. It seemed to descend and rush forward, as a fire wheel. This erratic movement brought cries of fear and then sighs of relief as the sun resumed its usual place in the sky. The people and surroundings, which had been drenched before, were left dry when the miracle was over.

This seems a miracle without parallel in scope of influence. An estimated 70,000 people witnessed this miracle. It was widely reported, both by word of mouth and by newspaper accounts. There are many documents left to us. The first reports were from the anticlerical reporters; the true reporters among them gave the facts. Official investigations began. Depositions were taken from witnesses of the parish. Reports were made from several priests. The Catholic hierarchy has deemed the miracle "worthy of belief".

What the Lady imparted to the children was that God wanted to establish devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. If her words were heeded many souls would be saved and there would be peace in the world. If not, there would be punishment by God by means of war, famine, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. It was imperative that the Consecration of Russia be made to Her Immaculate Heart and devotion of the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays be established. If the requests were heeded, there would be peace. If not, Russia would spread her errors throughout the world, fomenting wars and persecution of the Church. The good would be martyred and the Holy Father would have much to suffer. Various nations would be annihilated. Assurance was given that in the end Her Immaculate Heart would triumph, the Holy Father would consecrate Russia, Russia would be converted, and a period of peace would be given to the world.

A common perception of Russia today is that it is a subdued nation, that Communism has been defeated. Yet, Communism has never been repudiated there and the Church is suffering mightily. The State has control over all the churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, and they exist only at the pleasure of the State. It likes to pretend that the Church is allowed to flourish, but the opposite is true. It is still a closed society in many ways, so nobody can know the exact status of the Church, but educated reports tell us it is not good. The Vatican's position on the Fatima message is that the consecration has been done as requested. However, the fruits of a valid consecration are not evident. Russia and China have just joined to show the world their combined might by a demonstration of their arms and armies. There is no peace. Indeed, there are wars of many types going on today. There is genocide and mass starvation of whole populations.

The American Church today is in turmoil. A scandal of unique proportions is raging, losing souls to Christ, decimating the seminaries, causing Catholics to lose heart and distrust the shepherds who presided while this scandal was happening. Aside from the spiritual havoc, the monetary cost is staggering. In one archdiocese alone, claims from alleged victims of priest sexual abusers totals over a one-half billion dollars.

Faithful Catholics who sacrificed to build parishes and schools now must hire attorneys to protect their Church property and other assets. Still, those who were lax about overseeing their clerical personnel have not been disciplined in a way that is evident to ordinary Catholics. Some have, in the parlance of business, been "kicked upstairs".

The little seer, Lucy, was entrusted with three parts of the Fatima secret. She has stated that the third has never been revealed, and eventually she was enjoined to not speak about it. There are persistent reports that there is, indeed, a third secret, and that it concerns apostasy in the highest places in the Church. Because of the way the first two secrets were written, it seems that a third part should follow. Although the Vatican has these secrets and some popes and trusted individuals have had access to them, the third part has never been publicly revealed.

Many religions have concerned themselves with end times. There have been several books written recently about "the rapture". However, Catholic tradition has always taught that nobody knows when Christ will return. We are also assured that the Church will triumph. It is well to remember the report of the little seer, Lucy, who faithfully gave us the words from the Virgin about the persecution of the Church. Also, whole nations will be annihilated if her requests are not heeded.

When the message of Fatima was first given and for many years afterward, it seemed almost impossible that whole nations could be annihilated. The deadly nuclear devices had not been invented. Even during the Cold War it seemed unlikely that either the U.S. or Russia would use those devices, because each knew retaliation would come, and neither country wanted to risk the destruction of their country. Today, however, we have an enemy that does not fear that sort of retaliation. Radical Islamists are scattered throughout many nations, including our own, and they are willing to end their lives in order to bring destruction to the West, in their eyes "The Great Satan". There are persistent reports that suitcase sized "dirty bombs" have already been brought across our porous southern border. If so, we know the terrorists have no qualms about killing en masse.

There seems to be no protection against such a calamity. However, the Virgin gave us a remedy. We are to pray the Rosary for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. We are to include in our prayers "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need". It is well to invoke the protection of St. Michael, powerful Archangel: "Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen".

The more we accommodate and join with the New World Order and its attendant heresies, the more we separate ourselves from Christ's Church. Ours is the Universal Church and none may supplant it.

The only part of the prophecy that has not been fulfilled is that whole nations would be annihilated. Is that coming?

Our Blessed Mother has warned us: "From now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility".

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