May 13 - remembrance of the Fatima miracle of the Virgin Mary

Today the western church celebrates the memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima. Many articles have been written about this miraculous event and many books have been published containing eyewitness accounts. We will only recall what happened on May 13, 1917 in the Portuguese town of Cova da Iria, not far from Fatima. One hundred and two years ago, on a sunny spring day, three children - nine-year-old Francisco Martou, his sister Jacinta Martou and their cousin, ten-year-old Lucia Dos Santos saw a majestic Virgin with a rosary in her hands, dressed in snow-white clothes.

Without saying a word to each other, as they say, on the inspiration of their hearts, the children immediately recognized the Mother of God in her. That meeting was the first in a series of six wonderful visits. And each time (except for the last) the Ever-Virgin made a new meeting for them - invariably on the thirteenth day of the next month. During Her appearances, the Mother of God revealed the future to children, namely, some of the most dramatic upcoming events. She spoke, for example, about the imminent end of the First World War - and the threat of a new, second in a row, much more destructive. Of course, many people soon learned about the miraculous phenomena of the former children. It was perceived in different ways: by someone - with a pure heart full of faith, and by someone - with skepticism and doubt. So that people do not doubt the truth of the phenomena of the Most Immaculate Virgin and that she was free to open, a sign appeared. On October 13 of the same year, thousands and thousands of Portuguese and those who were in the country at that time witnessed the 'miracle of the sun': the cloudy sky suddenly cleared, heavy rain stopped pouring, and the luminary began to rotate, playing with different colors. Moreover, according to the testimony of people who watched the miracle many kilometers from Fatima, the sun increased in size 'as if falling to the ground', which caused some religious delight, while others - genuine fear.

Two of the children who were vouchsafed to see the Mother of God and listen to Her words soon retired to the Lord during the Spanish flu epidemic, a monstrous flu that devastated many countries of the world at the beginning of modern times. As for Lucia, she accepted monasticism and entered the monastery of the Carmelite sisters. Thirteen years after the miraculous visions, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the miraculous, supernatural nature of what happened in the vicinity of the Portuguese town. The Blessed Virgin told the children three secrets of Fatima, in addition to revelations about the future, which also contained instructions on what needs to be done. For example - to dedicate the world to the Immaculate Heart Mary, which was done by Pope Pius XII in 1942. And Pope John Paul II, fulfilling what the Mother of God commanded through three girls, dedicated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 24, 1984. Exactly one year later, Mikhail Gorbachev became the head of the country, whose period of rule is remembered by the collapse of the largest atheistic empire in the history of mankind.

Of the three secrets of Fatima, the last one, by order of the Virgin Mary, was kept secret for a long time by Lucia. It was only in 1944 that the nun set out its contents on paper, sealed it in an envelope and sent it to the Bishop of Leiria, indicating that this secret could be revealed to people no earlier than 1960. The bishop sent a letter to the Vatican. Following the instructions, in that very year Pope John XXIII opened the envelope and read what was said in the message - after which, as they say, he fainted ... And the contents of the letter remained a secret for people. Only in 2000, after a visit to Fatima by Pope John Paul II, the text of the third mystery was finally revealed. It read: “ After the two parts that I have already explained, to the left of the Mother of God and a little higher, we saw an Angel with a fiery sword in his left hand. Burning, the sword spewed out tongues of flame that could burn the entire Earth, but they faded away, touching the magnificent radiance that the Mother of God radiated towards im from his right hand. Pointing to the ground with his right hand, the Angel shouted in a loud voice: 'Repent, repent, repent!' We saw in an infinitely bright light that there is God, something similar to how images of people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of him: a bishop dressed in white - it seemed to us that it was the Holy Father. There were other bishops, priests, believers, men and women. They climbed a steep mountain, at the top of which was a large Cross made of rough balsa tree trunks. Before getting there, the Holy Father passed through a large city, half in ruins, half shuddering. He walked, stopping, suffering from pain and grief, and praying for the souls of those whose corpses he met on his way. Having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the Cross, he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired at him with bullets and arrows. And in the same way there died one after another other bishops, priests and believers, men and women, and various laymen of different ranks and estates. On both sides of the Cross stood two Angels, each with a crystal sprinkler in hand, in which they collected the blood of the martyrs and sprinkled it on souls making their way to God. '

Does this prophecy indicate an imminent sunset? civilization, about which the Revelation of John the Theologian speaks? Here is what Pope Benedict XVI said about the content of the third secret of Fatima: “For those who expected to hear exciting apocalyptic revelations about the end of the world or the future course of history, disappointment is inevitable. The Fatima revelations do not satisfy our curiosity as much as we expect, just as the Christian faith cannot be reduced to a mere object of curiosity. The course of events is not a foregone conclusion. After all, prayer is a weapon far more powerful than bullets, and faith is stronger than an army. ' It is in this interpretation of the text of the prophecy that I want to believe. The Holy See told the world that the text of the prophecy is connected with what has already happened - the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II, committed by the terrorist from Turkey Ali Agjoy in 1981. And although that event bears little resemblance to the one described in the message by Sister Lucia (crowds of soldiers, massacres), prophecies rarely contain facts and dates - and much more often speak with people in the language of images. It is interesting that Agja, who wounded the Pope, having no idea about the content of the third secret of Fatima, believed that his act was in some incomprehensible way connected with the then still remaining secret prophecy. Yes, and the Pontiff himself, after he recovered, noticed that his life that day was saved by the hand of the Blessed Virgin ... Is this really so? - or the events about which the third secret of Fatima speaks have not yet happened - only God knows. V. Sergienko