Posted on 06/18/2017 2:47:29 PM PDT by narses
Fatima, Portugal, May 12, 2017 / 05:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On “the day the sun danced,” thousands of people bore witness to a miracle that not only proved the validity of the Fatima Marian apparitions, but is also said to have shattered the prevalent belief at the time that God was no longer relevant.
What crowds witnessed the day of the miracle was “the news that God, in the end, contrary to what was said in the philosophy books at that time, was alive and acting in the midst of men,” Dr. Marco Daniel Duarte told CNA in an interview.
If one were to open philosophy books during that period, they would likely read something akin to the concept conceived by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who died in 1900 and boldly made the assertion in his 1882 collection “The Gay Science” that “God is dead.”
Yet as this and other philosophies like it were gaining steam in the life and thought of society, the Virgin Mary appears and tells three small shepherds that “God is alive and still attentive to humanity, even though humanity is waging war with one another.”
Duarte, a theologian and director of the Fatima shrine museums, spoke about the cultural significance of the Miracle of the Sun given the atheistic thought prevalent in Portuguese society at the time.
In 1917, Portugal, like the majority of the world at the time, was embroiled in war. As World War I raged throughout Europe, Portugal found itself unable to maintain its initial neutrality and joined forces with the Allies, in order to protect colonies in Africa and to defend their trade with Britain. About 220,000 Portuguese civilians died during the war; thousands due to food shortages, thousands more from the Spanish flu.
Compounding the problem, government stability in the country had been rocky at best following the revolution and coup d’état that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and subsequent establishment of the First Portuguese Republic in 1910.
A new liberal constitution separating Church and state was drafted under the influence of Freemasonry, which sought to omit the faith – which for many was the backbone of Portuguese culture and society – from public life.
Anti-Catholicism in Portugal had initially begun in the 18th century during the term of statesman Marquês de Pombal, and flared up again after the drafting of the new constitution.
Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebrating of popular religious festivals were banned. Between 1911-1916, nearly 2,000 priests, monks and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups.
This was the backdrop against which Mary, in 1917, appeared to three shepherd children – Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, 9 and 7 – in a field in Fatima, Portugal, bringing with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world.
To prove that the apparitions were true, Mary promised the children that during the last of her six appearances she would provide a “sign” so people would believe in the apparitions and in her message.
What happened on that day – Oct. 13, 1917 – has come to be known as the “Miracle of the Sun,” or “the day the sun danced.”
According to various accounts, a crowd of some 70,000 people – believers and skeptics alike – gathered to see the miracle that Mary had promised. After appearing and speaking to the children for some time, Mary then “cast her own light upon the sun.”
The previously rainy sky cleared up, the clouds dispersed and the ground, which had been wet and muddy from the rain, was dried. A transparent veil came over the sun, making it easy to look at, and multi-colored lights were strewn across the landscape.
The sun then began to spin, twirling in the sky, and at one point appeared to veer toward earth before jumping back to its place in the sky.
Duarte said the miracle was a direct, and very convincing contradiction to the atheistic regimes at the time, which is evidenced by the fact that the first newspaper to report on the miracle was an anti-Catholic, Masonic newspaper in Lisbon called O Seculo.
The Miracle of the Sun, he said, was understood by the people to be “the seal, the guarantee that in fact those three children were telling the truth.”
Even today, “Fatima makes people change their perception of God,” he said, explaining that for him, one of the most important messages of the apparitions is that “even if man has separated God from his existence, God is present in human history and doesn’t abandon humanity.”
With World War I raging, a war the likes of which the world had never seen, Mary appeared to tell the children that “that story can have another ending, when the power of prayer is stronger than the power of bullets.”
The Miracle of the Sun is also the heart of a special exhibition called “The Colors of the Sun” the shrine is offering for the duration of the centenary year of the apparitions, which focuses on the symbolic nature of the miracle and its cultural significance.
Displayed are “various objects, some older, others more contemporary, some more modern, some made of textile, others of organic materials, paintings, sculptures,” but which are all “placed with a narrative,” he said.
Beginning with a set of black umbrellas used by people who had gathered at the Cova de Iria (Cave of Iria) where Mary appeared Oct. 13, the exhibit aims to build a narrative of what people saw that day, and is supplemented with different works that express the various elements of Mary’s message to the children.
It also shows developments of how the shrine developed over the years, showing the transformation of what used to be a small, simple chapel into what is now two basilicas: the Basilica of Nossa Senhora do Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) and Basilica da Santissima Trindade (Basilica of the Holy Trinity), with an open chapel in between where the statue of Our Lady of Fatima resides.
Pieces come from all over the world – some from the Fatima shrine, some from the State of Portugal, and some even hail from Germany and France.
One of the highlight pieces is a giant heart made by Joana Vasconcelos, a well-known Portuguese artist who crafted the piece entirely out of red plastic ware, such as spoons and forks.
“It’s material that isn’t important for anyone, but which after everything is united, forms the image of a heart and can be the image of reparation,” Duarte said.
The exhibit closes with white parasols, rather than umbrellas, in order to show the fruit of the miracle, Duarte said, adding that it can also signify “the presence of God, the Eucharistic Christ.”
In this sense, the parasols “can be for us a symbol that also we can be God’s tabernacles and can be the place where God dwells,” he said. “This is the true shrine that God wants. The shrine of Fatima is precisely the image of what God wants: to dwell among men.”
Mother of God, can any woman claim a higher honor? She was good enough for Jesus, she’s good enough for us.
Beautiful, feminine, hail holy queen, Immaculate One... and you got a problem with her!?
I have read a few books about Fatima recently and, actually, Lucia did ask the Virgin Mary for a miracle. Not because she or her companions had any doubt at the time (However, between June 13th and July 13th Lucia had some doubts because her mother tried everything to make Lucia say she had lied. The parish priest said the apparitions might be a work of the devil. Lucia had a dream in which the devil tried to drag her down to hell. In other words, she was in a very difficult situation. When July 13th came, all her doubts disappeared.)
Lucia wanted other people to believe the apparitions were real.
On July 13th Lucia said to the Virgin Mary: “I would like to ask you to tell us who you are, and to work a miracle so that everybody will believe that you are appearing to us.” The Virgin Mary answered: “Continue to come here every month. In October, I will tell you who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle for all to see and believe.” The above quotations are from Lucia’s Memoirs.
Well, asking is not demanding. And it’s certainly not the sort of conjuring that is forbidden in Scripture. Of course, anti-Catholic FReepers pretend not to see any difference. (Not referring to you!)
Jesus IS Lord but I do believe that, at least until she conceived, and bore the Son of God, she was sinless. Now that flies in contradiction of the concept of original sin, which may be a catholic concept, or not. I will assume it is. There are are many things done in the name of a faith or religion that I do not support. Can darkness and light exist in the same spot? Did, in the instant of conception, God purify Mary? Well, there was a question the apostles presented to Jesus that would seem to say the speculations and insistence that ALL Catholics worship Mary, and other differences of dogma are a diversion and counterproductive to the unity of Christians. I am a practicing Catholic, but can see if the rulers of that religion make certain statements or rules I will cease being that. According to the word of God do you see any evidence that God waited for a woman worthy of carrying His Son. And was she also of the house of David? And the infant,John the Baptist,while still in Elisabeth’s womb lept in joy. I will continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. It IS hard enough to do without inter faith rivalries. May our Lord and savior Jesus Christ enlighten us all, protect and bless us in Jesus’ name
In your post, you reveal what most Christians face and which the apostle Paul articulated when he said, "We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known." - 1 Cor 13:12
In this verse, Paul tells us that in this world he doesn't see/understand perfectly; in this world he only knows part of truth & reality. He also tells us that "then" meaning when he enters eternity, he will know better, he will know perfectly, he will know fully.
We're not much different from Paul.
May the Lord, through His Holy Spirit lead and guide us into all truth.
Here's something you may be interested in: Catholic Charismatic Center
I was aware of the catholic Charismatic organization but didn’t have a address. Thank you, and may God bless you and yours
Mary is the mother of Jesus “The Son of Man”. She didn’t give birth to God. To give birth is to begin a new life. God existed from forever. Jesus gets His identity as The Son of God from His Father, who is God. Jesus is, was and always will be life itself.
Who was the Father of Jesus?
A man?
Do you believe in the Holy Trinity?
Says the guy whose initial comment to the thread was blatant charge of duplicity against Catholics....
Thus proving MY observation that a marginally educated, though fully indoctrinated, Catholic-bashers are so busy basking in their own sanctimony that they have zero awareness of the tens of other Biblical principles they trample like wild beasts for all to see.
The Romam Catholic version of Mary is not found in the New Testamemt.
Imitation is flattery.
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