Today, October 13th, 2017, is the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. Here is the story:
On May 13th, 1917, the Blessed
Virgin Mary appeared to three little shepherds in the village of Fatima,
Portugal. Seven-year old Jacinta, her nine-year-old brother Francisco, and
their ten-year-old cousin Lucia were tending their sheep in a field called the
Cova da Iria. Suddenly they saw a bright flash of light. A beautiful Lady,
dressed in white and gold, appeared on a cloud over a small oak tree. A golden
cord hung around her neck. Her hands were joined in prayer and she held a pearl
rosary.
Mary told the children that she had been
sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child in our century.
Coming at a time when civilization was torn asunder by the untold violence of
World War I, Mary promised that Heaven would grant peace to the entire world if
her requests for prayer, reparation, and consecration were heard and obeyed.
Our Lady of Fatima repeatedly emphasized
the necessity of praying daily, especially the Rosary, of wearing the Brown
Scapular, and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice. She also promised
a sign on October 13th as proof of her messages.
A heavy rain fell
all night and into the morning as a great crowd of more than 70,000 people
gathered at the Cova on October 13th, 1917. The Lady appeared
to the children for the last time, more radiant than ever. “Her face was
brighter than the sun,” said Francisco. “I am the Lady of the Rosary,” the
Virgin Mary said. “I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and
ask pardon for their sins. They must not continue to offend Our Lord, who has
been so deeply offended. They must pray, especially the rosary.” She said that
if people amended their lives, the war would end soon. She then left the
children, raising her hands toward the sky.
Someone cried, “Look at the sun!” The children looked up
and saw Mother Mary with Saint Joseph and the Infant Jesus. They saw Jesus
blessing the people. Meanwhile, the people were able to look at the sun without
hurting their eyes. It appeared as a silver disc, and began spinning in the
sky. As it danced, it cast off great shafts of colored light which flashed and
fell upon the sky and the rain-soaked earth. Men and women fell to their knees
and prayed as brilliant colors fell on the trees and stones. Suddenly, the sun
began to zigzag! It started to fall like a wheel of fire upon the people. They
cried out in fear and asked Jesus and Mary to save them. After a few moments,
the sun returned to its place. The ground was completely dry, as was everyone’s
clothing. The people rejoiced and praised God for the “Miracle of the Sun.”
Even the secular, anti-Catholic newspapers reported the event, as did today’s
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/13/our-lady-of-fatima-the-virgin-mary-promised-three-kids-a-miracle-that-70000-gathered-to-see/?utm_term=.c68f0b01dfc1
On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was
shot in the chest and in the abdomen at point blank range in St. Peter’s
Square. He credited his miraculous escape from death to the intervention of Our
Lady of Fatima. One year later he traveled to Fatima, and placed the bullet in
the crown resting upon the statue of Mary there. He said, “One finger fired the
bullet, but another guided its path.”
Less than 7 years later, the Berlin Wall
fell without a bullet being fired, and Communism collapsed across the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe.
Our Lady of
Fatima, pray for us.