May
13th—tomorrow—marks the one hundredth anniversary of the appearance of
Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, first to three children, and then later to
numerous adults, over the course of five months at the Cova da Iria, in Fátima,
Portugal. You can read the events on the link and elsewhere, but I want to point out one
thing Lucia, one of the three children said in describing the woman.
"A young Lady of
dazzling beauty seems to be overshadowed by sadness; her hands are joined over
her breast in an attitude of prayer; her dress, white as snow, reaches to her
feet and is fastened at the neck by a golden cord, the ends of which fall to
her waist. A white mantle, edged with gold, covers her head and falls to her
feet; in her hands she holds a Rosary of shining pearls with a silver
cross."
“A young Lady of dazzling beauty,” indeed. Of all the Marian apparitions in history, I have never seen one where the woman in question was not described as beautiful. Our Blessed Mother is beauty itself, and with her brings beauty into the world.
Which
brings me to a quote by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and other works, who not only
was Catholic, but a devout Catholic.
“All my perception of
beauty, both in majesty and simplicity, is founded founded upon our Lady.” (Quote found in May 2017 edition of Magnificat magazine, p.4)
So
this weekend say at least a prayer to the Blessed Virgin, or better yet, a
whole rosary, or find a book on the Fatima story. It’s a wonderful and beautiful story.
Manny thank you for increasing my knowledge of Our Lady of Fatima. I've always believed that The Mother of God was very special and I guess that I should thank my mother because during her older years, my mother always had her rosary in her hands. Believe it or not and long story short, she had no problem persuading me to say a Rosary or two at some of our French relative's funerals.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reminding us (usual sinners) of the promises that The Mother of GOD (Good Old Dad) made to us who have faith and pray.
Promises of Mary
For souls devoted to the Holy Rosary:
1. To all who recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.
2. The Rosary will be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy.
3. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.
4. Those who recite my Rosary piously, considering its mysteries, will not be overwhelmed by misfortune, nor die a bad death.
5. I will deliver promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.
6. The true children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.
7. What you ask through the Rosary you shall obtain.
8. Those who propagate my Rosary will obtain through me aid in all their necessities.
9. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.
10. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
God Bless you and yours.
Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all Mothers.
P.S. Give your wife and your mother a hug for me, myself and I. LOL
WHO'S LAUGHING?
Thank you for all that Victor. And best wishes to your wife for Mother's Day.
ReplyDeleteThank you Manny for this reminder. As I write this I gaze in my office at a small statue I have here of Our Lady of Fatima.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
You're welcome, Victor #2. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Manny, I recently embarked on a 90 day prayers and fasting endeavor called Nineveh 90. It included a 54 day Novena and then the Consecration to Mary. It concluded on May 13 and as you may have guessed, was purposely aligned with the 100th anniversary of Fatima. The experience was transformative and I plan to come out of blog retirement to share about it and the subsequent changes to my life. :) Promises, promises, right? But I truly want to so I am calling it a plan. :)
ReplyDeleteI deleted your duplicate entries. A 54 day Novena seems like quite a challenge. I'm going to look forward to reading of your experience. Glad you're coming out of retirement! :)
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