Ordain, Psalms 51:3-19, Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 11:29-32, Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto (Fatima), Our Lady of Fatima, Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 2 Article 4:3 Jesus was Buried
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
Heed the Solemnity of Lent! This Lent instead of "Giving Up" something, why not "Give" by volunteering time to a worthy cause, or extending a simple act of kindness!
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’(Matthew 25:34-40)
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Prayers for Today: Wednesday in Lent
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Prayer For the Holy Election of Our New Pope
May the Lord preserve the sanctity of the enclave as they embark on electing our new Holy Father, give him life, and make him blessed upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
LET US PRAY:
O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, in Thy mercy look down upon Thy servant, (Our New Pope), whom Thou will appoint to preside over Thy Church, and grant we beseech Thee that both by word and example he may edify those who are under his charge; so that, with the flock entrusted to him, he may attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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February 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, love is bringing me to you - the love which I desire to
teach you also - real love; the love which my Son showed you when He
died on the Cross out of love for you; the love which is always ready to
forgive and to ask for forgiveness. How great is your love? My motherly
heart is sorrowful as it searches for love in
your hearts. You are not ready to submit your will to God's will out of
love. You cannot help me to have those who have not come to know God's
love to come to know it, because you do not have real love. Consecrate
your hearts to me and I will lead you. I will teach you to forgive, to
love your enemies and to live according to my Son. Do not be afraid for
yourselves. In afflictions my Son does not forget those who love. I will
be beside you. I will implore the Heavenly Father for the light of
eternal truth and love to illuminate you. Pray for your shepherds so
that through your fasting and prayer they can lead you in love. Thank
you."
January 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
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Today's Word: ordain or·dain [awr-deyn]
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English ordeinen < Old French ordener < Latin ordināre to order, arrange, appoint. See ordination
verb (used with object)
1. to invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; confer holy orders upon.
2. to enact or establish by law, edict, etc.: to ordain a new type of government.
3. to decree; give orders for: He ordained that the restrictions were to be lifted.
4. (of God, fate, etc.) to destine or predestine: Fate had ordained the meeting.
verb (used without object)
5. to order or command: Thus do the gods ordain.
6. to select for or appoint to an office.
7. to invest someone with sacerdotal functions.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
3 For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
18 In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar.
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Today's Epistle - Jonah 3:1-10
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time.
2 'Up!' he said, 'Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to it as I shall tell you.'
3 Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare; to cross it took three days.
4 Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city and then proclaimed, 'Only forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown.'
5 And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes.
7 He then had it proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles, as follows: 'No person or animal, herd or flock, may eat anything; they may not graze, they may not drink any water.
8 All must put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil ways and violent behaviour.
9 Who knows? Perhaps God will change his mind and relent and renounce his burning wrath, so that we shall not perish.'
10 God saw their efforts to renounce their evil ways. And God relented about the disaster which he had threatened to bring on them, and did not bring it.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Luke 11, 29-32
The crowds got even bigger and he
addressed them, 'This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign.
The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah
became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign
to this generation. On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will
stand up against the people of this generation and be their
condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon
here. On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this
generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they
repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.
Reflection
Reflection
• We are in Lent. The Liturgy presents
texts which can help us to convert ourselves and to change our life.
That which helps more in conversion are the facts of the history of the
People of God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents two episodes of the
past: Jonah and the Queen of the South, and transforms this into a
mirror in such a way that one can discover in them God’s call to
conversion.
• Luke 11, 29: The evil generation which asks for a sign. Jesus calls the generation evil, because it does not want to believe in Jesus and continues to ask for signs which can indicate that Jesus has been sent by the Father. But Jesus refuses to present these signs, because definitively, if they ask for a sign it is because they do not believe. The only sign which will be given is that of Jonah.
• Luke 11, 30: The sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah has two different aspects. The first one is what the text of Luke affirms in today’s Gospel. Jonah was a sign, through his preaching, for the people of Nineveh. Listening to Jonah, the people were converted. In the same way, the preaching of Jesus was a sign for his people, but the people did not show any sign of conversion . The other aspect is that which the Gospel of Matthew affirms when he quotes the same episode: “For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Mt 12, 40). When the fish vomited Jonah into the dry land, he went to announce the Word of God to the people of Nineveh. Thus, in the same way, after the death and resurrection on the third day, the Good News will be announced to the people of Judah.
• Luke 11, 31: The Queen of the South. Following this Jesus recalls the story of the Queen of the South, who came from the ends of the earth to meet Solomon, and to learn from his wisdom (cfr. I Kg 10, 1-10). And twice Jesus affirms: “And, look, there is something greater than Solomon here”. “And, look, there is something much greater than Jonah here”.
• A very important aspect which is subjacent in the discussion between Jesus and the leaders of his People is the diverse way in which Jesus and his enemies place themselves before God. The Book of Jonah is a parable, which criticizes the mentality of those who wanted God only for the Jews. In the story of Jonah, the pagans were converted listening to the preaching of Jonah and God accepts them in his goodness and does not destroy the city. When Jonah sees that God accepts the people of Nineveh and does not destroy the city “Jonah became very indignant, he fell into a rage. He prayed to the Lord : ‘Lord, please is not this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That was why I first tried to flee to Tarshish, since I knew you were a tender, compassionate God, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, who relents about inflicting disaster. So now, Lord, please take my life, for I might as well be dead as go on living!.” (Jon 4, 1-3). For this reason, Jonah was a sign for the Jews of the time of Jesus and it continues to be for us Christians. Then, in an imperceptible way, like Jonah, in us there is also the mentality according to which we Christians would have a certain monopoly on God and all others should become Christians. This would be proselytism. Jesus does not ask that all become Christians. He wants for all to be disciples (Mt 28, 19), that is, that they be persons who, like him, radiate and announce the Good News of the love of God for all peoples (Mk 16, 15).
Personal questions
• Lent, the time for conversion. What has to change in the image of God that I have? Am I like Jonah or like Jesus?
• On what is my faith based, founded? In signs or in the Word of Jesus?
• On what is my faith based, founded? In signs or in the Word of Jesus?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: Blessed Jacinto and Francisco Marto
Feast Day: February 20
Patron Saint: bodily ills; captives; people ridiculed for their piety; prisoners; sick people; against sickness
Attributes: n/a
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| (l to r)Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta |
The youngest children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto, Francisco and Jacinta were typical of Portuguese village children of that time. They were illiterate but had a rich oral tradition on which to rely, and they worked with their cousin Lúcia, taking care of the family's sheep. According to Lúcia's memoirs, Francisco had a placid disposition, was somewhat musically inclined, and liked to be by himself to think. Jacinta was affectionate if a bit spoiled, and emotionally labile. She had a sweet singing voice and a gift for dancing. All three children gave up music and dancing after the visions began, believing that these and other recreational activities led to occasions of sin.
Following their experiences, their fundamental personalities remained the same. Francisco preferred to pray alone, as he said "to console Jesus for the sins of the world". Jacinta was deeply affected by a terrifying vision of Hell reportedly shown to the children at the third apparition. She became deeply convinced of the need to save sinners through penance and sacrifice as the Virgin had reportedly instructed the children to do. All three children, but particularly Francisco and Jacinta, practiced stringent self-mortifications to this end.[1]
Illness and death
The siblings were victims of the great 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe that year. Both lingered for many months, insisting on walking to church to make Eucharistic devotions and prostrating themselves to pray for hours, kneeling with their heads on the ground as instructed by the angel who had first appeared to them.Francisco declined hospital treatment on April 3, 1919, and the next day died peacefully at home, while Jacinta was moved from one hospital to another in an attempt to save her life, which she insisted was futile. She developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed. Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be anesthetized and suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners. On February 19 1920, Jacinta asked the hospital chaplain who heard her confession to bring her Holy Communion and give her the Anointing of the Sick because she was going to die "the next night". He told her that her condition was not that serious and that he would return the next day. The next day Jacinta was dead. She had died, as she had often said she would, alone: not even a nurse was with her.[2]
In 1920, shortly before her death at age nine, Jacinta Marto reportedly discussed the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary with a then 12 year old Lúcia Santos and said:
When you are to say this, don't go and hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to her.[3]Jacinta and Francisco are both buried at the Our Lady of Fátima Basilica.[4]
Beatification
From left to right, Jacinta Marto, Lúcia dos Santos and Francisco Marto, holding their rosaries in 1917.
This, of course, came more sharply into focus with the revelation of the Third Secret of Fátima the following month, indicating that a pope in fact would be assassinated. In her biography of Jacinta, Lúcia had already established that Jacinta had told her of having had many personal visions outside of the Marian visitations; one involved a pope who prayed alone in a room while people outside shouted ugly things and threw rocks through the window. At another time, Jacinta said she saw a pope who had gathered a huge number of people together to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Sister Lúcia, when questioned about the Third Secret, recalled that the three of them were very sad about the suffering of the Pope, and that Jacinta kept saying: Coitadinho do Santo Padre, tenho muita pena dos pecadores! ("Poor Holy Father, I feel a lot of pity for the sinners!") The Third Secret can thus be interpreted in the context of Jacinta's prayers and sacrifices for the pope whom she saw being killed.
References
- ^ Lucia Santos, Memoir 2, p. 94 in Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, entire text online, page found 2011-06-21.
- ^ A detailed account of the lives, illnesses and deaths of both children is given in de Marchi, John, The True Story of Fatima, 1950 edition, entire text on line, found 2007-10-19.
- ^ The children of Fatima: Blessed Francisco & Blessed Jacinta Marto by Leo Madigan 2003 OSV Press ISBN 1-931709-57-2 page 248
- ^ Leo Madigan, 2003, The Children of Fatima, OSV Press ISBN 978-1-931709-57-6 page 271
- ^ "On September 12, 1935, the mortal remains of Jacinta, who died in 1920, were exhumed. Her face was found to be incorrupt." Solimeo, Luiz. Fatima: A Message More Urgent Than Ever. (2008) pg. 97. "Today, the remnants of both Francisco and Jacinta rest at the Basilica of Fátima." pg. 99.
- ^ Jacinta's exhumation photo at Catholic Counter-Reformation, and Jacinta's reburial photo at escuelacima.com. Pages found 2010-05-13.
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Today's Snippet I: Our Lady of Fátima
Our Lady of Fátima (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora de Fátima, European Portuguese: [ˈnɔsɐ sɨˈɲoɾɐ dɨ ˈfatimɐ]) is a title for the Virgin Mary due to her reputed apparitions to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months in 1917, beginning on May 13. The three children were Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto.
The title of Our Lady of the Rosary
is also sometimes used to refer to the same apparition (although it was
first used in 1208 for the reputed apparition in the church of Prouille),
because the children related that the apparition called herself the
"Lady of the Rosary". It is also common to see a combination of these
titles, i.e.
Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima (Portuguese: Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima). The events at Fátima gained particular fame due to their elements of prophecy and eschatology, particularly with regard to possible world war and the conversion of Soviet Russia. The reported apparitions at Fátima were officially declared "worthy of belief" by the Catholic Church.
History
On May 13, 1917, ten year old Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto were herding sheep at a location known as the Cova da Iria
near their home village of Fátima, Portugal. Lúcia described seeing a
woman "brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and
stronger than a crystal ball filled with the most sparkling water and
pierced by the burning rays of the sun."
Further appearances were reported to have taken place on the thirteenth
day of the month in June and July. In these, the woman exhorted the
children to do penance and Acts of Reparation
as well as making personal sacrifices to save sinners. The children
subsequently wore tight cords around their waists to cause themselves
pain, performed self-flagellation using stinging nettles,
abstained from drinking water on hot days, and performed other works of
penance. According to Lúcia's account, in the course of her
appearances, the woman confided to the children three secrets, now known
as the Three Secrets of Fátima.
Thousands of people flocked to Fátima and Aljustrel in the following
months, drawn by reports of visions and miracles. On August 19, 1917,
the provincial administrator and anticlerical Freemason, Artur Santos
(no relation to Lúcia Santos), believing that the events were
politically disruptive, intercepted and jailed the children before they
could reach the Cova da Iria that day. Prisoners held with them in the
provincial jail later testified that the children, while upset, were
first consoled by the inmates, and later led them in praying the rosary.
The administrator interrogated the children and tried unsuccessfully to
get them to divulge the contents of the secrets. In the process, he
threatened the children, saying he would boil them in a pot of oil, one
by one unless they confessed. The children refused, but Lúcia told him
everything short of the secrets, and offered to ask the Lady for
permission to tell the Administrator the secrets.
That month, instead of the usual apparition in the Cova da Iria on the
13th, the children reported that they saw the Virgin Mary on 15 August,
the Feast of the Assumption, at nearby Valinhos.
As early as July 1917 it was claimed that the Virgin Mary had
promised a miracle for the last of her apparitions on October 13, so
that all would believe. What happened then became known as "Miracle of the Sun". A crowd believed to number approximately 70,000,
including newspaper reporters and photographers, gathered at the Cova
da Iria. The incessant rain had finally ceased and a thin layer of
clouds cloaked the silver disc of the sun. Witnesses said later it could
be looked upon without hurting the eyes.
Lúcia, moved by what she said was an interior impulse, called out to
the crowd to look at the sun. Witnesses later spoke of the sun appearing
to change colors and rotate like a wheel. Not everyone saw the same
things, and witnesses gave widely varying descriptions of the "sun's
dance". The phenomenon is claimed to have been witnessed by most people
in the crowd as well as people many miles away. While the crowd was staring at the sun, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta said later they were seeing lovely images of the Holy Family, Our Lady of Sorrows with Jesus Christ, and then Our Lady of Mount Carmel. They said they saw Saint Joseph and Jesus bless the people. The children were aged 10, 9, and 7 at the time.
Columnist Avelino de Almeida of O Século (Portugal's most influential newspaper, which was pro-government in policy and avowedly anti-clerical),
reported the following: "Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose
aspect was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching the
sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all
cosmic laws - the sun 'danced' according to the typical expression of
the people." Eye specialist Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho, writing for the newspaper Ordem
reported "The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at
another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceeding
fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the
sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat". The special reporter for the October 17, 1917 edition of the Lisbon daily, O Dia,
reported the following, "...the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy
purple light was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken
clouds...The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through
the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the
people who knelt with outstretched hands...people wept and prayed with
uncovered heads, in the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The
seconds seemed like hours, so vivid were they."
No movement or other phenomenon of the sun was registered by scientists at the time.
According to contemporary reports from poet Afonso Lopes Vieira and
schoolteacher Delfina Lopes with her students and other witnesses in the
town of Alburita, the solar phenomenon was visible from up to forty
kilometers away. Not all witnesses reported seeing the sun "dance". Some
people only saw the radiant colors, and others, including some
believers, saw nothing at all.
Since no scientifically verifiable physical cause can be adduced to
support the phenomenon of the sun, various explanations have been
advanced to explain the descriptions given by numerous witnesses. A
leading conjecture is a mass hallucination possibly stimulated by the
religious fervor of the crowds expectantly waiting for a predicted sign.
Another conjecture is a possible visual artifact caused by looking at
the sun for a prolonged period. As noted by Auguste Meessen, a professor
at the Institute of Physics, Catholic University of Leuven, looking directly at the Sun can cause phosphene
visual artifacts and temporary partial blindness. He has proposed that
the reported observations were optical effects caused by prolonged
staring at the sun. Meessen contends that retinal after-images produced
after brief periods of sun gazing are a likely cause of the observed
dancing effects. Similarly Meessen states that the colour changes
witnessed were most likely caused by the bleaching of photosensitive
retinal cells.
Meessen observes that solar miracles have been witnessed in many places
where religiously charged pilgrims have been encouraged to stare at the
sun. He cites the apparitions at Heroldsbach in Germany (1949) as an
example where exactly the same optical effects as at Fátima were
witnessed by more than 10,000 people.
There is no evidence that people who came to Fátima, even those
expecting a miracle, were staring at the sun before Lúcia spoke. Most
would have been focused on the tree where the children said the
apparition appeared. Some onlookers reported other phenomena, including
luminous mist and the showers of flower petals seen around and above the
tree during previous visitations.
In addition to the Miracle of the Sun, the seers at Fátima indicated
that the apparition prophesied a great sign in the night sky which would
precede a second great war. On January 25, 1938, bright lights, an aurora borealis appeared all over the northern hemisphere, including in places as far south as North Africa, Bermuda and California. It was the widest occurrence of the aurora since 1709 and people in Paris and elsewhere believed a great fire was burning and fire departments were called.
Lúcia, the sole surviving seer at the time, indicated that it was the
sign foretold and so apprised her superior and the bishop in letters the
following day. Just over a month later, Hitler seized Austria and eight months later invaded Czechoslovakia.
Three Secrets of Fátima
First two secrets
The first secret was a vision of hell, which Lúcia describes in her Third Memoir, as follows:
- "Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror."[20]
The second secret included Mary's instructions on how to save souls
from hell and convert the world to the Christian faith, also revealed by
Lúcia in her Third Memoir:
- "I have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them,
God wishes 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. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending
God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI.
When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is
the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world
for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. 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 of 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 shall be converted, and a period of
peace will be granted to the world."
Third Secret
The third secret, a vision of the death of the Pope and other religious figures, was transcribed by the Bishop of Leiria and reads:
- "After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of
Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his
left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they
would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the
splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand:
pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud
voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!' And we saw in an immense light that
is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they
pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression
that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, Religious men and
women going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big
Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before
reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins
and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he
prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached
the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he
was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him,
and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops,
Priests, Religious men and women, and various lay people of different
ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two
Angels each with a crystal aspersorium
in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and
with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God."
Controversy around the Third Secret
The Vatican
withheld the Third Secret until 26 June 2000, despite Lúcia's
declaration that it could be released to the public after 1960. Some
sources, including Canon Barthas and Cardinal Ottaviani,
said that Lúcia insisted to them it must be released by 1960, saying
that, "by that time, it will be more clearly understood", and, "because
the Blessed Virgin wishes it so."
When 1960 arrived, rather than releasing the Third Secret, the Vatican
published an official press release stating that it was "most probable
the Secret would remain, forever, under absolute seal." After this announcement, immense speculation over the content of the secret materialized. According to the New York Times,
speculation over the content of the secret ranged from "worldwide
nuclear annihilation to deep rifts in the Roman Catholic Church that
lead to rival papacies."
Some sources claim that the four-page, handwritten text of the Third Secret released by the Vatican in the year 2000 is not the real secret, or at least not the full secret. In particular, it is alleged that Cardinals Bertone, Ratzinger and Sodano
engaged in a systematic deception to cover-up the existence of a
one-page document containing the so-called words of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, which some believe contains information about the Apocalypse and a
great apostasy. These sources contend that the Third Secret actually
comprises two texts, where one of these texts is the published four-page
vision, and the other is a single-page letter allegedly containing the
words of the Virgin Mary which has been concealed.
The Vatican has maintained its position that the full text of the
Third Secret was published in June 2000. According to a December 2001
Vatican press release (subsequently published in L'Osservatore Romano), Lúcia told then Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone in an interview that the secret had been completely revealed and published - that no secrets remained. Bertone, along with Cardinal Ratzinger, co-authored The Message of Fátima,
the document published in June 2000 by the Vatican that allegedly
contains a scanned copy of the original text of the Third Secret.
During his apostolic visit to Portugal between May 11 and 14, 2010 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Pope Benedict XVI
explained in a rare conversation with reporters that the interpretation
of the third secret did not stop with the interpretation of a
prediction of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square in 1981. The Third Secret of Fátima,
said Benedict XVI, "has a permanent and ongoing significance" and that
"its significance could even be extended to include the suffering the
Church is going through today as a result of the recent reports of
sexual abuse involving the clergy".
Fate of the three children
Sister Lúcia reported seeing the Virgin Mary again in 1925 at the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain). This time she said she was asked to convey the message of the First Saturday Devotions. By her account a subsequent vision of Christ as a child reiterated this request.
Sister Lúcia was transferred to another convent in Tui or Tuy, Galicia in 1928. In 1929, Sister Lúcia reported that Mary returned and repeated her request for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
Sister Lúcia reportedly saw Mary in private visions periodically throughout her life. Most significant was the apparition in Rianxo, Galicia,
in 1931, in which she said that Jesus visited her, taught her two
prayers and delivered a message to give to the church's hierarchy.
In 1947, Sister Lúcia left the Dorothean order and joined the Discalced Carmelite order in a monastery in Coimbra, Portugal. Lúcia died on February 13, 2005, at the age of 97. After her death, the Vatican, specifically Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (at that time, still head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith),
ordered her cell sealed off. It is believed this was because Sister
Lúcia had continued to receive more revelations and the evidence needed
to be examined in the course of proceedings for her possible canonization.
Sister Lúcia's cousins, the siblings Francisco (1908–1919) and Jacinta Marto (1910–1920), were both victims of the Great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918-20. Francisco and Jacinta were declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in a public ceremony at Fátima on May 13, 1989. He returned there on May 13, 2000 to declare them 'blessed' (a title of veneration below that of sainthood; see Canonization). Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified.
In 1936 and again in 1941, Sister Lúcia claimed that the Virgin Mary
had predicted the deaths of two of the children during the second
apparition on June 13, 1917. Besides Lúcia's account, the testimony of
Olímpia Marto (mother of the two younger children) and several others
state that her children did not keep this information secret and
ecstatically predicted their own deaths many times to her and to curious
pilgrims.
In fact, it was the first thing Jacinta told her mother when she spoke to her after the initial apparition.According to the 1941 account, on 13 June, Lúcia asked the Virgin if
the three children would go to heaven when they died. She said that she
heard Mary reply, "Yes, I shall take Francisco and Jacinta soon, but you
will remain a little longer, since Jesus wishes you to make me known
and loved on Earth. He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the
world to my Immaculate Heart."
Exhumed in 1935 and again in 1951, Jacinta's face was found incorrupt or immune to decay. Francisco's body, however, had decomposed.
Consecration of Russia
Statue of Pope Pius XII in Fátima, Portugal.
According to Sister Lúcia, the Virgin Mary promised that the Consecration of Russia would lead to Russia's conversion and an era of peace.
Pope Pius XII, in his Apostolic Letter Sacro Vergente of 7 July 1952, consecrated Russia to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pius XII wrote,
- Just as a few years ago We consecrated the entire human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, so today We consecrate and in a most special manner We entrust all the peoples of Russia to this Immaculate Heart...
In 1952 the Pope said to the Russian people and the Stalinist regime that the Virgin Mary was always victorious. "The gates of hell
will never prevail, where she offers her protection. She is the good
mother, the mother of all, and it has never been heard, that those who
seek her protection, will not receive it. With this certainty, the Pope
dedicates all people of Russia to the immaculate heart of the Virgin.
She will help! Error and atheism will be overcome with her assistance and divine grace."
Popes Pius XII and John Paul II both had special relations to Our Lady of Fátima. Pope Benedict XV began Pacelli's church career, elevating him to archbishop in the Sistine Chapel
on May 13, 1917, the date of the first reported apparition. Pius XII
was laid to rest in the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica on October 13,
1958, the Feast of Our Lady of Fátima.
Pope John Paul II again consecrated the entire world to the Virgin
Mary in 1984, without explicitly mentioning Russia. Some believe that Sister Lúcia verified that this ceremony fulfilled the requests of the Virgin Mary. However, in the Blue Army's Spanish magazine, Sol de Fátima,
in the September 1985 issue, Sister Lúcia said that the ceremony did
not fulfill the Virgin Mary's request, as there was no specific mention
of Russia, and "many bishops attached no importance to it." In 2001,
Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone issued a statement, claiming that he had met
with Sister Lúcia, who reportedly told him, "I have already said that
the consecration desired by Our Lady was made in 1984, and has been
accepted in Heaven." Sister Lúcia died on February 13, 2005, without
making any public statement of her own to settle the issue.
Some maintain that, according to Lúcia and Fátima advocates such as Abbe Georges de Nantes, Fr. Paul Kramer and Nicholas Gruner,
Russia has never been specifically consecrated to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary by any Pope simultaneously with all the world's bishops, which
is what Lúcia in the 1985 interview had said Mary had asked for.
However, by letters of August 29, 1989 and July 3, 1990, she stated
that the consecration had been completed; indeed in the 1990 letter in
response to a question by Rev. Father Robert J. Fox, she confirmed:
I come to answer your question, "If the consecration made by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984 in union with all the bishops of the world, accomplished the conditions for the consecration of Russia according to the request of Our Lady in Tuy on June 13 of 1929?" Yes, it was accomplished, and since then I have said that it was made. And I say that no other person responds for me, it is I who receive and open all letters and respond to them.
In the meantime, the conception of
Theotokos Derzhavnaya Orthodox Christian venerated icon points out that
Virgin Mary is considered actual Tsarina of Russia by the religious
appeal of Nicholas II thus Consecration of Russia may refer to return of
Russian monarchy.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima is one of the largest Marian shrines in the world. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima (also known as the Fátima Shrine, the Sanctuary of Fátima or Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary)
is a Roman Catholic Marian basilica in Fátima, Portugal. Its
construction began in 1928 and it was consecrated in October 1953.
The basilica is built at the site of the
Marian apparitions reported by three Portuguese children in 1917 and
known as Our Lady of Fátima. The tombs of Blessed Francisco Marto,
Blessed Jacinta Marto and Sister Lúcia, the three children, are in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. Scenes of the Marian apparitions are shown in stained glass.
The fifteen church altars are dedicated to the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary.
The large church organ was installed in 1952 and has about twelve
thousand pipes. Four statues of the four great apostles of the Rosary
and to the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary are at the four
corners of the Basilica: Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Saint Dominic, Saint John Eudes and Saint Stephen, King of Hungary.
The shrine attracts a large number of Roman Catholics,
and every year pilgrims fill the country road that leads to the shrine
with crowds that approach one million on May 13 and October 13, the
significant dates of the Fátima apparitions. Overall, about four million pilgrims visit the basilica every year.
The Chapel of Apparitions is at the very heart of the
basilica. The exact location of the apparitions is marked by a marble
pillar which holds a statue of the Virgin Mary.
The Paul VI Pastoral Center was inaugurated on May 13, 1982, by Pope John Paul II,
as a center for study and reflection on the message of Fátima. It can
seat over two thousand people and has accommodation for four hundred
pilgrims.
The treasury of the sanctuary holds the Irish Monstrance
considered to be one of the most significant works of religious art
from Ireland. The monstrance was gifted to the basilica in 1949.
The entrance to the Fátima Sanctuary,
which is to the south of the rectory, is a segment of the Berlin Wall
intended to emphasize the belief that the Rosary prayers influenced the
fall of the Berlin Wall related to the Consecration of Russia based on
the Our Lady of Fátima messages.
The large statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which stands in the niche
above the main entrance of the basilica, was sculpted by American priest
Thomas McGlynn, O.P. Father McGlynn spent considerable time with the
visionary Sister Lúcia
as she described for him in detail how Mary looked during her
appearances to the children. The statue is not what Father McGlynn had
in mind when he approached Sister Lúcia, but is more accurately
described as a collaboration between visionary and sculptor, producing
perhaps the most accurate representation of Our Lady of Fátima ever to
be sculpted. The statue was presented as a gift from the Catholic people
of the United States to the Sanctuary of Fátima in 1958.
Fátima Prayers and Reparations
Many Roman Catholics
recite prayers based on Our Lady of Fátima. Lúcia later said that, in
1916, she and her cousins had several visions of an angel calling
himself the "Angel of Portugal" and the "Angel of Peace" who taught them
to bow with their heads to the ground
and to say "O God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you. I ask
pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do
not love you." Lúcia later set this prayer to music and a recording
exists of her singing it. It was also said that sometime later the angel returned and taught them a eucharistic devotion now known as the Angel Prayer.
Lúcia said that the Lady emphasized Acts of Reparation
and prayers to console Jesus for the sins of the world. Lúcia said that
Mary's words were "When you make some sacrifice, say 'O Jesus, it is
for your love, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'" At the first
apparition, Lúcia wrote, the children were so moved by the radiance they
perceived that they involuntarily said "Most Holy Trinity, I adore you!
My God, my God, I love you in the Most Blessed Sacrament." Lúcia also said that she heard Mary ask for these words to be added to the Rosary after the Gloria Patri prayer: "O my Jesus, pardon us, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need."
In the tradition of Marian visitations, the "conversion of sinners" is not necessarily religious conversion to the Roman Catholic Church,
for that would be the "conversion of heretics or apostates who are
'outside the church and alien to the Christian Faith' according to Pope
Leo XIII in his encyclical on the Unity of the Church, Satis Cognitum".
Conversion of sinners refers to general repentance and attempt to amend
one's life according to the teachings of Jesus for those True Catholics
who do profess the faith truly, but are fallen into sins. Lúcia wrote
that she and her cousins defined "sinners" not as non-Catholics but as
those who had fallen away from the church or, more specifically,
willfully indulged in sinful activity, particularly "sins of the flesh"[53]
and "acts of injustice and a lack of charity towards the poor, widows
and orphans, the ignorant and the helpless" which she said were even
worse than sins of impurity.
Pilgrimage
An estimated 70,000 people assembled to witness the last of the promised appearances of the Lady in the Cova da Iria
on October 13, 1917. The widely reported miracle of the sun was a
factor that led to Fátima quickly becoming a major centre of pilgrimage.
Two million pilgrims visited the site in the decade following the
events of 1917. A small chapel - the Capelinha
- was built by local people on the site of the apparitions. The
construction was neither encouraged nor hindered by the Catholic Church
authorities. On May 13, 1920, pilgrims defied government troops to
install a statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
was first officially celebrated there in January 1924. A hostel for the
sick was begun in that year. In 1927 the first rector of the sanctuary
was appointed and a set of Stations of the Cross were erected on the mountain road. The foundation stone for the present basilica was laid the next year.
1930 was the year both of official church recognition of the
apparition events as "worthy of belief" and the granting of a papal indulgence to pilgrims visiting Fátima.
In 1935 the bodies of the visionaries Jacinta and Francisco were
reinterred in the basilica. The coronation of the statue of Our Lady of
Fátima there in 1946 drew such large crowds that the entrance to the
site had to be barred.
Today pilgrimage to the site goes on all year round and additional
chapels, hospitals and other facilities have been constructed. The
principal pilgrimage festivals take place on the thirteenth day of each
month, from May to October, on the anniversaries of the original
appearances. The largest crowds gather on 13 May and 13 October, when up
to a million
pilgrims have attended to pray and witness processions of the statue of
Our Lady of Fátima, both during the day and by the light of tens of
thousands of candles at night.
Political aspects
From the French Revolution onwards the Catholic Church had adopted an increasingly embattled world view and from the pontificate of Pius IX
the Church had been waging war against the so-called twin enemies of
liberalism and socialism. At the same time religion had become
predominantly a female activity by the early twentieth century.
The numerical predominance of women within the Catholic Church went
alongside a corresponding development of female divine symbols. Dramatic
affirmations of feminine power were given in the apparitions of the
Virgin Mary which occurred all over Western Europe from the 1840s. The
Virgin, usually in the form of the Immaculate Conception, revealed
herself to female seers, often children. When Our Lady appeared to Catherine Labouré, Bernadette Soubirous, Lúcia Santos at Fátima, or to the children at Beauraing later, in 1932, and Mariette Beco in 1933, these dramatic affirmations of divine power in an increasingly irreligious/secular age, a transformation more strongly felt in the Western world, offered 'proof' of the power of heaven against "the onslaughts of secularizing governments".
"The Marian militancy of the Jesuit congregations divided the world
into two camps, those who would defend the Virgin and those who would
defile her. In the wake of the apparitions at Fatima in Portugal such a
view of the world appeared to be shared by the Virgin herself. The
'secrets of Fatima' revealed periodically by the seer Lucia showed
Mary's concern with the apostacy of Soviet Russia and the threat of communist anticlericalism.
Our Lady of Fatima presented a vision of a world divided. Rome, and
Mary, were ranged against the Soviet Union in a struggle between the
redeemed and the fallen. With the advent of the Spanish Second Republic, the Virgin Mary [would be] seen on Spanish soil at Ezquioga. Ramona Olazabal insisted Mary had marked the palms of her hands with a sword. Seers gained much credence in Integrist and Carlist
circles. The visions at Ezquioga were widely covered in the press, as
were the sixteen other visitations of the Virgin to Spain in 1931. There
was also the Fatima story, an officially sanctioned apparition, the
cult of which, far from being condemned, was actively encouraged by the
Church. As the forces of the Republic gathered strength in Spain, the
Virgin Mary was to be found leading the armies of the faithful ranged
against the Godless."
The Blue Army of Our Lady is made up of Catholics and non-Catholics who believe that by dedicating themselves to daily prayer (specifically, of the Rosary) they can help to achieve world peace and put an end to the error of communism. In 1952, a feature film, The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, was released. Critics held that the film overplayed the role of socialist
and other leftist elements in Portuguese government as the
"adversaries" of the visions. They state that since the government was
controlled not by socialists but by Freemasons at the time,
most government opposition to the visions would have been motivated by
concern for separation of church and state, not by atheistic, antitheistic or Communistic ideology. Other critics have stated that only the enemies of the message propose such a belief.
Official position of the Catholic Church
Private revelations do not form part of the deposit of faith of the Catholic Church,
and its members are not bound to believe in any of them. However, as a
matter of prudence, assent would normally be expected of a Catholic
based on the discernment of the Church and its judgment that an
apparition is worthy of belief.
After a canonical enquiry, the visions of Fátima were officially
declared "worthy of belief" in October 1930 by the Bishop of
Leiria-Fátima.
Ecclesiastical approbation does not imply that the Church provides an
infallible guarantee on the supernatural nature of the event.
Theologians like Karl Rahner argued however, that Popes, by authoritatively fostering the Marian veneration in places as Fátima and Lourdes, motivate the faithful into an acceptance of divine faith.[65] Popes Pius XII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI
all voiced their acceptance of the supernatural origin of the Fátima
events in unusually clear and strong terms. After the local bishop had
declared that (1) the visions of the three children are credible and (2)
the veneration of the Blessed Virgin is permitted, the Portuguese
bishops approved and declared the genuine supernatural nature of the
event. The Vatican responded with granting indulgences and permitting
special Liturgies of the Mass to be celebrated in Fátima.[15] In 1939, Eugenio Pacelli, who was consecrated bishop on May 13, 1917—the day of the first apparition—was elected to the papacy as Pius XII, and became the Pope of Fátima.
One year after World War II had started, Sister Lúcia asked Pope Pius
XII to consecrate the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
She repeated this request on December 2, 1940, stating in the year 1929,
the Blessed Lady requested in another apparition the consecration of
Russia to her Immaculate Heart. She promised the conversion of Russia
from its errors.
On May 13, 1942, the 25th anniversary of the first apparition and the
silver jubilee of the episcopal consecration of Pope Pius XII, the
Vatican published the Message and Secret of Fátima. On October 31, 1942,
Pope Pius XII,
in a radio address, informed the people of Portugal about the
apparitions of Fátima, consecrating the human race to the Immaculate
Heart of the Virgin with specific mention of Russia. On December 8, 1942, the Pontiff officially and solemnly declared this
consecration in a ceremony in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. On May 13,
1946, Cardinal Masalla, the personal delegate of Pius XII, crowned in
his name Our Lady of Fátima, as the Pope issued a second message about
Fátima:
- "The faithful virgin never disappointed the trust, put on her. She will transform into a fountain of graces, physical and spiritual graces, over all of Portugal, and from there, breaking all frontiers, over the whole Church and the entire world".
On 1 May 1948, in Auspicia Quaedam, Pope Pius XII requested the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of every Catholic family, parish and diocese.
- "It is our wish, consequently, that wherever the opportunity suggests itself, this consecration be made in the various dioceses as well as in each of the parishes and families."
On May 18, 1950, the Pope again sent a message to the people of
Portugal regarding Fátima: "May Portugal never forget the heavenly
message of Fátima, which, before anybody else she was blessed to hear.
To keep Fátima in your heart and to translate Fátima into deeds, is the
best guarantee for ever more graces". In numerous additional messages, and in his encyclicals Fulgens Corona (1953), and Ad Caeli Reginam (1954), Pius XII encouraged the veneration of the Virgin in Fátima.
At the end of the Second Vatican Council Pope Paul VI
renewed the consecration of Pius XII to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
and, in an unusual gesture, announced his own pilgrimage to the
sanctuary on the fiftieth anniversary of the first apparition. On May
13, 1967, he prayed at the shrine together with Sister Lúcia. This
historic gesture further cemented the official support for Fátima. Pope John Paul II
credited Our Lady of Fátima with saving his life following the
assassination attempt on Wednesday, May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of
Fátima, in 1981.
He followed the footsteps of Paul VI, on May 12, 1987, to express his
gratitude to the Virgin Mary for saving his life. The following day, he
renewed the consecration of Pius XII to the Immaculate Heart of the
Virgin.
On May 12 and 13, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima
and strongly stated his acceptance of the supernatural origin of the
Fátima apparitions. On the first day, the Pope arrived at the Chapel of
Apparitions to pray and gave a Golden Rose to Our Lady of Fátima "as
a homage of gratitude from the Pope for the marvels that the Almighty
has worked through you in the hearts of so many who come as pilgrims to
this your maternal home". The Pope also recalled the "invisible hand" that saved John Paul II and said in a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary that "it
is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with
the silver and gold of our joys and hopes, but also with the 'bullet' of
our anxieties and sufferings".
On the second day, Pope Benedict's homily pronounced in front of more
than 500,000 pilgrims a reference to the Fátima prophecy about the
triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and related it to the final
"glory of the Most Holy Trinity".
References
- Alonso, Joaquín María (1976) (in Spanish). La verdad sobre el secreto de Fatima: Fátima sin mitos. Centro Mariano "Cor Mariae Centrum". ISBN 978-84-85167-02-9. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- Alonso, Joaquin Maria; Kondor, Luis (1998). Fátima in Lucia's own words: sister Lucia's memoirs. Secretariado dos Pastorinhos. ISBN 978-972-8524-00-5. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- Cuneo, Michael. The Vengeful Virgin: Studies in Contemporary Catholic Apocalypticism. in Robbins, Thomas; Palmer, Susan J. (1997). Millennium, messiahs, and mayhem: contemporary apocalyptic movements. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-91649-3. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- De Marchi, John (1952). The Immaculate Heart. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young
- Ferrara, Christopher (2008). The Secret Still Hidden. Good Counsel Publications Inc.. ISBN 978-0-9815357-0-8
- Frère François de Marie des Anges (1994). Fatima: Tragedy and Triumph. New York, U.S.A
- Frere Michel de la Sainte Trinite (1990). The Whole Truth About Fatima, Volume III. New York, U.S.A.
- Kramer, Father Paul (2002). The Devil's Final Battle. Good Counsel Publications Inc.. ISBN 978-0-9663046-5-7
- Joe Nickell: Looking for a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions & Healing Cures: Prometheus Books: 1998: ISBN 1-57392-680-9
- Nick Perry and Loreto Echevarria: Under the Heel of Mary: New York: Routledge: 1988: ISBN 0-415-01296-1
- Sandra Zimdars-Swartz: Encountering Mary: Princeton: Princeton University Press: 1991: ISBN 0-691-07371-6
- Walsh, William:Our Lady of Fatima: Image: Reissue edition (October 1, 1954): 240 pp: ISBN 978-0385028691
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Today's Snippet II: Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary refers to the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Devotions to the two hearts are key elements of Catholic teachings, and terms such as Holy Heart, Agonizing Heart and Compassionate Heart have also been used in devotions.[2][3][4][5][6]
The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes
who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources
relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church,
shortly before to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.
He wrote the Mass and Office proper to the feasts, composed various
prayers and rosaries and wrote the first book on the topic.[7][8][9]
In the 18th and 19th centuries, northern and central France became
fertile ground for the growth of devotions to the hearts of Jesus and
Mary, both jointly and individually with figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort promoting Mariology and Saint Catherine Labouré's Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword.[10][11][12]
The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, e.g. in prayers by Saint Maximillian Kolbe which built on the Montfortean theme of "Jesus through Mary" and the reported messages of Our Lady of Fátima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.[13][14]
Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged the joint devotion to the hearts. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart.[1] In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.[15][16][17][18]
History
The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are mentioned explicitly only briefly in the New Testament.
Luke 2:19 states: "Mary kept all these things pondering them in her
heart", and Luke 2:51: "His Mother kept all these things carefully in
Her Heart". John 7:38 refers to the heart of Jesus: "From His Heart will
flow rivers of living water." Since the 2nd century saints and the Church Fathers occasionally referred to the two Hearts.[19]
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on its own dates back to the 11th century and was addressed by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint Gertrude in the 12th and 13th centuries. Saint Bonaventure
referred to the Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary throughout his
writings during the 13th century, but the most poignant passage is in
the devotional work The Mystical Vine, a description of the Passion of Christ.[19]
The joint devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary formally started in the 17th century. Saint Jean Eudes (1601–1680) established the Society of the Heart of the Mother Most Admirable, which resembled the Third Order of Saint Francis and dedicated the seminary chapels of Caen and Coutances
to the Sacred Hearts. Although Jean Eudes always associated the two
Sacred Hearts, he began his devotional teachings with the Heart of Mary,
and then extended it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[20] Eudes was partly influenced by the writings of Saint Francis de Sales on the perfections of the Heart of Mary as the model of love for God.[21]
Jean Eudes organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical
sources relating to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and promoted
them with the approbation of the Church. The feast of the Holy Heart of Mary was celebrated for the first time in 1648, and that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1670. The Mass and Office proper to these feasts were composed by Saint Jean Eudes in 1668, briefly preceding Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque
in establishing the devotion to the Sacred Hearts. He composed various
prayers and rosaries to the Sacred Hearts. His book "Le Cœur Admirable
de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu" is the first book ever written on the
devotion to the Sacred Hearts.[7][8][9]
In December 1673 Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque reported vision of Christ in which Jesus showed her the Sacred Heart.[22] After her death in 1690, the devotion was promoted by the Jesuits. Devotion to the two Hearts continued to spread in France. On Christmas Eve in 1800, amid the French Revolution, knowing they could face the guillotine for their actions, Peter Coudrin and Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie established the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
with a mission to spread the message of God's love manifested through
the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and through the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Future members of the congregation included Saint Damien de Veuster
of Molokai. By the beginning of the 19th century the devotion to the
Immaculate Heart was sufficiently widespread in Europe for Pope Pius VII to allow a feast to honor it in 1805.[23]
In November 1830 Saint Catherine Labouré reported a vision which resulted the introduction of the Miraculous Medal, depicting the thorn-crowned Heart of Jesus and the pierced Heart of Mary.[24]
Since the 19th century, there has been a steady increase in the
Catholic devotion to the Heart of Mary and devotional images of the
Virgin Mary pointing to Her glowing Heart have become widespread.[25] Many images of the Immaculate Heart of Mary still show it as pierced or wounded, and in some cases as bleeding.[26] Other orders and devotions continued thereafter; for example, the Order of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was founded in 1866 by Father Victor Braun.
Pope Pius XII
consecrated the human race to the Immaculate Heart on December 8, 1942.
In 1944 he extended the feast to the universal Church and set its date
of celebration on August 22. Because August 22 is now the feast of
Queenship of Mary, the feast of the Immaculate heart is celebrated the
day after the Sacred Heart.[23]
Joint devotions and prayers
Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary are linked in historical, theological and spiritual ways. Terms such as the Holy Heart, Agonizing Heart and Compassionate Heart have also been used in devotions.[2][3][4][6][16]
In Catholic teachings, the object of the devotion to the Heart of
Mary is her physical Heart that burned so intensely with love for God.
Because of the inherently close relationship of Mary and Jesus in the
Catholic teachings on salvation, the Heart of Mary is associated with
the Heart of Jesus.[27]
The Sacred Heart is viewed as the source of God's boundless love and
charity, while the devotion to the Immaculate Heart stresses the nature
of Mary's love and concern for all who call upon her.[28]
Theologian Mark Miravalle explains the link between the two Hearts as
follows: "As Mary is always the pure channel of grace, which flows from
Jesus and to Jesus, her Immaculate Heart is the perfect channel to
Christ's most Sacred Heart, source and symbol of the infinite love and
charity of God."[29] The two Hearts are linked by devotions, prayers and feasts. The Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Heart, which is on a Saturday, is celebrated the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart which always falls on a Friday, 19 days after Pentecost.[30] Catholic devotional guides encourage the faithful to honor them together in celebration of God's generous love.[11][31]
The link and the relationship between the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is
also manifested in various Catholic prayers. The conclusion to the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Mary is an example:
O most merciful God, Who, for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son Jesus Christ; grant that we, who commemorate this most sweet and loving Heart, may by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin merit to be found according to the Heart of Jesus. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.[32]
Prayers to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus also relate it to the Heart of Mary:
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, Beloved of the Father, Living Temple of the Holy Spirit, delight of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - I adore Thee and I love Thee, have pity on the dying.[33]
Mary conceived without sin, pray for us, who trust in Thee. Praised be the Agonizing Heart of Jesus! Praised be the Compassionate Heart of Mary![34]
A third devotional element often associated with the Hearts of Jesus
and Mary is the Body and Blood of Christ represented in the Eucharist. In Catholic teachings, the Blood and Water flowing from the Heart of Jesus are signs of the seven sacraments,
in particular the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. The view of the
sacraments as gifts to the Church positions the Hearts as the primary
channel of Christ's boundless love and Mary's endless compassion.[35] As an example, the morning offering prayer to the Immaculate Heart relates it to both the Blood of Christ and Sacred Heart:
My God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with it the offering of my every thought, action and suffering of this day. O my Jesus, I desire today and every day of my life to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and offer them together with myself, to Mary Immaculate, that She may best apply them to the interests of Thy most Sacred Heart.[36]
Catholic devotional teachings encourage the faithful receiving the
Eucharist to unite their own hearts to those of Jesus and Mary.[37]
The Morning offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus specifically refers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as it seeks reparation for sins:[38][39][40]
- O Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
- I offer You my prayers, works, joys, sufferings of this day,
- in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.
- I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart:
- the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin, the reunion of Christians;
- and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
- Amen.
Saints and the Blessed
Since the 17th century, the devotions to the Hearts of Jesus and
Mary, individually and jointly, have been promoted and encouraged by a
number of saints and the blessed. While Saint Jean Eudes
was the main force in formalizing and promoting the joint devotion to
the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the efforts of other saints prepared the
environment in which the devotion could flourish. Pope Leo XIII
gave Jean Eudes the title of "Author of the Liturgical Worship of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary" and both popes Leo XIII and Pius X called Eudes the "father, teacher and first apostle" of devotions to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.[1][7][20]
In the 18th and 19th centuries, northern and central France became
fertile ground for the growth of devotions to the Hearts of Jesus and
Mary. In June 1700, a young Louis Grignion de Montfort was ordained a priest and was assigned to Nantes. He became a fervent preacher for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Mary. Although Montfort died in 1716, his teachings shaped Mariology and later influenced several popes.[10][11] In 1830 in Paris, Saint Catherine Labouré
reported a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus and
Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart
of Mary pierced with a sword.[12]
The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century. The Immaculata prayer by Saint Maximillian Kolbe builds on the Montfortean theme of "Jesus through Mary". It ends as follows:
For wherever You enter You obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through Your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Allow me to praise You, O Sacred Virgin, Give me strength against Your enemies. Amen.[41]
The three children who reported the messages of Our Lady of Fátima
emphasized the links between the two Hearts and stated that the Heart
of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.[13] In 1920, shortly before her death at age 9, Blessed Jacinta Marto, one of the three children of the Our Lady of Fátima
apparitions reportedly discussed the Hearts of Jesus and Mary with a
then 12 year old cousin Lúcia dos Santos, another one of the three
children, and said:
When you are to say this, don't go and hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask Her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at His side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to Her.[14]
Lúcia dos Santos later became a nun called Sister Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart.[42]
Popes
Throughout the centuries, the Catholic Church and several popes have
supported the individual devotions to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, as
well as the joint devotion. Even before the beginning of private
revelations of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, St. John Eudes had
obtained from the ecclesiastical permission to celebrate the Feast of
the Heart of Mary in 1648.[19]
In 1765, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was formally approved. In 1799 Pope Pius VI permitted a Feast of the Heart of Mary in Palermo, Sicily and in 1805 Pope Pius VII
extended it throughout the world. In 1855, an Office and Mass in honor
of the Most Pure Heart of Mary was permitted for the universal Church. Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the entire Catholic Church in 1858.[19]
Pope Leo XIII approved the litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the encyclical Annum Sacrum (which entered new theological territory by consecrating non-Christians), he consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart.[43]
The consecration was due to the messages from Jesus reported by a nun, Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart.
Pope Leo XIII performed the requested consecration a few days after the
death of Sister Mary and called it "the greatest act of my
pontificate".[43]
Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the universal Church in 1945. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, he stated:[44]
In order that favors in great abundance may flow on all Christians, nay, on the whole human race, from the devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, let the faithful see to it that to this devotion the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God is closely joined.
In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis (item 22), Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart.:[1]
We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her "fiat". From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love.[45]
Pope John Paul II stated that: "devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has been an important part of the sensus fidei of the People of God".[15] In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985, Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.[15][16][17][18]
He often invoked the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts together and at the
beginning of the 21st century encouraged all nations to "consecrate
themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of
Mary".[46]
References
- ^ Peter Stravinskas, 2002, Catholic Dictionary, OSV Press ISBN 978-0-87973-390-2 page 485
- ^ Mary's Immaculate Heart by John F. Murphy 2007 ISBN 1-4067-3409-8 pages 59-60
- ^ Heart of the Redeemer by Timothy Terrance O'Donnell, 1992 ISBN 0-89870-396-4 page 272
- ^ Arthur Calkins, The Theology of the Alliance of the Two Hearts, Missio Immaculatae (English Edition) Year III, N° 4 (May to December 2007). [1]
- ^ The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary: Hope for the World by Michael O'Carroll, 2007, Queenship Publishing ISBN 1-882972-98-8
- ^ Sacred Heart of Jesus by Stephen J. Binz 2006 ISBN 1-58595-597-3 page 97
- ^ Roman Catholic worship: Trent to today by James F. White 2003 ISBN 0-8146-6194-7 page 34
- ^ From Trent to Vatican II: historical and theological investigations by Raymond F. Bulman, Frederick J. Parrella 2006 ISBN 0-19-517807-6 page 182
- ^ Praying with the saints by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker 2001 ISBN 0-8294-1755-9 page 134
- ^ In Prayer With Mary the Mother of Jesus by Jean Lafrance 1988 ISBN 2-89039-183-3 page 310
- ^ Companion to the Calendar: A Guide to the Saints and Mysteries by Mary Ellen Hynes 2007 ISBN 1-56854-011-6 page 24
- ^ Butler's lives of the saints, Volume 12 by Alban Butler, Kathleen Jones, 2000 ISBN 0-86012-261-1 page 245
- ^ Youngest Prophet by Christopher Rengers 1998 ISBN 0-85342-815-8 page 38
- ^ The children of Fatima: Blessed Francisco & Blessed Jacinta Marto by Leo Madigan 2003 OSV Press ISBN 1-931709-57-2 page 248
- ^ Pope John Paul II 1986 Speech at the Vatican Website
- ^ Arthur Calkins, The Alliance of the Two Hearts and Consecration, Miles Immaculatae XXXI (July/December 1995) 389-407. [2]
- ^ Vatican website: Pope John Paul II Angelus address of September 15, 1985 (Spanish and Italian)
- ^ Proceedings of the International Theological Symposium on the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, September 1986, Fatima, Portugal
- ^ EWTN on the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
- ^ Life Of The Venerable John Eudes by Charles De Montzey, Cousens Press 2008, ISBN 1-4097-0537-4 page 215
- ^ Mary's Immaculate Heart by John F. Murphy 2007 ISBN 1-4067-3409-8 page 24
- ^ Life of Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque of the Sacred Heart by Albert Barry 2008 ISBN 1-4097-0526-9 page 72
- ^ Saints and feasts of the liturgical year by Joseph N. Tylenda 2003 ISBN 0-87840-399-X page 118
- ^ Raymond Burke, 2008, Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons,seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, Queenship Publishing ISBN 1-57918-355-7 pages 842-843
- ^ Fundamentals of Catholicism: God, Trinity, Creation, Christ, Mary by Kenneth Baker 1983 ISBN 0-89870-019-1 page 382
- ^ Michael Freze, 1989, They Bore the Wounds of Christ, OSV Publishing ISBN 0-87973-422-1 page 33
- ^ Fundamentals of Catholicism: God, Trinity, Creation, Christ, Mary by Kenneth Baker 1983 ISBN 0-89870-019-1 pages 382=383
- ^ An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff ISBN 0-8146-5856-3 page 610
- ^ Mark Miravalle, 1993, Introduction to Mary, Queenship Publishing ISBN 978-1-882972-06-7, page 169
- ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), pp. 94, 135
- ^ Clean of Heart by Rosemarie Scott 2006 ISBN 0-9772234-5-0 page 53
- ^ The Catholic's vade-mecum: a select manual of prayers for daily use London 1851, Published by Burns and Lambert ASIN B002JPK7N4 page 337
- ^ Perpetual Intercession to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus by Jean Lyonnard 2009 ISBN 1-103-36029-9 page 77
- ^ Perpetual Intercession to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus by Jean Lyonnard 2009 ISBN 1-103-36029-9 page 111
- ^ Heart of the Redeemer by Timothy Terrance O'Donnell, 1992 ISBN 0-89870-396-4 page 275
- ^ A collection of my Favorite Prayers by G. P. Geoghegan, 2006 ISBN 978-1-4357-2845-5 page 83
- ^ Raymond Burke, 2008, Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons,seminarians, and Consecrated Persons, Queenship Publishing ISBN 1-57918-355-7 page 272
- ^ The how-to book of Catholic devotions: by Mike Aquilina, Regis J. Flaherty, 2000 ISBN 0-87973-415-9 page 29
- ^ Hearts on fire: praying with Jesuits by Michael Harter 2005 ISBN 0-8294-2120-3 page 13
- ^ Handbook of Prayers 2006 by James Socías ISBN 0-87973-579-1 page 42
- ^ University of Dayton
- ^ Saint Companions for Each Day by A. J. M. & J. K. Mousolfe 2002 ISBN 81-7109-092-3 pages 74-75
- ^ Catholic encyclopedia
- ^ Haurietis Aquas on the Vatican web site
- ^ Redemptor Hominis at the Vatican web site
- ^ Pope John Paul II: Jubilee in the World: 2000 at the Vatican Website
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 2 Art 4:3
CHAPTER TWO
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF
GOD
Article 4
Article 4
Paragraph 3. JESUS CHRIST WAS BURIED
624
"By the grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every
one".Heb 2:9 In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son
should not only "die for our sins"I Cor 15:3 but should also
"taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of
his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time
he was raised from the dead. the state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the
tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when
Christ, lying in the tomb,Jn
19:42 reveals God's great sabbath
restHeb 4:7-9 after the fulfilment Jn 19:30 of man's salvation, which
brings peace to the whole universe.Col 1: 18-20
Christ in
the tomb in his body
625
Christ's stay in the tomb constitutes the real link between his passible state
before Easter and his glorious and risen state today. the same person of the
"Living One" can say, "I died, and behold I am alive for
evermore":Rev 1:18
God [the Son] did not impede
death from separating his soul from his body according to the necessary order
of nature, but has reunited them to one another in the Resurrection, so that he
himself might be, in his person, the meeting point for death and life, by
arresting in himself the decomposition of nature produced by death and so
becoming the source of reunion for the separated parts.St. Gregory of Nyssa, Orat. catech. 16: PG 45, 52D
626
Since the "Author of life" who was killed Acts 3:15 is the same
"living one [who has] risen", Lk 24:5-6 The divine person of the Son
of God necessarily continued to possess his human soul and body, separated from
each other by death:
By the fact that at Chnst's death his soul was separated from his flesh,
his one person is not itself divided into two persons; for the human body and
soul of Christ have existed in the same way from the beginning of his earthly
existence, in the divine person of the Word; and in death, although separated
from each other, both remained with one and the same person of the
Word.St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3, 27: PG 94, 1097
"You
will not let your Holy One see corruption"
627
Christ's death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human
existence. But because of the union his body retained with the person of the
Son, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "divine power preserved Christ's
body from corruption."St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 51, 3 Both of these statements can be said of
Christ: "He was cut off out of the land of the living",Is 53:8
and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to
Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption."Acts 2:26-27; cf. ⇒ Ps 16:9-10 Jesus'
Resurrection "on the third day" was the proof of this, for bodily
decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.I Cor 15:4
"Buried
with Christ. . ."
628
Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously
signifies the descent into the tomb by the Christian who dies to sin with
Christ in order to live a new life. "We were buried therefore with him by
baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."Rom 6:4
IN BRIEF
629 To the benefit of every
man, Jesus Christ tasted death (cf ⇒ Heb 2:9). It is
truly the Son of God made man who died and was buried.
630 During Christ's period in
the tomb, his divine person continued to assume both his soul and his body,
although they were separated from each other by death. For this reason the dead
Christ's body "saw no corruption" (⇒ Acts
13:37).
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