We are living in dark, perilous times – no darker and no more perilous than the times preceding today’s society. However, as our society seems to descend into moral relativism, eschewing the notion in natural truth and law, many of us holding on to the belief in our Faith, and in God, are left holding the draw strings of a bag whose bottom is slowly coming unraveled.
The Chicken Little sky falling mantra does not seem to be shouted from the rooftops as pervasively as it has in times past. Instead, we seem complacent to let each other live our own truths, without thought to a much larger truth.
This month is the One-Hundredth Anniversary of the Final Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima.
Over the course of six months, Our Lady appeared to three small shepherd children, giving messages…
…and warnings.
Society was warned to repent and turn from sin…
…to recognize God in all His goodness and glory…
…to accept the Truth only God can offer us.
There is no timeline for when the warning will expire, since Jesus was pretty clear – only the Father knows the day, the time, and the hour.
Upon baptism and confirmation, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit sparked within our beings. As humans, longing for relationship, we constantly strive to seek the elusive relationship – the one that only God can provide… only He can provide a relationship with comfort, security, and true agape love. For, as Our Lady of Fatima explained during one of her apparitions,
Heaven is real.
Hell…
…is also real.
And, Our Lady of Fatima provides us with warning…
…and encouragement.
There are testimonies throughout history which indicate just how transformative the Rosary can be – for individuals, and for societies. In addition to this month being the hundredth anniversary of the final apparition of Fatima, this month is also the 446th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, whose outcome secured the victory of Christendom in the West over Islam. The success at Lepanto has historically been attributed to the power of the Rosary. Our Lady of Fatima reiterated praying the Rosary as an avenue to convert hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.
Our Lady of Fatima encouraged us to be on guard against sins of impurity, and to offer sacrifices throughout our days – offering up our small sacrifices for love of Jesus, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins.
One hundred years ago, Our Lady reminded us of a framework to succeed in getting to heaven.
But, as we are also warned in Matthew 7:13-14,
As Lieutenant General (Retired) Hal Moore once said during an interview with EWTN, “I’m in the business of eternity, and I hope I am successful in that business.” While difficult and wildly unpopular it is to do so at times, it is not impossible for us to keep an eye on the end goal of our eternal life. Even if it makes us stand out, and makes this life difficult at times, it is not outside the realm of possibility for us to keep eternal life at the forefront of our thoughts and actions.
Keeping our eternity in mind requires vigilance, prayer, sacrifice, and love.
It should also lead us to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to ensure we are choosing the gate and the road that leads to eternal life?
Recently a dear priest gave a homily on St. Elizabeth of Portugal. She was the great-granddaughter of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Like the other Elizabeth, through marriage, she became Queen of a country different from her own. She did all she could to keep peace between her son and her husband, between family and nations. Father reiterated, “She was not a virgin nor religious; she was a mother.” When he said, “she was a mother,” I felt, “be a peacemaker.”