Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Yesterday in St Peter's Square the Pope performed the Act of Consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which had been brought specially from Portugal on this day, the 96th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun.

The Pope incenses the statue of Our Lady of Fatima yesterday

Image:salesianity.blogspot.co.uk

Here is the text of the Pope's prayer of consecration:

Holy Mary Virgin of Fatima,

with renewed gratitude for your maternal presence

we join our voice to that of all the generations

who call you blessed.

We celebrate in you the works of God,

who never tires of looking down with mercy

upon humanity, afflicted with the wound of sin,

to heal it and save it.

Accept with the benevolence of a Mother

the act of consecration that we perform today with confidence,

before this image of you that is so dear to us.

We are certain that each of us is precious in your eyes

and that nothing of all that lives in our hearts is unknown to you.

We let ourselves be touched by your most sweet regard

and we welcome the consoling caress of your smile.

Hold our life in your arms:

bless and strengthen every desire for good;

revive and nourish faith;

sustain and enlighten hope;

awaken and animate charity;

guide all of us along the path of holiness.

Teach us your own preferential love

for the little and the poor,

for the excluded and the suffering,

for sinners and the downhearted:

bring everyone under your protection

and entrust everyone to your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Translation by Joseph Trabbic on Zenit

I saw some of the morning liturgy thanks to EWTN on a friend's portable device yesterday evening. Mgr Marini was very much in evidence as Papal MC and in the style of the liturgy- the Benedictine influence appeared also to be very much in evidence in what was happening, in the arrangement of the altar and it all combined to give the occasion the dignity appropriate to such a significant event.

My own devotion to the concept, and indedd, reality of the Immaculate Heart is something which I realise has developed since I became a Catholic. From being something that appeared a rather rarified development I have come through things like the story of the Miraculous Medal and reflection not only on the story of Fatima, but also reading books such those of St Louis de Montfort to see it as part of the rich tapestry of the Faith.

The oft repeated request for consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart by those concerned to fulfill the reported words of Our Lady in 1917 has now, hopefully, been carried out. That should ease the concerns of some. On the other hand, as a friend said to me yesterday, what will some progressive voices make of the Pope for such an action, which they may well see as harking back to a folk piety of the past? Like his predecessor Pope Francis is a Pope of Surprises.

 

Rosary Crusade - October 13th

On October 13th there will be the annual Rosary Crusade of Reparation from Westminster Cathedral to the Brompton Oratory.

It is not only the feast of St Edward the Confessor, one of the patron saints of the cathedral, but it will also be the 95th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima in 1917, and the procession is always one escorting the image of Our Lady of Fatima. 

Image:Rosary Crusade blogspot

There are more pictures from last year here.

The procession starts from the cathedral at 1.45, proceeds at Brompton for devotions in the Oratory church and concludes with Benediction and enrollment in the Scapular.

This is always an impressive act of witness through the heart of west central London, and draws many pilgrims - why not join them  to begin the Year of Faith?

Our Lady of Fatima

I suspect a lot of parishes are holding their May Devotion to Our Lady today on what would otherwise be the freast of Our Lady of Fatima, and on the 95th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady in the Cova de Iria in 1917.

Our Lady of Fatima

wordincarnate.wordpress.com

The message Our Lady delivered at Fatima was to a revolution afflicted country in a war-torn world, but it is one equally applicable to the circumstances of the present time. To turn to Christ in a spirit of repentance should be our response to the diverse and complex series of problems which confront the world today.

In particular the message of Fatima seems profoundly bound up with the survival of Christian European civilisation, and that is an issue with which we should indeed be concerned.

Our Lady of Fatima pray for us!

The Miracle of the Sun

Today is the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima in 1917 and I am sharing an advertisement I received today from that excellent organisation Aid to the Church in Need about the latest film about the Fatima apparitions. I have not so far seen this film, although I did successfully recommend it for the DVD loan collection of the Oxford Union Library.

Aid to the Church in Need is pleased to offer the inspiring film Fatima The 13^th Day - A Story of Hope at a bargain price!

Written and directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins, the film retells the story of the young seers at Fatima, bringing alive the events of May to October in 1917.

On this day 94 years ago, people descended on the Cova da Iria in Portugal to witness a miracle - known as the Miracle of the Sun - that the children had been told to preach by Blessed Mary.

Many pilgrims went barefooted, reciting the Rosary as they went, when the miracle occured as promised.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster called the award-winning film "a remarkable re-telling of the story of Fatima... I believe that many will be deeply touched by the film."

Fatima has a special connection with Aid to the Church in Need, as the charity was consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima by its founder, Father Werenfried van Straaten.

Available at a bargain price of just £15.99 plus P&P - get your copy now!

A Day with Mary in Oxford

Today being Our Lady's birthday seems a good occasion upon which to publicise the forthcoming Day with Mary at the Oxford Oratory. This is one of a series of such events held throughout the country. At the heart of these Days with Mary is reflection on the revelations by and about Our Lady at Fatima in 1917.

Our Lady of Fatima

Image:wordincarnate.wordpress.com

The day consists of reflections and devotions as well as processions of Our Lady, Exposition and two sermons in addition to Mass, and concludes with enrollment with the scapular.

The Oxford Day with Mary is on Saturday September 17th, beginning with a film about Fatima at 9.30 in the parish centre. It is due to conclude at 6.15. Those attending should bring a packed lunch. There is more about the Day with Mary apostolate here.

If one is free to go it appears to be an excellent way in which to mark both Our Lady's birthday this month and next month's anniversary of the 1917 Fatima Miracle of the Sun.

Our Lady of Fatima

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fátima, celebrating the first apparition of Our Lady there to the three shepherd children on this day in 1917. These continued on the 13th of each month until the 'Miracle of the Sun' on October 13th that year.

There is an online account of the apparitions and history of the shrine here.

The story of Fatima is one that is truly extraordinary, and one which confronts so many prevailing preconceptions in our society. In itself it is call to faith, and one that is challenging and demanding. What the children of Fatima saw and relayed was no easy religious option, no easy comfort, but an awareness of spiritual and indeed physical combat with dark and dreadful forces.

Lucia dos Santos and her cousins
Francisco and Jacinta Marto in 1917

I have not had the possibility of visiting Fatima. but its story is one that has fascinated and intrigued me since I first saw a television programme about it in the 1970s. As the link I give above bears out the extraordinary number of coincidences that surround the story, and events on the 13th of different months and different years that point to the shrine suggest the hand of Divine Providence.

In 2009 a film The 13th Day was produced which narrates the story through the memories of Sr Lucia, who died aged 97 in 2005. I have not so far managed to see the film, but it received positive reviews from the Catholic press.

May Our Lady of Fatima pray for the Pope and for the Church,

and for us all.