In 1917, a series of divine apparitions happened in the small town of Fatima in Portugal.
The name of this humble place will forever be etched into the annals of spiritual history.
In the six months between May, when flowers were in bloom, and October, when the harvest was over, the Blessed Virgin Mary visited three young Portuguese souls: Lúcia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, and their blessed brothers.
Still, the Spanish flu sadly cut short their young lives, showing how fragile life is during times of widespread flu.
The First World War was going on at the same time as these celestial encounters. This was a time of unimaginable pain and loss, with millions of citizen and military deaths.
As the world was in chaos, Our Lady of Fatima begged people to turn to prayer and forgiveness, telling the faithful to pray the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world.
When she first appeared, the blessed figure held a Rosary lovingly, which was a sign of how important this devotion has always been.
Also, Our Lady asked people to love her pure heart and revealed a holy command called the “Five First Saturdays of Reparation.”
Believers were told by this holy commandment to do acts of penance, like Confession and Communion, on each of the first five Saturdays in a row, along with fervently praying the Rosary and thinking deeply about its secrets.
In exchange for her unwavering love, Our Lady promised to use her spiritual power to help people find salvation in their last moments.
Because of this, the apparitions at Fatima are both a sign of how strong faith can be and a source of hope and healing in a world full of trouble and uncertainty.
During the series of apparitions at Fatima, Our Lady made a serious request: before each decade of the Rosary, people should say this prayer: “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins.” Please save us from the hellish fires.
Bring all people to heaven, but especially those who need your help the most. During a powerful part of her manifestation in July 1917, she talked about how much God wants people to love her Immaculate Heart.
She did this by showing the children a terrifying picture of hell, which showed them what happens to people who refuse to change their minds.
The miraculous “miracle of the sun,” which was seen by about 30,000 people, was the highlight of the Fatima appearances on October 13, 1917.
In this strange event, the sun seemed to go against the rules of physics by appearing to separate from the sky and fall dangerously toward Earth.
As the celestial show went on, “Our Lady of the Rosary” kept pleading with people to pray the Rosary with devotion and never give up on spiritual salvation.
Let us remember the timeless call of Fatima as we celebrate this important occasion. It is a reminder of how important prayer and repentance are on our way to salvation.
Tens of thousands of religious people gathered at Portugal’s famous Fatima shrine on Sunday, praying for peace and finding comfort in the midst of the chaos in places like Ukraine and Gaza.
This yearly gathering, which includes pilgrims from India, Canada, Brazil, and the Ivory Coast, honors the first of three supposed appearances of the Virgin Mary, who is lovingly known as “Our Lady,” more than a hundred years ago.
Maria do Carmo, who was 67 years old, said something very moving in front of everyone: “War leads nowhere.” She waited with quiet resolve for the candlelight procession to start, which was the most moving part of the evening.
The woman passionately said, “We are also here to ask Our Lady to step in and end these conflicts,” echoing the group’s prayer for God to stop the fighting.
According to Roman Catholic doctrine, the Virgin Mary made a divine appearance to three young Portuguese children in 1917, within the humble confines of Fatima, a destitute farming village at the time.
It is believed that during these apparitions, she imparted to the children three profound messages, known as the secrets of Fatima.
In a momentous gesture of canonization, Pope Francis bestowed sainthood upon two of these shepherd children in 2017, affirming their revered status within the Church’s sacred annals.
For Jim Grimes, a 68-year-old pilgrim hailing from the United States, his inaugural visit to the Fatima shrine served as a momentous occasion for reflection amidst the global landscape marred by conflicts.
“We must encourage dialogue and tolerance among ourselves,” he said, stressing how important these steps are for changing the world. The number of deaths in the Israel-Gaza conflict is still shocking.
Over 35,000 people have died in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, according to local health officials. Israeli sources say that about 1,200 people died and 253 were captured in the October 7 attack that started the war.
The constant Israeli airstrikes have destroyed the coastal enclave, making a humanitarian disaster that was already very bad even worse.
When the pilgrims got together, there was a touching show of unity when some waved Ukrainian flags to show their unwavering support after Russia’s attack in February 2022. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been forced to leave their homes because of this brutal invasion.
David Garcia, a 42-year-old pilgrim sitting next to his wife and two kids, said, “No one welcomes the scourge of war… yet, unfortunately, it persists.” “In these tumultuous times, unity is paramount; the world urgently requires our collective prayers.”
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