A Review of God's Continuing Miracles
For the Past 2000 Years
The Sixth Miracle:
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
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The Sixth Miracle 
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal Brief Summary of the Miracle:
Between 13 May, 1917, and 13 Oct, 1917, three poor shepherd children near Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a field.
The 3 young visionaries as they appeared in 1917, the year of the visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From left to right: Jacinta (age 7),Francisco (age 9), and Lucia (age 10) The children were Lucia Santos (age 10) and her two cousins Jacinta Marto (age 7), and her brother Franciso Marto (age 9). At first, even their own families refused to believe them. Instead their families insisted they should confess to lying and forget the whole business. The local clergy made a pretense of investigating the apparitions but removed aloof and indifferent. However, as news of the visions began to spread, by the date of 13 July, 1917, the date of the 4th appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, there were several thousand other people there to witness the children’s interaction with the Blessed Virgin. At that time, none of the other witnesses saw or heard anything. Although the children reportedly saw, heard, and spoke with the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 13 Jul ,1917. During one of her visits, the Blessed Virgin revealed 3 secrets to the children. These were secrets which would later change the world. In the visitation of 13 September, 1917, The Virgin Mary promised that during the time of her visit in October, 1917, she would perform a miracle so that all may believe. On the 13th of October, a crowd estimated at 70,000 people was present to witness the miracle. After a drenching downpour of rain on 13 October, 1917, the sun came out from behind the clouds and then there occurred a miracle none had expected. Thousands reported the sun began to change color in the sky, and then began to “dance” around the sky. The ground was still soaked from the recent downpour, and when the sun began to dance around the sky, thousands threw themselves down into the mud praying and crying. Some reported seeing the sun racing to crash into the earth, but it retreated after a few minutes. After about 10 minutes, the movement of the sun stopped, and it returned to its normal place in the sky. When all of the people who had thrown themselves into the mud stood up, they were astonished to see that their cloths were dry and clean. None of those present, other than the 3 children, reported seeing the Virgin Mary that day. During one of her visits, the Blessed Virgin asked that Russia be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, and (if it was) Russia would be converted, and there would be peace. If not, there were will be terrible consequences including horrible wars with great loss of life, the persecution of the church, and the martyrdom of many Christians. Russia was finally consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. Within 7 years, Russia, one of the 2 great superpowers in the world, fell apart and was dissolved. In 1984, the collapse of the Soviet Union was unthinkable. In 1984, Russia stretched across 6 time zones, about 9000 miles. It had one of the largest standing armies in the world, and one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the history of the world. However, in December of 1991 the Soviet Socialist Republic of Russia broke apart, collapsed, and dissolved into 12 separate and independent nations. The great threat of Russian communism and atheism taking over the world had been destroyed. Today we see many in the former Soviet Union returning to Christianity as never before. The Promise of Our Lady of Fatima had been fulfilled. The miracle of Our Lady of Fatima was accomplished before our very eyes, and yet many don’t seem to understand the great miracle that has taken place right in front of us. So please open your eyes and see what a magnificent miracle that Our Lady of Fatima has accomplished for all of the world to see. .
The Message of Our Lady of Fatima:
On her last visit on October 13, a crowd of 70,000 people, including reporters from anti-religious newspapers, gathered in a torrential rainstorm to witness the scheduled arrival of the Virgin Mary, which led to the famous Sun Miracle of Fatima. Around noon, many of the observers testified they saw wondrous things in the heavens: the rain clouds parted, the "sky opened up" and the sun seemed to spin in the sky, change colors, or go completely dark for several minutes, before appearing to plunge towards the earth. According to many witness statements, after a downpour of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky. It was said to be significantly duller than normal, and to cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought the world was about to end. Other witnesses reported that the ground was soaked from the earlier rain and there were mud puddles everywhere. When the sun began its wild spinning many cried out in fear and fell into the mud puddles crying and praying. A few minutes later when they all stood up again, a strong wind blew which they felt, but they saw that the leaves on the trees were not affected by this wind. Only they felt the strong wind. Then they all looked down and their cloths which should have been completely covered in mud from their falling into the mud puddles were all clean and dry. And they were all amazed that their cloths were clean and dry when they should have been caked in mud. Some feared it was the Last Judgment. Many agreed that a major miracle had occurred. Only the children saw the Virgin appear, however. One of those who witnessed and reported the strange solar phenomena was Avelino de Almeida, a reporter who had previously ridiculed the so-called miracles at Fatima in his newspaper articles. Mr. Almeida, who had been a very loud skeptic before the event recanted his position and admitted he had seen a miracle that day. However, his photographer who was also present did not see it, but shot pictures of the mesmerized crowd looking into the sky. Many reported seeing the sun move from where it should have been. There were pictures of the entire crowd looking at the sun in an entirely different part of the sky from where it should have been. At around 1:30 pm in the afternoon (the time of the miracle on 17 Oct 1917), the sun should have been a little past its zenith in the sky. Yet thousands of people were photographed reportedly looking at the sun in a different part of the sky. The event was attributed by believers to Our Lady of Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as predicted by three young shepherd children in the previous months of 1917. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that she would reveal her identity to them on 13 October, 1917, and provide a miracle "so that all may believe." She kept her promise. According to the reports of the witnesses, the event lasted approximately ten minutes. While the crowd was witnessing the dancing of the sun; the three children also reported seeing a panorama of visions, including those of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph blessing the people. There is no independent scientific verification of the reported solar phenomenon, and no movement or other phenomenon of the sun was registered by scientists at that time. Despite these assertions, not all witnesses reported seeing the sun "dance". Some people only saw the radiant colors. Others, including some believers, saw nothing at all. No scientific accounts exist of any unusual solar or astronomic activity during the time the sun was reported to have "danced".
Francisco and Jacinta Marto both fell victim to the Great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1919. Exhumed in 1935 and again in 1951, Jacinta's body was found incorrupt, while Francisco's had decomposed. Francisco and Jacinta were declared "venerable" by Pope John Paul II in a public ceremony at Fatima on May 13, 1989, and John Paul returned on May 13, 2000, to declare them "blessed." Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified. Lúcia reporting seeing the Virgin again in 1925 at the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra, Spain, and was asked to convey the message of the First Saturday Devotions. Lúcia was transferred to a convent in Tuy, Spain, in 1928. In 1929, Lúcia reported that Mary returned and repeated her request for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Lúcia reportedly saw Mary in private visions off and on throughout her life. Most significant was the apparition in Rianxo, Spain in 1931, in which Jesus taught Sister Lúcia two prayers and delivered a message to give to the hierarchy of the Church. In 1947, Sister Lúcia left the Dorothean order and joined the Carmelite order in a convent in Coimbra, Portugal. She died on February 13, 2005, at the age of 97. The date is significant for Fatima devotees, being on the 13th day of the month. It was always on the 13th of the month that the Blessed Virgin Mary always came to visit the children visionaries 88 years before in 1917 during the early visions of the Blessed Virgin at Fatima. The Blessed Virgin Mary returned one last time on 13 February, 2005, to Sister Lucia to guide her personally into heaven. After her death, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) ordered her cell sealed off, perhaps to examine it for Lúcia's canonization proceedings. Two months later, Cardinal Joseph Ratizinger was crowned as Pope Benedict XVI on April 24, 2005. Because of his personal devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his close association with Sister Lucia, we might speculate that the Blessed Virgin Mary might have had a hand in the selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in becoming Pope Benedict XVI. However, that would only be speculation of course. Development of the Shrine and Pilgrimage: Construction on the first place of worship, the Chapel of Apparitions, began on April 28, 1919. Permission was first granted for the celebration of Mass at the shrine in October 1921 and on June 26, 1927, the Bishop of Leiria presided over an official ceremony in the Cova da Iria. On October 13, 1930, the 13th anniversary of the Sun Miracle, the Bishop of Leiria issued this statement authorizing the veneration of Our Lady of Fatima: In virtue of considerations made known, and others which for reason of brevity, after hearing the opinions of our rev. advisors in this diocese, we hereby declare : (1), the visions of the shepherd children in the Cova da Iria, parish of Fátima, in this diocese, from 13 May to 13 October, 1917 are worth of belief; and (2) permit officially the veneration of Our Lady of Fátima. Devotion to Our Lady of Fatima received unprecedented official support from several popes, including Pius XII (1939-58), Paul VI (1963-78) and John Paul II (1978-2005). Pope Pius XII issued a message encouraging devotion to her on May 13, 1946, and again in 1950, when he declared, "may Portugal never forget the heavenly message of Fátima, which, before anybody else she was blessed to hear. To keep Fátima in your heart and to translate Fatima into deeds, is the best guarantee for ever more graces." On May 13, 1967, Pope Paul VI prayed at the shrine with Sister Lucia.
"Just as a few years ago We consecrated the entire human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, so today We consecrate and in a most special manner We entrust all the peoples of Russia to this Immaculate Heart…" Finally, Pope John Paul II credited Our Lady of Fátima with saving his life during the assassination attempt in 1981. And in 1984, the Pope consecrated the entire world, including Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 1984. Pope John Paul II came to Fatima as a pilgrim on May 12,1987, to express his gratitude, and the following day, he officially consecrated the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin, as Pius XII had done before him. The Collapse of Russia And the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Fatima: On March 25, 1984, at the feast of the Annunciation, Pope John Paul II consecrated the entire world, including Russia, in a public ceremony to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. In 1984, when Russia, along with the rest of the world, was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Russia was one of the two great super powers in the world. At that time, there were only 2 superpowers - America, and Russia. In 1984, Russia, the Soviest Socialist Republic, spread across 6 time zones, and spanned about 9,000 miles across. It was the largest nation on earth. It had more nuclear weapons than any other nation on earth. In 1984, it would have been madness to think that this great superpower would be gone within less than 10 years, but it was. In 1991, just as Our Lady of Fatima had predicted, once Russia was dedicated to Her Immaculate Heart, Russia would collapse, and so it did. In 1991, the former Soviet Union broke apart into 12 separate nations. The great threat of the Russia of 1917 that communism and atheism would take over the world was broken forever. Who in the early 1980's could ever have imagined such a thing? The promise of our Lady of Fatima had been fulfilled. First Dedication in Russia to Our Lady of Fatima: And now millions in the former Soviet Union are turning to Christianity as never before. Sister Lucia in 1998 gave assurance that she would be united in prayer with the people of Russia when on October 11, 1998 the first Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima in Russia would be dedicated in St. Petersburg. Who could fathom what must have been Sister Lucia’s thoughts before this beautiful image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary she knew was destined for this Shrine to honor and thank Our Lady of Fatima in Russia? She had heard our Lady speak of Russia and its errors to spread over the world. She had seen Our Lady holding her Heart in Her hand presenting it to us as a sign of her love for her children. She had seen that Heart surrounded by thorns which pierce it and heard our Lady say: “My daughter, look at my Heart surrounded with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me... As a young lady she had the duty given her from heaven to influence the Pope with all the bishops of the world to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “The moment has come when God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Heart, promising to save it by this means.”
The words Sister Lucia heard Our Lady of Fatima speak so long ago must have echoed in her heart as she stood in the choir in 1998 with the special statue of the Immaculate Heart. The statue was destined for Russia’s first Fatima shrine in St. Petersburg, Russia. The words of Our Lady of Fatima must have been remembered by Sister Lucia as she stood there in the choir that she had heard from the Blessed Virgin's lips 81 years before in 1917: “But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and it will be converted....” (July 13, 1917). And so it was completed according to the prophesy and the will of God. To visit the official website of Our Lady of Fatima Click here
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