"But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ " (Jn 19:25-27)
Through this great act of love, Our Lord authorized Mary to be the Mother of the Church and enjoined the faithful, represented by St. John, to her maternal solicitude.
Throughout history, in times of grave distress, Our Lord has sent His mother to call us back to His divine heart. Three notable examples of this are the apparitions of Our Lady at Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531; at Lourdes, France in 1858; and Fatima, Portugal in 1917. In all three cases, Our Blessed Mother was seen and conversed with very simple, ordinary people. As our mother, Mary comes with vital messages from her Son.
The three children from Fatima visited by the Mother of God were given revelations. The first two messages, called the secrets of Fatima, were once known by virtually all Catholics.
The first secret was a terrifying vision of hell where grave sinners suffered terrible torments. The second secret was a series of prophecies: WWI would soon end, but a worse war would occur if mankind did not repent from their sins. This second war would be preceded by a sign in the heavens.
Due to the seeming hardness of heart in mankind, this prophecy occurred with a solar display on the night of January 25, 1938, about one month before Hitler’s annexation of Austria.
Additionally, people were told to pray for Russia and that Russia needed to be consecrated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. If the Blessed Mother’s requests were not followed, Russia would spread its errors throughout the world.
The Third Secret was finally published June 26, 2000 and concerns a future catastrophe caused by the refusal of mankind to turn to God.
The Fatima apparitions caused enormous interest in Portugal and elsewhere in the world. The three humble shepherd visionaries told the world that a miracle would occur during the final appearance of the "beautiful Lady" on October 13, 1917. This interest caused thousands of pilgrims and skeptics to descend on Fatima that day.
In a dreary, cold, soaking rain thousands waited for the appearance of Our Lady and for the foretold miracle. At about 12:30 p.m. that day, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine. Our Lady appeared and the Miracle of the Sun occurred. During the miracle, which lasted for about 10-12 minutes, the sun actually spun around in the sky, and threw off astonishing colors. During the miracle, sometimes called The Dance of the Sun, everyone could look directly at the sun without hurting their eyes.
At the climax of the vision, the sun came hurling straight towards the earth in an apocalyptic manner. People were so terrified that they cried out for God’s mercy and thought the world was ending. Then the sun stopped its descent and returned to its place in the sky.
So powerful was the phenomenon that even hardened atheists in the crowd were shaken and agreed that a miracle had happened. At the end of the Dance of the Sun, the rain-soaked people and earth were dry.
In this book, John Haffert gives us the personal accounts of 18 people present at the Miracle of the Sun. He gives detailed information where they were standing and how the miracle affected them.
Though he mentions the entire events regarding Fatima, his primary purpose is to record the thoughts and feelings of people present during the miracle. Though the participants had different emotional responses during the Dance of the Sun, all of them agree on the basic details of the wondrous event.
If you get an opportunity to read this book, you will be enlightened about the importance of the Fatima apparitions. Continue to pray for the conversion of the world, and thank Our Blessed Savior for sending His holy mother to help us return to Him.
