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.”
Is there any Biblical evidence regarding Mary as anything other than Jesus’s mother?
Where does the worship of Mary come from, and what has she done to deserve to be worshiped?
I always think of Mark 8 and other verses where Jesus was quite hard on people who need signs from Heaven when I see stuff like this or similar.
11Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus. They tested Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. 12Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
All things work for good for those who love God, but Fatima stuff can be a bit too occult with secret messages and prophecies etc...
In the gospel according to Luke, the angel Gabriel made a greeting to Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, with the words: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”- Luke 1: 28 (RSV). Making this greeting was the very first step towards the salvation of humankind! This is a direct scripture quoted in the prayer, adding the name ‘Mary’ after ‘Hail’, and we too greet Mother Mary with the same words. Satan obviously dislikes the greeting since he is continually reminded of his failure and God’s victory through the new Eve! ‘When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child’- Revelation 12: 13 (NAB)*. No wonder, Satan has always attacked Mary in all the generations of Church history and continues to do so even today.
‘And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”’- Luke 1: 41-42 (RSV). The words quoted in prayer are again directly from scripture. Thus Elizabeth became the first person to call Mary “Blessed”.
Having known the call to her vocation partially, despite the challenges of the time, Mary freely contributed to surrender her life to the will of God - “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”- Luke 1: 38 (RSV). This act of unconditional faith by Mary made Elizabeth call her “Blessed” the second time - “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled”- Luke 1: 45 (NAB)
In her response of praise and thanksgiving, Mary said “for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed”- Luke 1: 48 (NRSV) Our Mother said that she will be called ‘Blessed’ by all generations from that point on. In fact we see the fulfillment of the same in that generation itself. During Jesus’ preaching a woman from the crowd said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed”- Luke 11: 27 (NAB) She well deserved to be called blessed not just because she bore and nursed Jesus as her Son- but also for the real fact that Jesus further emphasizes- that she “heard the Word of God and observed it” (Luke 11: 28) evident through her words “let it be to me according to your word”- Luke 1: 38b (RSV) Bearing Jesus in her womb and nursing him was the proof of the fulfillment of her surrender. What began in that generation has continued ever since.
Well, to start of with, Revelation where Mary is in heaven with stars around her head. A queen in heaven.
Catholics don’t worship Mary. Therefore, your question is meaningless.
Nobody DEMANDED the sign at Fatima. It was freely given by God.
Therefore, your objection to it is misdirected and pointless.
For the 1000th time, she is NOT being worshipped. Read the “Hail Mary” prayer and notice that she is asked to pray for us. If she were considered deity, who does the deity pray to?
Yes.
"And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him."Matthew 17:5
What the Roman Catholic says and what the Roman Catholic does are two different things.
That was God speaking.
Yes.
"And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him."Matthew 17:5
I certainly hope you're not attempting to suggest this passage has anything to do with Mary??
I post the passage in context for the reader.
1Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone. Matthew 17:1-8 NASB
What sign? There’s no clear account of what the “Fatima miracle” even is.
This is literally the MOST confusing “miracle” ever.
So who was the mother of the Son of God?
Somebody, other than Mary?
Again we see context is lost in Roman Catholicism.
27While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.”
28But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Luke 11:24-28 NASB
“What the Roman Catholic says and what the Roman Catholic does are two different things.”
Nope. Your mind reading skills fail - again.
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“Again we see context is lost in Roman Catholicism.”
Wrong. Again.
Yes.
"And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him."Matthew 17:5
We're waiting to hear your explanation as to how this verse has anything to do with Mary.
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