This troubled world needs Fatima today

Today is the 97th anniversary of the first apparition of our Blessed Virgin Mary at the Cova di Ira in Fatima, Portugal, which became a series of apparitions always on the 13th that amazed the Christian world for nearly a century now. The story of the Fatima apparitions is known to all Catholics. It is a fact that millions of pilgrims visit the Cova de Ira annually. I’m writing about Fatima today because whether we like it or not, this troubled world needs to heed the call of the Blessed Virgin Mary that she asked 97 years ago. 

As Catholic writer, Antonio Socci wrote in his book “The Fourth Secret of Fatima” (Loreto Publications) “An extraordinary event without equal in history, began at Fatima, in Portugal in 1917 and was played out throughout the course of the 20th century. It is something  which has already had and can still have consequences of enormous importance for the whole of humanity, not only for Christians. At the center of if all is a secret message that — according to the Catholic Church — the Madonna Herself, on July 13, 1915, consigned to the little children, Lucia do Santos, Jacinta and Francisco Marto.

In truth, we don’t have enough space to write the whole story of Fatima in one column. But we have already written in this corner the three secrets of Fatima. So let me just ran through all those secrets quickly. The First Secret was when the Blessed Virgin Mary showed the three children a vision of hell… that the horrified children said that they would have died of fear and terror hadn’t the Blessed Virgin Mary gave them her special protection.

The Second Secret is considered by many Fatimists as highly controversial. Let’s find out why. This Secret was given after the children saw where the souls of sinners go to hell. The Blessed Virgin Mary said to the children, “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wills to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” So what happened since? Why is the world still so far away from achieving peace?

The Fatima apparitions came just after World War I was ending. But the Blessed Virgin Mary told the children “To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace, if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church.

The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, 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. In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.”

This last passage is the most controversial according to Antonio Socci as it is quite a cliffhanger. The doctrine of the Faith should be preserved at the Vatican in Rome…but why Portugal? Was this message edited by the Vatican? This is why Mr. Socci believes that there is a Fourth Secret… it is the Third Secret split into two.

So where’s the other part of the Third Secret and why hasn’t the Vatican released it to the public? Is it because it talks about the Pope being killed? Does this refer to the present Pope Francis? Vatican insiders often refer to this event with the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in May 13, 1981. But then Pope John Paul II did not die and the Blessed Virgin Mary was very specific… the Pope will be martyred. Will this prophesy by our Blessed Virgin Mary happen in our time?

Open your TV sets to the international news or read the local and international newspapers and you will see that Russia today has become so aggressive that it annexed Crimea a couple of months ago. This was what Adolf Hitler did to Czechoslovakia when he gave an excuse that he was supporting the Sudeten Germans living there… exactly the same excuse that Russian President Vladimir Putin used to annex the Crimea. History is repeating itself because we never learn the lessons of history. 

Fatimists say that the consecration of Russia as requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary never happened. Pope John Paul II did consecrate the world to her Immaculate Heart…but her request as written by Sis. Lucia dos Santos was very specific…to consecrate Russia and she will be converted. Lest you forgot, Russia today is still Orthodox Christian, which separated with the Roman Catholic Church in 1054. It is called the Great Schism.

I too believe that the Vatican has not heeded the request of the Blessed Virgin Mary to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. If only Pope Francis heeded her request… then as the Madonna promised, “My Immaculate Heart will triumph and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” How I wish, Catholics would pressure the Vatican for this consecration.

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