We will now present the apparitions of Fatima. The following is based on the book, “Our Lady of Fatima: Prophecies of Tragedy or Hope for America and the World” and quoted from the websites:https://www.tfp.org/what-our-lady-said-at-fatima-on-may-13-1917/ http://www.theholyrosary.org/fatimaapparitions
First apparition of the Angel
In spring in 1916 Lucia Dos Santos age 9, and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, ages 8 and 6 respectively, were at a meadow with their sheep in a hamlet of Fatima. It started raining, and they hid in a small cave to escape the rain. After the rain stopped and the sun came out, they stayed in the cave to eat their lunch, say the rosary and play a game of jacks. They had played but for a short while when, on the serene day, a strong wind blew that swayed the trees and a sudden white light enveloped them. In the middle of that light appeared a cloud in the form of a young man who said to them: "Fear not! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me!" The angel knelt on the ground and bowed very low. The children imitated the angel and repeated his words three times: “My God, I believe in Thee, I adore Thee, I hope in Thee, and I love Thee. I ask pardon for all those who do not believe in Thee, do not adore Thee, do not hope in Thee, and do not love Thee. Amen." Then he rose and said: "Pray this way. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."
Second apparition of the Angel
It occurred in summer, when the seers were playing near the well of Lucia's house. The Angel said to them: "What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High." The children asked: "How must we sacrifice ourselves?" The angel said: "Make everything you do a sacrifice and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. By this you will bring peace to your country. I'm its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you." From that moment, they began to offer to the Lord everything that offended Him, without trying to find any other ways of mortification or penance other than passing hour after hour, bowed to the ground, repeating the prayer that the angel had taught them.
Third apparition of the Angel
It occurred in autumn at Cabeco. The children started their prayers when they saw the angel, which had in his hand a chalice over which hung a Host, from which fell in the chalice some drops of Blood. He knelt and repeated three times with the children: " Most Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirt-I adore thee profoundly. I offer thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles in the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which he is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners." Then he rose, took the Host, and gave it to Lucia, while the contents of the chalice he gave to Jacinta and Francisco, and said: " Take the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ horribly outraged by thankless men. Recover their sins and comfort your God."
First apparition of Our Lady
On Sunday May 13th, 1917 the children were pasturing their flock as usual at the Cova da Iria, which was about a mile from their homes. They were playing when suddenly a bright beam of light pierced the air. They described it as a flash of lightning. Frightened by the flash, the children looked around at the sky that was clear and bright without the least spot of a cloud. The children, however, thought that they had better head home in case it might start raining. As they descended the hill. Another flash of lightning took them by surprise. Panicky with fear, they took a few steps and looked towards the right. There, standing over the foliage of a small holm oak, "a lady dressed all in white, more brilliant then the sun shedding rays of light, clear and stronger than a crystal glass filled with the most sparkling water pierced by the burning rays of the sun”.
The lady spoke to them and said: "Fear not! I will not harm you." "Where are you from?" the children asked. "I am from heaven" the beautiful lady replied, gently raising her hand towards the sky. "What do you want of me?", Lucia asked. "I came to ask you to come here for six consecutive months, on the thirteenth day, at this same hour. I will tell you later who I am and what I want. And I shall return here again a seventh time." Lucia said: "Do you come from heaven...and will I go to heaven?" " Yes, you'll go". "And Jacinta?" "As well" " And Francisco?" "Him too, but he will have to say many rosaries". “Is Maria das Neves already in heaven?” “Yes, she is.” “And Amelia?” “She will be in purgatory until the end of the world. Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the suffering that He may please to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and to ask for the conversion of sinners?" "Yes, we do." said the children. "You will have to suffer much, but the grace of God will be your comfort.
Lucia explains later: “It was upon saying these last words, ‘the grace of God…’ that for the first time she opened her hands, which emitted a most intense light that penetrated our breasts, reaching the innermost part of our souls and making us see ourselves in God, Who was that light, more clearly than we can see ourselves in the best of mirrors. Then, driven by a deep inspiration, we knelt down and repeated inwardly: ‘O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee! My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
A moment later, Our Lady added, “Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” She immediately began to rise serenely toward the east until she disappeared far into the distance. The light that surrounded her was, so to speak, opening her way through the starry firmament.
Second apparition of Our Lady
On June 13, 1917, accompanied by about 50 people, the children were reciting the rosary, when there was again the lightning, and immediately after, the Lady on the holm oak appeared like in May. "What do you want from me?" asked Lucia. "I wish you to come here the 13th of next month; that you say the Rosary every day, and that you learn to read. In succeeding months, I will tell you what else I want." "I would like to ask you to bring us to Heaven", said Lucia. "Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you must stay here for a long time. Jesus wishes to use you in order to make me known and loved. God wishes you to remain in the world for some time because He wants to use you to establish in the world a devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and these souls will be beloved of God like flowers arranged by me to adorn His throne." Lucia asked: "Will I stay here alone”? "Don't be discouraged, I will not abandon you ever, replied the Lady. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and through it will conduct you to God." Then She opened her hands and emanated her light on the children, Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in the light that went up toward the sky, Lucia in the light that spread on the earth. In front of the palm of the right hand of the Lady there was a heart surrounded by thorns that pierced it. They understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary affronted from the sins of men, and She then asked for reparation.
Third apparition of Our Lady
On July 13, 1917 they recited the rosary with the crowd. Mr. Marto, father of Jacinta and Francisco, says that when the third apparition began, a little grayish cloud hovered over the holm oak, the sunlight diminished, and a cool breeze blew over the mountain range, even though it was the height of summer. He also heard something that sounded like flies inside an empty jug. The seers saw the customary glare, and immediately afterward they saw Our Lady over the holm oak.
Lucia asked: "What do you want from me?" She answered: "That you come the 13th of the next month, that you continue to recite the Rosary every day to our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world and the end of the war, because only She will be able to aid you." Lucia said, " I want to ask you to tell us who you are, and to make a miracle for the crowd to believe that you appear." She Answered: "Continue to come here every month. In October I will tell you who I am, that which I want, and I will perform a miracle that all can see and believe.”
Lucia then made a number of requests for conversions, cures, and other graces. Our Lady recommended the constant recitation of the Rosary; thus, they would obtain those graces during the year. Then she said: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say often this prayer, especially during any sacrifice: "O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
Lucia explains: “As Our Lady said these last words, she once again opened her hands as she had done in the two previous months. The radiant light which streamed from them seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a great sea of fire; submerged in that fire were demons and souls in human shapes who resembled red-hot, black and bronze-colored embers that floated about in the blaze, borne by the flames that issued from them with clouds of smoke, falling everywhere like the showering sparks of great blazes – with neither weight nor equilibrium – amidst shrieks and groans of sorrow and despair that horrified us and made us shudder with fear. The devils stood out like frightful and unknown animals with horrible and disgusting shapes, but transparent like black coals that have become red-hot.”
The vision lasted only a moment during which Lucia let out a gasp. She remarks that if it were not for Our Lady’s promise to take them to heaven, the seers would have died of fright and terror.
Frightened they lifted their eyes to the Lady who told them: "You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save future souls God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved." Then She said:" If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed...But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world". "Do you want to learn a prayer?" Our Lady asked, "Yes we do!" the children responded. "When you recite the Rosary, say at the end of each decade: Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your Mercy."
Fourth apparition of Our Lady
In August the children were prevented by the civil authorities to go to the meeting of the 13th in which had gathered an immense crowd. The children for two days were confined and threatened with many torments to make them deny, but they did not surrender, they were ready to offer their lives not to betray the promises made to the Lady. When they were released on August 19, later in the day at about four o’clock in the afternoon, Lucia was with Francisco and another cousin at Valinhos, a property belonging to one of her uncles, when the atmospheric changes that preceded the apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria began to occur: a sudden cooling of the temperature and a waning of the sun. Feeling that something supernatural was approaching and enveloping them, Lucia sent for Jacinta, who arrived in time to see Our Lady appear–heralded as before by a bright light–over a holm oak slightly larger than the one at Cova da Iria. " What do you want from me?" Lucia asked. "I Want you to continue to go to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, that you continue to say the Rosary every day. I, in the last month will make the miracle that all will believe." Then with a sadder appearance told them: "Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for the sinners. You know that many souls go to hell because there is none who pray for them." As usual, she then began to rise toward the east. The seers cut boughs off the tree over which Our Lady had appeared to them and took them home. The boughs gave off a uniquely sweet fragrance.
Fifth apparition of Our Lady
On September 13th, the children and about 20,000 persons accompanied them to the Cova da Iria and they there recited the Rosary. Atmospheric phenomena similar to those of the previous apparitions occurred: the sudden cooling of the air, a dimming of the sun to the point where the stars could be seen, and a rain resembling iridescent petals or snowflakes that disappeared before touching the ground. This time, a luminous globe was noticed which moved slowly and majestically through the sky from east to west and, at the end of the apparition, in the opposite direction. The seers saw a light, and, immediately following this, they saw Our Lady over the holm oak. "I Want you to come here on October 13 and that you continue to recite the Rosary to obtain the end of the war. In October the Lord, the sorrowful Lady, the Lady of Mt. Carmel, and St Joseph with the child Jesus, will also come to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices, but He does not want you to sleep with the ropes, wear them only during the day." Lucia then said: “They have requested me to ask you for many things, for the cure of some sick persons, of a deaf-mute.” Yes, I will cure some, others not. In October, I will perform a miracle for all to believe. And rising, she disappeared in the same manner as before.
Sixth and last apparition of Our Lady
On October 13, 1917 the children surrounded by a crowd of 70,000 persons under a torrential rain, Lucia asked again of the Lady: "What do you want from me?" she answered: "I am the Lady of the Rosary, I desire here a chapel in my honor to be built, that people continue to recite the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes." Then Lucia asked: "May I ask you for cures and conversions, will you grant them?". "Some yes, others no. It is necessary that they ask pardon for their sins, that they don't offend God our Lord, for he is already too much offended." "Do you want anything else from me?" Lucia asked. "I do not want anything more."
Then She opened her hands again and She launched a ray of light in the direction of the sun. At this point the promised sign happened, Lucia shouted to look at the sun, the rain stopped suddenly and there appeared an exceptionally bright sun but not dazzling.
Three scenes followed in succession, symbolizing first the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, then the sorrowful mysteries, and, finally, the glorious mysteries. Lucia alone saw the three scenes; Francisco and Jacinta saw only the first.
First scene: Saint Joseph appeared beside the sun with the Child Jesus and Our Lady of the Rosary. It was the Holy Family. The Virgin was dressed in white with a blue mantle. Saint Joseph was also dressed in white, and the Child Jesus in light red. Saint Joseph blessed the crowd, making the Sign of the Cross three times. The Child Jesus did the same.
Second scene: This was followed by the vision of Our Lady of Sorrows, without the sword in her heart, and of Our Lord overwhelmed with sorrow on the way to Calvary. Our Lord made the Sign of the Cross to bless the people.
Third scene: Finally, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth, appeared in a glorious vision with the Child Jesus in her bosom.
While these scenes took place, the seventy thousand spectators witnessed the miracle of the sun.
It had rained all during the apparition. At the end of the conversation between Our Lady and Lucia — when the Blessed Virgin rose and Lucia shouted, “Look at the sun!” — the clouds opened up, revealing the sun as an immense silver disk. It shone with an intensity never before seen but was not blinding. This lasted only an instant. Then the immense ball began to “dance.” The sun began to spin rapidly like a gigantic circle of fire. Then it stopped momentarily, only to begin spinning swiftly again. Its rim became scarlet; whirling, it scattered red flames across the sky. Their light was reflected on the ground, on the trees, on the bushes, and on the very faces and clothing of the people, which took on brilliant hues and changing colors.
After performing this bizarre pattern three times, the globe of fire seemed to tremble, shake, and then plunge in a zigzag toward the terrified crowd. All this lasted about ten minutes. Finally, the sun zigzagged back to its original place and once again became still and brilliant, shining with its everyday brightness. The cycle of the apparitions had ended. Many people noticed that their clothes, soaking wet from the rain, had suddenly dried. The miracle of the sun was also seen by numerous witnesses up to twenty-five miles away from the place of the apparition.
After the apparitions of Fatima
Francisco and Jacinta became ill. Francisco died on April 4, 1919 and Jacinta died on February 20, 1920. Before she died, little Jacinta revealed little-known but remarkable statements made by Our Lady. Here are just some of them:
More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason. Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much. Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God. Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests to their superiors and to the Holy Father is very displeasing to Our Lord. The Blessed Mother can no longer restrain the hand of her Divine Son from striking the world with just punishment for its many crimes. Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Pope John Paul II beatified Francisco and Jacinta Marto on May 13th, 2000 in a celebration attended by more than 700,000 people.
Francisco and Jacinta were then solemnly canonized by Pope Francis at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, in Portugal on May 13 2017, the first centennial of the first Apparition of Our Lady of Fátima.
Lucia entered the Convent of the Sisters of St Dorothy to learn to read and write; then she entered in the convent of Coimbra.
On December 10, 1925, the feast day of Our Lady of Loreto, Sister Lucia being a postulant of the Dorothean Convent in Pontevedra, Spain received a vision where she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary and by Her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. Lucia describes the vision referring to herself in the third person, quote:
“The most holy Virgin rested her hand on her shoulder, and as she did so, she showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Child Jesus said: Have compassion on the Heart of your most holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.”
Then immediately the Virgin Mary told her:
“Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”
On May 29, 1930, Our Lord gave this message to Sister Lucia:
“The reason for the five Saturdays of the month is simple, it is because there are five types of offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: 1) Blasphemies against Her Immaculate Conception: 2) blasphemies against Her Perpetual Virginity: 3) blasphemies against her Divine Maternity, in refusing at the same time to recognize Her as the Mother of men: 4) the offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images: 5) blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother.”
In summary: On the first Saturday of five consecutive months, the Blessed Virgin Mary invites us to unite ourselves with her in the prayer of the rosary, in the meditation of its mysteries for fifteen minutes, in confession, in taking part in Holy Mass and in a communion of reparation. Today, reparation on the part of her children must increase, because there is an the ever increasing number of offenses committed against her Immaculate Heart, by insults against her Immaculate Conception, against her perpetual virginity, against her divine and universal motherhood and against her images and because, above all, the souls of the little ones are being alienated from her.
As Our Lady said at the apparition of July 13, 1917, "I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia". She did this on June 13, 1929, when She appeared to Lucia in the Chapel of Dorotheas, in the town of Tuy. Lucia said: "I had sought and obtained permission from my superiors and confessor to make a Holy Hour from eleven o'clock until midnight, every Thursday to Friday night. Being alone one night, I knelt near the altar rails in the middle of the chapel and, prostrate, I prayed the prayers of the Angel. Feeling tired, I then stood up and continued to say the prayers with my arms in the form of a cross. The only light was that of the sanctuary lamp.
Suddenly the whole chapel was illumined by a supernatural light, and above the altar appeared a cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a man and his body as far as the waist; upon his breast was a dove of light; nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large host suspended in the air, on to which drops of blood were falling from the face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart. (it was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of the cross, large letters, -as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed these words: "Grace and Mercy". I understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not permitted to reveal. Our Lady then said to me: "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the Bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. There are so many souls whom the justice of God condemns for sins committed against me, that I have come to ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray."
Sr Lucia wrote two books, Memories, and Calls of the Message of Fatima. She died at the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa of Coimbra in central Portugal, on Sunday at the age of 97 on February 13, 2005.
In summary:
Today the Mother of God is asking each of us, as she did the three children of Fatima, “Do you wish to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may be pleased to send you, as both an act of reparation for the sins with which He is offended and an act of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”
God wishes to establish in the world true devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, which is a refuge and the way that will lead you to God. The Virgin Mary promises salvation to those who embrace it; and these souls will be beloved of God like flowers arranged by her to adorn His throne.
Prayers of Fatima:
1) The Virgin Mary said: I am the Lady of the Rosary; I desire that people continue to recite the Rosary every day. When you recite the Rosary, say at the end of each decade: Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy Mercy."
2) Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say often this prayer, especially during any sacrifice: "O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
3) During adoration and when you receive Holy Communion say: “My God, I believe in Thee, I adore
Thee, I hope in Thee, and I love Thee. I ask pardon for all those who do not believe in Thee, do not adore Thee, do not hope in Thee, and do not love Thee."
4) During adoration and before you receive Holy Communion pray: “Oh Most Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirt-I adore thee profoundly and I offer thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which he is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."
Don’t offend God our Lord, for he is already too much offended.
The Blessed Mother can no longer restrain the hand of her Divine Son from striking the world with just punishment for its many crimes. Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Child Jesus said: “Have compassion on the Heart of your most holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.”
We should devoutly carry out the Communion of reparation on the five first Saturdays. To Sister Lucia the Virgin Mary promised special protection at the moment of death and to obtain the graces necessary for salvation for all her children who, harking to her requests, will have devoutly carried out the practice of the five first Saturdays.
There are three Weapons which the Virgin Mary has prepared for her children:
In paragraph (182) St. Louis de Montfort states: “So the faithful servants of the Blessed Virgin may confidently say with St. John Damascene, "If I confide in you, Mother of God, I shall be saved. Under your protection I shall fear nothing. With your help I shall rout all my enemies. For devotion to you is a weapon of salvation which God gives to those he wishes to save."”
Quote from Saint Padre Pio: “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for the Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.”
In paragraph (50) part (7) St. Louis de Montfort states: “Lastly, Mary must become as terrible as an army in battle array to the devil and his followers, especially in these latter times. For Satan, knowing that he has little time - even less now than ever - to destroy souls, intensifies his efforts and his onslaughts every day. He will not hesitate to stir up savage persecutions and set treacherous snares for Mary's faithful servants and children whom he finds more difficult to overcome than others.
These are the hours of battle, and therefore those weapons which the Virgin Mary has prepared especially for her children must be made use of: The consecration to her Immaculate Heart, the frequent recitation of the Holy Rosary, and the practice of the five first Saturdays of the month in reparation for the offenses committed against her motherly Heart.