Visit Her with Devotion During These Days

July 13, 2017

I was glad to find out that, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, we can receive a plenary indulgence on the 13th of every month from June through October! We need to “visit with devotion an image of Our Lady of Fatima in any church, oratory, or adequate place during the days of the anniversary of the apparitions, and devotedly participate there in any celebration or prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary, pray the Our Father, recite the symbol of faith (i.e. the Nicene or Apostles Creed) and invoke (i.e. pray to) Our Lady of Fatima.” And we should also meet the usual conditions for an indulgence.

Visit and Crowning of National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima

On this day, July 13th, in 1917, Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima and gave them three secrets. The first was a vision of Hell, the description of which sounds pretty scary! Jacinta said she wished everyone could see the vision because then they would believe and not want to go there.

The second secret was a prediction about the end of World War I. The Blessed Mother said that “if people will do what I say, there will be peace. Otherwise, there will be another terrible war if not enough people are devoted to my Immaculate Heart.” She also said an evil will begin in Russia and its errors will spread around the world. In 1917, the Bolsheviks took over in Russia. By 1920, they had put into place laws designed to destroy marriage and the family, the church was declared the enemy of the state, and abortion was made legal.

The third secret was a vision of a bishop dressed in white (assumed to be the Pope), which wasn’t revealed publicly until the Jubilee Year 2000. The bishop joined other bishops, priests and religious in climbing a mountain with a cross on top. He had a tremor, walked haltingly, and had great grief and pain. At the top of the mountain, he was killed by soldiers who shot at him with bullets and arrows. While he was in the hospital recovering from the assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II asked for the envelope containing the third secret to be brought to him. He was convinced that Our Lady of Fatima had guided the bullet in order to save his life.

Our Lady also established the First Saturday devotion, encouraging the faithful to receive Holy Communion every 1st Saturday of the month for five consecutive months for reparation. If you want to read more about Fatima, the World Apostolate of Fatima has a great website here

Here is the prayer from Our Lady for us to say when we make some 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.

--Submitted by Prayer Ministry Director Susan Platt, Photo Credit: Catholic Church England and Wales