Mamma Mia (and yours!)

Saturday was the 100th anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal.  Delivering a message of peace for all humanity, she revealed predictions about the fate of the world; all of which have come true.   Her message of hope is still relevant today:

•  Pray (the rosary) daily for peace in the world 

Our Lady of Fatima told the children that wars are punishment from God for sin.  She could no longer restrain the hand of her Son from sending just punishment to the world for its crimes.  World War I was raging when Mary appeared in 1917.  She warned that if her words were not heeded, another, more severe war would happen (WWII).

•  Make sacrifices (and pray) for the conversion of sinners

The children were shown a vision of Hell and told that many souls go here because they have no one to make reparation on their behalf.

• Repentance

"I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.  They must not continue to offend Our Lord, Who is already deeply offended." 

Based on the continuation of war around the world, it is easy to see that we have not fully embraced our Mother's words of warning.  In a society constantly attacking its very makeup, i.e. family life, it is so important to heed Our Lady's words.  I have chosen a few more key statements Mary revealed to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta:

• more souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason 

Can anyone deny the increase in immorality in the last century?  From the legalization of abortion, to widespread contraceptive use (many contraceptives are abortifacents), sex/human traffiking, pedophilia, pornography, the increase in prostitution, date rape drugs, casual hookups on college campuses and elsewhere...I could go on, but I'm getting disheartened thinking about the world my kids are surrounded by...

• many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God 

  Sadly divorce rates are high,  gay "marriage" is accepted and safeguarded, sologamy is the new wedding trend, couples cohabitate, fornicate, intentionally sterilize, and loosely commit adultery.  Before 1930, all Protestant denominations agreed with the Catholic Church that contraception was morally evil.  Today, 98% of US women have used some sort of birth control in their lifetime. (I hope I read that statistic incorrectly because contraceptives are so harmful both physically (for the woman and her future children) and spiritually (big destroyer of relationships b/c it contradicts the marriage vows and violates the fruitful nature of love). We've also replaced God's command of  "be fruitful and multiply" with our contraceptive mentality that money, career, a new house, etc. are more important than [more] children. Often marriage is about "me" and not "we."

 "The final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family."  

• Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much  

Have you ever done a search of women's fashion from the 1900's to the 2000's??  I guess in the 100 plus years immodesty has been a gradual process, so we just don't recognize how exposed we really are. This story of St. Pope John XXII makes me chuckle every time: "Take an apple,"he told a skimpily clad lady who passed up the fruit course at the end of dinner.  "Eve didn't know how naked she was until she bit into the apple." 

Mary Our Mother

  To be a mother is more than just giving birth.  Its more than a name or a title.  To mother means to "bring up (a child) with care and affection".  It is wanting what is best for your child/ren according to God's design AND sacrificing yourself daily to help accomplish just that.  It is BEING and DOING.   Mary loves us so much, she has come back to earth to plead with us to stop offending Our Lord, to save our souls, and avoid eternal punishment.  As is evident in her apparitions throughout history, she will never stop doing; she will never stop fighting for us.  I see it as no coincidence that Mother's Day fell on the same weekend as this special anniversary of Mary's first apparition at Fatima. No matter if we are a birth mother, adoptive mother, or spiritual mother, how blessed we are to have Mary as our guide, our advocate, and our protector.

I encourage you to learn more about Our Lady of Fatima, her message, and the "Miracle of the Sun" that ended her 6 months of appearing to the 3 children.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.  Amen.