How Mary Came to Our Rescue - Heaven's Words to Us in Fatima

Mary came to rescue us from heaven

I remember when I first heard of these apparitions - I couldn't imagine anything being more important than Mary coming down from heaven to share with us what we needed to do in order to be saved - and to save souls who were falling into hell like snowflakes.

On this anniversary, may we take time to reflect on these words spoken from heaven and strive to live their message today.

First Apparition:

To prepare them for Mary's coming, the three shepherd children of Fatima — Lucia dos Santos and her two cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto — were visited three times by the Angel of Peace beginning in the Spring in 1916 when the children were 9, 8 and 6 respectively.

The angel said: "Fear not! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me!" The angel knelt on the ground and bowed very low and prayed:

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I beg pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You."
After repeating this three times he stood and said, "Pray like this. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."
Then he disappeared . . .
Lucia wrote afterward: The awareness of God’s presence was so intense and profound that we did not attempt to speak with each other. We remained in the position in which the Angel had left us, repeating the prayer the angel had given us. We did not mention anything about this apparition to others, but at the same time, we did not forbid one another to speak about it.
Second Apparition:
The angel appeared and asked:
"What are you doing?
Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High.
"How must we sacrifice ourselves?"
The angel said:
"Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. By this you will bring peace to your country. I'm its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you.“
From that moment, they began to offer to the Lord everything that offended Him, without trying to find any other ways of mortification or penance other than passing hour after hour, bowed to the ground, repeating the prayer that the angel had taught them.
Lucia wrote:
These words made a profound impression on us. They were like lights that allowed us to comprehend who God is, how much He loves us and desires to be loved, the value of sacrifice and how much it pleases Him, and how He grants the grace of conversion of sinners through sacrifice. For that reason, from that moment on, we started to offer the Lord all the sufferings possible and repeat the prayer the Angel taught us.

Third Apparition:
It occurred in autumn.  The angel had in his hand a chalice over which hung a Host, from which fell in the chalice some drops of Blood. He knelt and repeated three times with the children:
"Most Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- I adore thee profoundly. I offer thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles in the world, in reparation for all the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby he is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."

Then he rose, took the Host, and gave it to Lucia, while the contents of the chalice he gave to Jacinta and Francisco, and said:
"Take the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”
Again the Angel prostrated on the ground and repeated with us three times the same prayer:
”O Most Holy Trinity ...

Then he disappeared.

Lucia wrote:

During the following days our actions were driven by this supernatural power. We felt great inner peace and joy, which kept our souls completely immersed in God. There was also a great exhaustion that overwhelmed us.
I do not know why the apparitions of Our Lady produced such different effects. The same intimate joy, the same peace and happiness, but in place of this physical exhaustion, there was rather an expansive agility; in place of annihilation in the divine presence, an exultant joy; in place of a difficulty in speaking, a certain communicative enthusiasm.

Words of Our Lady at Fatima (1917)

Our Lady’s 1st Visit – May 13th

Our Lady appears to the three children at the Cova da Iria and asks that they return for five more months in succession, on the 13th day, at the same hour.

"Don’t be afraid," the Lady said to the children; "I won’t hurt you."
"Where are you from? Asked Lucia."
"I come from Heaven," the Lady said.
"And what do you want of me?" Lucia asked.
"I want you to return here on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months, and at the very same hour. Later I shall tell you who I am, and what it is that I most desire. And I shall return here yet a seventh time."
"And shall I go to Heaven?"
"Yes, you will," the Lady said.
"And Jacinta?"

"She will go too."

"And Francisco?"

"Francisco, too, but he will first have many Rosaries to pray."

"Is Maria Neves in Heaven?"
"Yes, she is."
"And Amelia?"
"She will be in Purgatory until the end of the world."

"Will you offer yourselves to God, and bear all the sufferings He sends you? In reparation for all the sins that offend Him? And for the conversion of sinners?"
"Yes, we are willing." Lucia said for them all.
"Then you will have a great deal to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort."
"Pray the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war."

Our Lady’s 2nd Visit – June 13th

Our Lady tells the children that God wants to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. About 50 people come to the Cova da Iria to witness the apparition.

"Please tell me, Madam," Lucia begged, "what it is that you want of me?"

"I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. I want you to continue praying the Rosary every day. I want you to learn to read and write, and later I will tell you what else I want of you."
Lucia interceded then for an afflicted person whose cause had been recommended to her.

"If he is converted, he will be cured during the year."

"Will you take us to Heaven?"

"Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you will remain some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart."

"Am I to stay here alone? " Lucia sadly asked.

"No my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."

Our Lady’s 3rd Visit – July 13th

Mary tells the children the Secret (in three parts) and promises to prove Her appearances with a miracle on October13, 1917. About 5,000 people come to the Cova on July 13.

"I want you to come back here on the thirteenth of next month," the Lady said. "Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, to obtain the peace of the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you."
"Yes," said Lucia, "yes."
"Continue to come here every month," the Lady said, "and in October I will tell you who I am and what I want. I will perform a miracle for all to see and believe."
Thus assured, Lucia began to place before the Lady the petitions for help, that so many had entrusted to her. The Lady said gently that she would cure some, but others she would not cure.
"And the crippled son of Maria da Capelinha?" asked Lucia.
"No," the Lady said, "neither of his infirmity nor of his poverty will he be cured, and he must be certain to pray the Rosary with his family every day."
Another case recommended by Lucia to the Lady's assistance was a sick woman from Atougia who asked to be taken to Heaven.
Mary said:"Tell her not to be in a hurry. Tell her I know very well when I shall come to fetch her."
Mary instructed: "Sacrifice yourself for sinners, and pray many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

As she spoke these words (Lucia tells us in her memoirs), "the Lady opened her hands, as she had in the preceding months, but instead of the glory and beauty of God that her opened hands had shown us before, we now were able to behold a sea of fire. Plunged in this flame were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air the by flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals.
Mary tells them: "You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. This war is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see the night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."

"To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays."

"If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, a period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of faith will always be preserved,… [It was here that Our Lady told the children what has become known as the "Third Secret.] “Do not tell this to anybody. Francisco, yes, you may tell him."

"When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need."

"Is there anything more that you want of me?" Lucia had asked the Lady.

"No, my child; there is nothing more for today."

Our Lady’s 4th Visit – August 19th

August 13: The children are kidnapped by the Mayor of Ourém and miss their appointed meeting with Our Lady. About 15,000 people come to the Cova and many witness supernatural phenomena indicating that Our Lady came nonetheless.
August 19: Our Lady visits the children in nearby Valinhos and again prophesies the working of a miracle in October while telling the children to pray and make sacrifices for sinners.

"What do you want of me?"

"Come again to the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth and to continue to pray the Rosary every day."

Again Lucia requested the Lady to bring to these hills a miracle so that all would know she came from Heaven.
"I will. In the last month, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe."
"What are we to do with the offerings of money that people leave at the Cova da Iria?" asked Lucia.
"I want you to have two litters made, for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. I want you and Jacinta to carry one of them with two other girls. You will dress in white. And then I want Francisco, with three boys helping him, to carry the other one. What is left over can be used to help towards the construction of a chapel that is to be built here."
Lucia accepted these instructions humbly and thankfully, then fervently asked for the cure of the sick who had begged her intercession.
"Some I will cure during the year."

"Pray, pray very much. Make sacrifices for sinners. Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them."

Our Lady’s 5th Visit – September 13

About 30,000 people come to the Cova and again, many witness supernatural phenomena indicating Our Lady’s presence.

"Continue to pray the Rosary, my children. Pray it every day that the war may end. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolors and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world."

"God is pleased with your sacrifices," she said, "but He does not want you to wear the cords to bed. Keep them on only in the day."
"I have the petitions of many for your help," Lucia said. "Will you assist a little girl who is deaf and dumb?"
"She will improve within the year," the Lady said.
“And the conversions that some have asked to have brought about? The cures of the sick ones?”
"Some I will cure," the Lady said, "and some I will not."
"In October," the Lady said, repeating her earlier promise, "I will perform a miracle so that all may believe."

Our Lady’s 6th Visit – October 13th

Over 70,000 people, including atheists and skeptics who came only jeer at the Church, see the great miracle (of the sun) that occurred that Mary promised. Our Lady foretold the children in September that Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel. Also, Saint Joseph would appear with the Child Jesus in order to bless the world.  All this did occur as promised.

"I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes."
"I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant them?" Asked Lucia.

"Some yes, but not others."

"People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord anymore, for He is already too much offended!"
"And is that all you have to ask?" Lucia inquires.
"There is nothing more."
The Miracle of the Sun took place after this conversation with Our Lady, but she said nothing more to the three children.

Lucia wrote:

After our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun

St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolors). Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel.
AFTER THE INITIAL APPARITIONS:

Francisco would die on April 4, 1919 and Jacinta on February 20, 1920.
Our Lady appeared to Jacinta several more times before her death.
From these visits, Jacinta was able to share many remarkable statements that Mary revealed to her:

"The sins of the world are very great ... If men only knew what eternity is, they would 

do everything in their power to change their lives. "

"Fly from riches and luxury; love poverty and silence; have charity, even for bad 

people. "

"More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason. "

"Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much. "

"Woe to women lacking in modesty. "

Jacinta also revealed:

"The Mother of God wants more virgin souls bound by the vow of chastity. " 

"Confession is a sacrament of mercy and we must confess with joy and trust. " 

"Many marriages are not of God and do not please Our Lord " 

"Our Lady can no longer uphold the arm of Her Divine Son which will strike the 

world. If people amend their lives, Our Lord will even now save the world, but if they 

do not, punishment will come. "

"People must renounce sin and not persist in it, as has been done until now. It is essential to repent greatly. "
"Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests to their superiors and to the Holy Father is very displeasing to Our Lord."

"Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell 

them to ask graces from Her and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated 

together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the 

Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to Her. " 

The vision of hell was shown at the beginning of this century to impress upon men and to 

confirm the doctrine of Hell; thereby influencing man to stop offending God by sin. Of the 

three children who saw hell, Jacinta was the most affected by this vision. The following are 

some of her words on hell. 

"Oh, Hell! Oh, Hell!"

"Mother of God have pity on those who do not amend their lives."

"If men only know what awaits them in eternity, they would do everything in their power to 

change their lives." 

Often she would say to her brother, "Francisco, are you praying with me? We must pray 

very much to save souls from hell, so many go there. So many!" 

At times she would ask of Lucia, "Why doesn't Our Lady show Hell to sinners? If only 

they saw it, they would never commit sins again."

1925:
December 10: Our Lady appears to Sister Lucia at Pontevedra in Spain to relate the specific requirements for the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays.
On this occasion Our Lady appeared together with the Child Jesus, Who spoke first to Lucia:

"Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns which ungrateful men place therein at every moment, while there is no one who does an act of reparation to withdraw them for her."

Our Lady then addressed Lucia as follows:
"Behold, my daughter, my Heart encircled with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Give me consolation, you, at least; and make known on my behalf that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months confess their sins, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to my Immaculate Heart."

June 13, 1929:
In fulfillment of Her promise at Fatima on July 13, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appears to Sister Lucia at Tuy, Spain in the visible presence of the Most Holy Trinity and asks for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
I had requested and obtained permission from my superiors and my confessor to make a holy hour from 11:00 p.m. to midnight, from Thursday to Friday of each week.
Finding myself alone one night, I knelt down near the Communion rail, in the middle of the chapel, to recite the prayers of the Angel, lying prostrate… Feeling tired, I got up and continued to recite them with my arms in the form of a cross. The only light was that of the [sanctuary] lamp.
Suddenly, the whole chapel lit up with a supernatural light and on the altar appeared a cross of light which reached the ceiling. In a clearer light, on the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a man with His body to the waist, on His chest a dove, equally luminous; and nailed to the cross, the body of another man. A little below the waist [of Christ on the cross], suspended in the air, could be seen a Chalice and a large Host, onto which some drops of Blood were falling, which flowed from the face of the Crucified One and from the wound in His breast. Running down over the Host, these drops fell into the Chalice.
Under the right arm of the cross was Our Lady with Her Immaculate Heart in Her hand… (She appeared as Our Lady of Fatima, with Her Immaculate Heart in Her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames) under the left arm [of the cross], in large letters, like crystalline water which flowed over the altar, forming these words: “Grace and Mercy”. I understood that the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity was shown to me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not permitted to reveal.
Then Our Lady said to me: ‘The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. So numerous are the souls which the justice of God condemns for sins committed against Me, that I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray.’
August 1931:
This revelation was given in 1931, just after the Fatima apparitions had been formally approved by the Church. Sister Lucia was ill, she was fatigued by all the constant attention which then inundated her, and she needed to get away from people continually wanting to inquire of her about the Fatima apparitions.

So in August of 1931, Sister Lucy was sent by her superiors to the small maritime village of Rianjo, incognito. Even the people in the house where she was staying did not know who she was; only the owner of the house knew, no one else. And one day she was there in the chapel in Rianjo, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady, and she was praying for the conversion of Spain, of Portugal, of Europe, of Russia, and of the world.

It was while she prayed for the conversion of Spain and Portugal and Europe and Russia and the world that Our Lord spoke to her and said, “You please Me very much by praying for the conversion of those countries. Ask this grace also of My Mother.”

He then dictated two prayers to her, and asked her to pray them often:

“Sweet Heart of Mary, be the salvation of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe and the whole world.”

“By Thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, obtain for me the conversion of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe, and the whole world.”

And then Our Lord went on to say,

“Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command, they will likewise follow him into misfortune.”

What is this reference to the King of France? The King of France had been commanded by Jesus to consecrate France to His Sacred Heart, and the kings of France, for one hundred years, had refused to do this. Our Lord gave the command through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, and it was passed on to the King.

Our Lord gave this command on June 17, 1689. For one hundred years to the day, the kings of France refused to obey. Then on June 17, 1789 -- one hundred years later, to the day -- the King Louis XVI of France was stripped of his power by the uprising of the Third Estate, and four years later was publicly executed at the guillotine.

IMPORTANT DATES CONCERNING FATIMA:
April 28, 1919 - Construction begins on the Chapel of the Apparitions.
October 13, 1921 - Mass is allowed to be celebrated in the Chapel for the first time.
October 13, 1930 - The Bishop of Leira declares worthy of faith the apparitions and authorizes devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.
May 13, 1931 - First consecration of Portugal to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, done by the Portugese Episcopate according to the message of Fatima
October 31, 1942 - Píus XII, speaking in Portugese on the radio, consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, making veiled mention of Russia, following the request of Our Lady
May 13, 1946 - The statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the chapel is crowned by Cardinal Marsella, a pontifical delegate. The crown was offered by Portugese women in thanksgiving for having freed Portugal from the Second World War.
May 13, 1967 - The Holy Father Paul VI travels to Fatima on the 50th anniversary of the first apparition to ask for world peace and unity of the Church.
May 12-13, 1982 - The Holy Father John Paul II travels to Fatima as a pilgrim to thank Our Lady for having survived the brutal attempt on his life suffered exactly one year before in St. Peter's Square. Kneeling, he consecrated the Church, humanity and peoples to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, making a veiled mention of Russia.
March 25, 1984 - In St. Peter's Square, before the image of Our Lady, John Paul II again consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary together with all the bishops of the world who had previously been notified to unite themselves with His Holiness in this consecration. Lucia later confirmed that this consecration satisfied the petition made by Our Lady.
May 12-13, 1991 - The Holy Father John Paul II returns to Fatima for the second time as a pilgrim on the 10th anniversary of the attempt on his life.
May 13, 2000 - The Holy Father John Paul II, in his third visit to Fatima and before more than a million pilgrims (we being among them), beatifies Francisco and Jacinto and reveals the third part of the "secret of Fatima." A historic moment of great transcendence. The Pope confirms one more time the importance of the messages and the heroic holiness of the visionary children. He presents them as very important examples of prayer, love and penance. He recognizes the transcendence of the messages the Virgin communicated to them.
© Janet Moore 2020. All Rights Reserved.