Fatima Rosary

12 Facts about Fatima every Catholic should know
In 1917, while the world was in turmoil from WWI and the Spanish Flu was unfolding, Our Lady appeared to 3 children (Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco) growing up in a poor village in Portugal.  Our Lady appeared to the children 6 consecutive months with one additional appearance.  The essence of the messages was to repent, pray the rosary daily, have devotion to her Immaculate Heart, pray and sacrifice for sinners, and do the First Saturday devotion.
This year marks the 105^th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance.  Here at St. Denis, we are fortunate to have a large stained-glass window to celebrate Her appearance at Fatima and remind us of her messages for salvation.
FACT #1—On May 13^th, Mary begins her first message with “Please don’t be afraid of me—I’m not going to harm you.”  These words perfectly echo the Bible, both Old and New Testament.  Here are some examples:  God says to Israel, “Do not fear—I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10); Jesus calms the apostles on the sea, “Take courage it is I, do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50); or, the angel Gabriel says to Mary “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God (Luke1:30)
FACT #2—On their first meeting, Mary tells them “Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.”  This is a message that Mary repeats on every visit with the children.
FACT #3— One month later, on June 13^th, Mary provides the children a new prayer to recite after each decade of the rosary.   “And after each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell.  Take all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need.”  This prayer was given to the children for all of us to recite.
FACT #4—On that same visit on June 13^th, Our Lady tells the children “Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved on earth.  He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart.  Mary teaches the children that devotion to her Immaculate Heart is most necessary and most pleasing to God.
FACT #5—One month later, on July 13^th, Our Lady instructed the children “Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often, especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
During this visit Mary showed the children a brief image of hell to impress on them (and us) the grave eternal consequences of sin.  This image by Our Lady confirmed the dogma of the church about the existence of Purgatory and Hell.  Mary then said, “You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go.  It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart.  If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.”
FACT #6 – On her third visit on July 13^th, Mary reminded the children for the third time, “Continue to say the Rosary, to obtain the peace of the world and the end of the war, because only she can obtain it.”  She reminds them again of a new prayer to include when saying the Rosary.
“When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fire of hell.  Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need (of thy mercy).”
Our Lady told them “The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI.”  As we know, the worse war (WWII) did come and so we also know that the people did not stop offending God.  At that time in 1917, Benedict XV was Pope and it was not until 5 years later that Pope Pius XI was elected.  Pope Pius spoke courageously against the evils of Communism, Fascism, the Nazi Reich, and religious extermination which all grew from our reluctance to listen to Mary’s simple message.
FACT #7 –On that same visit in July, Our Lady tells the children again of devotion to her Immaculate Heart.  She asks the Pope to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.  If her request is followed there would be conversion and peace.  If not, there would be the spread of errors, wars, persecution of the Church, the good martyred, the Holy Father suffering much and nations annihilated.  She assures the children “But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
FACT #8 – On August 19^th, Our Lady returns once again to remind the children to “Continue to say the Rosary every day.”  She also spoke about celebrating the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.  Our Lady teaches us “Pray, pray very much.  Make sacrifices for sinners.  Many souls go to hell because no one is willing to help them with sacrifice.”
Our Blessed Mother has come to all her children to teach us what we must do on this journey of life.  Her message is focused and clear.  She tells us to pray the Rosary daily, to pray and sacrifice for sinners, honor her Immaculate Heart and make the First Saturday devotions.  Can we afford to be stubborn once again and ignore her message?  Or rather, shouldn’t we have confidence that Our Blessed Mother has provided the answer to all we seek.  She has provided a way to express our love of neighbor.  She has provided a way to her spend eternity with her Son.
FACT  #9 – On September 13^th, Our Blessed Mother says, “Continue the rosary, my children.  Say it every day that the war may end.”  She stated that “Our Lord will come, as well.  Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world,” thus placing great importance on the Holy Family as an example for our families.  She tells the children she will appear as Our Lady of Sorrows and our Lady of Mount Carmel on her next visit.
FACT #10 – “I want you to continue to say the rosary every day,” and she identifies herself: “I am the Lady of the Rosary.”  She reminds us “People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.  They must not offend Our Lord anymore, for he is already too much offended!”  Her message on October 13^th is underscored by the astounding miracle of the sun dancing in the sky and witnessed by 70,000 onlookers.  She also appears as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, each with their own message.
FACT #11--At the time of the first apparition on May 13^th, Our Lady promised to appear 6 months in a row on the 13^th of each month, then added “And I shall return here yet a seventh time.” but gave no mention of when that would be. Four years later, on June 15, 1921 Lucia was about to leave Fatima to follow the bishop’s directive. Knowing she may never return to see this place or her family, she felt anxious. Lucia went to the holm oak where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1917, knelt and prayed in terrible anguish.
As she detailed in My Pathway, “[O]nce again you have come down to Earth; and then I felt your helping hand and maternal touch on my shoulder, I looked up and I saw you, it was you, Blessed Mother, holding my hand and showing me the path, and your lips unveiled the sweet timbre of your voice and light and peace was restored to my soul. ‘Here I am for the seventh time. Go, follow the path which the bishop wants you to take, this is the will of God.’”
FACT #12--“Everything is about Divine providence, including location. The spot where the Pope of Fatima, St. John Paul II, said World Youth Day Mass in Denver in 1993 has something special in common with Fatima: It's at precisely the same latitude (39.630369 degrees north) as the shrine in Fatima.”
Above was adapted from articles in the National Catholic Register titled “10 facts every Catholic should know about Fatima” and “10 surprising and little-known facts about Fatima” by Joseph Pronechen
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God sent Mary to remind us that there are consequences to sin, and that prayer and fasting are our remedy.  Mary has returned to teach us how to pray and to pray often.   As the world suffers from the pandemic, and the nation’s leaders turn to science, we must do our part as Catholics and turn to God.  We must use our spiritual weapons (i.e., the rosary, prayer and fasting) and turn to Mary to intercede on our behalf. 
While growing up as children we all learned that by going to our mother, we could rely on her to be our best advocate.  We remind all parishioners to turn to Our Heavenly Mother Mary and pray the rosary often. 
 With the passage of time, we have forgotten this spectacular miracle and the critical importance of Our Lady’s message.  Please pray the rosary daily in silence or join us after Mass any weekday or Saturday as we pray in reparation for our sins.  We need the intercession of Mary and the Mercy of Jesus to end this pandemic, bring an end to war and hunger, and return our country to its Christian values.
 When Sr. Lucia, one of the Fatima visionaries was asked “What was the message of Fatima?”  she summarizes all the visions by saying that Mary is reminding us that it is our calling to follow the Divine Will of God.  God has provided us a way to live in peace, joy and happiness, but unfortunately, we don’t listen.  We think we have a better idea.  Just as at the first miracle, the Wedding at Cana, Mary’s message is “Do as he tells you.”
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For additional information about Fatima or to watch a movie about Fatima please visit FORMED.org and search using the search term ‘Fatima’.  There are multiple great options available to learn more about this significant revelation from our Blessed Mother and the Miracle of the Sun which was observed by 70,000 witnesses.  The message is as relevant today as it was 105 years ago.  Please don’t let another year pass without following her message.