In the beginning…
God created Eve to be the mother of His holy people. Subsequently, through deception, Eve chose to exercise her free will and eat from the tree of good and evil and shared it with Adam.
The Almighty One of course, knows all, and was prepared for the fall. He loves us so much, He wanted redeem us from that lifechanging decision. He longed for our fellowship to be restored. In the deep recesses of His Heart, our Most High God held the Immaculate Conception. He would create a pure and most Holy Vessel in which to enter our broken world. In His perfect timing, God created the New Eve.
This Gate of Heaven was first known as Mary of Nazareth. With awe of God, she agreed to His plan and became the Mother of Jesus our Savior. It was just the beginning of her amazing role in our salvation. Rarely do we hear her voice in scripture but, gratefully, in Luke 1:46-55 we can pray with Mary in her own beautiful words. They reveal to us, yes, that indeed, God has done great things for her.
Hail Mary, Full of Grace
With her transcendent gifts and supernatural grace, the Queen of Heaven continues to intercede for us and for a most urgent cause. Let us Return to Fatima and reflect on an encounter which occurred not so long ago in Portugal 1917.
The Miracle of the Sun
Fortunately, we have a newly released movie entitled FATIMA to help us study and ponder the documented facts. The remarkable remake is filmed entirely in Portugal and effectively recreates the scenes as they would have been. Preceded by the Angel of Portugal, the Virgin Mary appears to 3 young children to convey her message, which is very consistent in all her renowned appearances.
In this series of apparitions, on the 13th of six consecutive months (from May to Oct) she appears around noon at the same location. Mary invites the children to meet there and in her gentle way, asks them to pray the rosary with her. Creating much turbulence and gaining more attention, the innocent children were strongly urged to denounce their experience as it was just a game.
With each month, the children were given knowledge beyond their understanding. They knew in their hearts the Lady’s true authenticity. The oldest seer Lucia testified in her statement, “She was as real as you are.” With this knowledge came a holy tolerance as they were put to severe mental anguish. Their testimonies were consistent. Why would 3 innocent children lie?
The crowds grew with each visitation. Mother Mary’s merciful heart bled as she begged for a stop to the insults on God. She asked for repentance and a daily rosary for peace in the world. Her presence brought healings and she prophetically announced the end of the war.
Yet…some still needed another sign.
The last encounter, on October 13th, the film uses live footage from the actual event of the Miracle of the Sun. It was witnessed by over 70,000 people and is still recalled and celebrated today.
It is important to emphasize the turmoil in Europe at the time. Amidst the horrors of the First World War, oppression of the church due to secular government, and the onset of the Spanish flu soon to follow…it was a fearful and challenging time indeed.
Is it a coincidence this film was released at this time?
It seems…some still need another sign.
Three courageous children were determined to forge their way to pray with Our Lady.
We need only to pray the rosary.
She will come to us.
Our Lady of Fatima… Pray for us!
Blessings of Peace to all!
Until our next walk through the garden…
-Anne
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