The Divine Holy Spirit will act for the Church in Mary, with Mary and through Mary.
Newsroom (13/05/2022 12:10, Gaudium Press) In no other apparition has Our Lady shown herself so clearly as the Queen of the Prophets as in Fatima, in 1917.
She came in person to remind us of forgotten truths, such as the existence of hell, and to warn men of terrible punishments if they did not return their lives to the path of justice. She concluded her message, however, with the promise that encourages all those who await divine intervention: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”
In a world plunged into the most degrading moral relativism, in which souls, losing the notion of good and evil, ignore the fear of God and rush headlong into the pursuit of pleasure, the maternal admonition of Fatima presents itself with the power of a spear that braves the ignoble current and divides men into two irreconcilable camps.
Our Lady wished to speak at the beginning of a century which would be characterized by the silence of those who should cry out, or worse still, by the deceit of those who, knowing the truth, would seek to obscure it because their deeds were evil (cf. Jn 3:19).
The message of the Cova da Iria, so often deformed, proves to be direct and uncomfortable. It must be understood in the light of the prophet Micah’s prediction:
“The oracle of the Lord against the prophets who lead my people astray, who proclaim peace when they have something to chew on and declare war on those who put nothing in their mouths. Therefore you shall have night instead of visions, and darkness instead of revelations. The sun will set for those prophets, the day will become dark; seers will be put to shame, soothsayers put to shame. They will all hide their beards, for God will cease to speak to them. But I am full of the strength of the Spirit of the Lord, of righteousness and courage, to denounce to Jacob his wickedness, and to Israel his sin” (3:5-8).
Another relevant aspect of the Fatima apparitions is, without doubt, the supernatural action of the Mother of God on the little shepherds. They describe her as a Lady more brilliant than the sun, beautiful and enchanting. When the Virgin opened her hands, rays of ineffable and very clear light penetrated the children, giving them a foretaste of the beatific vision.
This is the path of sanctification inaugurated in the Cova da Iria: transformed by a privileged action of grace, the authentic devotees and slaves of Our Lady will be introduced to her mysterious secrets of holiness, light and glory. They will strive to see the will of the Most High fulfilled, as Mary announced: “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
But because of this firm resolution to make Our Lady known and loved, many will fight against them: “The devil will lay great snares, as you have predicted, in the heel of this mysterious woman, that is, in the little company of her children”.
But nothing will frighten them. Overflowing with faith, they should have the certainty that “Mary’s power over all demons will become more evident in recent times. […] [Her humble slaves] will be rich in God’s grace, which Mary will distribute to them abundantly; great and eminent in holiness before God, superior to every creature by their zeal, and so strongly supported by divine help that, with the humility of their heel and in union with Mary, they will crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.
“Let us turn our eyes to Our Lady of Fatima, asking Her as soon as possible for the contrition that will obtain for us the great pardons, the strength to fight the great battles, and the abnegation to be unselfish in the great victories that will bring about the establishment of her Kingdom. Victories that we desire with all our hearts, even if, to reach them, the Church and the human race will have to undergo the apocalyptic chastisements – but how just, regenerating and merciful – that She foretold in 1917 in the Cova da Iria”.
Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm