Our Lady of Fatima–May 13

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“When Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts that nourished you.’ And he replied, ‘Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it’” (Luke 11:27-28).

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13th. St. Josemaría had a number of meetings with Sr. Lucia of Fatima, one of the visionaries who lived to a great age.

His first meeting with her was in 1945. When he met her for the first time, without any casual introductions, he said to her, “Sr. Lucia, if you who receive so many graces from God, and I also, who receive so many graces from God, if we are not faithful, what great damage we could do. We might not go to heaven.”

And Sr Lucia responded, “I've also thought about these many times.”

There were many occasions when St. Josemaría had meetings with her. He used to say or tell her, that the initial responsibility for Opus Dei going to start in Portugal, just after the Second World War, was her responsibility because she asked for it.

He was thinking in principle of looking in the other direction: France, Germany, the UK, and Italy. But Portugal was the first country that the Work spread to after the end of the Spanish Civil War.

On May 13th, 1981, Pope St. John Paul was shot. It was big news all over the world. A great surprise for everybody.

Some people thought that a 60-year-old man who gets two bullets into his abdomen probably won't live very long. But the Marian Pope, whose motto was Totus Tuus–“All Yours,” went on to have one of the longest Pontificates in the whole of human history and Church history.

He went on something like 190 international trips. He changed the whole face of the papacy. During that period of convalescence of three or four months, he talked about how the Holy Spirit had spoken to him very clearly and let him see that God wanted him to lead the Church into the third millennium.

On one occasion, Blessed Álvaro del Portillo went to see him. It's interesting now, forty years later, to look back on that meeting. Blessed Álvaro del Portillo goes to meet St. John Paul II.

The Holy Father was not really receiving anybody at that time, but he received Don Álvaro. And Don Álvaro said a rather strange thing to him.

He said, “Holy Father, Our Lady has sent you these bullets.” An unusual thing to say, as though Our Lady goes around with an AK-47.

The Pope sat up in bed and said, “Well, that's the way I see things also.”

He said, “She has sent you these bullets because she wants to make you suffer. Because in making you suffer, she draws you closer to herself. And in drawing you closer to herself, she draws you closer to her Son.”

A year later, the Holy Father decided to make a pilgrimage to Fatima on the anniversary of the assassination attempt. And with him, he brought the bullets that had pierced his abdomen.

When he went to Fatima, he said to Our Lady, holding out the bullets, “I think these are yours. I've come to return them to you.” Now one of those bullets has been placed in the crown of Our Lady of Fatima, as a testimony for all time of how Our Lady of Fatima saved the life of the Pope.

One of the cardinals in charge of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops during that time was a man called Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio.

In his Congregation, he was also responsible for the juridical approval of Opus Dei as a Personal Prelature, which during those days was nearing its final moments, after three or four years of deep study by committees and commissions and all sorts of people, and consultations with bishops all over the world.

On the Saturday before the Pope was shot, Cardinal Baggio presented the final conclusions of all these studies to the Holy Father, whom he used to meet every Saturday morning.

The Holy Father said, “I will study these matters and I will give you my reply next week.” That was on a Saturday; the following Wednesday, the Holy Father was shot.

You can imagine the consternation that was provoked in all sorts of places and in all sorts of ways.

During his convalescence, he asked to see Cardinal Baggio at a time when he wasn't receiving any of the high functionaries of the Curia.

Cardinal Baggio tells a story of how he was in a bit of a dilemma because he had a large pile of papers on his desk that needed the signature of the Holy Father, relating to appointments of bishops all over the world.

He wasn't sure if this was just a social meeting or a work session that the Holy Father wanted. Do I bring all those papers, or do I not bring all those papers?

He decided not to bring the papers. When he went to see Pope John Paul, the Holy Father said to him, “This business of the approval of the Prelature of Opus Dei, of Opus Dei as a Personal Prelature: it has to go through.”

Cardinal Baggio came out of that meeting. He narrated it to Blessed Alvaro. He said, “You know, I always knew that Opus Dei was from God. But when the Holy Father said those things to me in those circumstances, it really drove the point home to me.”

And so, we can have a lot of devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, for what she has done for the Church, for Opus Dei, for so many aspects of apostolate all over the world, the Pontificate of John Paul II. There's now a plaque on the spot in St. Peter's Square that commemorates the shooting of John Paul II.

The person who performed that deed was later imprisoned. Some time later when he recovered, Pope John Paul went to see him and forgive him. But the papal spokesman said, “The fellow never asked for forgiveness. The only question he asked was, ‘Who is this, Lady Fatima? Because I've never missed before.’”

And now, many wonderful things have come as a fruit of the graces from Our Lady of Fatima.

The Personal Prelature of Opus Dei is now in a center in Moscow, as well as many other places behind the former Iron Curtain.

All this goes back to the 13th of May to the 13th of October 1917, when Our Lady appeared at Fatima in Portugal to three children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, who were later beatified, and Lucia probably will be canonized soon.

When the children of Fatima were beatified and canonized, it was also a statement by the Church that little children can be saints. The apparitions of Our Lady were preceded by three apparitions of an angel in the spring of 1916.

On each occasion, when Our Lady appeared, she asked them to say the Rosary and to offer reparation for the offenses made to her Immaculate Heart.

So, these were the key messages of Fatima: Marian's devotion and piety through the Rosary, and also reparation. Atonement for the sins of men.

At the request of the Portuguese hierarchy, the Consecration of the world to her Immaculate Heart as she had requested was made on the 31st of October 1942 and was renewed again by Pope John Paul in 1982.

On the 13th of May 1917, Our Lady appeared for the first time. These three children were taking care of their sheep in a place called Cova da Iria.

Our Lady asked them to return there on the 13th of each month for the following six months. She spoke to them about penance for sins, about saying the Rosary, and about the Consecration of the world to her Immaculate Heart.

Each time this beautiful Lady appeared, she asked them to say the Rosary every day. She also taught them a prayer to say often, in which they would offer to God the events of their lives, particularly small mortifications, and sacrifices.

The prayer said, “O Jesus, this is for love for you, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the offenses made to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

In August, Our Lady promised to give the children a sign that would be seen by everybody, as proof of the truth of her message.

In each apparition, she reminded them to pray for the conversion of sinners. And on the 13th of October, there took place what is known as the Miracle of the Sun.

Tens of thousands of people were present in Cova da Iria that day. They witnessed that special event. It was even seen by people many miles away.

On that occasion, Our Lady told the children that she was the Virgin of the Rosary. She also said that men have to mend their ways and ask for pardon for their sins. They shouldn't offend Our Lord anymore because He's far too offended already.

In 1987, John Paul II recalled his visit to Fatima in 1982. He said, “I went there with my Rosary in my hand, with Mary's name on my lips, and the song of Mary in my heart, to give thanks to Our Lady” for having survived the assassination attempts on his life the previous year.

He said the apparitions at Fatima in 1917 were testified to by extraordinary signs, for, as it were, a point of reference and enlightenment for the 20th century and beyond.

Mary, Our Heavenly Mother, came to awaken men's consciences, to illuminate the authentic meaning of life, to call men to conversion from sin and to spiritual fervor, and to inflame souls with love for God and with charity toward the neighbor.

Mary came to help us because many, unfortunately, do not wish to accept the invitation of the Son of God to return to their Father's house.

From her sanctuary at Fatima, Mary renews even today her maternal and urgent petition: the conversion to truth and grace, the return to the life of the sacraments, especially penance and the Eucharist, the devotion to her Immaculate Heart, accompanied by a spirit of penance.

We could ask ourselves in our prayer today, How do I respond to the frequent invitations and inspirations of the Holy Spirit to purify my soul?

Particularly through the sacrament of confession, am I constant in making reparation for my own sins and for the sins of mankind? All the ways in which God is offended are through dishonesty, lies, drunkenness, abortions, contraception, and pornography.

How well do we say the Rosary? Especially during this month of May, are we generous with our Rosaries when we know it pleases the heart of Mary so much?

Can we be said to be ambitious in our expectations as regards our friends and companions, so that they might be able to be led, like prodigal children, back to the heart of Christ?

There are many things we can ask Our Lady for, today. It's almost a halfway stage through this month of May.

On another occasion, John Paul said the message of Fatima is in its basic meaning a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel. The Lady of the message seems to have read with special insight the signs of the times, the signs of our age.

“The call to repentance,” he says, “is a motherly one. At the same time, it's strong and decisive” (John Paul II, Homily, May 13, 1982).

In our prayer today, we can hear the voice of Our Lady, sweet yet insistent, calling us individually to action. Throughout the Gospel, the words resound, “Repent and do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).

Mary reminds us that without penance, man does not receive the kingdom of her Son, because, without penance, man is in the kingdom of sin.

On another occasion, Our Lord said, “Without penance, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

The Apostles also, in their preaching to the infant Church, taught how this truth occupied its essential place.

All the days of the pilgrim Church are a time of true penance, spatium verae poenitentiae, so that we offer to Our Lord the little things that may go wrong every day. Let's see them as opportunities.

Penance is necessary because sin exists, and we are no strangers to it. We have to make reparation for all our faults and the weaknesses of all our fellow men, and because nobody without a special privilege is confirmed in grace.

In Fatima, Pope John Paul said, the ultimate purpose of penance is to get us to love God intensely and to consecrate ourselves to Him.

The Curé of Ars said that penance is as necessary for the soul “as breathing is for the life of the body.” Our first love for penance can be expressed in a great love for frequent confession.

I'm trying to foster that in our families. I'm always very impressed in the last forty years when, particularly fathers, but also mothers, have said, ‘Father, I see in my family the fruits of the fact that I come to confession frequently, that I take care to be in the state of grace. Somehow there's more peace in my home. I think that comes from the peace in my soul.’

We have to try and have a great desire to receive it ourselves, sometimes traveling distances, getting over challenges, to receive the great graces that are there, trying to prepare very well, and also trying to do an effective apostolate around us, our friends, our relatives, to bring them to this sacrament of joy and of mercy.

The virtue of penance has to be present in all the everyday actions of our life, in fulfilling our daily schedule, even though our mind and our body might resist, so that I keep very focused on what I'm supposed to do at this particular moment, fulfilling my duties, being on time, placing orders in the things around me, and going the extra mile in charity or in patience.

On another occasion, at Fatima, John Paul talked about the Consecration.

He said one part of the message of Fatima was Our Lady's desire for the whole world to be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. What safer refuge, he says, could there be for this poor world of ours? Where else could we find better protection and shelter?

“This Consecration,” he says, “means drawing near, through the Mother's intercession, to the very fountain of life that sprang from Golgotha. This fountain pours forth, unceasingly, redemption and grace. In it, reparation is made continually for the sins of the world. It is a ceaseless source of new life and holiness.”

Pope Pius XII, whose episcopal ordination took place precisely on the 13th of May 1917, the date of the First Apparition, consecrated the human race, and especially the peoples of Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Pope John Paul later renewed it, and we can in turn unite ourselves to that petition.

He said, “O Mother of individuals and peoples, you who know how all their sufferings and their hopes, you who have a Mother's awareness of all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, which afflict the modern world, accept the cry which we, as though moved by the Holy Spirit, address directly to your heart.

“Embrace with the love of the Mother and Handmaid this human world of ours which we entrust and consecrate to you, for we are full of disquiet for the earthly and eternal destiny of individuals and peoples. In a special way, we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be entrusted and consecrated.

“We fly to your patronage, Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions in our necessities. Reject them not! Accept our humble trust and our act of entrusting.”

We know that Our Lady, always attentive to what we ask for, will listen to us in a special way. She will enable us to find that refuge and shelter in her most pure heart.

In a letter in May 2008, Don Javier Echeverría, Prelate of Opus Dei, said that on May 13, we recall one of these manifestations, the first apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima.

May that message of prayer, of conversion, of reparation for sins, resound in our ears—a message that has spread so powerfully from that Marian shrine.

As is only logical, we especially give thanks for the protection Our Lady gave to the Pope, saving his life in the assassination attempt on May 13, 1981.

And we also remember with gratitude the many times that St. Josemaría left before her in the little chapel of Fatima, beseeching her maternal assistance for the Church, for the Work, and for all souls. He often said this: that place was his refuge.

On another occasion, St. Josemaría said in The Forge, “The Holy Rosary: the joys, the sorrows, and the glories of the life of Our Lady weave a crown of praises, repeated ceaselessly by the angels and the saints in heaven—and by those who love Our Mother here on earth. Practice this holy devotion every day and spread it” (Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, Point 621).

May is a special time for us to renew our Marian piety, to see how we can promote this in the family, with our friends, perhaps visiting a shrine of Our Lady, and making sure that our children know the important Marian shrines in our country; if possible, making a journey there, or other special places of Marian pilgrimage or piety closer to home, so that they grow up knowing these places.

Perhaps they have an image of Our Lady in their room, where they place flowers there on a daily basis.

They express their love of Our Lady in concrete ways. “It is a Christian duty,” he says in The Forge, “and a citizen's duty, to defend and promote, out of piety and general culture, those monuments that are found along streets and highways—the wayside crosses, the images of Our Lady, and the like. We should restore those which vandalism or weather have destroyed or damaged (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 719).

“Holy Mary, Star of the Sea,” he says, “be our guide. Make this firm request, because there is no storm which can shipwreck the most Sweet Heart of Mary. When you see the storm coming, if you seek safety in that firm refuge which is Mary, there will be no danger of your wavering or going down” (J. Escrivá, The Forge, Point 1055).

We could ask Our Lady also on this day of May to help us to live the virtue of purity better.

In The Forge, Point 415, we're told, “Dear Lord, I find beauty and charm in everything I see! I will guard my sight at every moment, for the sake of love.”

Part of our Catholic culture is to get to know the story of Fatima, to go back and look at it again and again to know it a little better, and the depth of the message of Our Lady, which is of perennial relevance for ourselves, for our parish, for our Church, for our family.

With Pope John Paul and all the popes since, we could say, “Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.”

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

MVF