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Lucia, however, has said to the then Cardinal Ratzinger that the “practical” goal of all the apparitions was to increase in the people of God the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity which was evident in the message starting from the first prayer taught by the Angel: My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.
Contrary to the view of some theologians, in my understanding, Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima are theophanies and not “marianphanies”. When the little shepherds inquired where the Lady was from, she responded that she was from Heaven. Therefore it was Heaven that manifested itself through her and the message that she came to deliver was not hers, but from Heaven, that is, God’s.
Divine revelations have occurred at all times, in all sorts of places and through all sorts of people. The theophany of Fatima is a little more complex than other theophanies because it occurred at different places, through different people, and at different times. In fact, we can distinguish three different cycles in the apparitions at Fatima:
The Angelic Cycle: the apparitions of the Angel in 1916
We leave out the angelic experience of Lucia and her friends in 1915 because it was inconsequential and lacked clarity. Despite of this, it did put Lucia in a state of watchfulness for the apparitions of the Angel that came the following year, when she was not with these friends but with her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto. In line with the roles of angels in the Bible, this angel is a messenger, and just like Archangel Gabriel who announced to Mary that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of the Incarnate Word, he too announced to the children that they have been chosen:
“The Hearts of Jesus and of Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications (…) have designs of mercy on you…” In the case of Fatima, the Angel went beyond the role of messenger-only and prepared the children for the true apparitions to come, in other words, those of Our Lady. Something similar to the role of John the Baptist as the precursor of the Messiah, the Angel prepared the children for the impending encounter with the supernatural.
Perhaps this is why the encounters with the Angel were of different nature. The children described the three encounters with the Angel as strenuous; they felt drained of their energies as if they were outside of their bodies. In contrast, the encounters with the Lady left them radiant, comforted and full of energy.
There is one other detail that may raise doubts in some people regarding these apparitions. In the representations of angels that we see in sculptures, paintings, theaters and films, and of course, in the imagery of the little shepherds, angels always appear with wings. The Angel of Fatima, however, as the little shepherds described him, did not have wings. For whatever reason that was how the children described him. This fact may even add to the veracity of these apparitions or manifestations of the divine since messenger angels in the Bible do not have wings; those that have wings are the Seraphim and the Cherubim guarding the Ark of the Covenant.
The Marian Cycle: the apparitions of Our Lady in 1917
The core message of Fatima is revealed in the Marian apparitions that took place from May to October 1917. Those of the Angel, like we have said earlier, served as a preparation for these apparitions, and those that followed helped to interpret them.
The doctrinal core reveals itself in the apparitions of the Virgin which is vast and complete and the reason why Fatima is considered the most doctrinal, most prophetic and also the most sociopolitical of all Marian apparitions, having inspired and influenced concrete social and political measures in the twentieth century.
The Heart of Mary Cycle: the apparitions in Pontevedra (1925-1926) and Tuy (1929)
In these apparitions that took place years later and when Lucia was perhaps not yet accustomed to the loneliness she felt after the death of her cousins, the Lady blessed her with these apparitions, as she had appeared to Jacinta at her deathbed, to fulfill what she had promised Lucia, of never abandoning her, giving her strength, and helping her in the interpretation of the message.
These visions had the same effect on Lucia as the transfiguration of the Lord on the apostles, of assuring that she had taken the right course of action both in relation to the interpretation of the message as well as her life on earth and the reason why she had been left behind. These apparitions also served to remove doubts in Lucia and to clarify some aspects of the message, especially in regard to the devotion of the five first Saturdays.
The dimensions of the Fatima message
As the apparition with the greatest doctrinal amplitude in the opinion of many theologians, Fatima is like a “Summa Theologica” because it touches upon all the themes that are essential to our faith and gives clues to how to live them, both in the area of individual as well as liturgical spirituality, in a way that is very practical and pedagogical.
The Sacrificial Dimension – Understood as the Eucharistic sacrifice and offering of oneself in the context of the Eucharist and of life, that is, to make life eucharistic: “Do you want to offer yourself…” From the very first Marian apparition, and paraphrasing James and John who asked to sit one on the right and the other on the left of the Lord but first they needed to drink the cup that he drank (Mark10:36-45), thus the little shepherds asked to go to Heaven, but first the Lady asked them if they were willing to offer themselves for others.
Christ gave up his life for us, and as a Christian or a follower of Christ we also need to love others not only as we love ourselves as the commandment says, but more than that, as Jesus loves us, to the extent of giving up his life for us (John 13:34-35).
The Eschatological Dimension – This is the translation of the Gospel warning: “unless you repent, you will all perish as they did” (Luke 13:3). It is about the misfortunes that hang over the world because of sin – and also about the conversion of sinners, and how we can participate in it; the prophetic and pedagogical vision of hell, as well as how to avoid eternal damnation.
The Missionary Dimension – Mission is transversal through the entire message of Fatima; all the practices that Our Lady asks in relation to prayers, sacrifices, the Rosary, the consecration, the first Saturdays, are aimed for the good of others, that is, the conversion and salvation of sinners and not for personal sanctification. The follower and devotee of the message of Fatima is converted by praying for the conversion of others. Everything is oriented towards others; it is, therefore, a truly “altruistic” and not an “egocentric” spirituality.
Unlike most Catholics in those days and also in ours who live obsessed with gaining Heaven and do good for the sole purpose of their own individual salvation, the little shepherds did nothing to save their own souls because the Lady had already said that she would take them up to Heaven.
It is as if they practiced the theology of Protestant reform, and now also Catholic’s, that Heaven is free for all because Christ has already paid in full the entrance ticket. With Heaven guaranteed to them, the little shepherds dedicated their lives in securing it also for others.
In this way, everything that the little shepherds did was missionary: by ways of an “Apostolate of Prayer”, in which Francisco distinguished himself, as he was always seeking occasions and places to be alone with God, consoling Him, and by ways of an “Apostolate of Sacrifice”, in which Jacinta distinguished herself by being tireless in finding instances to do more and more self-sacrifices, because she wished that everyone could go to Heaven.
The Marian Dimension – The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Rosary as the contemplation with Mary on the mysteries of Christ. The manifestation of the Lady identifying herself as Our Lady of the Rosary.
The Ecclesial Dimension – Communion in solidarity with the whole Church, in prayer for peace in the world and for the conversion of sinners.
The Petrine Dimension – Fatima started with an appeal from the Holy Father and always involved the popes; and precisely the one who did not want to get himself involved with the Fatima message was the one who turned out to be its greatest proponent -- Pope John Paul II.
The Prophetic Dimension – Fatima represented for thousands of Christians the blue army of Mary - the evangelical activism, against the red army of Russia - the militant atheism. The militant atheism continues to exist even without the tutelage of Russia, in the Freemasons and certain groups of agnostics who always try to influence politics to go against the Church.
In this time as in all times, Fatima is a perennial exhortation for all Christians to become evangelists, always ready to stand up to anyone who demands an account of the hope that is in us (1Peter 3:15). Or as someone has said after the Second Vatican Council, an appeal to become Christians as members of a political party, and militants as members of the Church.
The Pedagogical-Religious Dimension – The learning of prayers and pious practices of devotion as ways to reparate, console and atone the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
To incarnate the Fatima message
This is accomplished by putting into practice what Mary had asked the little shepherds which they generously fulfilled as they embodied all the aspects of this message. It is up to us to do the same if we are lovers of Mary our mother and if like the little shepherds, we want to participate in the redemption of the world.
Stop offending Jesus – This is the first thing the little shepherds did: to leave behind their own sinful ways of life by developing a more austere awareness that enabled them to judge each one of their own deeds and expose sins in their lives regardless how small they might be.
Pray the Rosary every day – Through the Rosary we are taken by the hands of Mary our mother, to contemplate on the mysteries of our Redemption, that is, the life of her Son. Since she knows him better than anyone else, she more than anyone can introduce us to her son, to his life and doctrine.
Offer sacrifices – By offering sacrifices we are putting into practice the reason why we participate in the Eucharist. At the end of a Latin Mass the priest dismisses the people by saying, “Ite missa est” which means at the same time two different things: first, that the Mass is over and second, that you are on a Mission, that is, once the Mass ends the Mission starts.
Part of this mission is to bring to life the Eucharistic dimension. We eat the body offered and drink the blood outpoured, so that we ourselves in our lives become the body offered and the blood outpoured. We participate in the Eucharist so that we become eucharistic as we make our lives a gift for the redemption of others. We do this when, like the little shepherds, we offer ourselves through self-sacrifices, and embrace the cross of Christ every day by denying ourselves and affirming others in our lives.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Assiduous prayer places us before God who acts as a mirror that makes us see who we really are, hence a false image of ourselves leads us to have a false image of God. Prayer purifies these two images, of God and of ourselves; prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the other hand, purifies our heart and makes it like hers. It is in our own interest this devotion since as the beatitude has it, only the pure of heart will see God.
Observance of the five first Saturdays – This is a beautiful observance to reinvigorate our faith and our Christian practices. It is like the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius or like the Cursillos. It gives a new start and awakens a dormant faith that has lost its saltiness which used to give meaning and taste to a life that now is no longer the light of the world.
Use of the scapular – This practice was once very popular, and has not yet lost its value. It is not that the scapular is a talisman that protects us by its own merit without our collaboration; this would be idolatry. The use of the scapular serves to remind us, hour by hour and minute by minute, that we are called to put on Christ as Saint Paul says in Ephesians (4:22-24).
Conclusion
We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. (2Corinthians 4:7)
At the end of this long digression and study of the events at Fatima, both its meaning and message, I realized the richness, the doctrinal depth, and the prophetic sociopolitical aspects of the message. Even I can hardly believe that such important message was placed in the hands of three children of such tender ages, completely uncultured, and in spite of their limitations, they did a very good job of living and delivering, and being the custodians of the message of Fatima, despite the unbelief of their own families and the Church, and the obstacles and threats from the administrative and political power.
I want to end this reflection the very same way I began it: The mystery hidden from the wise who are proud of their wisdom is revealed to the simple and accepted by the truly wise, that is, those who keep an open mind without prejudice and who recognize that they know only that they know nothing. (Matthew 11:25)
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC
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