“What is happening to our world?”

fatima_hellThe other day Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco consecrated the archdiocese entrusted to his care to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Many bishops are doing the same with their dioceses.  I have a growing list HERE.

In his sermon, Archbp. Cordileone spoke in strong, clear terms.  HERE Among his remarks, I find these of special note.  He starts out with recounting the vision the children at Fatima had of Hell.  Then…

[…]

What is happening to our world? In so many different ways, what was once unthinkable has become routine. The century since the Fatima apparitions now ending has mocked God, but God will not be mocked: not because He delights in wreaking vengeance on us, but because turning our backs on God only bounces back to us, leading to our own self-destruction.

[…]

For 100 years we ignored the message of Fatima; or, perhaps, it is not so much the message we ignored, for we are well aware of the warnings and the history that resulted. Rather, it is the requests we ignored. But we cannot afford to do so any longer. We have to pay attention. We have to do what she told the waiters at Cana: do whatever he tells you. And what does Christ tell us to do? He reveals this in the requests our Lady made at Fatima. It is now time to heed those requests. We might not have the power to change world history, but we can change what happens in our own families and communities if we heed the message. This next century can be radically different from the last one, but only if we heed the message and respond to the requests.

Which means that what we are doing today cannot be relegated to being simply a moving event and pleasant memory in the history of our Archdiocese. Far from being something we check off on a to-do list, what we are about today is nothing less than a call to arms: to spiritual arms. We are living in a time and place of intense spiritual battle, and only in taking up spiritual arms will we alleviate the spiritual disease that is at the root of so much of the physical and mental suffering in the world today. It is time to leave the sensational aside, and respond to the requests of our Lady at Fatima.

[…]

We need to attend to the requests of Our Lady.

 

 

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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4 Comments

  1. The Astronomer says:

    Five First Saturdays devotion to repair for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Our Lady of Fatima requested.

  2. majuscule says:

    I have been praying to St. Jacinta Marto daily for assistance in making the reparations that Our Lady requested.

    I also ask St. Francisco Marto to help me to pray my rosaries with less distraction.

    I think these new young saints are eager to help us.

  3. CharlesG says:

    I was in Fatima last week on the feast of the Guardian Angels. The Gospel at Mass was about how unless you are like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Very appropriate for the location where the newly canonized little pastorinhos saw Our Lady and are now buried…

  4. Suburbanbanshee says:

    I have been reading a translation of the full text of Lucia’s four memoirs. Besides being a heartwarming story of a happy childhood and providing a lot more detail on the various apparitions, it also provides a starkly honest glimpse of her family’s misfortunes and their fall in village status. It also turns out that Lucia’s brother was almost drafted into WWI at the age of 13! We really need to count our blessings!

    After reading the village life reminiscences of sf writer Sarah Hoyt (who immigrated here from Portugal), a lot of the little things that Lucia says turn out to have strong meaning. (Although Sarah is from up north in Portugal, which apparently makes a big difference in customs.)

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