May the seers of Fatima help us to see
Fatima was amazing and we're still (spiritually) unpacking from our trip there in June.
I’d heard about Fatima from the time I was a kid - my mom had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother and Fatima was always in the background of her faith. Mom was born in 1931 and the apparitions took place in 1917, so she knew the story well and was particularly intrigued by the Fatima “secrets” - what were they and what did they portend for the future? Inquiring minds wanna know!
Mom’s devotion to Our Lady heavily influenced my own, particularly after she died 12 years ago. I needed a mom I could talk to everyday and the Blessed Mother graciously filled that hole in my life. Over time, a desire had been building to visit the places where Mary had appeared, so when we heard about a pilgrimage from Fatima to Lourdes, I signed us up pronto. Needless to say, I thought of mom the whole time - she would’ve loved this trip!
There’s a lot to unpack about the Fatima message and spoiler alert: it’s not all puppy dogs and rainbows. In fact, it’s a clarion call to deeper faith, more fervent prayer, repentance, making sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and consecrating ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Blessed Mother entrusted a heavy message to three young kids (ages 7, 9 and 10), which included a vision of hell and warnings of an even worse war if people didn’t turn away from their sins. Her message changed them and it should change us too.
What lessons can we learn from Fatima? Lesson #1: Call your Mom. Let’s start by looking at Our Lady’s prophecies: she told siblings Jacinta and Francisco that they would go to heaven soon (they died of the Spanish flu within two years) and that their cousin Lucia would need to stay on earth for quite some time (she died at 97 years old, within two months of St. John Paul II’s passing in 2005). Realizing she’d have to carry the Fatima torch on her own made Lucia sad, so she asked Our Lady, “Am I to stay here all alone?” To which the Blessed Mother replied, “No my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” What a comforting response from our Heavenly Mother - I need that tattooed on my heart! May we all turn to her in times of sorrow.
Lesson #2: Pray daily, especially the Rosary. Next she prophesied that if people didn’t “cease offending God” a worse war would break out during the reign of Pope Pius XI (WW II came 20 years later and was the deadliest war in history). She admonished the three little shepherds to “Pray the Rosary everyday in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” The Rosary keeps us connected to Christ and his Mother.
Lesson #3: Heed warnings, particularly those of divine origin. Our Lady cautioned the three seers that if Russia wasn’t consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, she would “spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be annihilated. In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” These things all took place and were components of the Fatima “secrets.” St. JP II took Our Lady’s warnings seriously and acted upon them.
As for the Holy Father suffering - the attempted assassination of St. JP II took place on May 13, 1981 at 5:13 pm - 5/13 was the date of the first apparition at Fatima (there were six total) and the Holy Father was absolutely certain that while “one hand pulled the trigger, another hand guided the bullet.” He went to Fatima a year later to thank Our Lady for her motherly protection in sparing his life and remained deeply devoted to her throughout his pontificate.
There’s so much more to unpack, but let’s put a pin in it for now and reflect on the overarching message of Fatima, which is an invitation to prayer, conversion and salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers and intercession of his Immaculate Mother. May we allow this message to penetrate our hearts and keep us close to the God who loves us and desires a relationship with us - now and for all eternity. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!