Feasts of the past few days remind us that God hasn't called us to pig out at the church picnic, but rather to follow His Son onto the field of battle. How many of us ever even skip a snack in reparation for sins that cry to heaven for vengeance, much less do any real fasting. (I point the wagging finger at myself!)
With the 100th anniversary of Fatima less than two years away, I'm reading every book I can get my hands on about Our Lady's messages to the three little shepherds from the "beautiful lady." This morning, reading Sister Lucia: Apostle of Mary's Immaculate Heart, written by Mark Fellows and published during the 90th anniversary year (2007), I came across an interesting item. In 1946, Lucia, the only surviving seer of Fatima, was interviewed by American historian Professor William Thomas Walsh. During the questioning, she told him several times:What Our Lady wants is that the Pope and all the bishops in the world shall consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart on one special day. If this is done, She will convert Russia, and there will be peace. If it is not done, the errors of Russia will spread through every country in the world.Professor Walsh asked her if she believed that all the countries throughout the world, without exception, would succumb to Communism.
So today is a good day to go to Confession in preparation. We have visiting grandchildren and will all go for a spiritual bath.
blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception, against her perpetual virginity, against the divine and spiritual maternity of Mary, blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonoring of her images, and the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother. (See more here...)What did the Blessed Mother promise to Sr. Lucia for those who would make the First Saturday devotion? Listen to her own words:
"Behold, my daughter, my Heart encircled with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Give me consolation, you, at least; and make known on my behalf that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months confess their sins, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart."As I get older, I reflect more often on the last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. And how encouraging it is to think of Mary coming with her legion of angels to accompany me on my final journey. It's a small effort of love to make for such a great return. When I think of the efforts we go to for celebrating birthdays, holidays, etc. it is a small effort indeed to show love and devotion to Our Lady.
