<\/p>\n
[From my parish bulletin]<\/p>\n
Today the Church celebrates the 94th<\/sup> anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal to three young shepherds: Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. <\/span>Our Lady appeared to them every 13th<\/sup> day of the month for six months. <\/span>During the last apparition, Our Lady delivered the promised sign: the sun danced around the sky and began to approach the Earth. <\/span>Over 70,000 believers and skeptics gathered in Fatima witnessed this amazing yet terrifying event. <\/span>Newspapers throughout Portugal and Europe reported the event.<\/p>\n The message of Fatima is very simple. <\/span>It is an urgent call to conversion, prayer and penance that draws believers to the heart of the Gospel. <\/span>The message of Fatima is also prophetic. <\/span>Mary told the children if mankind did not convert, Russia\u2019s errors would spread throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. <\/span>The Holy Father would suffer much, the good would be martyred and nations would be annihilated. <\/span>This prophecy materialized later in 1917 with the Bolshevik Revolution. Mary gave the children a vision of hell to warn mankind of the great suffering caused by sin. <\/span>Mary announced future chastisements if mankind did not repent: wars, famine, persecution of the Church and persecution of the Pope.<\/p>\n Despite the apocalyptic nature of the message of Fatima, Mary reminds the three children that all these tragedies can be avoided if hearts convert and repent. <\/span>Sin is a consequence of evil, so if sin is remedied, all these evil happenings will be avoided. <\/span>Our Lady urges us to trust in God\u2019s mercy and to seek reconciliation with Him. <\/span>One converted heart at a time will bring about peace in families, communities, countries and the world.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [From my parish bulletin] Today the Church celebrates the 94th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal to three young shepherds: Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Our Lady appeared to them every 13th day of the month for six months. During the last apparition, Our Lady […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n