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.”
Not per the forum rules.
The failed attempt at logic by Roman Catholicism shows again.
Pope JP II had a commission study whether Mary should add co-Redeemer and co-Mediatrix to her titles. Francis is studying something similar. There were similar things under consideration in the 19th century. You underestimate the fervor of the Mary devotees. I think that is why the Gospels minimize the role of Mary after the birth of Jesus. Marian devotion can easily get out of hand.
I don’t believe anything happened. I believe people saw what they wanted to see, the people who stared at the sun for dozens of minutes at least. The people that didn’t saw nothing.
The fact that there are zero photographs when there were dozens of journalists and photographers at the site, the fact that accounts differ, and the fact that some people didn’t see anything points to the conclusion that it was pareidolia(like some people see a face in a cloud, some see nothing), etc.
People are going to believe what they want to believe though.
Protestants are Christians and therefore members of Christ's body, aka, the church.
Your argument that Mary and saints are not worshiped but only venerated - rings hollow to many Christians. Kissing crosses, parading statues of the saints (including Mary) through the streets, holding up gold monstrances with a communion wafer that you claim is the actual body and blood of Christ, buying masses to deliver from purgatory - and many other practices are contrary to what Christians see in scripture. The scripture shows that the Father, Son and Spirit are preeminent and to be worshiped - not the saints, not Mary. You treat your Catholic church as being equal to Christ and constantly throw out that 'one true church' cannard; it is not. The church, any church, does not save us. Traditions do not save us. Jesus saves us. Period!
You must have me confused with another poster.
Another failed attempt to control the forum.
As the mother of Jesus, could she have been sin free,so pure at heart that she alone was worthy to conceive the Son of God? And having reverence for Mary does not necessarily become worship. She is revered as the Mother of Jesus. No woman had ever before, or since achieved the level of holiness to become the mother of God but that doesn’t make her a part of the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. And when Mary replied to the angel that, yes, as the Lord wished, she was His handmaid. In what way does Mary detract from her Son and Him Crucified? At what point does Mary request adoration?
Esther saved a remnant of the Jewish people, and Jews still honor her. Yet her glory does not approach the importance of being the mother of Jesus. Is it wrong to ask Mary to pray for us, to intercede to her Son for us? If I were to ask my grandparents,who are either sleeping waiting for the awakening, or in heaven, to pray for me, am I putting them in Jesus’s place? If I asked a angel to help me, to pray for me at the throne of God, am I ascribing Godly power to a being,a being that IS supernatural?
After my mother died when I was 16, I wandered and sought the spiritual level,or understanding,so I would know why my mother, a devout catholic and good person had to die a slow agonizing death. And I had many spirit filled people who tried to help, some less spititual tried to blame it on the Roman Catholic Church, the seat of the antichrist they said, the whore on seven hills etc.etc.etc. Yet even in spirit filled churches and different denominations I never found that level of faith that allows a holy man to heal. I’m sure it happens yet at God’s whim. Because no man is perfect, save one. Faith in the holy nature of Mary in that she was found worthy to be the mother of the Christ is not a apostasy. She may have been nurtured by God or his angels to resist/avoid sin. But as in that I and millions of others revere Mary as the mother of God, we do not specifically worship her as The Christ. Jesus came from her womb, and that she was found worthy by God of this work makes her one of a kind, and worthy of honor.
And the Pharisees brought unto Jesus a woman, saying, "We caught this woman in the act of adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say?"
And Jesus wrote on the ground as though He had not heard them. Then he said, "Let whosoever is without sin among you cast the first stone."
At that moment, a small, round rock whizzed through the air, catching the poor woman square on the nose.
"MOMMMMM! Cut it out!"
;-)
How much more, someone already in Heaven...
Incidentally, with regard to John 14:6 says Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.
this is not contradicted by the Rosary.
The rosary is to draw us to Jesus; in fact, the intention for the fourth glorious mystery (the Assumption of Mary) is "To Jesus Through Mary".
Not, you know, "to the Father through Mary".
Not *exclusively* you know, but certainly one more heavenly trawling net to save lost souls and show them Eternal Mercy.
I have asked my wife a couple times to include me in her prayers when I was feeling bad.
That’s a long way from kneeling before a statue or picture of someone and praying to her/him.
Maybe you don’t do that, but I know for a fact that many do.
I believe it’s very common for all Christians to believe all of Jesus’ words in the Bible have a universal meaning, not just that that is appropriate to his immediate situation. Given that, I’m struck by the fact that no one seems to give a universal application to his words on the cross. John 19:25-27. I’m not going to type the whole thing out. “Woman, behold your son.” and “Behold your mother.”
In post 63 you ask the question, "Do protestants have a true Church?" I assumed that by your question you're asserting that papist churches constitute the one true church. It was to this point/assumption that I responded. Was my assumption wrong?
What's your point?
This sounds very nice and religious but respectfully, it's not the gospel. " For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," 1 Tim 2:15.
When you ascribe titles like mediatrix to a person and treat a person like a god, you are guilty of idoltry and breaking the 1st commandment.
Is Mary God's mother? Yes
Is she blessed above all women? Yes
Is she to be loved, esteemed and honored? Yes.
Is she everything the Catholic church teaches about her? No.
Re: https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya4.htm
What's your point?
As you and I examine the scriptures, we do not see Mary in the role of Mediatrix. We do not see her sinless. These are all Catholic traditions but they are not the gospel.
If you find comfort asking your mother to pray for you to Jesus, I would not condemn you but I would encourage you to read the scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth. Particularily in this day and age, we see feelings and sentimentality supplanting truth. Let us not be deceived.
Read my post 97.
Much of the discussion on the thread was about Catholics ‘worshiping’ Mary. It’s not worship. I believe Catholics honor Mary in a way Jesus told us to do from the cross.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.