By Prof Michael Ogunu
On May 13, 1917, our Blessed Mother appeared to three shepherd children (Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta) in Fatima. She appeared to them again on June 13, July 13, August 19, September 13 and October 13.
After twelve years of investigation, the Bishop of Fatima, on October 13, 1930 declared the Apparitions to be “supernatural”.
During the course of her apparitions, Our Lady delivered very important messages to the children to announce to the world. The most essential messages are the Daily Recitation of the Rosary which was requested for during each of the six Apparitions. It was in the July 13 Apparition that She made her most prominent request: She requested for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays of the month.
She indicated that if Her requests were carried out, Russia would be converted and there would be peace. But should Her requests be ignored, Russia would spread her errors throughout the world promoting wars and persecuting the Church. The good people will be martyred, the Holy Father would have much to suffer and various nations would be annihilated, but in the end Her Immaculate Heart would triumph because the Holy Father would eventually consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart; the country would be converted and a time of peace would be conceded to the world…”
In reality, what Our Lady is telling us is that the peace of the world has been conceded to Her and has enumerated the conditions for world peace. Let us look at each of the messages:
(i) Stop offending God
Our Lady told the children that people must stop offending God, “because He is already so much offended”. Look at the world today. We are having the greatest upsurge in the following abominable and pernicious sins against the Divine Majesty viz — abortion, homosexuality, pornography, rape, adultery, terrorism, kidnapping, euthanasia, torture, bribery and corruption, consumerism. All these sins are thorns piercing the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
(ii) Pray the Rosary every day
Now, more than ever, we need the rosary.
Our Lady repeated the command “Pray the Rosary” with each and every one of her appearances at Fatima.
She promised the Rosary would bring peace to the world…
Today do we have peace?
No, sadly, not in the world, not in our cities and towns, not even in our individual lives.
Let us join together in redoubling our efforts to pray the Rosary and pray it with conviction, trusting in her promises.
The story is told of a 25-year-old female student who was praying in the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad on October 31, 2010 when suddenly, Muslim terrorists attacked!
Amid that horrific bedlam and terrible carnage, the student courageously hung on to her rosary and prayed even as the Islamic terrorist accosted her.
By the grace of God, she was spared from death.
Thankfully, this poor child of Mary discovered the power of the Rosary and the protection of the Mother of God.
When all seems lost humanly speaking, when events in our lives take a turn for the worst, we must not give in to the temptation that Our Blessed Mother’s promises are empty.
Instead, let’s take a firmer hold on our Rosaries and unite our hearts with hers — today and every day until the triumph of her Immaculate Heart.
The Rosary is the most powerful weapon in the spiritual battle that is raging today between the forces of God led by the Powerful Valiant Woman of the Revelation, and the forces of Satan.
(iii) Do Penance and Offer Sacrifices for the Salvation of Souls
The Virgin told the three shepherd children that many souls go to Hell because no one offers sacrifices to Jesus for their salvation. In 1943, Sr. Lucia disclosed that on a Thursday midnight, when she was in the Chapel with her Superior’s permission, Our Lord said to her: “The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance I now seek and require”. Sacrifice not only saves souls from eternal damnation but shows Jesus how much we love Him. By it, we remove the thorns that pierce the Heart of Mary.
(iv) Practice Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In the second apparition of Our Lady to the three shepherd children on July 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary said, “Jesus wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to all those who embrace it and these souls will be loved by God like flowers placed to adorn His throne”. We should practice devotion to the Immaculate Heart and try to get others to do so.
(v) Practice the Five First Saturdays Devotion of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Our Lady told Sr. Lucia, “I promise to help at the hour of death with the graces needed for salvation those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries, with the intention of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart”. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is pierced with thorns because of the five major blasphemies and offences committed against it. These are:
- The blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception;
- Blasphemies against Her Virginity;
- Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity and for the offences of those who refuse to recognise Her as the Mother of all mankind;
- Blasphemies of those who try publicly to implant in the children’s hearts indifference, contempt and even hate against this Immaculate Mother;
- The offences of those who insult Her directly in Her sacred statues.
By practising the First Saturday Devotion, we are removing the thorns.
On September 14, 2017 the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in a circular letter (signed by Rev. Fr. Marvin S. Mejia – Secretary General of the Bishops’ Conference) addressed to all the Cardinals, Bishops and Reverend Diocesan Administrators requested them to initiate the Diocesan promotion and implementation of the First Saturday Devotion which they described as “the forgotten message of Fatima” in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
(vi) Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Virgin Mary requested that the Holy Father in union with the BISHOPS OF THE WORLD CONSECRATE RUSSIA TO HER IMMACULATE HEART.
“If this Consecration is not done, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world promoting wars and persecutions of the Church, the good will be martyred. The Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be annihilated”.
(vii) Practice Purity and Modesty in Dress and let Marriages be in accordance with the will of God
Our Lady communicated this message to Jacinta before her death, in the following words:
“The sins that lead most souls to hell are the sins of the flesh” (that is, sins of impurity).
“Certain fashions will be introduced which will offend Our Lord very much”.
“Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests to their Superiors and the Holy Father is very displeasing to Our Lord”.
“Many Marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God”.
(viii) World Peace
“Tell everybody that God gives His graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her…”
Relevance of the Fatima Message for Today
According to Pope St. John Paul II, the Evangelical Message at Fatima, a Message of Conversion, Prayer and Penance, consecration to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Eucharistic Reparation and Sanctification of our Daily Duties is more urgent and more needed now than in 1917 when Our Lady announced the need to practice them for peace in the world and salvation of souls.
As Sr. Mary Doreen Okolie (IHM), the first Nigerian Mariologist remarked, “The message of Fatima is not only relevant in our world today but compulsory”.
A brief examination of the current situation of things in the world especially in Europe and America will help us to draw a conclusion about Pope St. John Paul’s comments on the relevance of the Fatima message today. In his brilliant analysis of the situation, Engr. Gordian Anakwue, former National President of the World Apostolate of Fatima in Nigeria, says that a clear evidence of the relevance of the Fatima message in our contemporary time or in the world today is the crisis of secularism which has become the most disturbing crisis of our time.
According to him, Europe, that beloved “old continent” of Our Lady with a rich diverse heritage of geographical and scientific discoveries as well as rich technological developments that had profound influence on Africa and the rest of the world, is submerged in very unprecedented, cultural, moral and spiritual crises. Europe turned against God by not only denying His existence but also persecuting those that believe in Him. Europe tried to build a civilisation without God because they considered Him no longer needed. Every subtle attempt was made to demystify Him.
By substituting God with the idol of materialism, consumerism and totalitarianism, Europe produced “a paradise” which had turned out to be a hell of hatred, unending struggles for power, wealth and lust, violence, terrorism, assassinations, kidnappings, militancy and intractable wars etc. Britain has been dechristianised with over half of the Gallup Poll conducted few years ago declaring that they do not go to Church and do not believe in the Second Coming of Christ.
Terrorist attacks are reported all over the world on daily basis. Some terrorist groups are fighting in the name of religion. These include AL QUEDA, ISIS, BOKO HARAM, TALIBAN, TAMIL TIGERS, ISIL, AL SHABA ETC. Several countries in the world today have become theatres of blazing furnaces of intractable wars and terrorist bombings. These include Syria and Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, Central African Republic, Latin America etc.
Most of the wars and terrorist attacks in the countries mentioned have religious connotation as in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, perhaps much more dangerous and disturbing is the threat of a Nuclear War.
The standoff between America and North Korea in the Korean Peninsula may result in a Third World War if not properly handled. North Korea is defying the U.N ban on the proliferation of Nuclear weapons by going ahead to be producing Nuclear defence Missiles and Hydrogen Bomb.
With the outbreak of wars and terrorist bombings and attacks in several countries of the world, Pope Francis was constrained some time ago, to declare that the Third World War was on.
He appealed for restraint on the part of the warring combatants and pleaded for peace. On the threat by the former President of the U.S. (President Trump) to use force to bring North Korea down to her knees, the Pope pleaded for caution because a Nuclear War will be catastrophic for the whole human race. But the former U.S. President said that America’s patience was running out. Let us recall that in the TWO WORLD WARS millions of people were sacrificed to build an “elusive paradise on earth without God”.
The whole world must return to God.
We must choose between “Civilisation of Love” and “Civilisation of Hatred” and between
“Culture of Life” and “Culture of Death”.
We must enthrone God as First in our lives and speak about His Rights as Creator and
Redeemer of the Human Race.
This is the Great Call of the Message of Fatima — the Evangelical call to conversion which echoes around the world more powerfully now than at any other time! “Return to My Son, Jesus Christ!” is the anguished call of Our Lady of Fatima, Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces!
Our world today is in dire need of peace, individual peace, peace in our families and communal peace. The peace promised to us by Our Lady of Fatima can be achieved through daily meditative recitation of the Rosary, calling on the mother of Jesus, who is ever ready, to come to our assistance, in performing our daily duties well and treating our fellow human beings with justice and dignity.
Prof Michael Ogunu is the International President of the World Apostolate of Fatima
