13 October: Miracle of the Sun

Is not today the anniversary of the miraculous dancing of the Sun over Portugal?

You know the story.

An Eyewitness Account by Dr. José Maria de Almeida Garrett, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of Coimbra, Portugal

     “It must have been 1:30 p.m when there arose, at the exact spot where the children were, a column of smoke, thin, fine and bluish, which extended up to perhaps two meters above their heads, and evaporated at that height. This phenomenon, perfectly visible to the naked eye, lasted for a few seconds. Not having noted how long it had lasted, I cannot say whether it was more or less than a minute. The smoke dissipated abruptly, and after some time, it came back to occur a second time, then a third time.

“The sky, which had been overcast all day, suddenly cleared; the rain stopped and it looked as if the sun were about to fill with light the countryside that the wintery morning had made so gloomy. I was looking at the spot of the apparitions in a serene, if cold, expectation of something happening and with diminishing curiosity because a long time had passed without anything to excite my attention. The sun, a few moments before, had broken through the thick layer of clouds which hid it and now shone clearly and intensely.

“Suddenly I heard the uproar of thousands of voices, and I saw the whole multitude spread out in that vast space at my feet…turn their backs to that spot where, until then, all their expectations had been focused, and look at the sun on the other side. I turned around, too, toward the point commanding their gaze and I could see the sun, like a very clear disc, with its sharp edge, which gleamed without hurting the sight. It could not be confused with the sun seen through a fog (there was no fog at that moment), for it was neither veiled nor dim. At Fatima, it kept its light and heat, and stood out clearly in the sky, with a sharp edge, like a large gaming table. The most astonishing thing was to be able to stare at the solar disc for a long time, brilliant with light and heat, without hurting the eyes or damaging the retina. [During this time], the sun’s disc did not remain immobile, it had a giddy motion, [but] not like the twinkling of a star in all its brilliance for it spun round upon itself in a mad whirl.

“During the solar phenomenon, which I have just described, there were also changes of color in the atmosphere. Looking at the sun, I noticed that everything was becoming darkened. I looked first at the nearest objects and then extended my glance further afield as far as the horizon. I saw everything had assumed an amethyst color. Objects around me, the sky and the atmosphere, were of the same color. Everything both near and far had changed, taking on the color of old yellow damask. People looked as if they were suffering from jaundice and I recall a sensation of amusement at seeing them look so ugly and unattractive. My own hand was the same color.

“Then, suddenly, one heard a clamor, a cry of anguish breaking from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed all at once to loosen itself from the firmament and, blood red, advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was truly terrible.

“All the phenomena which I have described were observed by me in a calm and serene state of mind without any emotional disturbance. It is for others to interpret and explain them. Finally, I must declare that never, before or after October 13 [1917], have I observed similar atmospheric or solar phenomena.”

    Professor Almeida Garrett’s full account may be found in Novos Documentos de Fatima (Loyala editions, San Paulo, 1984)

 

There will be a film released called The 13th Day on Fatima.

UPDATE: Someone in the comments mentioned Socci’s book on the so-called “Fourth Secret of Fatima“.  Glad to say it is in English now.  It is worth reading.  Marco Tossati’s book is not available yet.

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12 Comments

  1. Fr. John Mary says:

    The Fatima revelations are more important now, than ever. There is controversy about whether or not the full “Third Secret” has been made public; but no matter, Our Lady is very clear about our need to pray the Rosary every day, offer our sacrifices according to our state in life, and to be vigilant.
    The Fatima phenomenon is an historical reality. We need to make this known, because the average Catholic is not aware of this…at all, I’m afraid.

  2. salus says:

    There is a wonderful book about the Third Secret by Italian journalist John Socci [Antonio Socci] which tells (with documentation) that the third secret has two parts, this was confirmed by Pope John 23rd’s personal secretary (still living) With Sister Lucia able to prove to the world that Our Lady was visiting them by the solar phenomena , im sure the part we have not recieved and which was supposed to be revealed by 1960 at the latest was about the changes the church were about to make, Our Lady was warning about that foolishness. But as usual man is smarter than GOD and we see the results. Also we need Russia consecrated!

  3. Appropos the Third Secret or the so-called Fourth Secret, I see that Antonio Socci’s book has been translated into English. I read it some time ago in Italian.

     

    This book is a very interesting examination of the evidence about the text of the “Third Secret”.

    Mr. Socci makes a pretty good argument that there was a second half of the Third Secret which was not released.

  4. Fr. John Mary says:

    Fr Z: I received a copy of this book by A. Socci and am reading it for the second time…very interesting. A real detective mystery, so to speak. Time will tell. But the message is very clear that our prayer (the Rosary) and penance is absolutely vital to the life of the Church and the world.

  5. Jordanes says:

    Mr. Socci makes a pretty good argument that there was a second half of the Third Secret which was not released.

    Wouldn’t that suggest Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bertone are lying to us?

    The facsimile of the Third Secret at the Vatican website looks and reads as if it ends at the bottom of the fourth page — Sister Lucia’s handwriting grows crimped as she reaches the bottom and gets in the remainder of the last sentence. She then appends the date of writing.

  6. mpm says:

    I haven’t read Mr. Socci’s book, and so, have no comment about it.

    However, as one who has known what could be known about Fatima since a fairly tender age, and who prays the Rosary daily, and who has appended the Fatima Prayer after the Gloria for many decades, I must say that I am concerned about all the “hype” (is there a better word?) about whether “we” know the full secret or not.

    First, because I don’t think anybody’s salvation depends on belief in private revelation (which I do not wish to demean).

    Second, because I am under the impression that Suor Lucia asserted that the third secret had been published by John Paul II.

    Third, because some assert that the Pope has never dedicated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, though others assert that he has done so.

    Fourth, because there is a circular argument made that a) the “unknown” part of the secrets foretold how terrible the coming times would be within the Church, so that b) the Pope and others “covered up” the information, so that c) we must be very worried that we are not doing “something unknown” and therefore are going to suffer for it.

    Am I wrong about this?

    P.S. This is not academic: one of my relatives was asking me about it, worriedly, last Friday, and he also prays the Rosary regularly.

  7. Fr. John Mary says:

    This is just my opinion, as uneducated as it may be: but we just have to look around us and see that that Faith is not believed or lived by a majority of Catholics (whether or not they are culpable is beyond my competence to say); the way the world is going certainly points to the known message of Fatima; the present Administration in this country is looking more and more like something out of Msgr. Hugh Benson’s “Lord of the World”; and we may be teetering on the edge of a Third World War (i.e., Israel vs. Iran).
    The state of the Church, although there are very many bright spots (the last weekend’s Call to Holiness Conference, the present Holy Father, Archbishop Burke, and many, many other bishops and priests), is not…well…good.
    But with Summorum Pontificum, the excellent teaching and example of Pope Benedict XVI, and the appeal of Tradition to the young Catholics of today is a sign of hope. And Mary is always a sign of hope.
    She loves as only a heavenly Mother could.
    And we have our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

  8. Jordanes: Wouldn’t that suggest Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bertone are lying to us?

    Click the link to buy the book. Read it. And then let us know what you think.

    I said that Socci makes a good argument. I didn’t say he says they lied.

  9. DisturbedMary says:

    Ah 1960. I was a teen. It was the cold war and there was always talk of nuclear war and much about the “third secret.” I remember a tv program called “Zero 1960” that I just googled at http://www.jfredmacdonald.com/trm/111.religious.htm:

    “The most zealous program of this sort was Zero-1960. This syndicated series was produced by the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima. It debuted in May 1957 and was nationally distributed until 1960. The Blue Army was a decade-old organization that sought to end Communism through moral outspokenness. The show was named after the year in which the full message of the miracle of Fatima, partially revealed in 1917, was anticipated by Roman Catholics. The program worried less about expected holy messages, however, than about the specter of atheistic Communism.

    This was a stark political-religious presentation. The opening telecast set the pace for the entire series as Catholic Bishop Cuthbert O’Gara, a missionary in China, told how the Communists had stripped him naked before his parishioners and had dragged him through the city streets. By 1958 the program handled topics such as imminent spiritual and political revolutions in the Soviet Union, the possibility of annihilation in a Russian-initiated nuclear war, the confessions of a former Soviet military officer, and the patriotic resistance by African American to the lure of Communism. In its final season Zero-1960 became a religious discussion series presenting anti-Communist celebrities like the president of the Philippines discussing Red activities in Southeast Asia, and the chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities speaking on enemy spies in the United States. Even Senator John F. Kennedy appeared for a half-hour discussion of his views on U.S. foreign policy.

    More consistently and more grimly than other religious shows, Zero-1960 championed the cause of anti-Communism. But its line of argument was not incompatible with the Cold War values found in other religious, and even nonreligious, TV series. Furthermore, scheduled as it was on Sunday mornings—a time usually filled with spiritual programs and public service presentations about the armed forces—church and state seemed to complement and legitimize each other.”

    Grim doesn’t describe the show and the times. I was so grateful when 1960 ended and the world didn’t.

  10. Jordanes says:

    I said that Socci makes a good argument. I didn’t say he says they lied.

    Neither did I, Father — though I suppose he could have done so in effect without formally leveling that accusation. I just wonder how the Vatican could be deliberately hiding part of the Third Secret while telling everyone that they have nothing else but what they published in 2000, and it not be a case of one or more very important persons in Rome lying to us. Does Socci say the unreleased part of the Secret has been mislaid? I thought for sure he is claiming it is (or was) deliberately being withheld by the Holy See.

    I’ve read extensive excerpts of Socci’s book. What I read had my Sensational Conspiracy Theory Geiger Counter going off. If I get the chance, I might get a copy from the library and
    read it all the way through. I certainly won’t buy it, as 1) it’s not the sort of book I’d have a desire to have permanently, but would only borrow it for study (as if I had any space left in my bookcases anyway!), and 2) having recently been laid off, food for the family take precedence over getting treats for myself.

  11. Kerry says:

    Also on October 13, in 1973, Sister Agnes Sasagawa received a third message. http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/akita.htm

  12. Malta says:

    I am reading Christopher A. Ferrara’s “The Secret Still Hidden,” which posits the same argument as Socci, quotes extensively from and relies on Socci, and adds a lawyer’s layer of arguments as well based on the evidence. He does not argue that Cardinal Bertone “lied,” but may have employed “broad mental reservations,” in the moral theological sense. He points out that Cardinal Bertone’s follow-up book to Socci’s does not address “a single one of his [Soccis] contentions in ‘Fourth Secret,’ thus conceding Socci’s entire case.” What is interesting is that Socci originally set about to “demolish the claims of the so-called ‘Fatimists’,” or Fatima-conspiracy wackos, and came out a believer that we did not get the full secret. Socci, moreover, knew and was admired by both Cardinal Bertone and then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and hosted press conferences for both of them. At first Socci wanted to refute the “Fatimists” who had a “burning disappointment of a Third Secret that controverted all of their apocalyptic predictions.” So far into reading, there is really no doubt that there are two copies of the Third Secret, as even Sister Lucia conceded in a letter to Bishop da Silva in 1944: “I have written what you asked me; God willed to try me a little, but funally, this was indeed His will: it [the Secret] is sealed in an envelope and it is in the notebooks…”

    Then Cardinal Ratzinger apparently confirmed that the messages of Akita, which spoke of a crisis of faith as well as a chastisement, was the same as the message of Fatima:

    http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15413

    See also:

    http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2009-0531-ferrara-fatima_and_akita.htm

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