Reflecting on how I can prepare for our hope - to embark on a Pilgrimage for Peace, as part of our Jubilee Year observations, my mind turned to the Marian apparitions at Fatima. Just over 100 years ago, in 1917 in the midst of WWI, Mother Mary appeared to three little children at Fatima, Portugal.
She brought a message of 'how to bring about peace in times of war'. The overarching message was - that the only lasting peace is the Peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And to bring about this peace required prayers and penance.
With that in mind, I revisited an old movie on the apparitions which is available on YouTube. Listening to and researching the messages, I came to the conclusion that the messages were very relevant to today. Pope Francis has already described our times as a fragmented WWIII. So in fact we need to bring about peace while we are already at war.
Mary's message was that she was 'The Lady of the Rosary' and she gave a formula to stop the war and bring peace. At the heart of the message was a change of hearts, and she warned that if a sufficient number of persons did not change, another war would erupt, WWII. I believe we are in the exact same position today.
Her formula is as follows:
- Daily Pray the Rosary
- Penance and Reparation: -offer sacrifices in reparation for sins—both their own and those of the world—and to help bring souls back to God. This penance could be small, daily acts offered in love.
- Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart:- personal and communal consecration to her Immaculate Heart as a path to salvation and peace.
- Conversion of Heart: - The call to turn away from sin and return to God
- First Saturdays Devotion: -observe the Five First Saturdays—going to Confession, receiving Communion, praying five decades of the Rosary, and meditating on the mysteries for 15 minutes—in reparation to her Immaculate Heart.
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