What happened at Fatima?

[William2]

I realize that I am in the definite minority on this question.

My prayer life used to be “weighed down” and taken up by prayers based on private revelations: Holy Face, Fatima, Divine Mercy, others I forget now (it’s been a long time since then). It was very liberating when I realized that all this stuff may be empty. So when I sat down to pray, it was just being with Jesus, rather than trying to do all the stuff “Mary” and “Jesus” said to do in private revelations.

I am not trying to be inflammatory or start an argument. I was just thinking someone might enjoy the same liberation I had.

 

[Shin]

The timing of the Fatima apparitions is very notable.

Mary Appeared at Fatima in response to a call from the Pope.

In 1917, the First World War was raging, with no end in sight. Pope Benedict XV turned to the Blessed Virgin Mary, through whom all graces are dispensed. The Pope urged all Christian people to beg the Mother of God to obtain peace for the world, and to solemnly entrust the task to her:
“Have recourse to the Heart of Jesus, Throne of Graces, through the intercession of Mary”. It was at this time that he added ‘Queen of Peace, pray for us’ to the Litany of Loreto.

And Heaven answered. Our Lady was swift to respond:

Only eight days after this prayer, Our Lady appeared to the three children at Fatima.

And it was only two weeks after the Miracle of the Sun that the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg and the Communist Revolution was launched. The Battle of Our Generation had begun. And it is still raging. How different are the weapons of the two sides.

Finely put! Good to read.

 

[palmas855]

I realize that I am in the definite minority on this question.

My prayer life used to be “weighed down” and taken up by prayers based on private revelations: Holy Face, Fatima, Divine Mercy, others I forget now (it’s been a long time since then). It was very liberating when I realized that all this stuff may be empty. So when I sat down to pray, it was just being with Jesus, rather than trying to do all the stuff “Mary” and “Jesus” said to do in private revelations.

I am not trying to be inflammatory or start an argument. I was just thinking someone might enjoy the same liberation I had.

Indeed many people do find it liberating not to be linked with such devotions. They are after all unnecessary. In fact, right after Vatican II there was a concerted effprt by many in the Church to completely sqaush any devotion to Mary at all as it endangered ecumenical relations. Many old time devotions fell by the wayside as well for the exact same reason. It was only when Pope John Paul II credited Our Lady of Fatima with saving his life in the assasination attempt on him, did the tide turn and Marion devotion start to rise again. The Holy Father later placed at least one of the bullets at the statue of her at Fatima. .However, be sure, that most of the people who have no use at all for Catholic devotions are in fact protestants, who believe that they are all empty as you put it. I truly don’t think that many people on the traditional forum will find your arguments particularly compelling or even rational to tell the truth.

I would think that you might find a more receptive and responsive audience among those on the more progressive, ecumenically minded side of the fence

 

[Shin]

I realize that I am in the definite minority on this question.

My prayer life used to be “weighed down” and taken up by prayers based on private revelations: Holy Face, Fatima, Divine Mercy, others I forget now (it’s been a long time since then). It was very liberating when I realized that all this stuff may be empty. So when I sat down to pray, it was just being with Jesus, rather than trying to do all the stuff “Mary” and “Jesus” said to do in private revelations.

I am not trying to be inflammatory or start an argument. I was just thinking someone might enjoy the same liberation I had.

Sounds like you have a problem with set prayers in general, and how to pray them properly, and so you gave them up.

At least that’s a most generous interpretation, rather than the devil’s hard work paying off.

‘Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.’

St. Agathon

 

[William2]

Victorious,
“all the words of this life” is from Acts 5:20ish. this beautiful phrase (the literal text) is lost in those very helpful (not!) contemporary translations. So much meaning and beauty is lost when translators take it upon themselves to parse the words of the Holy Spirit.

 

[mskejj]

We all know that May 13 is the day the Blessed Mother appeared to the children. From studying the Old Testament (especially Exodus) I learned that the 10 plagues (miracles) for the Israelites which helped to free them where all events that had occured before in Egypt. The miracle was not the plagues exactly, but the fact of the timing of them…when Moses said they would occur…they did. The same for the Miracle of the Sun…while it can’t be explained…the fact that the children said exactly when it would happen is a miracle in itself.

Even more interesting is the timeline for May 13…Pope John Paul was shot on that day and when the consecration for the conversion for Russia was actually completed in March of 1984, it was on May 13 of that year that the Russian naval fleet suffered a huge explosion which destroyed many of their nuclear missiles and the scientists and others who worked on them.(See the timeline on EWTN for Fatima). This was the beginning of the end for the Cold War. I was questioning the date and wanted to find an article that wasn’t religious in nature to verify the exact date. It wasn’t easy, most of the time, it was just listed as in May. The Russians were not giving out much info to the media about it. However, I did find a researcher’s book about many different nuclear issues etc and he did list the date as May 13,1984. I can’t imagine the devil would be involved in trying to stop the Cold War…in fact just the opposite.

 

[William2]

Thanks for all of the responses in this thread. I am not up to the task of responding intelligently to what has been written. I was hoping someone who knows more about the miraculous and seeming-miraculous vis-a-vis bad spirits would intervene.

I heard on EWTN that there was a woman in Spain (centuries ago) who was able to levitate, or appear to levitate. But at the end of her life it came out that she had sold her soul to the enemy, and she had to be exorcised.

I heard of someone who spends 1-2 hours each day “doing what Mary asked us to do at Fatima.”

Again, thanks for the various replies.