Pope Benedict to deliver 'intense' message during Fatima visit

EWTN News ^ | 5/5/2010

[markomalley]

"Fatima is a particularly significant place for this Pope," said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi on Tuesday, noting that it was also a destination for two former Popes. The Holy Father has a thorough knowledge of the history of the Marian sanctuary, he added.

Fr. Lombardi held a press conference at the Vatican to prepare the media for the Pope's next trip out of the Vatican. He will be visiting Portugal from May 11-14.

The spokesman referred to the Pope's stop in Fatima on May 13 as the highlight and "heart" of the upcoming four-day trip to Portugal, according to Vatican Radio. But, he pointed out, Benedict XVI will not be the first Pope to visit the Marian shrine.

Two other Pontiffs have been to Fatima. In 1967, the sanctuary hosted Paul VI, and John Paul II visited in 1982, 1991 and 2000, at which time the visionaries Jacinta and Francesco were beatified.

The Portuguese shrine is not unfamiliar to Pope Benedict, since as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger extensively studied the message of Fatima. Fr. Lombardi said on Tuesday that the Pope has been involved with history of the Marian sanctuary in a "very deep, personal way."

It was him, for example, who was called upon to give a theological perspective when the third secret of Fatima was made public in 2000.

The Vatican spokesman said that the Holy Father will also deliver an intense message during his Fatima visit. Upon his arrival at the sanctuary on May 12, he will remember John Paul II and the 29th anniversary of the assassination attempt that nearly took his life on May 13, 1981.

This visit marks the Holy Father's 15th Apostolic Journey abroad in his five years and is his first to Portugal as Pope.

During today's general audience, the Holy Father greeted the people of Portugal in their language, telling them that he will be there this coming weekend at the invitation of the president of the nation and the episcopal conference.

He said he was "happy to be able to visit the 'land of Holy Mary'" on the 10th anniversary of the beatification of the shepherd children.

According to Portuguese press reports, local police are planning for a cumulative total of 450,000 people at the celebrations in Lisbon, Fatima and Portugal during the four-day visit.

[markomalley]

I don’t know why the non-Catholics even care.

And I don't know why any of us care what they think.

Okay, that’s not quite true, they HATE the mother of God and, as hard as it is to believe, they probably hate her more than they hate the Church.

Well, all I can say to that is respond with a couple of Scripture verses:

• Rom 8:17 And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.
• Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son: that he might be the Firstborn amongst many brethren
• Heb 2:17 Wherefore, it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God, that he might be a propitiation for the sins of the people.

If the above verses apply to you, then Mary must be your mother. If's she's not your mother, well then....

But I don't think that they really care one way or the other.

[wagglebee]

Outstanding post!

[Brian Kopp DPM]

The naysaying ultimately works to our advantage. On any given day, throwing mud at the Catholic Church can impress the gullible but when it is repeated daily over a prolonged period, the negativity, bitterness and obsession becomes difficult to hide and is a major turn off for the neutrals.

True. Most lurkers recognize monomania for the pathology it truly is. We need not worry ourselves if every lie and falsehood is not addressed or corrected on every threads. God brings good out of evil, and the devil knows the right address, and will use any willing accomplice to carry out his attacks on Christ's True Church. Their constant attacks are more than adequate proof of this.

[johngrace]

LUKE 1:16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, In The SPIRIT And Power Of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Your consecrated to Mary already in the Holy Spirit your just noting veneratetion to her in the Body of Christ.

[wagglebee]

I cannot imagine how hollow an existence it must be to only be identified by who you hate.

[Mad Dawg]

For me, part of the thrill of being Catholic is the challenge and opportunity to believe God and to believe IN God, with all HIs amazingly rich promises of shaken down, pressed together, running over grace, and as psalm 16 (15) says .. adimplebis me laetitia cum vultu tuo: delectationes in dextera tua usque in finem.

Certainly to be in His presence (cum vultu [suo]) is fullness of joy, but, then beyond that fullness =, at His right hand (in dextera [sua]) are delights forever!

The Love and friendship of our Blessed Mother, and the company of the saints, these are among the delectationes, the pleasures and delights, that God so incredibly, so extravagantly provides. Not JUST that He saves us from sin and redeems us from the grave and every peril, but then He brings us a hot fudge sundae!

So, I guess in the face of the haters, it is up to us to focus on the joy, and to let the Love transform and edify us, while the haters will do what they can to distract us.

Satan, when he tempted our Lord, kept on challenging His being. IF you are the Son of God, then -- do this or that. So the haters start by challenging the Love of God in our lives, telling us we are deluded, deceived, and deceitful.

Maybe the opportunity here is to try to use this as an occasion, a further occasion to cast ourselves on God's mercy.

I am resolved. I've already been to Mass today, but tomorrow I'm going to talk to my pastor about consecrating myself to Mary. It's the only reasonable response to this lunacy and spite.

[johngrace]

DID YOU SEE THIS -We have solemn documents by Pope Innocent VIII, 1484; Julias II, 1504; and Adrian VI, 1523; on the subject of Possession. So SERIOUS had the situation become at the DAWN of Protestantism, that EVERY Catholic priest was given the power of exorcism. -THE SPIRIT OF THE AIR WAS DOING OVERTIME BECAUSE OF THE FALLING AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. Thats inhttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2508109/posts

[RnMomof7]

"An infallible and unmistakable sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's true friends is that the heretic and the hardened sinner show nothing but contempt and indifference for our Lady. He endeavours by word and example, openly or insidiously - sometimes under specious pretexts - to belittle the love and veneration shown to her." TREATISE ON TRUE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN St. Louis de Montfort

Brian the problem is that Catholics mistake that protestants putting Mary in the proper perspective as taught by Christ is disrespect or heretical...not so..

Placing her above where Christ would have her is idolatry

[Quix]

Brian the problem is that Catholics mistake that protestants putting Mary in the proper perspective as taught by Christ is disrespect or heretical...not so..

Placing her above where Christ would have her is idolatry

= = =

INDEED TO THE MAX

And evidently one of their cardinal doctrines is to fling freely far and further

the label of “hate”

whenever they catch someone not marching lock-step with whatever fraction of the Catechism or the more elaborate informal dogma and practices that the ranter is pontificating in defense of at the moment.

[Mad Dawg]

Placing her above where Christ would have her is idolatry.

On that I think you will find agreement.

There are problems though:

• To judge by the posts of the antis, they don't understand where we place her.
• To judge by the TONE of the posts of the antis, saving our souls, admonishing us in charity is the last thing on the minds of most of them.

To us it feels like somebody telling us to get out of a place we are not in, which, the first time around seems to be a communication problem.

But as the conversation continues and all the old spite and abuse comes up again, and again, and again, then it becomes simply incredible that good will could have any part in what is directed at us.

To us, despite appearances, simple explanations are the best. If the Sun, which God made, dances in the sky in support of an apparition among whose messages are the instruction to pray to Jesus for mercy for ourselves and for those who need it most, there are many possible explanations.

One is that the apparition was real and the message was something good to heed. How could it be bad to pray to Jesus for mercy? Why shouldn't God make the sun dance? He made it stop once ...

Sure, it could be something called mass hypnosis which means exactly ..... uh what does it mean again? It could be space aliens who were trying to lead us all astray by encouraging us to pray to Jesus for mercy to sort of gain our confidence so that later they could inveigle us into voting Democratic or something.

Well, I'm going with the simple explanation, the one that leads me to give thanks to God for all his marvellous works, among whom is His Mother and mine.

[Lorica]

Well said. I agree with each point.

[Lorica]

So, like, is this the battle thread for the day? I haven’t been around since this morning.

[Lorica]

True. Most lurkers recognize monomania for the pathology it truly is. We need not worry ourselves if every lie and falsehood is not addressed or corrected on every threads. God brings good out of evil, and the devil knows the right address, and will use any willing accomplice to carry out his attacks on Christ's True Church. Their constant attacks are more than adequate proof of this.

Believe it or not I was *just* researching the word monomania today, relative to its use in one of my classes.. I didn't expect to see it here, but thanks for the link!

[ArrogantBustard]

Brilliant. Well stated.

[ArrogantBustard]

It's the only reasonable response to this lunacy and spite.

Not saying you shouldn't do that, but here's another reasonable response:

Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you. And to him that striketh thee on the one cheek, offer also the other. And him that taketh away from thee thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also.

I see the two responses going together, actually.

[Mad Dawg]

the battle thread for the day

I LOVE it!

[Mad Dawg]

And there's always joking.

For example does anybody else think this headline is funny? I've been re-writing it sincce I first read it.

Pope Benedict to deliver totally 'intense', like, I mean, really, message during Fatima visit,

Come on. that sounds WAY better, doesn't it?

[RnMomof7]

Luke 8: 5A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

[RnMomof7]

What is the base you use to determine if a tradition or an” apparition” was true and if it is from God? What is your measuring rod?

[Mad Dawg]

Well, up until the last few weeks on FR, I didn't think about it much. I don't think any are de fide and as a former pastor who still sort of cares, what matters to me is the change I see in people's lives. A couple I know went to Medjugorje and their marriage was way strengthened and in general things got a lot better for them. That kind of thing.

But I'm thinking of adopting a new rule of thumb. If it makes the antis foam at the mouth, it is, at least, worthy of my careful attention and consideration. If they get abusive in their language and bizarre in their theories, it's probably true.

Seriously, it's not a matter I worry about. If people come out of Fatima praying to Jesus for mercy for themselves and others, well, I can get behind that enthusiastically.