Fatima, Portugal, Oct 11, 2017 / 12:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- 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, Vatican Secretary of State... Read more
Rome, Italy, May 12, 2017 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- While a lot has changed since Mary’s appearances at Fatima 100 years ago, we can’t stop heeding Our Lady’s request to pray and offer sacrifices for the world, an expert on Marian theology has said. “Fatima is a stepping-stone. But we shouldn't be complacent. We have a very, very long way to go – in God's time – and we do need to consecrate ourselves daily to this goal,” Fr. Paul Haffner told CNA May 8. “This 100th anniversary of the apparitions teaches us that there has been a victory of Christ over sin and death, there has been a victory of his Mother within the Church, but we still have a very long way to go.” A theology professor and author of more than 30 books, Fr. Haffner has also been a member of the Pontifical Academy of Mary since 2012. One hundred years ago on May 13, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in a field in Fatima, Portugal. She brought with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world. Every local bishop since has approved the apparitions and deemed them worthy of belief, the highest recognition a Marian apparition can receive from the Church. In her third apparition, Mary revealed to the shepherd children what came to be known as The Great Secret of Fatima. The first secret was a vision of hell which Mary allowed the children to see. The second was a statement that World War I would end, and a prediction of another war that would start during the reign of Pius XI, if people continued to offend God and if Russia were not consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. According to Sr. Lucia, one of the visionaries who lived until 2005, the consecration was completed during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, who several times attempted to fulfill the requirements of the Russia consecration. It was finally considered fully complete after the consecration he made on March 25, 1984, as confirmed by Sr. Lucia. “It's true, the world has been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Church has made this consecration,” Fr. Haffner said. “However, this must not be a static thing, it must be an ongoing process.” The consecration must continue, he explained, because the world we live in is still filled with many false ideologies and many false gods, all “which tempt women and men away from their true goal.” “Whether these false ideologies are in the political sphere, the social sphere, the family sphere, the personal sphere, or in the educational sphere, they're there,” he said, and we must fight against them. At the time of Mary’s appearance in Portugal, the country was at war, like most of the rest of the world. In addition to the hardships of war, Catholics in the country were also facing a strong wave of anti-clericalism. Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebration of popular religious festivals were banned. From 1911-1916, nearly 2,000 priests, monks and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups. In one way, Mary’s appearance in 1917, Fr. Haffner noted, was “a remedy for these terrible evils.” “So in that sense, Our Lady remains, as it says in the Book of Revelation or the Apocolypse, the woman who is fighting against the powers of evil, against the dragon, against Satan.” And we get to be a part of that fight, he said. “She gives her sons and daughters a chance, also, to win that battle through Christ her Son. But they have to be dedicated to her, to the Church, and to Christ. And the way of dedication is the way of prayer and sacrifice.” Throughout salvation history, Mary’s role is often “unfolded” in the history of mankind, Fr. Haffner pointed out. “In the history of mankind her role is unfolded in the various quiet little miracles and in the big revelations, like Lourdes, Fatima and La Salette, Our Lady of Walsingham,” he said, naming several other Marian apparitions affirmed as worthy of belief by the Church. “All these different revelations and apparitions teach us of her maternal presence. Mary is a mother to us, she cares for us very tenderly, especially when things seem to go wrong.” “Now things seem often to not go very well for humanity, so Mary is there to pick us up. As Pope Francis often says, ‘you know when you fall, try to get up immediately,’ but sometimes you can't get up! You have to have a motherly hand, a motherly arm, to help you up.” “And so often in history that hand is found in Mary, he explained. “And that is the link between the apparitions of Our Lady: Mary's motherly hand helping us along the way – a pilgrim way.” Read more
Washington D.C., May 11, 2017 / 06:36 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After hundreds more migrants perished last weekend in the deadly Mediterranean passage to Europe, one Catholic expert insisted that the root causes of migration need to be addressed. “Th... Read more
Fatima, Portugal, May 11, 2017 / 05:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- While Fatima is famous for the mystifying candlelight procession and vigil that take place annually the night between May 12 and 13, there is an essential element that can easily be overlooked... Read more
Washington D.C., May 11, 2017 / 03:27 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday pledged his prayers and support for persecuted Christians around the globe, as well as members of other religions who are persecuted for their beliefs. &l... Read more
Austin, Texas, May 11, 2017 / 12:43 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic groups have welcomed the Texas House of Representatives’ passage Wednesday of a bill that would provide conscience protections for groups and individuals involved in the foster car... Read more
Fatima, Portugal, Oct 6, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The niece of Fatima visionary Sr. Lucia dos Santos said her aunt was a normal person like everyone else, but shared some personal advice that her saintly relative used to give: to pray every single day. “She always asked me to pray the rosary every day, because there were many who did not pray,” Maria dos Anjos, niece of Fatima visionary Lucia dos Santos, told CNA. “This was what Our Lady asked: that we pray the rosary every day. Because there were many who didn't pray and because of this many souls went to hell because there was no one to pray for them,” she said. Anjos, who only saw her aunt when they went to visit her in the convent, said the advice Lucia always gave her was to pray daily, and “that I not forget.” She recalled that in a few of the conversations she had with her aunt, she confessed to not finishing the rosary because she was tired, having worked hard in the fields all day. In response, Lucia didn’t reproach, but instead told her to “always start it, and if you don’t finish, Our Lady will finish it.” Anjos is the daughter of one of Lucia’s older sisters. She grew up in the house directly across the street from where Lucia and her family used to live. While now there are paved streets and cars driving past the houses and tourist shops set up near Lucia’s house, which is now preserved as a museum and is open to the public for visits, Anjos said that when she was growing up, “there wasn’t anything here...just a mountain and some sheep and donkeys.” Although she was only one year old at the time Lucia entered the convent, Anjos said her family would go to visit whenever they could. Lucia, she said, “was a sister like the others. There was no difference. She was just like the other sisters who were in the convent,” and was always “joyful” – both as a child and as a religious sister. Recalling memories that her mother had shared of her and Lucia’s childhood, Anjos said Lucia was a normal child like everyone else, and never lacked playmates. “Many children came to play with her because their parents went to the wine estates and left their children here, because there was always someone at the house of Lucia’s mother who looked after the kids,” Anjos said. Her grandmother and mother to Lucia, Maria Rosa Farreira, was a catechist, and would also teach the children who came to the house while their parents were away. Faith was always a big part of their family, even before the apparitions, Anjos said, explaining that “we always prayed the rosary, we went to Mass every Sunday, we did what we saw that could be done.” After the apparitions of Mary, “we continued, doing more, and remembering that Our Lady asked us to pray more and to make more sacrifices,” she said, jesting that “we do our homework well.” She recalled being able to attend Mass with Pope John Paul II during one of his three visits to Fatima, saying she was able to receive communion from him alongside her aunt, Sister Lucia. “When communion came, I received communion from his hands, from the hands of the Holy Father. I liked it a lot,” she said, adding “you always like good things, do you not?” Though she wasn’t able to speak with John Paul, Anjos said she was still “very happy,” and also content to welcome Pope Francis during his May 12-13 visit for the centenary of the Fatima apparitions. Noting an uptick in visits to the shrine, Anjos said that many people, her family included, would pray the rosary and visit the shrine after the apparitions, but “it seems that we have more devotion.” “I think that faith has increased here and in the whole world,” she said. “At least I think it has, because many people come here, and that’s why we have to (pray) more and more. I think it did a lot of good for people to have Our Lady appear here.”An earlier version of this article was originally published on CNA May 11, 2017. Read more
Vatican City, May 11, 2017 / 03:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Wednesday evening, just two days ahead of his trip to Fatima, Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Portugal asking them to be with him during his pilgrimage, whether physically or spiritually, as he presents flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. “I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my ‘golden rose,’” he said in the May 10 video message. “I want to meet everyone at the feet of the Virgin Mother.” In the message, Pope Francis said he had received many messages asking him to come to people’s homes, communities and towns during his visit, but that he was not able to accept, as much as he would like to. He also thanked the various Portuguese authorities for being understanding about his decision to restrict his trip to only the usual events associated with a pilgrimage to Fatima, such as praying the rosary at the prayer vigil and visiting the Chapel of the Apparitions. “Only a few days remain before our pilgrimage, mine and yours, to the feet of Our Lady of Fatima,” he said. “These are days of joy in expectation of our encounter in the home of Mary our Mother.” “It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful ‘blossoms’ that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17),” he continued. And this means everyone around the world, “none excluded,” he explained. “That is why I need to have all of you join me there.” “With all of us forming ‘one heart and soul’ (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: ‘My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God’ (Apparition of June, 1917).” In the video, Francis called the meeting “our pilgrimage,” the motto for which is ‘With Mary, a pilgrim in hope and in peace.’ The program for the visit contains many opportunities for prayer and conversion of heart, he said. “I am happy to know that in anticipation of that blessed moment, the culmination of a century of blessed moments, you have been preparing yourselves by intense prayer,” he noted. “Prayer enlarges our hearts and makes them ready to receive God’s gifts. I thank you for all the prayers and sacrifices that you offer daily for me. I need them, because I am a sinner among sinners.” Through prayer, he said, he receives light to his eyes, which “enables me to see others as God sees them, and to love others as he loves them.” Pope Francis makes the two-day pilgrimage to Fatima May 12-13 to celebrate the centenary of Mary's appearance to three shepherd children in 1917. During the trip, the Pope will also celebrate Mass, presiding over the canonization of two of the child visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta Marta. “In his name, I will come among you and have the joy of sharing with everyone the Gospel of hope and peace,” he concluded his message. “May the Lord bless you, and the Virgin Mother protect you!” Read more
Vatican City, May 11, 2017 / 03:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Wednesday evening, just two days ahead of his trip to Fatima, Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Portugal asking them to be with him during his pilgrimage, whether physically or spiritually, as he presents flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. “I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my ‘golden rose,’” he said in the May 10 video message. “I want to meet everyone at the feet of the Virgin Mother.” In the message, Pope Francis said he had received many messages asking him to come to people’s homes, communities and towns during his visit, but that he was not able to accept, as much as he would like to. He also thanked the various Portuguese authorities for being understanding about his decision to restrict his trip to only the usual events associated with a pilgrimage to Fatima, such as praying the rosary at the prayer vigil and visiting the Chapel of the Apparitions. “Only a few days remain before our pilgrimage, mine and yours, to the feet of Our Lady of Fatima,” he said. “These are days of joy in expectation of our encounter in the home of Mary our Mother.” “It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful ‘blossoms’ that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17),” he continued. And this means everyone around the world, “none excluded,” he explained. “That is why I need to have all of you join me there.” “With all of us forming ‘one heart and soul’ (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: ‘My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God’ (Apparition of June, 1917).” In the video, Francis called the meeting “our pilgrimage,” the motto for which is ‘With Mary, a pilgrim in hope and in peace.’ The program for the visit contains many opportunities for prayer and conversion of heart, he said. “I am happy to know that in anticipation of that blessed moment, the culmination of a century of blessed moments, you have been preparing yourselves by intense prayer,” he noted. “Prayer enlarges our hearts and makes them ready to receive God’s gifts. I thank you for all the prayers and sacrifices that you offer daily for me. I need them, because I am a sinner among sinners.” Through prayer, he said, he receives light to his eyes, which “enables me to see others as God sees them, and to love others as he loves them.” Pope Francis makes the two-day pilgrimage to Fatima May 12-13 to celebrate the centenary of Mary's appearance to three shepherd children in 1917. During the trip, the Pope will also celebrate Mass, presiding over the canonization of two of the child visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta Marta. “In his name, I will come among you and have the joy of sharing with everyone the Gospel of hope and peace,” he concluded his message. “May the Lord bless you, and the Virgin Mother protect you!” Read more
Vatican City, May 11, 2017 / 03:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Wednesday evening, just two days ahead of his trip to Fatima, Pope Francis sent a video message to the people of Portugal asking them to be with him during his pilgrimage, whether physically or spiritually, as he presents flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. “I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my ‘golden rose,’” he said in the May 10 video message. “I want to meet everyone at the feet of the Virgin Mother.” In the message, Pope Francis said he had received many messages asking him to come to people’s homes, communities and towns during his visit, but that he was not able to accept, as much as he would like to. He also thanked the various Portuguese authorities for being understanding about his decision to restrict his trip to only the usual events associated with a pilgrimage to Fatima, such as praying the rosary at the prayer vigil and visiting the Chapel of the Apparitions. “Only a few days remain before our pilgrimage, mine and yours, to the feet of Our Lady of Fatima,” he said. “These are days of joy in expectation of our encounter in the home of Mary our Mother.” “It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful ‘blossoms’ that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17),” he continued. And this means everyone around the world, “none excluded,” he explained. “That is why I need to have all of you join me there.” “With all of us forming ‘one heart and soul’ (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: ‘My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God’ (Apparition of June, 1917).” In the video, Francis called the meeting “our pilgrimage,” the motto for which is ‘With Mary, a pilgrim in hope and in peace.’ The program for the visit contains many opportunities for prayer and conversion of heart, he said. “I am happy to know that in anticipation of that blessed moment, the culmination of a century of blessed moments, you have been preparing yourselves by intense prayer,” he noted. “Prayer enlarges our hearts and makes them ready to receive God’s gifts. I thank you for all the prayers and sacrifices that you offer daily for me. I need them, because I am a sinner among sinners.” Through prayer, he said, he receives light to his eyes, which “enables me to see others as God sees them, and to love others as he loves them.” Pope Francis makes the two-day pilgrimage to Fatima May 12-13 to celebrate the centenary of Mary's appearance to three shepherd children in 1917. During the trip, the Pope will also celebrate Mass, presiding over the canonization of two of the child visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta Marta. “In his name, I will come among you and have the joy of sharing with everyone the Gospel of hope and peace,” he concluded his message. “May the Lord bless you, and the Virgin Mother protect you!” Read more
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