Apparition of 13
July 1917
As the July date approached Lucia
continued to be troubled by the words of her pastor that the devil might be
behind the apparitions. Finally, she confided to Jacinta that she intended not
to go. When the day finally dawned, however, her fears and anxieties
disappeared, so that the noon hour found her in the Cova with Jacinta and
Francisco, awaiting the arrival of the beautiful Lady.
 The apparition of
July 13th would prove to be in many ways the most controversial aspect of the
message of Fátima, providing a secret in three parts which the children guarded
zealously. The first two parts, the vision of hell and the prophecy of the
future role of Russia and how to prevent it, would not be revealed until Sr.
Lucia wrote them down in her third memoir, at the request of the bishop, in
1941. The third part, usually called the Third Secret, was only later
communicated to the bishop, who sent it unread to Pope Pius XII.
Video
A few moments after
arriving at the Cova da Iria, near the holmoak, where a large number of people
were praying the Rosary, we saw the flah of light once more, and a moment later
Our Lady appeared on the holmoak.
"Lucia," Jacinta said, "speak. Our Lady is talking to
you.
"Yes?" said Lucia. She spoke humbly, asking pardon
for her doubts with every gesture, and to the Lady: "What do you want of me?"
I want you to come back here on the thirteenth of
next month. Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the
Rosary, to obtain the peace of the world and the end of the war, because only
she can obtain it.
"Yes, "yes."
 "I would like to ask who
you are, and if you will do a miracle so that everyone will know for certain
that you have appeared to us."
You must come here every month, and in October I will
tell you who I am and what I want. I will then perform a miracle so that all may
believe.
Thus assured, Lucia began to place before the Lady
the petitions for help that so many had entrusted to her. The Lady said gently
that she would cure some, but others she would not cure.
"And the crippled son of Maria da Capelinha?"
No, neither of his infirmity nor of his poverty would
he be cured, and he must be certain to say the Rosary with his family every day.
Another case recommended by Lucia to the Lady's
assistance was a sick woman from Atougia who asked to be taken to heaven.
Tell her not to be in a hurry. Tell her I know very
well when I shall come to fetch her."
Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often,
especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the
conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As Our lady spoke these words she opened her hands
once more, as had during the two previous months. The rays of light seemed to
penetrate the earth, and we saw as it were a sea of fire. 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, now raised
into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with
great clouds of smoke, now following back on every side like sparks in huge
fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and
despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (it must have been
this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me do). The
demons could be distinguished by their terrifying nad repellant likeness to
frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals.
terrified and as if to plead for succor, we 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. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the
world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls
will be saved, and there will be peace. This war will end, but if men do not
refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the
pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and
unknown light [this occurred on January 28, 1938], you will know it is the sign
God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war and with hunger, and
by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.
To prevent this, I shall come to the world to ask
that Russia be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, and I shall ask that on the
First Saturday of every month Communions of reparation be made in atonement for
the sins-of the world. If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and
there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the
world, bringing new wars and persecution of the Church; the good will be
martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer; certain nations will be
annihilated. But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father
will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and the world will
enjoy a period of peace. In Portugal the faith will always be preserved...
[Here belongs the part of the Secret of which
Cardinal Sodano spoke at the Mass of Beatification, and which the Congregation
for Doctrine of the Faith will publish, with commentary.] Remember, you must
not tell this to anyone except Francisco.
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.
"Is there anything more that you want of me?"
No, I do not want anything more of you today.
Then as before Our Lady began to ascend towards the
east, until she finally disappeared in the immense darkness of the firmament.
The possession of the Secret proved to be very great
trial for the three young ones. Family, neighbors, followers of the apparitions,
even the clergy, tried unsuccessfully to get them to reveal it. Finally, as the
day of the August apparition approached even the civil government, which was
secular and virulently anti-clerical, alarmed by the numbers of people taking an
interest in the Fátima events, attempted to wrest it from them and in the
process expose the Church as a collaborator in a fraud. |
No comments:
Post a Comment