The Fatima Apparition: The Secret Messages

In the Twentieth Century, one of the greatest Christian apparitions, known in religious circles, occurred and was revealed to three small Portuguese children and became to be known as The Fatima-named after the town-- Fatima, Portugal. Religion, miracles, and apparitions have settled on the landscape of thoughts and mystical intrigue for many centuries witnessed by thousands of people in various parts of the world.

The belief of one God, and His divine ways, sometimes overshadows another God, practiced by other religions. The basis on whether we believe in God is speculative on faith as none of us has actually seen a God and we are at the disposal of the Holy book written by man, inspired by God and pastors we see on television and in our churches that a God exists. Many of us Christians take comfort in knowing that a higher spiritual being, something that is good and better than us actually exists. Moreover, the world has numerous religions; over 2000 and numerous Gods they pray to and serve vary in numbers.

Some religions such as Islam are fraught with violence; women have few rights; prohibited from receiving an education, and must wear a fabric of sorts to cover their faces. Other religions comprise of statues, restrictive lifestyles, and Gods that only the imagination can conjure up.

Aside from the various religions and notice of the various deities, what about apparitions? Are they real, make-belief, or mass hallucinations?

The story of Fatima began with the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, who appeared six times to three shepherd children. In addition, these children were known as "The Three Seers". This event occurred near the town of Fatima, hence the name of the apparition, Portugal between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. According to the children and for verbatim, the Blessed Virgin Mary told them that she had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child living in our century. This came at a time when civilization was torn by war and bloody violence and the Virgin Mary promised that Heaven would grant peace to the entire world if her requests for prayer, reparations, and consecrations were heard and obeyed. Her message was simple.

God's mother explained to the three children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would further castigate the world for its disobedience to His Will by means of war, hunger, and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father, and the Catholic faithful. God's mother prophesized that Russia would be God's chosen "instrument of chastisement," spreading the "errors" of atheism and materialism across the earth, fomenting wars, annihilating nations and persecuting the faithful everywhere (Lady of Fatima).

Is this a fact or is this fiction? The Virgin Mary handed the children three secrets. Actually, it is one secret with three separate parts. Two of these secrets have been released to the public. The first secret was a horrific vision of hell and a request to pray for those souls. The second part of the secret dealt with the outbreak of World War II. One startling aspect of the second secret began on January 25, 1938. Sr. Lucia was looking out her convent window and in the evening sky; she witnessed an apocalyptic red glow. Sometime later, it was reported that many people from all over the world also witnessed this event. Naturally, scientists tried to explain it as the Aurora Borealis; an event that naturally occurs in the cold Northern Skies. Nonetheless, Sister Lucia knew that this was the sign of what the Virgin Mary stated on July 13, 1917. Exactly one month later, Adolf Hitler invaded Austria and the beginning of World War II was underway (Daily Catholic).

Lastly, there is the third secret, which happens to be the most controversial. It is controversial because the Virgin Mary gave this secret and surely, the secret has to have an immense meaning. However, the following is more detail of this incredible event that shaped these three children's lives.

The period in which the Virgin Mary appeared occurred between May and October in the year 1917. During this period, the religious aspect of the world was stronger than it was today. Some of that had to do with the on-going wars, specifically the world wars and religion has a place in its meaning which people can seek peace. These three children were only shepherds. They were not rich and lived a life that one could expect as sheepherders. The oldest was Lucia dos Santos and her two younger cousins, Jacinta and Francisco. The Virgin Mary asked the children to return to the field of Cova de Iria on the 13th of every month. In those appearances, she asked the children to pray and say Rosaries for the sinners and evil doers of the world. Much of this is in the teachings of the Catholic Church and it should not be a surprise with the use of Rosaries. The uses of Rosaries are very much a part of the Catholic Church. The Rosary is a chain of beads and most have a cross at the end of the chain. The Rosary is used as a sign of hope, a prayer of hope as defined in its true meaning. It is an immense prayer to God, Jesus Christ (Virtual Rosary).

As a footnote to the appearances of the Virgin Mary, preparation for these three children had already been in the works. An Angel, who appeared before them on three occasions, guided their preparation for these visits. This began the events that radically changed their lives and really affected their souls more than the poor life they lived. Many believe this Angel was Saint Michael, the Archangel. Michael was "the Angel of the Lord". He was the Angel sent to Moses, Jacob, and Abraham and to various people throughout the history of the world. (St. Michael Center) According to biblical times, Saint Michael is the one who defeated Lucifer, or as some call him, the devil or Satan, in a battle in Heaven. St. Michael, as reported, was to have also appeared to some visionary children at Garabandal some forty years later. Interesting enough, this same situation was similar to two La Salette visionaries Melanie Matthew Calvat and Maximim Giraud some seventy years before (Daily Catholic).

The Virgin Mary continued her message to the shepherd children. She asked for penance, prayer and the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. The issue with Russia or as it was commonly known at the time, the Soviet Union (USSR), is an interesting one. During the years between 1917 and 1931, the communist government initiated a systematic destruction of anything related to the Catholic Church. Nearly one thousand churches were destroyed and over 1 million people, including 912 priest and 13 Bishops were arrested. (Gussoni,Brunello p. 15.) The irony of this part of the Virgin Mary's message is that between the years of 1985 and 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and no longer exists. The persecution of the church and other religions had eased.

As a final gesture to these children of the proof of existence, a phenomenon occurred on October 13, 1917, which was witnessed by over 70,000 people. Many of these people reported witnessing the sun "dancing" across the sky. Of the many apparitions and miracles that occur on a yearly basis, the Catholic Church recognized this phenomenon in 1930. Does this make the apparition legitimate? Let us examine something further.

The Virgin Mary mentioned to the children that two of them will endure an approaching fate and they will pass on to heaven. Shortly after the visions, the two younger children died. What makes this occurrence interesting has to do with four things. One, it occurred to both of the younger children and not the oldest. The two younger children were also cousins of the oldest child. Both children spoke of their demise and knew when it would occur.

Actually, Francisco declined an offer to go to school to learn how to read and write because the Virgin Mary informed him of his impending fate. When he died, he was not even eleven years old. Lastly, the prophecy handed down by the Virgin Mary came true. Could this be a coincidence?

The secrets of what the Virgin Mary gave to those children, ironically, overshadow the deaths of these two of three children. The timely death of these children cannot be understated and such occurrences are rare.

When Francisco died, Jacinta also became sick. Naturally, as any child would be, Jacinta was torn and saddened that Francisco has died. Nevertheless, she was very pleased that he was in Heaven and with God. Jacinta developed pleurisy, which became very serious. In those days, such diseases had no cures. She was sent to a hospital many miles from her home and on February 20, 1920, as the Virgin Mary told her, she died. Interesting enough, before she died, she revealed what the Virgin Mary had told her. Those comments, as eerily as it seems, reflected on the United States, more than any other country. Moreover, since she was from and lived in Portugal, it makes these comments all the more mystical.

The Virgin Mary stated, "More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any reason and certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much." The Blessed Virgin also imparted, "Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God. Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests to their superiors and to the Holy Father is very displeasing to Our Lord (Daily Catholic)."

Those words, spoken decades ago, reflect what has happened in the later part of the 20^th Century and into the 21^st Century in the world and especially here in America. You have priests, bishops and a host of religious human icons that are defying the Pope and the Vatican in general with sex scandals, pedophiliac desires and a host of other against God's wishes. Many have just plain ignored the Pope's word and the meanings set forth by God, Himself.

Sister Lucia, the remaining child of the three seers, had confirmed this on October 11, 1992. During her interview, Sister Lucia stated, "He that is not with the Pope is not with God, and he that wants to be with God, has to be with the Pope (Daily Catholic)."

All three pieces of this particular puzzle of these actions fits perfectly that the existence of a Creator, something much larger than we as humans can ever imagine. So can we reasonably be certain that apparitions, such as the one that occurred to these children in 1917, actually be for real?

The secrets themselves seem to hold more water to substantiate what occurred to the deaths of those children. Therefore, what exactly is stated in those three secrets?

The first secret-

"You have seen Hell where the souls of sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the

world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do as I shall ask, many souls will be

converted and there will be peace (Rigby)."

The second secret-

"The war is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given to 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 Reparations 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, and 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 (Rigby)."

After the first two parts of the message became known to the world, the last part was held in secrecy for over 40 years.

On June 26, 2000, the Vatican finally released the text of the last part of the secret and for some, it was not that flattering. In the previous month, the Vatican had issued only a summary of the secret but not much more than that.

Text of the third Secret written by Sister Lucia-

"I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.

"After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God (Third Secret of Fatima ) ."

The secret revealed that an attempt on Pope John Paul II's life would occur and ironically, on May 13, 1981, this event occurred on the anniversary on the date of the children's first vision. During the years leading the release of the secret, many had speculated that this last part of the secret entailed the apocalypse, the end of times. For many Catholics, the first two secrets foretold the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II and the rise of communism, which related to the country of the Soviet Union (World News Digest). Both of these events occurred without question. This gave credibility to the visions and it is very difficult to believe that three children could have lied about such events. Those two events were too large and too historical to discount as nothing more than a child's imagination.

This third secret was alleged to contain the revelation that the Pope had made his way through a ruined city with great efforts toward the cross. During this journey, among the martyred corpses, the Pope then falls to the ground, under a burst of gunfire. In addition, the secret goes on to say that while he was on his knees, at the foot of the cross, he was murdered by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows (Christianity Today).

Since the release of that text, it provided a glimpse into the Catholic devotion to Mary and how many Catholics are at odds with the Vatican and Church officials statements and their ensuing actions. This has been on the rise for many years. Some have felt that the Vatican holds many secrets but refuses to release them to protect the people. Nevertheless, the first two secrets dealt with major events in world's history but how and why would the last secret only have to do with one man, even if he holds a supreme position in the Vatican?

Several leading religious scholars, who are both Catholic and Protestant, are questioning this last secret revelation and they are not being shy about it. Some have publicly stated that this revelation, stated by the Vatican, is nothing more than a smoke screen covered in large part of church politics (Christianity Today).

As a former Catholic, now Methodist, I tend to believe, as the scholars do that something is very wrong with this explanation of the final secret. Are we really to believe that those three Portuguese children witnessed, foretold, and in confidence that somehow, only two of the secrets really meant something but the third part (secret) was just an added feature? I do not think so. I state this based on the numerous articles I have read since the reading of that important secret text does not fulfill the expectation. The first parts of the secret came true. Furthermore, they were also revealed before the events actually occurred. The last secret was revealed after the event occurred and it did not exactly play out in the exact way the text stated it would. This is the same scenario of trying to win over anyone after the fact. Most people would view this as a hoax, a fake. In addition, the Pope did not die as the text foretold. This is not a "two secrets out of three success rate" game.

The analysis of this event, especially the third secret, is incomplete and probably will be for some time to come. The most anyone can muster up are theories and sometimes, a bit of an imagination. Is that to say this is nothing more than a hoax; displayed by three imaginative children? Based on what is known, and what is told, sometimes research can only conjure up an opinion and nothing more without actual, physical evidence. The research revealed that the first two secrets are legit because they were foretold before the actual events. The latter secret was revealed after the event. In conclusion, as it seems on the surface, this last secret explanation was fabricated to hide an event that man does not want to hear or want to know about. I firmly believe that this last secret spells out something much worse for mankind or the end of times as predicted through biblical scriptures.

We may never know the real meaning of that third secret until that event occurs and by then, it may be too late.

Sources:

Beverley, James A., Christianity Today, v.44 no.10 (Sept. 4 2000), p. 42-3

Brunello and Gussoni, The Silent Church, Veritas Publishers, 1954, p. 15.

Rigby, Alison, "The Apparitions at Fatima, Portugal", 14 June 2003
http://apparitons.tripod.com/MaryApparitions/id4.html

Daily Catholic, October 29-November 2, 1999 vol. 10, no. 207 http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/99Oct/oct29top.htm

Religion: Text of Third Secret of Fatima Released, Facts on File World; News Digest, 6 July 2000, http://www.2facts.com

St. Michael Center for the Blessed Virgin Mary
http://www.smcenter.org/story.htm

The Original free multimedia Rosary.
http://www.virtualrosary.org/

"The Lady of Fatima" Religious History.
http://www.fatima.org (2002, 2003)

Text of the Third Secret of Fatima
http://www.marianland.com/thirdsec.html