THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUIT THE BLUE-ARMY. FATIMA: A NAME TO RECALL Fatima, Portugal is one of the most revered sights in the Roman Catholic religion. It was in this tiny village where, starting in 1916, three small Portuguese shepherd children had encounters first with an Angel and later with the Lady who has become known as Our Lady of Fatima. The town bears an Arabic name meaning “high place” after a Moorish Maid who, having fallen in love with the brave Knight Templar, Gonçalo Henriques, was converted to Christianity and baptized with the Christian name of “Oureana”. This name “Oureana” replaced the name “Fatima” that she had received at birth, in honour of the daughter of Mohammed. The town and the Virgin Mary hold a special place in the minds and hearts of many Muslims and persons of many faiths. The story of how this tiny village grew into the destination for millions of pilgrims and its place in the future of mankind is impressing. Many feel that the MESSAGE OF FATIMA presents an alternative to the strife which prevails in the world today. Pope John Paul II had a special fondness for Fatima. He preached the Message as an alternative to the materialistic trends of today which has created such a chasm between rich and poor in the contemporary world with its resultant social upheavals and wars. At the time of the apparitions, Portugal was a socialist country which had placed severe restrictions on the Catholic Church and, indeed, had banned it over a period of time. It was in the middle of this highly charged atmosphere that three simple shepherd children found themselves. Read more about this and how the Apparitions of the Angel and of Our Lady changed their lives and can change ours too. Mission The mission of the World Apostolate of Fatima is fundamentally the New Evangelisation through the promotion of the Message of Fatima. Our Lady of Fatima asked for prayer and penance leading to amendment of life. She asked for a more genuine devotion to the Eucharist and for consecration to Her Immaculate Heart, the path to God. The urgent necessity for a response to this Message, and for a worldwide promotion of it, in the interest of salvation of souls, acceleration of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and of peace in the world, is the moving force behind the spread of the World Apostolate of Fatima throughout the world. Fatima, in its message and its blessing, is conversion to God.”- Pope John Paul II, May 12th, 1991, at Fatima. Thus, the World Apostolate of Fatima, following the example of the three Little Shepherds, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, tries to incarnate this message of hope and stimulate others to do the same. National Organization The World Apostolate of Fatima is constituted by people from all over the world who adhere to the principles of the movement by making the PLEDGE. In the spreading of the Message and promotion of the New Evangelization, the members are inserted in the parish, diocesan and national structures of the Movement and in the dynamics of their local Church, in communion with the Pastors of the Church. The member-nations of the World Apostolate of Fatima are classified in categories defined by the International Statutes: Principal Nations: Are those nations whose Bishops’ Conference or several Diocesan Bishops have welcomed the World Apostolate of Fatima and their activities within their local Church, through a written document. These nations have the status of a National Center. In addition, these nations must also possess proper Statutes, have elected officers and be in compliance with their obligations under the International Constitution. Advancing Nations: Are the nations that have one or more Bishops who have given recognition to the World Apostolate of Fatima but whose members or groups have not yet constituted an Association, possess Statutes or held national election of officers. Beginning Nations: Are those nations wherein individual members and groups exist but are not integrated into any official structure of the Apostolate in that country. Logo The logo of the World Apostolate of Fatima is the official symbol of the Association. It is used all over the world and although it may assume little changes here and there in terms of design, it keeps its original elements from when it was first created. It is a symbol that, in its essence, shows that peace can be achieved through prayer as prophesied by Our Lady of Fatima. The blue and white colours of the logo indicate the liturgical colours used for the Mother of God. Two doves form praying hands. They hold the Rosary which World Apostolate of Fatima members pray daily. Besides, the doves are also the symbol of peace. They have therefore a special link with the Message of Fatima. In fact, as a side note, on many occasions, white doves have flown from the sky to the base of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in her shrine and remained there for hours on end, even when the statues were being carried in procession. The World Apostolate of Fatima’s symbol of the doves emphasizes therefore the intervention of God in the human history, which was done in Fatima through the apparition of the Most Holy Virgin. They are surrounded by the Scapular of Mount Carmel, which is the sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On October, 13th, 1917, during the miracle o the sun, Our Lady showed herself in Fatima as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, according to Lucia’s words. The Latin words “Orbis Unus Orans” which accompany the logo mean “One world praying”. This is to say that a world that prays together will be a world united and in peace. If we fulfil the requests of Our Lady for prayer and penance, we will surely experience the fulfilment of her great promise: “An era of peace to humankind”. Celebrations May 13 in Fatima Last May 12 and 13, Mgr. Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided in Fatima, the anniversary international pilgrimage, under the theme Mother of the merciful love. In his homily he asked pilgrims to pray for peace and to work towards justice and dignity in the world, particularly in the Middle East. In large numbers, pilgrims from all parts of Portugal as well as from many different countries participated in these celebrations in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. Popes John XXIII and John Paul II canonized on April 27 Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Rome Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Rome The “Marian Day” at the Vatican, on October 12-13 was one of the great pontifical events marked down on the calendar of celebrations of the Year of Faith. It brought to Rome hundreds of movements and institutions connoted with Marian devotion, among which the World Apostolate of Fatima was represented with a delegation of people from various countries. Apparitions of the Angel FIRST APPARITION In the spring of 1916, three shepherd children, LUCIA DOS SANTOS, aged ten, JACINTA MARTO, aged seven, and her brother FRANCISCO MARTO, aged nine, saw an Angel while they were tending their family’s flock of sheep near their home, at a place called “Loca do Cabeço”. After having lunch and saying their prayers, the three little children saw a light above the trees that stretched away towards the east, whiter than snow, in the form of a young man, transparent, and brighter than crystal pierced by the rays of the sun. The Angel identified himself as the Angel of Peace and told the children to pray to Jesus and Mary, in saying the following words: “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!” SECOND APPARITION The second apparition of the Angel took place at the height of summer. The three little Shepherds spend the siesta hours in the shade of the trees when, suddenly, the same Angel appeared again with the message that prayer and sacrifice would bring peace to their country: “Pray! Pray very much! The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High. Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Angel Guardian, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission, the suffering which the Lord will send you”. These words impressed deeply the three children. They were like a light which made them understand who God is, his love, the value of sacrifice and the grace of conversion to sinners. From then on, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco began to offer to the Lord all that mortified them. THIRD APPARITION The third apparition of the Angel must have been in October or in the end of September. The three little Shepherds were praying the Rosary when the Angel appeared, holding a chalice in his hands, with a Hast above it from which some drops of Blood were falling into the sacred vessel. Leaving the Chalice and the Host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated himself on the ground and repeated three times the following prayer: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of his most sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners”. Then, rising, he once more took the chalice and the Host in his hands. He gave the Host to Lucia, and to Jacinta and Francisco he gave the Contents of the chalice to drink, saying as he did so: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Repair their crimes and console your God”. Once again, he prostrated himself on the ground and repeated with the little Shepherds three times more the same prayer “Most Holy Trinity…”. Then he disappeared. Apparitions of Our Lady May 13, 1917 The three children were tending their sheep in a place called “Cova da Iria” when a flash of lightning drew their attention to a Lady standing on the top of a small holm oak tree. She was all dressed in white and more brilliant than a crystal glass filled with sparkling water, when the rays of the burning sun shine through it. The Lady told them that she was from heaven and that she would appear there on six successive months, on the 13th day of each month at the same hour. Lucia asked our Lady if they would go to heaven and the Lady replied that all three of them would go to heaven, but that Francisco had to say many Rosaries. Then, Our Lady asked the children: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to god and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” When the three little Shepherds respond that they were willing to follow her request, she said: “Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort”. The Lady’s message for the children on that day was to pray the rosary every day during the war. Then she began to rise serenely, going towards the east, until she disappeared in the immensity of space. June 13, 1917 The children were again present with a number of other people and had finished praying the Rosary when the Lady, once again, appeared. She told Lucia should learn to read in order to fulfil her mission to do Jesus work on earth. When Lucia asked her if she would take them to heaven, Our Lady replied: “I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart”. She consoled Lucia with the thought that she would be forsaken and that the Lady’s Immaculate Heart would always be there for her. Then she opened Her hands and communicated to the little children some rays of light. The children saw themselves in this light, as it were, immersed in God. Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in that part of the light which rose towards heaven and Lucia in that which was poured out on the earth. In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart encircled by thorns which pierced it. It was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by sins of humanity, and seeking reparation. July 13, 1917 The word of the apparitions has caused a crowd to gather and about 4000 people were present when the Lady appeared with the words. The Lady promised to make known her identity and to perform a miracle for all to see in the future. She told the children: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifices: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. Then, she opened Her hands and gave the children a vision of hell which awaited unrepentant sinners. The three little shepherds saw a sea of fire and plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified the children and made them terrible fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision was captured, much later, by the celebrated artist Salvatore Dali in his famous painting “Vision of Hell”. The Lady told the children: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out”. She also said: “To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. At the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world”. Our Lady finished Her speech with the following request: “When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need”. Then she disappeared. August 19, 1917 The news of the apparitions had reached the civil authorities and the children were under arrest by the regional administrator. This was in the context of the banishment of the Catholic Church by the civil authorities and followed an intensive effort by the Church authorities to suppress the children’s story. At one point the children were threatened by the civil authorities with being boiled in oil if they did not recant. They refused and offered to suffer the proffered punishment. The children were released after August 13th, and on August 19th, they, once again, saw the Lady at a place called “Valinhos”. At this time, Our Lady promised to make a miracle in the last month, so that all may believe. She told the children to take the money being left in the “Cova da Iria” by the people and to build a chapel. They were also instructed to continue praying for the conversion of sinners with the following words: “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them”. September 13, 1917 A crowd of about 30.000 people had gathered. Many people tried to reach the children, throwing themselves on their knees and begging the little shepherds to place their petitions before Our Lady. During the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady appeared and left the following message: “Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October, Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolors and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only wear it during the daytime”. She also promised: “In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe”. October 13, 1917 An estimated crowd of 70.000 people gathered in a rainstorm for the promised apparition. Among the crowd were many who did not believe and the members of the secular press who were there to report on the event. During the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady appeared and made Herself known as the Lady of the Rosary. She instructed the children to pray the Rosary every day and to build there a chapel in Her honour. She also said: “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended”. Then, She opened her hands and made them reflect on the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself. During the miracle of the sun, many present fell in the mud and water, believing that the end of the world was taking place. Many later reported that despite being covered in mud, they were dry and free of mud when they arose. Rose petals fell from the sky only to dissipate upon being touched by those present. After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, the children beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When this apparition disappeared, the children saw Our Lord and Our Lady of Dolors. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This vision also vanished, making place for the vision of our Lady of Carmel. The Apparitions at Pontevedra and Tuy: Afterwards, when Lucia was a Religious Sister of Saint Dorothy, Our Lady appeared to her again in Spain, in the Convent of Pontevedra, on the 10th December 1925. By her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was a Child. The most holy Virgin rested her hand on Lucia’s 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 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 the most holy Virgin requested the devotion of the FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS. The request consisted in: praying the Rosary, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, confessing and receiving Holy Communion, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On February 15, 1926, the Infant Jesus appeared to Lucia again, asking her if she had already spread the devotion to his most holy Mother. Lucia placed before Jesus the difficulty that some people had about confessing on Saturday, and asked that it might be valid to go to Confession within eight days. Jesus answered: “Yes, and it could be longer still, provided that, when they receive Me, they are in the state of grace and have intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. Asked about those who forget to make this intention, Jesus replied: “They can do so at their next Confession, taking advantage of the first opportunity to go to Confession”. The last vision was granted to Sister Lucia on June 13, 1929 in the Convent of Tuy, Spain. Sister Lucia was alone in the Chapel, at night, praying the PRAYERS OF THE ANGEL when 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, the face of a man and his body as far as the waist could be seen. Upon his breast was a dove of light and nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, Sister Lucia saw 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”. Sister Lucia understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to her. It was at that time that Our Lady informed Lucia that the moment had come in which she wished Sister Lucia to make known to Holy Church her desire for the Consecration of Russia, and her promise to convert it. This request had been announced by the Apparition on 13 July 1917, in what is called the SECRET OF FATIMA. Fatima Prayers PRAYERS OF 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!» «Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You 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 indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners. » ________________________________________ PRAYERS TAUGHT BY OUR LADY Sister Lucia relates in the 4th Memoir that, on 13 July 1917, Our Lady recommended: «Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially when you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary» In the same apparition, Our Lady added: When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: «O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need» ________________________________________ CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we consecrate ourselves, in an act of total entrustment to the Lord. By You we will be led to Christ. By Him and with Him we will be led to the Father. We will walk in the light of faith, and we will do everything so that the world may believe that Jesus Christ is the One sent by the Father. With Him we wish to carry His Love and Salvation to the ends of the earth. Under the protection of your Immaculate Heart, we will be one People with Christ. We will be witnesses of His Resurrection. By Him we will be led to the Father, for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, Whom we adore, praise and bless forever. Ámen
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 13:27:53 +0000
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