FATIMA - Cardinal Bertone talks about the third secret of Fatima

Cardinal Bertone talks about the third secret of Fatima

• Andrea Gagliarducci
  May 13, 2017
  CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

The “third secret of Fatima” refers to a message during the apparitions predicting suffering and persecution of the Pope and the Church. Unlike the first two secrets – a vision of hell and a prediction of World War II – the third secret was not initially revealed by Sister Lucia, one of the three children Mary visited in 1917.

FATIMA, Portugal - The third secret of Fatima deals with past events, but at the same time its call to conversion is always current, always up to date, said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who formerly served as the Vatican Secretary of State.
In an interview with CNA, Cardinal Bertone spoke about the third secret of Fatima, how the decision to release the secret was made, and his memories of his three meetings with Sister Lucia, the longest-living of the three shepherd children who had been the custodian of the secret until it was released by the Vatican at the request of Pope John Paul II.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s appearance to three shepherd children in 1917. Pope Francis is on a two-day pilgrimage to Fatima to celebrate the centenary and to canonize two of the children, Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

The “third secret of Fatima” refers to a message during the apparitions predicting suffering and persecution of the Pope and the Church. Unlike the first two secrets - a vision of hell and a prediction of World War II - the third secret was not initially revealed by Lucia. 

At first, she said that Mary had not yet permitted her to reveal it to the world. Later, the Vatican chose to keep it secret until 2000, when it was finally revealed.

The Fatima apparitions “confirm some encouraging news,” Bertone said, “that the Mother of the Son of God Incarnated and Our Mother does not abandon humanity in the course of history. She is present, and watches over humanity as the spokesperson and guarantor of God’s Mercy. She is the mediator of salvation.”

On his way to Portugal for his 2010 apostolic trip, the cardinal noted, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that in addition to referencing the suffering of John Paul II, the third secret points to realities involving the future of the Church, “which are gradually taking shape and becoming evident.”

That means, he added, that “the vision implies the need for a passion of the Church, which naturally is reflected in the person of the Pope, yet the Pope stands for the Church and thus it is sufferings of the Church that are announced. The Lord told us that the Church would constantly be suffering, in different ways, until the end of the world.”

Bertone pointed to the theological commentary released by Cardinal Ratzinger at the time of the third secret’s release.

Ratzinger said: “In the vision we can recognize the last century as a century of martyrs, a century of suffering and persecution for the Church, a century of World Wars and the many local wars which filled the last fifty years and have inflicted unprecedented forms of cruelty.
“In the ‘mirror’ of this vision we see passing before us the witnesses of the faith decade by decade,” he added.

“In one sense he (Ratzinger) says that the events described in the third secret are now past,” Bertone said. “At the same time, the heart of Fatima’s appeal deals with conversion. That is, the conversion of the faithful and the path of the Church towards fidelity. Sister Lucia really cared about accomplishing what she calls the ‘mandamiento de Maria,’ the commandment of Mary. Just as there is the Lord Jesus’ commandment, ‘Love one another as I loved you,’ there is also Mary’s commandment, ‘Do whatever he tells you’.”

Bertone said that the decision to release the third secret of Fatima was made in order to avoid the “apocalyptic interpretation” that was spreading more and more at the end of the millennium.

He said that the decision was made directly by John Paul, after a meeting that gathered Ratzinger, then the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State; Bertone, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, deputy to the Secretariat of State; and Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, personal secretary of the Pope.

John Paul then assigned Bertone, in his capacity of Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to go and meet Lucia and ask whether the text of the secret secured in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was authentic.
During his time as secretary, he met her three times: April 27, 2000, November 17, 2001, and December 9, 2003.

Bertone shared with CNA that Lucia was “a bright, very nice, serene, peaceful and calm person. She was a confident person who had to keep a great secret and was called to communicate important messages to humanity.”

The cardinal also shared details about his last meeting with Lucia. He said that one of the main topics of their last conversation was about the meeting Lucia had on July 11, 1977 with Cardinal Albino Luciani, then Patriarch of Venice.
Luciani would be elected Pope John Paul I on Aug. 26, 1978, and his papacy would last only 33 days. Many reports said that Cardinal Luciani was shocked by the meeting he had with Lucia, since she would allegedly predict both his election as a pontiff and his very short pontificate.

In fact, Luciani had drafted a report of his meeting, and Bertone had brought this report with him, in a translation in Portuguese that Lucia had requested.
Bertone recounted: “She carefully read the report, and then confirmed every word and signed it at the very end. I then asked a precise question: ‘Did you predict Cardinal Luciani’s election as Pope?’ She answered, with these very words: ‘I do not remember if I told him he was going to be elected Pope. I told my religious community that I had met a good cardinal, a holy cardinal, and that if he was elected Pope, he was going to be a good Pope’.”
Bertone added that the discussion between Luciani and Lucia dealt with the decline of faith in the Church and other general problems of the Church.

The cardinal also recalled that Lucia said the Virgin was satisfied by the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

During the apparitions, Our Lady of Fatima asked that the Pope consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a special mention of Russia, in union with the bishops of the whole world.

Both Pius XII and John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, although there was not an explicit mention to Russia itself - a detail that brought many to suggest that in fact the consecration had not fulfilled Our Lady’s request.
Bertone underscored that the choice not to mention Russia directly was made “for ecumenical reasons” and out of “respect for the Russian Orthodox Church,” but he also stressed that the references to it are very clear. In particular, he recalled Pius XII’s 1952 Apostolic Letter Sacro Vergente Anno, which clearly speaks about the “consecration of the people of Russia.”

 https://cruxnow.com/pope-in-fatima/2017/05/13/cardinal-bertone-talks-third-secret-fatima/
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FATIMA - Francis Says That He Is the “Bishop Dressed in White”

FATIMA

Francis Says That He Is the
“Bishop Dressed in White”

by Christopher A. Ferrara
May 12, 2017

Tomorrow, at Fatima, Pope Francis will canonize Jacinta and Francisco, further enshrining the Fatima event in the life of the Church by raising two of three Fatima seers to the altars. In yet another twist to the labyrinthine mystery of the Third Secret, however, the prayer he will recite at the Fatima shrine contains this astonishing declaration:

"Hail Mother of Mercy, Lady of the white robe! At this place where one hundred years ago you showed all the designs of our God's mercy, I look upon your robe of light and, as bishop dressed in white [como bispo vestido de branco], I remember all those who, robed in baptismal white, want to live in God and pray the mysteries of Christ to attain peace."

Pope Bergoglio's self-description as a "bishop dressed in white" clearly evokes the vision pertaining to the Third Secret, published on June 26, 2000, whose textual description, recorded by Sister Lucia, includes the following: "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'."
This is surely no coincidence, but rather an intended allusion. For Pope Bergoglio's reference to white baptismal robes is not particularly relevant to the occasion tomorrow. Rather, it seems designed to set up a reference to himself as a bishop dressed in white.
This raises a curious point concerning what Sister Lucia recorded. Why did she write concerning the mysterious "Bishop dressed in White" that "we had the impression that it was the Holy Father"? Why only an "impression"? Did not Our Lady inform the seers exactly who the white-clad bishop was? After all, She was perfectly clear about every other detail of the Message of Fatima, including the very name of the Pope (Pius XI) who would be reigning when World War II began. Why would Our Lady identify by name the Pope who would reign at the outset of World War II, but fail to identify the white-clad bishop executed by a band of soldiers outside the devastated city, leaving the seers with only an "impression" that it is the Holy Father?

Or is it the Holy Father? Are the white-clad bishop and the Holy Father one and the same person or are they two different people? Bear in mind that, for the first time in Church history, there are indeed two "bishops dressed in white" living in the Vatican enclave, both of whom are known by papal names, one of whom refers to himself, and is referred to by Pope Bergoglio, as "Pope Emeritus."

What are we to make of the fact that Pope Bergoglio has apparently placed himself into the post-apocalyptic scenario depicted in the vision, there being no other plausible explanation for why, at Fatima of all places, he would describe himself with the exact phrase employed in the Third Secret vision?
Moreover, if Pope Bergoglio sees himself as the "Bishop dressed in White," has he not in his own way joined Pope Benedict in discarding Cardinal Sodano's ridiculous "interpretation" that the white-clad bishop being executed by soldiers is John Paul II not being executed by a lone assassin?
 Does he have reason to believe that he is the white-clad bishop who meets with death on one of the hills outside a devastated city of Rome?

Yet again we see why there simply must be a text in which the Virgin Herself explains the meaning and significance of each detail of the enigmatic vision, just as She did with the rest of the Message of Fatima. Among other things, She would of course have clarified the "impression" that the bishop executed in the vision is the Pope.

As things now stand, the "Third Secret" the Vatican has presented to the world — the vision standing alone — has produced nothing but dueling interpretations rather than the certain guidance the Mother of God surely wanted to provide the Church and the world. No, something is missing. And sooner or later it will be revealed.

http://www.fatimaperspectives.com/fe/perspective1007.asp
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FATIMA - Circumstances and Dialogue of the 1917 Apparitions

FATIMA: http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/1917appar.asp

Circumstances and Dialogue of the 1917 Apparitions

May 13, 1917

By May of 1917 several months had passed since the final apparition of the Angel to the three children. They had continued their task of shepherding their flocks, and had resumed their former vivaciousness and playfulness. On the thirteenth of May, after Sunday morning Mass, they chose to lead their sheep to a property of Lucy’s parents called Cova da Iria. After eating their meal at noon and praying the Rosary, the children began to play. Suddenly they saw a kind of lightning, making them believe that a storm was approaching, and they began to descend the hill to make for home.
When about halfway down the slope there was another flash of light, and a Lady appeared above a holm-oak tree. Lucy says that the Lady was "all dressed in white, more brilliant than the sun, radiating a light clearer and more intense than a crystal glass filled with clear water pierced by the most burning rays of the sun." The children stopped and found themselves in the light that emanated from Her.
Lucy describes the apparition in this way:

Then Our Lady said to us: ‘Do not be afraid. I will do you no harm.’
‘Where is Your Grace from?’ I asked Her.
‘I am of Heaven.’
‘What does Your Grace want of me?’
‘I have come to ask you to come here for six months in succession, on the 13th day, at this same hour. Later on, I will tell you who I am and what I want. Afterwards, I will return here yet a seventh time.’
‘Shall I go to Heaven too?’
‘Yes, you will.’
‘And Jacinta?’
‘Also.’
‘And Francisco?’
‘Also, but he will have to say many Rosaries.’
I remembered then to ask about two girls who had died recently. They were friends of mine and they used to come to my home to learn weaving with my eldest sister.
‘Is Maria das Neves already in Heaven?’
‘Yes, she is.’
It seems to me that she was about sixteen years old.
‘And Amelia?’
‘She will be in Purgatory until the end of the world.’
It seems to me that she must have been between eighteen and twenty years old.
‘Are you willing to offer yourselves to God to bear all the sufferings He wants to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and for the conversion of sinners?’
‘Yes, we are willing.’
‘You are then going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.’
It was in pronouncing those last words (the grace of God, etc.) that Our Lady opened Her hands for the first time, and communicated to us, as by a reflection which emanated from them, a light so intense that, penetrating our heart and even to the depths of our soul, it made us see ourselves in God, Who was this light, more clearly than we see ourselves in the best mirrors.
Then, moved by an interior impulse which was communicated to us, we fell on our knees and said repeatedly: ‘O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee. My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Holy Sacrament.’
The first moments passed, and Our Lady added:
‘Recite the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.’
‘Can You tell me whether the war will still last a long time, or if it will soon end?’
‘I cannot tell you yet, as I have not yet told you what I want.’
Then She began to rise serenely, going up towards the east until She disappeared in the immensity of the sky.

During the apparitions, each child’s part was distinct: Lucy was the only one who spoke to Our Lady; Jacinta saw and heard Her but did not speak; and Francisco saw Her but could not hear Her, and had to be told afterward what She said.
In the Divine light that had shone forth from Our Lady’s hands in this apparition, the most profound impression the children received, especially Francisco, was the sadness of God. In fact, consoling the sadness of God would afterward become Francisco’s particular vocation. The children understood that God is very much offended by the sins of humanity. Another important theme that would be reaffirmed in each apparition was the necessity and power of the Rosary. Our Lady always held a Rosary in Her hands when She appeared, and in each apparition reminded the children to say the Rosary to obtain peace.
Lucy explains the experience: "The apparition of Our Lady came once again to plunge us into the supernatural, but in a much milder manner [than the apparitions of the Angel]. Instead of this annihilation in the Divine Presence, which prostrated us, even physically, this last apparition left us a peace, an expansive joy which prevented us from speaking afterwards about what had happened."
Since Our Lady did not ask them to make known what they had been told, the children decided that it would be best to remain silent about the apparition. Little Jacinta, however, could not contain her joy for long and, prompted by a special grace, immediately gave an enthusiastic account of the apparition to her parents. As a result, the news spread quickly.

June 13, 1917

The children went to the Cova da Iria on June 13 as they had promised Our Lady, even though it meant missing all of the festivities for the Feast of St. Anthony, who was Patron Saint of their parish and of Portugal. When they arrived at the Cova that morning there were already several dozen people gathered there, mostly from the neighboring hamlets, where word of the apparition had spread.
By noon the number of spectators had risen to about fifty. The crowd had just finished praying the Rosary when Lucy cried out, "There is the lightning! ... Our Lady is arriving!" The crowd saw neither the lightning nor Our Lady, but one witness observed that "the branches of the tree gave way on all sides, as if the weight of Our Lady had really been supported on them." This observation demonstrates that Our Lady was in fact physically present, in Her glorified body, and that the children were not merely "seeing" a vision of questionable authenticity. Others present related that they had heard something like the sound of a very light voice, though they could not make out what was being said. Also observed was that the bright noontime sun had dimmed considerably.
Lucy gives an account of the second apparition of Our Lady in her Fourth Memoir:

... we saw Our Lady, on the holm-oak, just as in the month of May.
‘What does Your Grace want of me?’ I asked.
‘I wish you to come here on the 13th of next month, to pray the Rosary every day, and to learn how to read. Later I will tell you what I want.’
I asked for the cure of a sick person.
‘If he is converted, he will be cured within the year.’
‘I would like to ask You to take us to Heaven.’
‘Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you, Lucy, are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you in order to make Me known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion, I promise salvation; those souls will be cherished by God, as flowers placed by Me to adorn His throne.’
‘Am I to stay here alone?’ I asked painfully.
‘No, My daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Do not lose heart, I will never forsake you! My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.’
It was at the moment when She pronounced those last words that She opened Her hands and communicated to us, for the second time, the reflection of that immense light. In it we saw ourselves as submerged in God. Jacinta and Francisco appeared to be in the part of that light which elevated itself to Heaven, and I in the part which spread itself on the earth.
In the palm of the right hand of Our Lady there was a Heart, surrounded by thorns which seemed to pierce it. We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, which demanded reparation.

Then, as Our Lady left them, the crowd heard a sound like a firecracker in the distance. Lucy rose quickly and pointing, cried, "See, She is going, She is going!" The crowd did not see Her, but did note a small cloud that rose from above the tree and, moving toward the east, gradually disappeared. The holm-oak tree, on which Our Lady had stood, had its branches bent slightly toward the east.
 In this apparition Our Lady had once again conveyed to them the reflection of that Divine light, through which they were given a special knowledge of and increased love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Lucy writes,

It seems to me that on that day, that reflection of light had as a principal goal to instill in us a knowledge and a special love towards the Immaculate Heart of Mary; in the same way as the other two times, it had that same goal, but with respect to God and to the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Since that day, we felt in our hearts a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

July 13, 1917

The third apparition brought to the Cova da Iria a crowd of 5,000 people. Lucy led the Rosary and the crowd answered. At noon she rose and looked toward the east, crying, "Close the umbrellas! Close the umbrellas! (They used umbrellas to protect themselves from the intense noontime sun) ... Our Lady is arriving!"
The apparition then began in the usual way, with a flash of something like lightning and the appearance of Our Lady atop the holm-oak. Lucy relates the apparition in her memoirs:
‘‘What does Your Grace want of me?’ I asked.

‘I want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to continue reciting the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace in the world and the end of the war, because only She can help you.’
‘I should like to ask You to tell us who You are, and to work a miracle so that everyone will believe that Your Grace is appearing to us.’
‘Continue to come here every month. In October, I will say who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle so that all might see and believe.’
Here I made some requests which I do not remember. What I do remember, is that Our Lady said it was necessary to say the Rosary in order to obtain these graces throughout the year.
Our Lady continued: ‘Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say often to Jesus, especially whenever you make a sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’
As Our Lady spoke these last words, She opened Her hands once more, as She had done 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 falling 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). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision lasted only a moment, thanks to our good Mother of Heaven, Who, at the first apparition, had promised to bring us to Heaven. Without that, I think we would have died of terror and fear.
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. 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 during the reign 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 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 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 will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc. Do not tell this to anybody. Francisco, yes, you may tell him.
‘When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need.’
After this, there was a moment of silence, and then I asked, ‘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 cycle of the apparitions, the apparition of July 13 is decidedly the most important. It was in this third apparition of Our Lady that the Secret was given to the seers. Also, the announcement of the October miracle was made for the first time, clearly indicating its date, time and place. Our Lady would reiterate the coming miracle in the August and September apparitions as well.

August 13 & 19, 1917

On August 13, between 10,000 and 20,000 people gathered at the Cova da Iria to await the arrival of Our Lady. The three little seers, however, were not present. The administrator of the district, Artur de Oliveira Santos, a prominent Freemason, had imprisoned the children on August 13, and for two days he used many means, including the threat of boiling them in oil, to pry from them either the Secret itself, or a confession that they were lying. Courageously the children refused to betray their confidence and remained steadfast under every tactic used. In fact, believing that they were soon to be killed, they were full of joy at the thought of soon being in Heaven. This willingness to suffer martyrdom is another proof of the truthfulness of the Message. Realizing that he was getting nowhere, after two days the administrator released the children.
While the seers were being held on August 13, Our Lady still came to the Cova da Iria and manifested Her presence to the large crowd. One faithful woman described the scene:

The clap of thunder was more or less similar to that of the preceding time. Some say that it came from the road, others from the holm-oak …. It seemed to me that it came from very far. Everyone kept quiet, frightened .... At the clap of thunder there followed lightning, and at once we began to notice a small cloud, very pretty, white in color, very light, which hovered some moments over the holm-oak, then rose towards the sky, and disappeared in the atmosphere.
While looking around us, we observed a strange thing, which we had already seen the previous time, and which we were going to see again in the future. The faces of the people had all the colors of the rainbow: pink, red, blue ... The trees did not appear to have branches and leaves but only flowers; everything seemed laden with flowers, and every leaf appeared to be a flower. The ground was covered with squares of different colors. Clothes were also of every color of the rainbow.

On the afternoon of August 19, Lucy and Francisco, accompanied by Francisco’s older brother John, went to put their sheep to pasture. This is the account that Sister Lucy gave of what occurred:

I felt that something supernatural was approaching and enveloping us. Suspecting that Our Lady was going to appear to us, and feeling sorry that Jacinta would not be there to see Her, we asked her brother John to go and get her.

However John wished to stay and see Our Lady. Lucy, therefore, gave John one coin to fetch Jacinta, and promised him another when he brought her back. While he ran to get her, Lucy and Francisco saw the characteristic flash of light, and just as Jacinta arrived, Our Lady appeared above a holm-oak tree. Lucy’s account continues:

[Lucy asked:] ‘What does Your Grace want from me?’
‘I want you to continue going to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, that you continue praying the Rosary every day. On the last month, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe. If they had not taken you to the town, the miracle would have been greater. Saint Joseph will come with the Child Jesus, to give peace to the world. Our Lord will come to bless the people. Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will come also.’
‘What do You want them to do with the money the people leave at the Cova da Iria?’
‘Have two litters made. You will carry one with Jacinta and two other girls dressed in white; the other one Francisco is to carry, with three boys, like him, dressed in white. It will be for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. What is left over will help towards the construction of a chapel that is to be built.’
‘I should like to ask You to cure some sick persons.’
‘Yes, I will cure some of them during the year.’
Then looking more sad, Our Lady said: ‘Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and pray for them.’
As usual, Our Lady began to ascend towards the east.

After the apparition of August 19, the three children looked for ways to make more sacrifices to offer to Jesus, "for His love, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
Lucy describes one example:

Some days after [the apparition of August 19], we were following a path with our sheep and I found a piece of rope which had fallen from a cart. I took it and amused myself by attaching it to one of my arms. I did not take long to notice that the rope hurt me. I then said to my cousins: ‘Look, that hurts! We could attach it around our waist and offer this sacrifice to God.’ The poor children accepted my idea immediately and we then decided to share that rope among the three of us. A sharp stone, rubbing on another, served as a knife. Whether because of the size and roughness of the rope, or because sometimes we squeezed it too much, that instrument made us suffer horribly. Sometimes Jacinta shed some tears because of the discomfort which the rope caused her. I told her on several occasions to take it off, and she replied, ‘No! I want to offer this sacrifice to Our Lord in reparation and for the conversion of sinners.’

September 13, 1917

On September 13 as many as thirty thousand people gathered at the Cova da Iria. While waiting for noon to arrive, Lucy led the Rosary for the crowd. At noon, a certain phenomenon announced the arrival of Our Lady to many in the crowd. As one witness relates,

The sky was blue, without any clouds. I also looked up, and began to scrutinize the immensity of the firmament, to see what other eyes, more fortunate than mine, had already contemplated. To my great astonishment, I then saw, clearly and distinctly, a luminous globe, traveling from the east to the west, and gliding slowly and majestically in space … Suddenly the globe, with its extraordinary light, disappeared from our eyes.

The light of the sun then dimmed, and the atmosphere became a yellow-gold color, like it had during the former apparitions. Some reported that they could see the stars, the sky had darkened to such an extent. Lucy then spoke to Our Lady, asking, "What does Your Grace want of me?"

‘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 Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus in order to bless the world. God is satisfied with your sacrifices, but He does not want you to sleep with the rope. Wear it only during the day.’
‘There is a little girl here who is a deaf-mute. Would not Your Grace wish to cure her?’
Our Lady replied that a year from now, the girl would be better.
‘I have many other requests, some for conversion, others for a cure.’
‘I shall cure some, but others no, because Our Lord does not trust them.’
‘The people would indeed like to have a chapel here.’
‘With half of the money received so far, they should make litters and carry them on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary; the other half can be used to build the chapel.’

Lucy then offered Her two letters and a small flask of water with a fragrance, which had been given her by a man of the parish of Olival. In offering them to Our Lady, she said to Her: "They gave me that. Does Your Grace want it?"
"That is not suitable for Heaven," Our Lady replied. "In October I will perform the miracle so that all may believe."
Our Lady then ascended toward the east and disappeared as usual. The crowd once again saw the luminous globe, which had accompanied Her upon Her arrival, rise up toward the east and disappear.

October 13, 1917

There were about 70,000 people present at the Cova da Iria for the October 13 apparition and Miracle of the Sun. Beginning the night before and persisting throughout the morning of the 13th, a cold rain fell on the crowd. The ground was muddy and the rain soaked everything. At the time when Our Lady was due to arrive, Lucy begged the people to close their umbrellas, which they did at once.

‘What does Your Grace want of me?’ [Lucy asked.]
‘I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in My honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. May you continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end and the soldiers will soon return to their homes.’
‘I had many things to ask You: to cure some sick people, to convert some sinners, etc.’
‘Some yes, others no. They must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.’
Then taking on a more sorrowful air, Our Lady said:
‘Do not offend the Lord Our God any more, for He is already too much offended!’
‘You want nothing more from me?’ [Lucy asked.]
‘No, I want nothing more from you.’
"Then I do not ask anything more of You either."
As Our Lady ascended into Heaven, Lucy shouted: "She is going! She is going! Look at the sun!"

The miracle announced by Our Lady then took place: the sky abruptly cleared and the sun "danced". The people were able to look at the bright sun directly, without it bothering their eyes at all. A physician, Dr. Almeida Garrett, testified:

Suddenly I heard the uproar of thousands of voices, and I saw the whole multitude spread out in that vast space at my feet … turn their backs to that spot where, until then, all their expectations focused, and look at the sun on the other side … I turned around, too, toward the point commanding their gazes, and I could see the sun, like a very clear disc, with its sharp edge, which gleamed without hurting the sight … It could not be confused with the sun seen through a fog (there was no fog at that moment), for it was neither veiled, nor dim. At Fatima, it kept its light and heat, and stood out clearly in the sky, with a sharp edge, like a large gaming table. The most astonishing thing was to be able to stare at the solar disc for a long time, brilliant with light and heat, without hurting the eyes, or damaging the retina.¹

The testimony of Avelino de Almeida, editor-in-chief of O Seculo, Lisbon’s anticlerical and Masonic daily newspaper, is similar:

And then we witnessed a unique spectacle, an incredible spectacle, unbelievable if you did not witness it. From above the road … We see the immense crowd turn towards the sun, which appeared at its zenith, clear of the clouds. It looked like a plate of dull silver, and it was possible to stare at it without the least discomfort. It did not burn the eyes. It did not blind. One might say that an eclipse had occurred.²

Others also testified:

"It shook and trembled; it seemed like a wheel of fire." (Maria da Capelinha)³
"The sun turned like a fire wheel, taking on all the colors of the rainbow." (Maria do Carmo)⁴
"The sun took on all the colors of the rainbow. Everything assumed those same colors: our faces, our clothes, the earth itself." (Maria do Carmo)⁵

The most terrifying aspect of the Miracle of the Sun then took place:

"We suddenly heard a clamor, like a cry of anguish of that entire crowd. The sun, in fact, keeping its rapid movement of rotation, seemed to free itself from the firmament and, blood-red, to plunge towards the earth, threatening to crush us with its fiery mass. Those were some terrifying seconds." (Dr. Almeida Garrett)⁶
"The sun began to dance and, at a certain moment, it appeared to detach itself from the firmament and to rush forward on us, like a fire wheel." (Alfredo da Silva Santos)⁷
"Finally, the sun stopped and everybody breathed a sigh of relief …" (Maria da Capelinha)⁸
"From those thousands of mouths I heard shouts of joy and love to the Most Holy Virgin. And then I believed. I had the certainty of not having been the victim of a suggestion. I had seen the sun as I would never see it again." (Mario Godinho, an engineer)⁹

Yet another astonishing aspect of the Miracle was that all of the thousands of people, most of whom were soaked to the bone and dirty from the mud, suddenly found that their clothes were dry and clean.

"The moment one would least expect it, our clothes were totally dry." (Maria do Carmo)¹⁰
"My suit dried in an instant." (John Carreira)¹¹.
The academician Marques da Cruz testified:
This enormous multitude was drenched, for it had rained unceasingly since dawn. But – though this may appear incredible – after the great miracle everyone felt comfortable, and found his garments quite dry, a subject of general wonder … The truth of this fact has been guaranteed with the greatest sincerity by dozens and dozens of persons of absolute trustworthiness, whom I have known intimately from childhood, and who are still alive (1937), as well as by persons from various districts of the country who were present.¹²

In one aspect, this is the most astonishing effect of the miracle and an indisputable proof of its authenticity: The amount of energy needed to accomplish this process of drying in a natural way and in such a short a time, would have incinerated everyone present at the Cova at that time. As this aspect of the miracle contradicts the laws of nature radically, no demon could ever have achieved it.
Finally, many miracles of conversion, the greatest miracle God can bestow, also occurred. Here are two examples:

The captain of the regiment of soldiers on the mountain that day – with orders to prevent the gathering of the crowd – was converted instantly. Apparently so were hundreds of other unbelievers, as their testimony will show.¹³
"There was an unbeliever there who had spent the morning mocking the ‘simpletons’ who had gone off to Fatima just to see an ordinary girl. He now seemed paralyzed, his eyes fixed on the sun. He began to tremble from head to foot, and lifting up his arms, fell on his knees in the mud, crying out to God." (Father Lourenço)¹⁴

A number of other cases of cures and conversions are documented in, among other places, the following books: Documentação Crítica de Fátima and Fatima from the Beginning.¹⁵
The great Miracle of the Sun lasted for ten minutes. Many more accounts of the miracle have been taken and recorded from the masses of people present, which verify this incredible manifestation of the authenticity of the entire Fatima Message.

During the Miracle of the Sun, the three children were witnessing something else: the beautiful spectacle promised by Our Lady. Lucy writes:

Our Lady having disappeared in the immensity of the firmament, we saw, beside the sun, Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady clothed in white with a blue mantle. Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world with gestures which they made with their hands in the form of a cross.
Soon after, that apparition having ceased, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady, Who gave me the impression of being Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lord seemed to bless the world in the same manner as Saint Joseph.
That apparition disappeared and it seemed to me that I saw Our Lady again, this time as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

These three successive visions are connected to one of the dominant messages of Fatima: the Rosary. In each of Her six apparitions, Our Lady asked that the Rosary be prayed and here, in these visions granted to the three children, the mysteries of the Holy Rosary were represented. With the vision of the Holy Family we find the Joyful mysteries; the Sorrowful mysteries are represented by the vision of Our Lord and Our Lady of Sorrows; and the Glorious mysteries are represented in the vision of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
When the visions had disappeared and the sun was again normal, Lucy was placed on the shoulder of a man in the crowd and carried safely through the masses to the road. As she was moving past the people, she cried out to them, pleading one of the important themes in the Fatima Message: to convert, return to God and to flee sin. Her exact words were: "Do penance! Do penance! Our Lady wants you to do penance!" but Frère Michel states that in Portuguese this does not mean "performing mortifications", but rather "being converted, returning to God, fleeing sin." Through this plea Lucy was reiterating the sorrowful request Our Lady had made of humanity in Her final apparition: "Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already too much offended."
Thus the Miracle of the Sun, witnessed by 70,000 people, concluded the cycle of the apparitions at Fatima. Yet the Message of Fatima, with its great depth and scope, was to continue to be unfolded to the eldest of the three seers, Lucy. In the years to come Heaven’s Messenger would be visited and, as promised by Our Lady in the July 13 apparition, would be instructed to reveal Heaven’s plan for peace for a turbulent world: the Reparatory devotion of the Five First Saturdays and the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Notes:

1. Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima: Intimate Joy World Event, Book One: The Astonishing Truth, (English edition, Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, New York, 1993) pp. 172-173.
2. O Seculo, article of October 15, 1917.
3. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth About Fatima, Volume I: Science and the Facts, (Immaculate Heart Publications, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A., 1989) p. 337.
4. Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima: The Astonishing Truth, p. 178.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid, pp. 178-179.
8. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth About Fatima, Volume I, p. 340.
9. Frère François de Marie des Anges, Fatima: The Astonishing Truth, p, 179.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth About Fatima, Volume I, p. 340. See also Father John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima From the Beginning, (Missoes Consolata, Fatima, Portugal, 1981, third edition, first published in 1950) p. 141; and Joseph A Pelletier, A.A., The Sun Dances at Fatima, (Doubleday, New York, 1983) pp. 129-130.
13. John M. Haffert, Meet the Witnesses, (AMI International Press, Fatima, Portugal, 1961) p. 62.
14. Ibid., p. 65.
15. Documentaçáo Crítica de Fátima, Volume II, (Santuário de Fátima, 1999) 17 cases documented on pp. 277-372; and Father John de Marchi, I.M.C., Fatima From the Beginning. 
===================

Sister Lucy of Fatima Describes the Vision of Hell

At Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary told the three child seers that many souls go to hell because they have no one to pray or make sacrifices for them. In her Memoirs, Sister Lucy describes the vision of hell that Our Lady showed the children at Fatima:

"She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays [of light] appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls [of the damned]. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell 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 fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished [from the souls of the damned] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear."

=====================

FATIMA - Circumstances and Dialogue of the 1916 Apparitions

FATIMA 

 

Circumstances and Dialogue of the 1916 Apparitions

In the spring of 1916, three young Portuguese shepherds, Lucy dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, led their sheep to graze on a hill called the Cabeço. Rain began to fall, so the children found a place on the hillside to serve as a shelter. Even after the rain had passed and the sun had returned, the little shepherds spent the day at this spot, eating lunch, saying the Rosary and playing games. Lucy was then only nine years old, Francisco was eight, and Jacinta was six.
As they were playing, a strong wind suddenly blew, shaking the trees, and the children saw a figure approaching above the olive trees. Lucy described the figure as having "the appearance of a young man of fourteen or fifteen, whiter than snow, which the sun rendered transparent as if it were of crystal, and of great beauty. We were surprised and half absorbed. We did not say a word.
"While coming closer to us, the Angel said: ‘Do not fear! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.’ And kneeling on the earth, he bent his forehead to the ground. Prompted by a supernatural movement, we imitated him and repeated the words which we heard him pronounce: ‘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.’
"Having repeated that prayer three times, he got up again and said to us: ‘Pray in this way. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.’ And he disappeared."
Lucy recalled, "The supernatural atmosphere which enveloped us was so intense that, during a long moment, we barely realized the fact of our own existence. We remained in the position in which the Angel had left us, always repeating the same prayer. The presence of God made itself felt in such an intense and intimate manner, that we did not dare even to speak any longer among ourselves. The next day, we still felt our spirit enveloped in this atmosphere which only disappeared very slowly."
The Angel of Peace had come to speak to the children, to infuse them with this extraordinary grace through which they were penetrated with the Divine Presence, and to demonstrate to them the attitude, posture and fervor with which to pray to God. Interestingly, during the apparition Francisco could not hear the words of the Angel, and had to be told what was said afterward; this would be the case for all of the other apparitions as well. After some time the three little shepherds recovered their physical strength and playfulness.
The second apparition of the Angel took place during the summer of 1916. While the children were playing around their favorite well, the Angel suddenly appeared. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Pray, pray a great deal! The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer unceasingly prayers and sacrifice yourselves to the Most High."
Lucy asked the Angel how they were to make sacrifices.
The Angel replied, "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. In this way, you will draw peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings which the Lord will send you."
Lucy comments, "Those words of the Angel engraved themselves in our spirit, as a light which made us understand Who God is, how much He loves us and wants to be loved by us, the value of sacrifice and how pleasing it is to Him, and that out of respect for it, God converts sinners." The dominant theme in this second apparition of the Angel was the importance of making offerings to God through every possible action and sacrifice, even the smallest, and of making the offerings with special intentions, especially for the conversion of sinners.
In the autumn of the same year, the children took their sheep to the same place where the first apparition took place. There in the blessed place of the Cabeço, they were reciting the prayer the Angel had taught them when above them an unknown light appeared. Lucy relates, "We got up again to see what was happening, and we saw the Angel again, who had in his left hand a Chalice over which was suspended a Host, from which some drops of Blood fell into the Chalice."
Leaving the Chalice and the Host suspended in the air, he prostrated himself down to the earth near the children and repeated three times this prayer:

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He, Himself is offended. And I draw upon the infinite merits of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that You might convert poor sinners.

Then, getting up, the Angel took the Chalice and Host. He gave Lucy the Sacred Host on the tongue. Then while giving the Precious Blood from the Chalice to Francisco and Jacinta, he said:
"Eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." Then, prostrating himself on the ground he repeated with the children three times the same prayer: Most Holy Trinity, etc., and disappeared.
This final apparition of the Angel was clearly the summit of the three, as the children were graced to see the Precious Blood of Our Lord fall from the Sacred Host into the Chalice, and then receive Holy Communion from the hands of the Angel.
Again, the need for converting poor sinners was a theme in this final apparition of the Angel. The prayer repeated by the Angel demonstrates that through our prayers, united with the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, sinners can be converted. Our prayers and sacrifices alone amount to very little; but when they are united to the merits of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, they become infinitely valuable. Also emphasized was the need for reparation for the sins committed against God, by which He is constantly hurt and seeking consolation. In addition, the way the children received Holy Communion is particularly instructive for our time: they received Communion in the kneeling position, and the Sacred Host was given on the tongue.
The appearance of the Angel of Peace to three little Portuguese shepherds was a preparation for the signal grace that was about to be bestowed upon them: the appearance of the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The apparitions of the Angel prepared them for seeing the Mother of God, through the transforming Divine graces the Angel showered on them, and his instructions about prayer, sacrifice and offerings. Through his apparitions to Lucy, Francisco and Jacinta, the Angel of Peace came to ready them for the decisive roles they were each to play in the most important event of the Twentieth Century, the appearance of Our Lady at Fatima.
Yet the Angel of Peace’s instructions were not meant for the children alone. They apply to each of us, and just as they prepared the children for the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, they can also serve as a preparation for our reception of Our Lady’s Fatima Message.

 http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/1916appar.asp
=================

FATIMA - The Miracle of the Sun

The Miracle of the Sun

---

October 13, 1917¹

Here are briefly the facts; starting from the day after the events, by a reporter who cannot possibly be accused of partiality in this matter and for a good reason! We refer to Avelino de Almeida, the chief editor of "O Seculo," the large "liberal" anticlerical and masonic daily of Lisbon. He writes,


«From the road, where the carriages were crowded together and where hundreds of persons had stayed for want of sufficient courage to advance across the muddy ground, we saw the huge crowd turn towards the sun which appeared at its zenith, clear of the clouds. It resembled a flat plate of silver, and it was possible to stare at it without the least discomfort. It did not burn the eyes. It did not blind. We would say that it produced an eclipse. Then a tremendous cry rang out, and the crowd nearest us were heard to shout: ‘Miracle! Miracle!... Marvel!... Marvel!’ Before the dazzled eyes of the people, whose attitude transported us to biblical times, and who, dumb-founded, heads uncovered, contemplated the blue of the sky, the sun trembled, it made strange and abrupt movements, outside of all cosmic laws, ‘the sun danced’, according to the typical expression of the peasants ... ²»

The Miracle of the Sun depicted in a stained glass window.

Attacked violently by all the anticlerical press, Avelino de Almeida renewed his testimony, 15 days later, in his review, l’"Ilustraçao Portuguesa". This time he illustrated his account with a dozen photographs of the huge ecstatic crowd, and repeated as a refrain throughout his article: «I saw... I saw... I saw.» And he concluded fortuitously: «Miracle, as the people shouted? Natural phenomenon, as the experts say? For the moment, that does not concern me, I am only saying what I saw ... The rest is a matter for Science and the Church.»³

Saturday, October 13, begins for the pilgrims, as a walk of penance because it had rained the whole preceding night. Now, this «almost sudden change of weather, with the dusty roads transformed into muddy quagmires by a pelting rain, causing to replace abruptly, for a day, the sweetness of autumn with the biting rigors of winter, did not succeed in moving them, to make them give up or despair.»⁴
«From dawn, our reporter relates, visibly impressed by that calm courage, groups looming up again, intrepid individuals who pass through, without stopping for a moment, the small town, whose silence is broken by the chant of hymns intoned by feminine voices in harmony which contrasts with the roughness of the men... The sun rises, but the aspect of the sky is threatening. Some black clouds accumulate, precisely from the Fatima side. Nothing however holds back the pilgrims who, from all roads and by all means of locomotion, flock in that direction... Some small bells on a chain tinkle; we see here and there a cart decorated with palms. However, the festive atmosphere is discreet; the general manner is grave, the order perfect ... Towards ten o’clock, the sky is covered completely and a heavy rain begins to fall. The downpour, whipped by a bitter wind, beating against the face, inundates the gravel roads, and pierces to the bone those who did not take the precaution of carrying an umbrella or some other means of protection from the bad weather. But no one becomes impatient nor gives up following the road...

The Great Number of Pilgrims and their Testimony

 

How many were assembled at the Cova da Iria?
The maximum estimate was from Dr. Almeida Garrett, and was proposed some months after the event. It estimates the spectators at more than one hundred thousand. In "O Seculo" of October 15, Avelino de Almeida wrote: «The crowd, by the unprejudiced calculations of cultivated persons very new to mystical influences, was estimated at thirty or forty thousand people.» In his article of October 29, he corrected his first estimate: «On October 13, according to the calculations established by people free from every prejudice, some fifty thousand people were gathered on the moor of Fatima.» A neutral newspaper, the "Primeiro de Janeiro", also estimated the crowd at fifty thousand individuals. We can therefore say, with a quasi-certainty, that this figure is a minimum; that is why the majority of historians propose as probable the presence of a crowd of seventy thousand witnesses.
In comparing the numerous accounts of witnesses, we can distinguish the diverse aspects and the result of the astounding phenomena established by all. For each one of them, it would be possible to line up some ten pages of witnesses which would constitute in themselves an impressive book.
Here is the first marvelous fact described by Dr. Almeida Garrett: «It must have been 1:30 p.m. when there arose at the exact spot where the children were, a column of smoke, thin, fine and bluish, which extended up to perhaps two meters above their heads, and evaporated at that height. This phenomenon, perfectly visible to the naked eye, lasted for a few seconds. Not having noted how long it had lasted, I cannot say whether it was more or less than a minute. The smoke dissipated abruptly, and after some time, it came back to occur a second time, then a third time...»

The Sudden Stoppage of the Rain

 

Whereas «the low and heavy sky had a very dark color, laden with moisture, released an abundant and long lasting rain,» during the time of the apparition, the rain stopped totally. Abruptly the sky cleared: «The sun triumphantly pierced the thick bed of clouds hiding it until then, and shone intensely.» (Dr. Almeida Garrett).
This abrupt change of weather took all the eyewitnesses by surprise: «It was a day of heavy and continuous rain. But a few minutes before the miracle, it stopped raining.» (Alfredo da Silva Santos)

The Vision of the Sun Without Burning the Retina

 

«Suddenly I heard the uproar of thousands of voices, and I saw the whole multitude spread out in that vast space at my feet ... turn their backs to that spot where, until then, all their expectations focused, and look at the sun on the other side ... I turned around, too, toward the point commanding their gazes, and I could see the sun, like a very clear disc, with its sharp edge, which gleamed without hurting the sight ... It could not be confused with the sun seen through a fog (there was no fog at that moment), for it was neither veiled, nor dim. At Fatima, it kept its light and heat, and stood out clearly in the sky, with a sharp edge, like a large gaming table. The most astonishing thing was to be able to stare at the solar disc for a long time, brilliant with light and heat, without hurting the eyes, or damaging the retina.» (Dr. Almeida Garrett).
«And then we witnessed a unique spectacle, the reporter of "O Seculo" remarked in similar vein, an incredible spectacle, unbelievable if you did not witness it. From above the road ... We see the immense crowd turn towards the sun, which appeared at its zenith, clear of the clouds. It looked like a plate of dull silver, and it was possible to stare at it without the least discomfort. It did not burn the eyes. It did not blind. One might say that an eclipse had occurred.» (Article of October 15, 1917) «The people could look at the sun as we look at the moon.» (Maria do Carmo)
Suddenly, the heavenly body began to tremble, to shake with abrupt movements, and finally to turn on itself at a dizzying speed while throwing out rays of light, all colors of the rainbow: «The sun turned like a fire wheel, taking on all the colors of the rainbow.» (Maria do Carmo) «It appeared like a globe of snow turning on itself.» (Father Lourenço) «The pearl-like disc had a giddy motion. This was not the twinkling of a star in all its brilliance. It turned on itself with impetuous speed.» (Dr. Almeida Garrett) «At a certain moment, the sun stopped and then began again to dance, to spin; it stopped again, and began again to dance.» (Ti Marto) It is indeed therefore a triple "dance of the sun" which thousands of witnesses affirm, having contemplated it for several minutes.
«The sun took on all the colors of the rainbow. Everything assumed those same colors: our faces, our clothes, the earth itself.» (Maria do Carmo) «A light, whose colors changed from one moment to the next, was reflected on the people and on things», notes Dr. Pereira Gens.
«We suddenly heard a clamor, relates Almeida Garrett, like a cry of anguish of that entire crowd. The sun, in fact, keeping its rapid movement of rotation, seemed to free itself from the firmament and blood-red, to plunge towards the earth, threatening to crush us with its fiery mass. Those were some terrifying seconds.» «I saw the sun turn and it seemed to descend. It was like a bicycle wheel.» (John Carreira) «The sun began to dance and, at a certain moment, it appeared to detach itself from the firmament and to rush forward on us, like a fire wheel.» (Alfredo da Silva Santos) «I saw it perfectly descending as if it came to crash on the earth. It seemed to detach itself from the sky and rush toward us. It maintained itself at a short distance above our heads; but that sort of attack was of very short duration ... It seemed very near the people and it continued to turn in the opposite direction.» (Maria do Carmo) «From those thousands of mouths, relates the engineer Mario Godinho, I heard shouts of joy and love to the Most Holy Virgin. And then I believed. I had the certainty of not having been the victim of a suggestion. I had seen the sun as I would never see it again.»

Everyone Had Dry Clothes

 

A last astonishing fact: all those people, who were for the most part soaked to the bone, verified with joy and amazement that they were dry. The fact is attested to in the canonical process.

The Vision of the Solar Prodigy at a Distance

 

A marvelous thing,the phenomenon could be admired from beyond Fatima. And even, some perfectly credible witnesses, who were very far away from the Cova da Iria, related having seen the unprecedented spectacle of the dance of the sun, exactly like the thousands of pilgrims gathered around the holm-oak.

A photograph of part of the 70,000 witnesses as they are actually
observing the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima on October 13, 1917.

In the small village of Alburitel, situated eighteen or nineteen kilometers from Fatima, the whole town was able to enjoy the vision of the solar prodigy. The testimony frequently quoted is that of Father Inacio Lourenço, because it is the most detailed. But what he relates having seen, all the good villagers, questioned by the investigators, confirmed seeing it in exactly the same way.
«In October, I will perform a miracle,» Our Lady had sovereignly declared on July 13. And on October 13, it was at Her efficacious gesture that the marvelous "dance of the sun" began: «Then, opening Her hands, She made them reflect on the sun, and as She rose, the reflection of Her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself.»
Thus, the magnificent miracle, it is She Who promised it, Who announced it three months in advance, and at Her gesture the miracle was fulfilled. That is the reply of the Queen of Heaven to the instant supplication of Her shepherd: «I would like to ask You to tell us Who You are, and to perform a miracle so that all may believe that You are appearing to us.» A response surpassing all expectations and one of such magnitude, of such splendor, that no one would dare to dream it possible.
The witnesses of the event were indeed innumerable, their testimonies agree and we are flooded with the documents they have left us.
In the first place, the numerous accounts conveyed appeared at once in the Portuguese press. It is noteworthy that the first to provide testimony were the anticlerical reporters. The three articles of Avelino de Almeida, the one of October 13, immediately before the event, the other of October 15, edited at Vila Nova de Ourem on the evening of the 13th, and a third article of October 29, merit a special mention. In spite of the jeering tone and Voltarian irony which inspire in part the first article, in spite of the expected anticlerical tones which still appear in the article of the 15th. These texts from a reporter of talent, one who besides, is honest and conscientious, are historical documents of prime importance⁵. But he was not the only one to relate the facts, for other reporters were present at the Cova da Iria.
Next there were the official investigations. In November, 1917, at the request of Bishop de Lima Vidal, who was then directing the diocese of Lisbon, the Parish Priest of Fatima led his investigation and questioned several witnesses of the parish. Unfortunately, he transcribed only... four depositions!
The investigations of the historians fortunately compensated for those negligences of the official investigators. Since Father Formigao, who obtained from Dr. José Maria de Almeida Garrett, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of Coimbra, a very thorough account, the most scientific report in our possession⁶, all the top historians went to question the witnesses. Father da Fonseca, in order to verify the points disputed by Father Dhanis; Father De Marchi, Canon Barthas, Father Dias Coelho and Father Richard.
In 1977, to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the last apparition, it was still possible to assemble in Fatima more than thirty persons who had been present at the solar prodigy and who could reveal their memories.
Thanks to those numerous testimonies, it is possible to reconstruct a precise running commentary, allowing us to relive, hour by hour and minute by minute, this decisive day, assuredly one of the most important in the history of the world.


FOOTNOTES:

1) This chapter is an abridgment of "The Whole Truth About Fatima, Volume II, introduction, pages 5-10 (English edition)
2) O Seculo of October 15, 1917.
3) Article of October 29, 1917.
4) "Ilustraçao portuguesa," October 29, 1917.
5) We find the photographic reproduction of those three articles in "Fatima 50" of October 13, 1967, pages 6-10; 14-15.
6) "Novos Documentos de Fatima," Loyola editions, Sao Paulo, 1984, pages 60-63.


http://www.fatimacrusader.com/crintro/crintropg16.asp
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http://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2017/05/13/01008-20170513ARTFIG00121-l-enigme-de-la-danse-du-soleil-a-fatima-peut-elle-s-expliquer-par-la-science.php

L'énigme de la «danse du soleil» à Fatima peut-elle s'expliquer par la science ?

• Par Jean-Marie Guénois
• Publié le 13/05/2017 à 17:12

Le 13 mai 1917, une foule de 70.000 personnes ont vu dans le ciel un phénomène solaire, annoncé trois mois plus tôt par deux bergers prétendant avoir vu la Vierge. Un «miracle» selon l'Église, qui pourrait s'expliquer par une conjonction rare d'éléments météorologiques.

Envoyé spécial
À Fatima le phénomène annoncé le 13 mai 1917 par la vierge aux trois jeunes voyants, Lucie, Jacinthe et François pour le 13 octobre 1917 fut une «danse du soleil». Ce jour-là, des mouvements furent effectivement constatés dans le ciel par une foule de 70.000 personnes. L'envoyé spécial du journal O Seculo, Avelino di Almeida, ouvertement laïque et non croyant, le décrivit avec grande précision dans son journal.

Si les scientifiques expliquent cela par une conjonction rare d'éléments météorologiques: formation d'une masse d'air en forme de lentille d'air, issue de vents contraires qui par inversion de températures, la font tourner sur elle-même, puis monter et descendre en décrivant une ellipse. Si elle se charge de particules de glaces, elle peut effectivement refléter le soleil, donnant l'impression qu'il «danse». Mais les scientifiques ne peuvent pas rendre compte du fait que ce phénomène s'est produit sur le lieu prévu, le jour dit et à l'heure dite.
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 Le pape Pie XII

Autre énigme: Le pape Pie XII (élu en 1939, mort en 1958) qui a suivi de près la question des apparitions de Fatima a affirmé avoir été le témoin, à trois reprises, à Rome, les 30 et 31 octobre et le 1er novembre 1950, jour de la proclamation du dogme de l'Assomption de la Vierge Marie, du même phénomène solaire qu'à Fatima.

L'histoire était connue par une confidence de ce pape au cardinal Federico Tedeschini. Mais une note manuscrite de Pie XII récemment retrouvée dans les archives de la famille Pacelli, (la famille de Pie XII), livre le récit du phénomène par le pape lui-même. Le journaliste Andréa Tornielli l'a publiée sur le site Vatican Insider.

«C'était le 30 octobre 1950, écrit Pie XII au crayon de papier, parfois raturé mais de façon très lisible, sans aucun doute sur l'authenticité du document, l'avant-veille du jour de la définition solennelle de l'Assomption, je faisais ma promenade habituelle dans les jardins du Vatican en lisant et en étudiant (…) j'ai regardé le ciel et j'ai été touché par un phénomène que je n'avais jamais vu. Le soleil qui était encore assez haut, apparu comme un globe opaque jaunâtre, entouré par un cercle lumineux». Le pape dit alors qu'il pouvait le regarder «sans se faire aucunement mal aux yeux, un très léger nuage s'était formé devant». Puis il décrit: «le globe opaque a légèrement bougé vers l'extérieur, soit en tournant, soit en déplaçant de gauche à droite et vice et versa. Mais à l'intérieur du globe, on voyait avec une grande clarté et sans interruption de très forts mouvements».

Pie XII dans la confidence qu'il fit au Cardinal Tedeschini expliqua que ce dont il avait été témoin le confirma dans sa décision de proclamer ce dogme de l'Assomption. Il l'avait au préalable soumis à un vote de tous les évêques du monde dont seulement 6 sur 1 181 avaient exprimé des réserves.

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An account of the Miracle of the Sun in a Portuguese newspaper
(click to enlarge)

Guillaume Faye : Les contradictions de l’idéologie dominante

Guillaume Faye

Les contradictions de l’idéologie dominante

10 mars 2017

L’idéologie dominante (qui n’est pas ”majoritaire” mais minoritaire et hégémonique) dans laquelle les ingrédients de gauche sont les plus présents, multiplie les contradictions internes, insurmontables et comparables à des oxymores.  Voici les plus énormes, dans plusieurs domaines : économie, immigration, islam, féminisme,  éducation,  justice, etc.  

La gauche  et la finance internationale sont objectivement  alliées

* Les socialistes défendent l’endettement national et combattent une imaginaire « austérité », méprisant l’équilibre des comptes publics qui serait de l’ « ultralibéralisme ». Pourtant, la ”finance internationale” tant honnie se réjouit de l’endettement croissant de sa débitrice, la France, à 100% de son PIB. Socialistes et spéculateurs internationaux marchent sur le même trottoir.

* La gauche anticapitaliste est donc favorable au déficit budgétaire chronique, pour des raisons ”sociales” et, en même temps déteste la ”finance internationale”. Or cette dernière, qui  finance le déficit (pour l’instant) espère que ces prêts lui rapporteront de plus en plus. La gauche anticapitaliste est donc la vache à lait de son ennemie. Mais tout cela est en partie truqué. Pourquoi ? Parce que des emprunteurs politiques de gauche touchent des commissions des créanciers pour endetter le pays.

On pourchasse un ”ultralibéralisme” imaginaire alors que la France crève du collectivisme

* Un peu partout, on s’en prend à l’ « ultralibéralisme » et à l’ « austérité » alors que la France vit dans une économie collectiviste avec plus de 57% du PIB absorbé par les dépenses publiques les plus fortes du monde ; avec un endettement qui nous rapproche de la faillite, le régime fiscal le plus lourd et confiscatoire pour les classes moyennes et les entreprises, surtout les PME et les TPE. 

* La France est un pays collectiviste, à l’économie administrée, surréglementée et surtaxée, avec la proportion de fonctionnaires parmi les plus importantes au monde ; notre pays a, de ce fait, les plus mauvais résultats (chômage, endettement, commerce extérieur, croissance) de toute l’Union européenne.

L’idéologie antiraciste est raciste

* Les antiracistes soutiennent des musulmans noirs et arabes qui sont, eux-mêmes, racistes et antisémites. Comme par exemple Mehdi Meklat (qui est allé jusqu’à souhaiter un nouvel Hitler pour exterminer les juifs), le tweeter admiré par les médias de gauche ou, proche de lui, Oulaya Amamra (sacrée meilleure espoir féminin à la remise des César), auteur de tweets racistes anti-Blancs et homophobes, excusée en raison de ses origines ethniques protégées, comme l’a remarqué Ivan Rioufol (Le Figaro, 04/02/2017).

* Le racisme anti –Blancs, bien que généralisé, n’est pas poursuivi, car il est nié ; le racisme n’est inquiété que s’il touche des personnes ”issues de la diversité” et provient d’auteurs blancs. Les cas en sont d’ailleurs  rarissimes et, en général, falsifiés. 

* L’antisémitisme et le négationnisme ne sont pas poursuivis s’ils proviennent de musulmans (cas très fréquents) ; ils ne le sont que s’ils proviennent d’Européens de souche (cas assez rares).

* Le racisme, retenu comme motif aggravant d’un crime ou délit, ne s’applique qu’aux Blancs dans la pratique des tribunaux. 

* Officiellement, les races n’existent pas mais, contradiction juridique, le racisme est qualifié de délit. Comme si l’on disait : les vélos n’existent pas mais il est interdit de circuler à vélo.

* Le Cran (Conseil représentatif des associations noires) n’est pas considéré comme raciste (bien qu’il le soit de par sa dénomination) alors qu’un Crab (Conseil représentatif des associations blanches) ne serait pas enregistré en préfecture et ses créateurs poursuivis pour racisme.

* Le terme ”Afrique noire” est politiquement correct et autorisé. Le terme ”Europe blanche” est interdit.

* Le racisme anti–Blancs, majoritaire, n’est jamais poursuivi. Le racisme contre les ”minorités visibles”, quasi inexistant, est traqué. Il est souvent inventé même s’il n’existe pas.




Discrimination positive et racisme d’État (anti Blancs)
 

* La ”discrimination positive”, c’est-à-dire accorder des privilèges, passe–droits et dérogations et faveurs des ”personnes de couleur” pour compenser leur supposée ”discrimination négative”, n’est pas, comme dans les universités américaines (« affirmative action »), légalisée en France  mais elle s’applique dans les faits : embauche prioritaire voire systématique de personnes issues de la ”diversité”, pour les emplois peu qualifiés ou de niveau moyen, dans les grandes entreprises et les fonctions publiques, aides sociales supérieures et absence de sanctions des fraudes, accès facilité au logement social dont les Français de souche sont pratiquement exclus,  etc.

* Contrairement aux discours de tous les médias, les populations issues de l’immigration – musulmane à 90%– ne sont ni défavorisés, ni exclues, mais au contraire très largement privilégiées dans tous les domaines, comme le démontre la ”politique de la Ville” ; avec un coût faramineux et sans aucun résultat.

* Les ”migrants” clandestins (le vrai terme serait ”envahisseurs”) même déboutés de la demande d’asile, sont inexpulsables et touchent des aides supérieures

La duplicité  et les aberrations  du féminisme

* Les lobbies féministes ont obtenu des lois sur l’obligation de « parité » hommes–femmes dans les listes électorales et la direction des entreprises, au nom de l’égalité entre les sexes. Or  ces mesures, d’apparence égalitaire, violent très gravement le principe d’égalité des chances des individus quel que soit leur sexe ou leur origine ; ils sont contraires à la Déclaration des droits de l’homme qui ne reconnaît la légitimité d’aucun quota fondé sur l’appartenance et la naissance. 

* Et ils nuisent aux femmes, car la sélection sur la compétence n’étant plus respectée, certaines femmes élues ou recrutées par quotas ne seront pas au niveau. On dira d’elles qu’elles bénéficient d’un favoritisme injuste. 

  

* La gauche féministe et antiraciste est islamophile (antiracisme oblige) alors que l’islam est misogyne et antisémite. Les féministes de gauche soutiennent l’immigration invasive et l’islamisation. Les Femen s’en prennent aux églises, sous prétexte que le catholicisme serait misogyne (idiot et faux) mais, par lâcheté, jamais aux mosquées, alors que la misogynie de l’islam est un de ses piliers.

* Des mouvements féministes, influencés par l’islamo–gauchisme, ont invoqué la ”liberté” des femmes pour défendre le port du « burkini » sur les plages, alors qu’elle savent parfaitement que c’est une provocation et que ce vêtement ridicule et infâmant est imposé aux femmes sous la menace. La journaliste franco–tunisienne Sonia Mabrouk interviewée par Le Figaro (07/03/2017 ) explique que ces féministes perverties, comme les islamistes « ont fait d’un symbole de domination  l’expression d’une liberté ! »

  

L’écologisme contre l’écologie

* Les écologistes veulent abolir l’énergie nucléaire, qui est la moins polluante. Leurs ”énergies renouvelables”, intermittentes, dépendantes du vent et de l’ensoleillement, donc à faible rendement, devront être secondées par le recours aux centrales à charbon et au gaz – cas actuel dans l’Allemagne anti–nucléaire. Ce qui augmente considérablement les émissions polluantes.  

* La voiture électrique, censée être moins polluante en aval, sera un facteur majeur d’accroissement de consommation (recharge des batteries) et donc de production d’électricité polluante, en amont ;  à cause du recours aux centrales thermiques. La voiture électrique est une erreur complète. Il aurait fallu investir dans des moteurs thermiques très peu polluants.

* À Paris, la limitation de la circulation automobile et la fermeture des voies sur berges par le lobby écolo de Mme Hidalgo ne provoque pas un report sur les transports en commun mais des embouteillages monstres qui augmentent la pollution de l’air.

* Le refus du canal Rhin–Rhône à grand format par le lobby écologiste a abouti à multiplier le trafic de camions très polluants sur les axes autoroutiers. 

      

Démocratie, populisme, oligarchie : confusions et mensonges 

   

* Les pays qui mettent le mot ”démocratie” dans leur appellation, surtout associé au terme de ”république”, sont souvent des tyrannies. De la République démocratique du Congo à l’ancienne République démocratique allemande.

* L’idéologie dominante, avec le ”racisme”, fustige un autre ennemi majeur : le populisme. Être ”démocrate”, encenser la ”démocratie” comme une idole laïque et se dire ”antipopuliste” est pourtant contradictoire et absurde : en effet ”démocratie” (étymologie grecque) et ”populisme” (étymologie latine) signifient exactement la même chose : souveraineté du peuple contre une oligarchie.

* L’oligarchie, qui impose sa tyrannie douce et discrète mais extrêmement efficace en France, en Europe, a peur du peuple réel de souche. Elle qualifie sa propre domination, par manipulation sémantique, de ”démocratique” et la véritable démocratie qu’elle redoute de ”populiste”, par assimilation implicite avec le fascisme.  Cynique mensonge. 

 La Justice contre la justice : partialité, politisation et abus de pouvoir d’une caste

* Le principe d’impartialité de la Justice n’est plus crédible. Une partie notable de la magistrature française est politisée et partiale. Beaucoup de magistrats ne rendent pas la justice ”au nom du peuple français” mais selon leurs engagements idéologiques. Comme sous Vichy. L’École nationale de la magistrature dispense un enseignement politiquement orienté à l’extrême–gauche voire proche de l’islamo–gauchisme.

* La magistrature se veut intouchable et sacrée comme une sorte d’Église laïque au dessus du peuple. Elle poursuit ceux qui la critiquent : démarche totalitaire.

* La ”séparation des pouvoirs ” n’est plus respectée par les instances judiciaires (affaire Fillon) qui interviennent dans l’élection présidentielle.

* Drapée dans sa fausse dignité  et son impartialité feinte,  une partie de la Justice obéit à l’idéologie dominante de gauche, de manière militante. On l’a vu avec les scandaleuses dérives délinquantes du Syndicat de la magistrature (”Mur des cons”, etc.)

* Beaucoup de magistrats ne sont impartiaux que lorsqu’il s’agit d’affaires de droit commun sans implications politiques ou ethniques. 

 * La dictature des juges non élus, surtout les juges européens, (qui s’imposent aux Parlements nationaux !), leur impunité professionnelle, leur partialité idéologique militante sont une des principales menaces contre la véritable démocratie.

* La Justice s’est réinstallée en une Corporation autonome (comme sous l’Ancien Régime) indépendante de la volonté du peuple souverain de ses élus et de la Souveraineté. L ”’indépendance” de la justice” par rapport au pouvoir politique démocratiquement élu par le peuple est une idée absurde. C’est une interprétation fausse de l’idée de ”séparation des pouvoirs” de Montesquieu.

* Car ce principe antidémocratique entraine l’institution judiciaire, non élue,  à être indépendante des lois elles mêmes, qu’elle viole sans gêne, et l’incite à former une corporation autonome. Les magistrats devraient être totalement dépendants du pouvoir législatif parlementaire et exécutif issu de la souveraineté du peuple, puisqu’ils rendent justice ”au nom du peuple”. L’indépendance de la justice est une idée tyrannique. 

L’Union européenne est anti–européenne

* Les pro-européens, défenseurs de l’Union européenne actuelle,  ainsi que les institutions de l’UE et le tribunal européen de Strasbourg favorisent l’immigration invasive en provenance des autres continents.

* L’espace Schengen d’abolition des frontières et les opérations maritimes militaires de sauvetage  en Méditerranée aboutissent à une explosion de l’invasion migratoire de l’Europe. Les marines militaires européennes ne repoussent pas les envahisseurs mais les aident à nous envahir. 

* Les institutions européennes ont accepté des règles de commerce et d’échanges internationaux systématiquement défavorables aux entreprises européennes.

* Il faut donc transformer totalement les formes de l’Union européenne actuelle et non pas en abolir le principe. Il faut en revenir à l’idée  d’Union de nations souveraines. C’est-à-dire renouer avec ce principe millénaire et antique de l’Union des cités grecques dans la souveraineté de chacune. Un peuple homogène uni avec des nations différentes mais sœurs. Mais sans aucune ”diversité” ethnique, facteur automatique de guerre civile. Europe : un seul peuple, plusieurs nations.   

Éducation nationale : l’égalitarisme  contre l’égalité

* L’abaissement du niveau et de la discipline dans l’enseignement public défavorise les enfants de milieux populaires et pauvres. Les enfants des milieux aisés vont dans le privé payant, nettement supérieur à l’Éducation nationale, contrairement au passé où le public était supérieur au privé.

* L’égalitarisme et l’idéologie anti–sélection née en Mai 68, sont les fossoyeurs de l’égalité dans l’enseignement ; ils favorisent la croissance des inégalités et bloquent la ”circulation des élites”. L’Éducation nationale française – bastion de la gauche égalitariste –  produit un des plus fort taux d’analphabètes au monde en fin de cycle primaire : 20%. À moyen terme, c’est mortel pour le pays. Le baccalauréat français n’est plus considéré, au plan international, comme un diplôme sérieux. 

       

* Dans ce domaine comme dans d’autres, l’idéologie dominante de gauche, laxiste et égalitariste, fabrique une société à deux vitesses : les enfants des classes populaires sont scolarisés dans des établissements publics bas de gamme, avec violences et insécurité permanentes (provoquées à 100% par des allogènes), corps professoral médiocre, enseignement et programmes dégradés.  Aujourd’hui, l’école publique ressemble à un supermarché low cost et bas de gamme et l’école privée à une boutique de luxe. Jadis, c’était exactement l’inverse. Merci, la gauche.

 https://www.gfaye.com/les-contradictions-de-lideologie-dominante/

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