The Great Promise of Our Lady of Fatima

    The Great Promise of Our Lady of Fatima

 

 

Our Lady appeared at Fatima in 1917  to three little children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, to warn the world, but also to bring a message of hope: “Finally my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

Picture taken in Coimbra, Portugal, Sister Lucia’s Memorial Museum

In 1925  Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia, rested one hand on Lucia’s shoulder, while in the other hand she held a heart surrounded with thorns. Then Our Lady said to Lucia:

“Look, my daughter, at my Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at 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 for five consecutive months,

1. go to Confession,
2. receive the Holy Communion
3. recite five decades of the Rosary
4. keep me a company for 15 minutes while meditating of the mysteries of the Rosary, with intention of making reparation.”

This is how the Five First Saturday devotion came about. Our Heavenly Mother gave it to Sister Lucia, encouraging the faithful to pray the Rosary more and more, meditating on it and receiving the Sacraments of the Confession and the Eucharist.

Let’s not forget that Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus are hurt every single moment by countless sins. 

We encourage you to start this devotion, it is fine and purifying for our soul, and it helps to console Our Heavenly Mother. 

Remember this divine formula: 5 First Saturdays= Confession+ Mass & Eucharist +Rosary & 15.min Meditation+Intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Year we especially remember Our Lady’s visit in Fatima

As we celebrate this special Indulgence year of 100^th anniversary of Fatima apparitions, we wish to outline some initiatives for you in honour of Our Lady:

• Please do everything you can to start and to promote Five First Saturday devotion in your parish. Our Lady promised to assist in the hour of death to all those who would take up this devotion (see leaflet attached)
• This year we officially launched “The School of Mary” educational package for primary school teachers and parents. We are currently raising much needed funds to be able to send a package to each school in Ireland. We would like to encourage you to obtain a copy of 10 in 1 material (best price guaranteed) to give it to your teacher/ pastor. For more info visit https://thecalltofatima.com/Fatima-School-of-Mary-package-for-teachers-and-parents-10-in-1-p84438444   
• Please pray for our work as “The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest.” [Lk 10:2]

The Secrets of Fatima from Sr Lucia and Interpreted by the Church

           The Secrets of Fatima    

      From Sr Lucia and Interpreted by the Church

 The one terrible memory we have when scripting the film for “The Call to Fatima – The Story”, was the childrens vision of hell in Fatima on the 13^th July 1917. All three saw where the souls of poor sinners perish. Our Lady told the children why they have been exposed to this moment: “in order to save souls”—to show the way to salvation. The words of the First Letter of Peter come to mind: “As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1:9). In 1917 no one could have imagined what the three children of Fatima saw. Lucia, the surviving witness, commits it all to paper when ordered to do so by the Bishop of Leiria and with Our Lady’s permission.

Sister Lucia recalls the First and Second Part of the Secrets. The first part of her account is the vision of hell and the second part reveals that the first world war will soon end, but a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI  if the Consecration of Russia and the Communion of reparation of the First Saturday devotions are ignored . Here is Sr Lucia’s full account of the first two secrets of Fatima. 1st Secret – The children are shown hell “Well, the secret is made up of three distinct parts, two of which I am now going to reveal. “Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration (inferno), 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 a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition (13th May 1917) , to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror”. “We then looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and so sadly”: 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”. 2nd Secret:  World War I and World War II “The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. 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 Saturday. 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 persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world”.      Third Secret of Fatima described by Sister Lucia The meeting between Sister Lucia, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sent by Pope John Paul II, and Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, took place on Thursday, 27 April 2000, in the Carmel of Saint Teresa in Coimbra. Sister Lucia was lucid and at ease; she was very happy that Pope John Paul II was going to Fatima on the 13th May 2000 for the Beatification of Francisco and Jacinta, something she had looked forward to for a long time. The Bishop of Leiria-Fatima read the autograph letter of the Holy Father, which explained the reasons for the visit. Sister Lucia felt honoured by this and reread the letter herself, contemplating it in her hands. She said that she was prepared to answer all questions frankly. At this point, Archbishop Bertone presented two envelopes to her: the first containing the second, which held the third part of the “secret” of Fatima. Immediately, touching it with her fingers, she said: “This is my letter”, and then while reading it: “This is my writing”. Here is what she wrote by order of His Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and the Most Holy Mother …” on 3 January 1944. Angel with the flaming sword “After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’. Two Angels gathering up the blood of the Martyrs And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it’ a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God”.    The Church must interpret the “secrets” of Fatima  Sister Lucia pointed out that she had received the vision but not its interpretation. The interpretation, she said, belonged not to the visionary but to the Church. After reading the text, however, she said that this interpretation corresponded to what she had seen and that on her part she thought the interpretation correct. In what follows, therefore, we can only attempt to provide a deeper foundation for this interpretation from the Church authorities. The decision of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to make public the third part of the “secret” of Fatima brought to an end a period of history marked by tragic human lust for power and evil, yet pervaded by the merciful love of God and the watchful care of the Mother of Jesus and of the Church.  Our Lady, who appeared at Fatima, recalls these forgotten values. Our Lady reminds us that man’s future is in God, and that we are all active and responsible in creating that future. Sr Lucia’s book “Calls from the Message of Fatima” focuses on the key central messages of Fatima and is a good place to start to restore back those values we lost. The Church focus on key words   “To save souls” has emerged as the key word of the first and second parts of the “secret”, and the key word of the third part of the secret is the threefold cry: “Penance, Penance, Penance!” The beginning of the Gospel comes to mind: “Repent and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). To understand the signs of the times means to accept the urgency of penance – of conversion – of faith.  Sister Lucia said that ever more clearly to her, that the purpose of all the Fatima apparitions was to help people to grow more and more in Faith, Hope and Love—everything else was intended to lead to this. The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy i.e. New York, Madrid, Paris, and the Middle East crises, Africa, Belgium: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword. The vision then shows the power which stands opposed to the force of destruction—the splendour of the Mother of God and stemming from this in a certain way, the summons to do penance. When Joseph Card. Ratzinger was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he shared another important aspect on the secrets. “I would like finally to mention another key expression of the “secret” which has become justly famous: “My Immaculate Heart will Triumph”. What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Saviour into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise”.  The Jubilee Year of Mercy during the 100th Fatima Anniversary If ever a time was needed for mankind to repent and repair their lives, it is during this Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016. We invite those in faith to help those who are spiritually lost and guide them back to the church in faith, hope and love. During the Irish Famine, people stayed loyal to the Mass, clutching their rosary beads to sustain them during their suffering. In comparison today, many Catholics ignore Sunday Mass as they clutch mobiles, laptops and remote controls. In times of great trials to come, those who go to Mass every Sunday say the daily Rosary, practice the Five First Saturday and Divine Mercy devotions will receive many graces. For those who do not, we are reminded of the story in the gospel of those looking for oil for their lamp from those who wait outside for the gates of Heaven to open. The ‘oil’ in that story is a metaphor for ‘love’.  All love must come from ones heart in Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of these is love, according to St Paul. Jesus confirms, “If you love me you will keep my commandments”.  Sr Lucia confirms that from her book “Calls”, that the central Fatima message are the last words by Our Lady in Fatima on the 13th October 1917, “Do not offend the Lord God anymore, because He is already so much offended”.

In answer to the call by Pope Francis, The Call to Fatima team is available to give parish presentation on Fatima in 2016. Sr Lucia’s books / DVD’s are also available srluciacalltofatima@gmail.com  or by phone + 353-87-2229135 Blog www.thecalltofatima.wordpress.com

 

The ‘Urgency of the Hour’ during the Jubilee Year of Mercy

The ‘Urgency of the Hour’ during the Jubilee Year of Mercy

Last month’s article in the Catholic Voice sparked a chain of support from members of the Legion of Mary, Alliance of the Two Hearts and many others wanting to help to spread more intensely the Fatima message during 2016 / 2017. One lady from Northern Ireland sponsored our Five First Saturday ad in the Fermanagh Herald. Other newspapers contacted us seeking to put the Five First Saturday ad in seven leading local newspapers around the country. At times like this, we wish we knew somebody who won the lotto. On the 13^th February 2016, we received an email from Sr Lucia’s private doctor, Dr Branca Paul from Coimbra in Portugal and she says: “Please keep going with all your hearts doing your best, working in “GOD´S FARM”. We have to be patient and persevere in our lives”. With this encouragement, we wish to share some more insight into the writings left behind by Servant of God Sr Lucia.

13^th February 2005

On this date 11 years ago, Sr Lucia passed away to her eternal reward. Dr Branca Paul and the Carmel sisters in Coimbra Portugal asked us after her death to double the efforts to spread the Five First Saturday and daily Rosary devotions. Servant of God Sr Lucia stated, “Whether the world has war or peace depends on the practice of this devotion, along with the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why I desire its propagation so ardently, especially because this is also the will of our dear Mother in Heaven.”.

Six years ago, we both personally witnessed Pope Benedict XVI on the 13^th May 2010 in Fatima praying before the statue of Our Lady and making the following request “May the seven years which separate us from the Centenary of the Apparitions hasten the expected Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Glory of the Most Holy Trinity”. Are we witnessing the fruits of the Holy Father’s prayer unfolding before us, when on the 12^th February 2016,  after 1000 years, Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church met for the first time in Cuba to open the way for unity and world peace?

No matter what happens in the future, Our Lady still requires our corporation and is ready to assist us in this great battle for souls. Our Lady is inviting each one of us to enter with joy and immense hope into the secure refuge of Her Immaculate Heart and promising us that in the end Her Immaculate Heart of Mary will Triumph. The Rosary and the Five First Saturday devotions are all interlinked to help expediate the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

Five First Saturday Devotion

Why did Our Lady ask for the Five First Saturday devotion? Our Blessed Lord answered that question when He appeared to Sr. Lucia. He explained that it was because of the five offenses and blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, namely:

(1) blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception,

(2) against her perpetual virginity,

(3) against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary,

(4) blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonouring of her images, and

(5) the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother.

Our Lady of Fatima requested the daily Rosary and Five First Saturday devotion. “If what I ask is done, many souls will be saved.” Since Her request is largely ignored, we continue to witness many wars and persecutions of the Church, including the Holy Father. The good are being martyred and various nations are annihilated. (The daily Rosary and the Five First Saturday devotion bring graces for the individuals, families, Bishops and Priests, religious and for each nation).

The role of the Priest and the Laity 

The key elements of the Five First Saturday devotion are captured with the story of the child Jesus appearing to Sr Lucia only emphasises the urgency of the Five First Saturday devotion for our time. What makes this devotion so beautiful is that Our Lady invites her beloved priests to promote it in the parish. Without the priests, three components of this devotion cannot take place namely: Confession, Mass and Holy Communion. Our Lady wisely incorporated the priests in this grace filled devotion to protect Her flock, just like Our Lady did over 2000 years ago for the first apostles.

Five First Saturday Devotion role of the priest is to:    

1. Hear Confession: The confession can be made eight days before or after the First Saturday, provided that Holy Communion is received in the state of grace and that it should be offered in reparation.
2. Offer Mass and Holy Communion: Before receiving Holy Communion, it is likewise necessary to offer the Mass in reparation to Our Lady.

Five First Saturday Devotion role of the laity is to:

1. Go to confession, attend Mass, receive Holy Communion and recite the Holy Rosary and to do 15-minute meditation:-To comply with the request of Our Blessed Mother, it must be offered in reparation and said properly while meditating. Also offered in reparation, the meditation may embrace one or more mysteries; it may include all, taken together or separately. This meditation should be the richest of any meditation, because Our Lady promised to be present when she said “…those who keep me company….”.

To those who faithfully follow Our Lady’s requests for the Five First Saturdays, she has made a wonderful promise: “I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation.”.

After completing the Five First Saturdays, one may continue the devotion simply to console the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady. A tender love of Our Blessed Mother will lead one to do all he/she can to make reparation for the sins which pierce Her Immaculate Heart.

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The Daily Rosary  

For six months from May to October, on the 13^th day in 1917, the Virgin Mary invited us to recite the daily Rosary, in which the three children would be made humble witnesses to the heart of God in a long-suffering World War I at that time.

The life of Sr Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, the little shepherds of Fatima, is a love story of grace and mercy from Heaven to all of humanity. The heavenly peace plan for the world was given to three children to spread the power and beauty of the Most Holy Rosary.

The Carmel Nuns in Coimbra recently shared the following insight with us.“The spontaneous reply by Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in 1917, which ‘the Lady welcomed as the first fruits of Her Message, that is confirmed by the Virgin with an immense light that penetrated the innermost parts of the three children, making them see themselves in this light that was God. This light, in which they receive in June 1917 will also prepared them to receive the secret that was revealed in July 1917: in a succession of images unveiled by the Lady, the children understood that God is not indifferent to our human history; that sin is indifferent to the heart of God; that God’s heart is still merciful and is always in search of humanity entangled in their terrible events.”

One hundred years later pilgrims come to Fatima in hope and turn their gaze to Our Lady of the Rosary. This is, and should be the refuge of millions of human suffering. Today the world continues to rage wars and there is the gigantic struggle of good against evil. This is how the 20^th century came to be known.

Those of us who are open to receive the light from the heart of God are invited by Our Lady to join in the daily Rosary, the Five First Saturday devotion and by offering their sacrifice in reparation of sin. What each nation needs in the 21^st century is God’s Grace and Mercy.

Pope Francis and the ‘Urgency of the Hour’  

We  recall in the Holy Scriptures how Jonah was sent to Nineveh to preach a warning and a message of repentance to the very sinful people of that city, boldly preaching “Forty days and the great city of Nineveh will be destroyed”. To their great credit, together the Ninevites fasted and repented of their sins and “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not carry it out”. [Jonah 3: 1-10]

For our time, Pope Francis has issued from (8^th December 2015 to 20^th November 2016) the Jubilee Year of Mercy for the whole world. This special occasion is normally celebrated every 25 years in order to allow each generation to experience at least one during their lifetime. This time the special year was called nine years earlier than required indicating ‘the urgency of the hour’ for the Mercy of God. After being elected Pope, Francis said “Mercy is the best thing we can feel; it changes the world.” In this regard, Pope Francis is following the path of Jonah, asking us all to repent, repair our lives and do penance. One of the central messages of Fatima according to Servant of God Sr Lucia is summarised in the last words of Our Lady in Fatima on 13^th October 1917, “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended”.

Like the Ninevites, all nations need to contemplate the mystery of mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives. Pope Francis suggests for the Jubilee Year to invocate Jesus with a short prayer “Merciful Jesus, I trust in You.” or “Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner”.

Pope Francis has also granted the Jubilee Indulgence for those who do corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisioned, bury the dead, and also those who do spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill and pray for the living and the dead.

St Faustina:

Taken from her diary, Saint Faustina reminds us what God wants for our time.  To Saint Faustina Kowalska Jesus told her: “In the Old Covenant I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My Mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish suffering mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy”. (#1588)…..“I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation” [Diary of St. Faustina, # 1160]

An open invitation

We encourage Irish Bishops, Priests and various religious groups like the Legion of Mary, Alliance of The Two Hearts, World Fatima Apostolate and Marian Movement of Priests to double their efforts to spread the Five First Saturdays and daily rosary devotions during the Jubilee Year of Mercy / 100^th anniversary of Fatima in 2016 / 2017. We invite the laity to promote and display the Five First Saturday devotion in their community, so that God’s graces and mercy is more widely known and loved.

In answer to the call by Pope Francis, The Call to Fatima team is available to give parish presentation on Fatima in 2016. Sr Lucia’s books / DVD’s are also available srluciacalltofatima@gmail.com or by phone + 353-87-2229135 Blog www.thecalltofatima.wordpress.com

 

The 100th Anniversary of Fatima and the Jubilee Year of Mercy

The 100^th Anniversary of Fatima and the

                       Jubilee Year of Mercy

 

In the 1940’s Servant of God Sister Lucia’s memoirs were published and for the first time more was known about the apparitions of the Angel to the three little children – Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in Spring, Summer and Autumn of 1916 and the visitation of the Most Holy Trinity to Lucia in 1929. Let us remind you what took place in 1916 in Fatima.

The Angels Visit 1916

The Angel’s first words to the three children in Spring 1916 were: “Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.” He then taught them the following prayer: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You!  I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love you.”

While the children were playing at the well in Lucia’s parents garden during the summer of 1916, the Angel came a second time. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Pray, pray very much! The most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.” Lucia then asked how they were to make sacrifices.

“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.”

On the third visit of the Angel in Autumn 1916, he was holding a chalice in his left hand, with the Host suspended above it, from which some drops of blood fell into the chalice. Leaving the Chalice suspended in the air, the Angel knelt down beside the children and made them repeat 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 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.”

Then, rising, he took the Chalice and the Host in his hands. He gave the Sacred Host to Lucia, and shared the Blood from the chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”

That prayer to the Most Holy Trinity is certainly very beautiful and powerful. We could say now that it would seem to have been taught for our times, when the tabernacle in some churches are surrounded today by emptiness and indifference and many carry on as if Jesus were not present with all the chatter taking place in front of the tabernacle. The Angel teaches us through the three children to go grow in the spiritual life of our soul, so that we too can live a life of faith, hope and love.

We observe many communions are received with no regard for confession and one wonders how many sacrileges are perpetrated! How great this wound which has surely contaminated the whole Church and paralyses it, halts it, and makes it impure and so very sick!

The great battle for souls to be saved

One hundred years after the Angels visit in Fatima, humanity in 2016 is mounting a greater denial and rebellion against God. The tolerance of Catholics to disobey the Ten Commandments and choosing to sin is driving many Catholics away from the church including some religious. The Sacrament of Confession and the neglect of family prayer (The family Rosary) are replaced for the quest for pleasures. Television has now replaced the Family Rosary for most Catholic countries. The pride of the social media gloat about their successful relentless campaign to create the environment for mortal sin to flourish under the so called ‘new freedoms and rights’ such as divorce, abortion and homosexuality, made into law around the world.

Year of Mercy 2016

As a young family we have warmly welcomed The Jubilee Year of Mercy by Pope Francis which began on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (8^th December) and will run until the Solemnity of Christ the King (20^th November 2016). A jubilee refers to a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. The last jubilee was held in the year 2000.  Pope Francis opened the door of mercy for the whole church to enter into to seek forgiveness from God, who always forgives and we as sinners must be open to receive God’s grace and mercy.

In Ireland, The Most Holy Trinity is the supreme authority in the Irish Constitution. The Irish people honour The Trinity by obeying His laws. The Irish people revile The Trinity when we turn our back on Him by creating laws against the Ten Commandments. The Servant of God Sr Lucia explains for us in her memoirs “Fatima in Lucia’s own words” the vision of the Most Holy Trinity that she saw on the 13^th June 1929.

“ 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 also of light and 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: ‘Graces, Mercy.’

 

This is surely a great mystery which Sr Lucia ponders for many years in her cell in Coimbra, Portugal. In her last book “Calls from the Message of Fatima,” she refers to the Most Holy Trinity as the ninth call of the Fatima message. “We are dealing with a mystery that only in Heaven will we be able to comprehend perfectly” she states

Wherever the Son is, there too the Father and the Holy Spirit are always present. Just as, in the glory of heaven, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, in intimate union with the Holy Spirit, so also when, at the bidding of the priest, He becomes present in the Eucharist and is placed in the safekeeping of the tabernacle, surrounded by Mary’s motherly Heart; close to the Son there is always the real presence of the Father and the real presence of the Holy Spirit; there is always present the Divine and Most Holy Trinity. Mary’s Immaculate Heart is for her Son, a living, beating, motherly tabernacle of love, of adoration, of thanksgiving and of unceasing reparation. In fact this is the very thing that the Irish Constitution is set out to do – to keep our vision in line with the preamble of an everlasting family union with the Most Holy Trinity. The Irish people have truly offended the Most Holy Trinity by introducing laws against the Ten Commandments.

A time for the Irish Nation to seek forgiveness

Sr Lucia reminds us again in the book ‘Calls’. “Yes, because it was out of love that God sent us this pressing call from His mercy, in order to help us along the way of our salvation”. In order to understand forgiveness, the Irish people must understand clearly how as a Nation we offend God and one another?

Sr Lucia addresses this question very well for us in her writings, “It may possibly occur to someone to ask me: What have the Ten Commandments got to do with the message of Fatima? I answer that they have a great deal to do with it: they are among the chief aims of the Message”. Our Lady ended the series of her apparition’s in Fatima in 1917 with these words: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended”. There can be no doubt that what offends God the most is the breaking of his law”.

Is it any wonder why Servant of God Sr Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart placed the Ten Commandments as one of the chief messages of Fatima in her book “Calls”. In fact Sr Lucia allocates forty six pages to explaining the Ten Commandments, thirty two pages on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary and one hundred and forty two pages covering such aspects as faith, hope, love, forgiveness, prayer, sacrifice, Eucharist, Most Holy Trinity, Heaven,  holiness, family life, and adoration. Some practising Catholics would call these the basics of our faith and yet somehow, Satan has removed the basic teaching of the Catholic Church from our conscience. Jesus Christ states very clearly in scripture “If you love me, you will keep my Commandments” and one offends God when breaking His laws of love.

The constant attack built up against the Ten Commandments brought with it the evil vices of impurity, divorce, abortion, abusive drugs, drink, embryo research, same sex marriage, child pornography, prostitution, teen sex, crime, suicide and innocent people losing their lives and destroying families and society in general.  The Irish people need to seek forgiveness.

Five First Saturday and the Year of Mercy

In parallel to the breaking of the Ten Commandments, the poor attendance of weekly Sunday Mass combined with confession has all but disappeared. Our Lady of Fatima asked Sr Lucia to spread the Five First Saturday devotion which required Catholics to confess and receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and to spend fifteen minutes meditating on the  mysteries with the intention making reparation to Our Lady. Servant of God Sr Lucia wanted more Bishops and Priests to encourage the faithful to practice the Five First Saturday devotion for special graces. In fact the Child Jesus visited Sr Lucia to remind us to do what Our Lady requested. See full page ad for Sr Lucia account of this story.

Our Lady in Fatima has asked us to multiply the devotion to the Five First Saturdays everywhere. The Irish Nation must be humble enough to seek the protection of the Her Immaculate Heart by reciting the daily Rosary and carry out the Five First Saturday devotion during this Jubilee Year of Mercy and through the Holy Spirit will bring us closer to the second Pentecost as foretold in Gospel.

The Call to Fatima Invitation for 2016

The Call to Fatima invite all lay Catholic groups to display the Five First Saturday ad in the parish church during the Jubilee Year of Mercy.and invite Bishops and Priests to support this devotion.  Many groups like Precious Life who continue to protect human life need many graces from Heaven to succeed in their work. Similarly, those fighting to protect the 8 amendment in the Irish Constitution also need great graces to protect the family. The Five First Saturday devotion is a further reminder during the Year of Mercy to encourage you to “lead all souls to Heaven”,

The Call to Fatima is available to give parish presentation on Fatima in 2016 and we can be reached by email: srluciacalltofatima@gmail.com or by phone + 353-87-2229135 Blog www.thecalltofatima.wordpress.com

 

 

 

O Jesus, it is for Your love, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins done against the Immaculate Heart of Mary

WRAPPED IN THE LOVE OF GOD FOR THE WORLD

The theme of the shrine of Fatima for the pastoral year 2013/14 is taken from the recommendation of Our Lady to the children, advising them that they could always offer Prayers and sacrifices and say: ‘O Jesus, it is for Your love, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins done against the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. This is a wonderful Theme that implies an understanding of the great mystery of love that He has for us and our love in return for this desire so not to deny the One who give us everything so we lack nothing.

It is for your Love. Who meditates on the love of Jesus the Redeemer, Good Shepherd, Good Samaritan, Friend of sinners, who loves us without end, and of the Cross is ultimate proof of this love for us. We cannot help but want to give back as much love, praise, reparation, and suffering, meditating on the love that Jesus has given us so that we will blossom into a desire to love him more and better. Everything is of love for him: prayer, suffering, work, penance, for our entire life, every second. We are a “living sacrifice” offered with Christ through love, since it was the love of Him that saved us as we tried to love Him and to love the world with that same love, being contributors in redemption.

The conversion of sinners. The first request proposed by Our Lady is the conversion of sinners. The love of Jesus is offered to achieve the grace of the conversion of sinners. Everyone who is baptized has this responsibility: to be with Christ the Redeemer, collaborating in the conversion of sinners, offer everything so that the world may be saved and find the love of Jesus, His Word and His Truth. The sin that exists in the world needs reparation which is another name for love. Sinners are in need of conversion and only love, life offered in love can help them convert. Everyone is responsible for this development, working together for this challenge.

In reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This Lady is our Mother We must make reparation for the sins that offend and hurt. We have to console. There are lots of profanity, insults, profanity on the name of the Virgin Mary, many denials of Her virtue, of Her Immaculate Conception, Her virginity. There are many offenses against Her heart, against Her pictures, against Her love and Her mission. Reparation is trying to love this Lady and Her Heart for those who do not love Her and who offend Her. This Mother deserves all the love in the hearts of Her sons and daughters. We pray for this love for those who do not love and who do not pray to Her and keep Her company by making this obligation.

Father Dário P. Pedroso, SJ

Quote from Sister Lucia

“Putting up with any sacrifices that are asked of us in our day-to-day lives becomes a slow martyrdom which purifies us and raises us up to the level of the supernatural, through the encounter of our soul with God, in the atmosphere of the presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us. We have here an incomparable spiritual richness!”                                                                                                                (Sister Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart)

 

Extract from Sister Lucia’s book “Calls from the Message of Fatima”

Extract from Sister Lucia’s book “Calls from the Message of Fatima”, page 129-130

Our Lady then asked the three children the following question: “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?” To which I replied in the name of all three:”Yes, we are willing!”   At the time, this reply was given spontaneously and in ignorance, because I had not the remotest idea what it really meant nor what its full implications were. But I never regretted it; on the contrary I renew it every day, asking God for the grace and strength that I need to keep it faithfully until the end.

Easter Joy

Jesus Christ is Risen, Alleluja!  

      Easter Joy

Jesus came to earth,
To show us how to live,
How to put others first,
How to love and how to give.

Then He set about His work,
That God sent Him to do;
He took our punishment on Himself;
He made us clean and new.

He could have saved Himself,
Calling angels from above,
But He chose to pay our price for sin;
He paid it out of love.

 Our Lord died on Good Friday,
  But the cross did not destroy
  His resurrection on Easter morn
  That fills our hearts with joy.

  Now we know our earthly death,
  Like His, is just a rest.
  We’ll be forever with Him
  In heaven, where life is best.

 So we live our lives for Jesus,
 Think of Him in all we do.
 Thank you Saviour; Thank you Lord.
 Help us love like you!

                                                     (Joanna Fuchs)

Spiritual exercises for lent: Day 40

Spiritual Exercises for lent: Day 40

It is a time to invest in new religious material i.e.  the Bible, Catholic Magazine or Newspaper, Catechism book, Biography of Saints, Rosary beads or statue.