This day, May 13 is the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. To realize how significant she is in the formation of the Catholic faith let us take a glance at some of the relevant events which made her renowned even up to these days. Fatima or Our Lady of Fatima is a title given to Virgin Mary in connection with the apparition to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal namely Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. She asked them to pray the rosary every day for the end of the World War II. Our Lady of Fatima continued to appear for the next six months. On October 1930, it was declared that the apparitions that have been made by Our Lady of Fatima is “worthy of belief”.
Her first apparition took place on May 13, 1917 where she asked the children to return every 13th of the month in the location where they usually met. She told that the children will suffer much but they will surely go to heaven. Her message is to pray the rosary every day to bring peace to the world. The second Marian apparition happened on June 13, 1917. She ordered the children to add the Fatima Prayer at the end of the rosary. On July 13, 1917, the third apparition happened. Mary shows vision of hell and reveals that God wishes that there must be great devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart to save souls. The fourth apparition happened on August 19, 1917. The local administrator imprisons the children. Mary told that there are many souls who go to hell because no one prays for them. The second to the last apparition happened on September 13, 1917 where white roses fell from the sky. Lucia asked Mary to cure the sick, she answered that the sick will be cured but not all of them will recover for God is “not confident” to do so. The last apparition occurred on October 13, 1917 where 70,000-100,000 people witness the Miracle of Sun. Unexplained phenomenon happened that day and the message turned out not to offend God because he was so offended that time. According to experts, these apparitions revealed these three secrets: (1) vision of souls in Hell, (2) prediction of the end of World War I and the start of the World War II. Request to consecrate Russia to Immaculate Heart of Mary, and lastly (3) a vision of Pope, along with other bishops, priests, religious and lay people, being killed by people.
The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima tell us to have a prayerful life. Because of her revelations, we must realize that we should really give time to pray for all the souls in the purgatory. Many of them go to hell for the reason that no one prays for them. Above all, it teaches people not to offend God. This miraculous apparitions and secrets from Our Lady of Fatima must be served as an eye opener for us to be more engaged in praying the rosary specifically and be a good follower of God. In her feast day we should be aware of these apparitions and inscribed all of the messages in our hearts to fully apply it in our lives as Catholics.
