2017 MARIAN CONGRESS OF NIGERIA

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars

We welcome guests from all over the country and beyond to the 2017 Marian Congress taking place in the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Edo State from 12th -14th October, 2017. We want to assure you that adequate preparations and arrangements have been put in place to host a successful congress. Once again welcome to Archdiocese of Benin City. Obokhian. Rev. Fr. Edwin Omorogbe Chairman. LOC


BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT OUR MOTHER MARY, THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Mary Mother of God, Pray for Us, Sinner now and the hour of our Death, Amen.

Mary, also known as St. Mary the Virgin, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Mary, Mary Mother of God or the Virgin Mary is believed by many to be the greatest of all Christian saints. The Virgin Mother "was, after her Son, exalted by divine grace above all angels and men." Mary is venerated with a special cult, called by St. Thomas Aquinas, hyperdulia, as the holiest of all creatures. The main events of her life are celebrated as liturgical feasts of the universal Church. Mary's life and role in the history of salvation is foreshadowed in the Old Testament, while the events of her life are recorded in the New Testament. Traditionally, she was declared the daughter of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Born in Jerusalem, Mary was presented in the Temple and took a vow of virginity. Living in Nazareth, Mary was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who announced to her that she would become the Mother of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. She became betrothed to St. Joseph and went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was bearing St. John the Baptist. Acknowledged by Elizabeth as the Mother of God, Mary intoned the Magnificat. Mary is an intercessor, an advocate, obedient, observing, understanding, a mediator, trustworthy, a perfect icon of faith, ever faithful and believing and a mother that cares.


GET TO KNOW OUR MOTHER MARY BETTER




Pope Francis spoke to a gathering of priests, seminarians and religious women during his visit to Naples in March. In his speech, he told them that a key way to make sure Jesus is at the center of their lives is to “ask his mother to take you to him.” This is the role of Mary in the Church and in our own lives — for who is closer to the Son than his mother?

As the Church celebrates Mary throughout the month of May, this FAQ compiled by Dr. Robert Fastiggi, a professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and president of the Mariological Society of America, is designed to help readers more fully understand the Church’s teachings regarding the Virgin Mary and why she is truly the “cause of our joy As Pope Francis said in Naples, “If you don’t love the mother, the mother will not give you the Son.”

Q: How can Catholics believe Mary was conceived without original sin when Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God”? A: St. Paul is making a general statement about the condition of humanity after the fall. He does not intend to exclude exceptions to the “all” who have sinned, because Jesus never sinned nor did the good angels. In 1 Corinthians 4:5, St. Paul states that “everyone will receive praise from God.” Does this “everyone” include Satan, the demons and the damned? In fact, the Catholic dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception developed precisely because Mary is the mother of Jesus, who “has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15).

The dogma of Mary’s plenitude of grace from the moment of her conception finds support in the greeting of the angel in Luke 1:28. Mary is spoken of as “full of grace” (kekaritomene) which in Greek means one who has been and continues to be “favored” or “graced” by God (alternate translations could be “completely graced” or “thoroughly graced”). Since Jesus is fully human but without sin, it was necessary, then, that he take his human nature from one who is “full of grace” and thus free from all sin (original as well as personal sin).

In the 13th century, the Franciscan theologians William of Ware and Blessed John Duns Scotus developed the idea of “anticipatory redemption” or “pre-redemption.” The merits of Christ were applied to Mary in anticipation of her future role as the mother of the Word Incarnate. Thus, Mary was redeemed by Christ by being preserved from all stain of original sin. In 1854, Blessed Pius IX defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as a truth revealed by God to be believed by all the faithful.

Q: Do Catholics worship Mary? A: According to Catholic teaching, it is forbidden to worship any creature, and Mary is created by God — “For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer” (Lumen Gentium, No. 62). The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 made a clear distinction between the worship due to God alone and the veneration or honor (often called dulia) that can be given to Mary, the angels, the saints and sacred images. Because Mary is the “Queen of the Saints” and the “Queen of the Angels,” she can be accorded high veneration (hyperdulia). Mary, though, can never receive the worship due to God alone.

When Emperor Augustus declared a census throughout the vast Roman Empire, Mary and St. Joseph went to Bethlehem, his city of lineage, as he belonged to the House of David. There Mary gave birth to Jesus and was visited by the Three Kings. Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, where St. Simeon rejoiced and Mary received word of sorrows to come later. Warned to flee, St. Joseph and Mary went to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. They remained in Egypt until King Herod died and then returned to Nazareth.

Nothing is known of Mary's life during the next years except for a visit to the Temple of Jerusalem, at which time Mary and Joseph sought the young Jesus, who was in the Temple with the learned elders. The first recorded miracle of Jesus was performed at a wedding in Cana, and Mary was instrumental in calling Christ's attention to the need. Mary was present at the Crucifixion in Jerusalem, and there she was given into John the Apostle's care. She was also with the disciples in the days before the Pentecost, and it is believed that she was present at the resurrection and Ascension.

No scriptural reference concerns Mary's last years on earth. According to tradition, she went to Ephesus, where she experienced her "dormition." Another tradition states that she remained in Jerusalem. The belief that Mary's body was assumed into heaven is one of the oldest traditions of the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius XII declared this belief Catholic dogma in 1950. The four Catholic dogmas are: Mother of God, Perpetual virginity of Mary, the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary. The feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15. The Assumption was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. According to Pope Pius XII, the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."

In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception - that Mary, as the Mother of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was free of original sin at the moment of her conception. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8. The birthday of Mary is an old feast in the Church, celebrated on September 8, since the seventh century. Other feasts that commemorate events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary are listed in the Appendices. Pope Pius XII dedicated the entire human race to Mary in 1944. The Church has long taught that Mary is truly the Mother of God .



The Blessed Virgin Mary may be taken as a patroness of any good activity, for she is often cited as the patroness of all humanity. Mary is also associated with protecting many occupations and locations. St. Paul observed that "God sent His Son, born of a woman," expressing the union of the human and the divine in Christ. As Christ possesses two natures, human and divine, Mary was the Mother of God in his human nature. This special role of Mary in salvation history is clearly shown in the Gospel where she is seen constantly at her son's side during his soteriological mission. Because of this role, exemplified by her acceptance of Christ into her womb, her offering of him to God at the Temple, her urging him to perform his first miracle, and her standing at the foot of the Cross at Calvary Mary was joined fully in the sacrifice by Christ of himself.

Pope Benedict XV wrote in 1918: "To such an extent did Mary suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son; to such extent did she surrender her maternal rights over her Son for man's salvation, and immolated him - insofar as she could in order to appease the justice of God, that we might rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ." Mary is entitled to the title of Queen because, as Pope Pius XII expressed it in a 1946 radio speech, "Jesus is King throughout all eternity by nature and by right of conquest: through him, with him, and subordinate to him, Mary is Queen by grace, by divine relationship, by right of conquest, and by singular election."

Mary possesses a unique relationship with all three Persons of the Trinity, thereby giving her claim to the title of Queen ship. She was chosen by God the Father to be the Mother of his Son; God the Holy Spirit chose her to be his virginal spouse for the Incarnation of the Son; and God the Son chose her to be his mother, the means of incarnating into the world for the purposes of the redemption of humanity. This Queen is also our Mother. While she is not our Mother in the physical sense, she is called a spiritual mother, for she conceives, gives birth, and nurtures the spiritual lives of grace for each person. As Mediatrix of All Graces, she is ever present at the side of each person, giving nourishment and hope, from the moment of spiritual birth at Baptism to the moment of death.

In art, Mary is traditionally portrayed in blue. Her other attributes are a blue mantle, crown of 12 stars, pregnant woman, roses, and/or woman with child. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of Marian artwork and sculptures have been created over the years from the best and most brilliant artists, like Michelangelo and Botticell, to simple peasant artists. Some of the earliest examples of veneration of Mary is documented in the Catacombs of Rome. Catacomb paintings show Mary the Blessed Virgin with her son. The confidence that each person should have in Mary was expressed by Pope Pius IX in the encyclical Ubipriinum: "The foundation of all our confidence . . . is found in the Blessed Virgin Mary. For God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is his will, that we obtain everything through Mary. “Through Mary our mother, we succeed.


MEANING OF BEING CONSECRATED TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

By Professor Michael Ogunu



When one is consecrated, he or she is made sacred by being set aside for the service of God. To consecrate oneself to Mary means giving oneself to Jesus Christ through the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. We are all her spiritual children. As she once presented her Son Jesus in the Temple in the Spirit to the Father, so now, when we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we give ourselves totally to Mary; we recognize ourselves as her spiritual children and desire that she present us, united to her son Jesus in the Spirit to the Father. The spirit of Mary then lives within us and therefore the Holy Spirit dwells within us in a special way, as in a special temple.

“Consecration to the Mother of God”, says Pope Pius XII, “is a total gift of self, for the whole of life and for all eternity; and a gift which is not a mere formality or sentimentality, but effectual, comprising the full intensity of the Christian life - Marian life”. This consecration, the Pope explained, “tends essentially to union with Jesus, under the guidance of Mary”. By our consecration we promise to become dependent on Mary in all things: to offer all our prayers and oblations to God through Mary, and to seek every gift from God through Mary. And we do this with the greatest confidence. Since she is our mother, she knows our needs better than we; and since she is Queen of Heaven, she has immediate access to the infinite treasury of graces in the Kingdom of her Divine Son.

Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father; she is also Mother of all the Father's adopted children. As their Mother, she has been given the role of molding them into the likeness of Jesus. Every work of grace, every increase of grace, is a work of the Holy Spirit; but as in the Incarnation of the Divine Word God used human instruments, so does He in the sanctification of each individual soul. As He chose Mary as the instrument through whom He would come to us, so He chose Mary as the instrument through whom we should go to Him. And both the mystery of God coming to us through Mary, and our being led to God through Mary, is a work of the Holy Spirit. So when we speak of Mary's unique role in our sanctification, she is but the instrument the Holy Spirit uses in sharing with us the divine life of grace. It is in this sense that Mary fashions us into the likeness of Christ.

However, that this transformation - through Mary's help - be accomplished in a notable degree, there must be an awareness of her role in our sanctification, a confidence in her maternal concern and in her power under God, a surrender of oneself into her hands, and a fervent, frequent and confident seeking of her aid. This usually comes through some form of consecration to the Mother of God. As Fatima Our Lady asked for consecration to her Immaculate Heart, a consecration which, among other things, calls for the devotion of the Five First Saturdays, which includes the Rosary, meditation and Communions of reparation - all done in reparation to her Immaculate Heart. It involves a striving to fulfill her requests for prayer and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for offenses against the Divine Majesty. In a word, it involves a striving to fulfill all that she asked for at Fatima, and trying to bring others to heed her requests. Consecration to Mary consists in an unconditional surrender to her of all we are and have in order to belong more perfectly to Jesus. This means that our thoughts, words, good works, prayers, joys, sorrows, graces possessions are given to Mary to deal with as she wills. Because she is our Mother and Queen, and because her will is one with Our Lord's, what we give to Mary, she gives to Him. God wishes that Mary be known and loved as Co-redemptrix, Advocate and Mediatrix before His throne because He finds it easier to grant graces through her, who is “full of graces”.

We are living in times where society has not only lost its sense of sin but it has exalted sin as something good and desirable. The threat for people, even Christians, not to know, love and serve God in this life so that they may live forever with Him in the next, is great if not greater than it has ever been in human history. Our first responsibility is to surrender ourselves completely to the Most Holy Trinity. We can do this through Mary by an act of total consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Then we must live out this consecration through prayer and action. We must also help bring as many souls as possible to God. We must share the simple but profound truths that Mary is our Mother, that she has special intercessory power for her children, that she is Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and that she has been chosen by Almighty God to bring her children into His very life. On June 13th, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima said to Lucia: “Jesus wishes to use you in making me known and loved. He wishes to spread in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace this devotion and those souls will be loved by God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne... My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God”. So, it will be for us too! Let us entrust ourselves and all we care for to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!





PRAYER FOR MARIAN YEAR IN NIGERIA 2017

Imprimatur +Valerian M. Okeke Archbishop of Onitsha Chairman, Pastoral Affairs Department

Oh our lady, queen and mother of Nigeria we hail thee, we come to your throne of grace seeking your face in a special way in this year of our celebration of our national Marian year and centenary of Fatima. We come to you this year, mother of the holy family to intercede for our troubled families. We come to you, help of Christians, to intercede for the persecuted Christians in Nigeria we come to you our lady of perpetual help to intercede for our country and our leaders.



We come to you especially, our lady of Fatima in this centenary of your appearance in Portugal when you brought peace to that once troubled country and as we mark that historic moment this year. We beg of you to do the same in our country, Nigeria obtain for us that peace which can only come from heaven peace in our hearts, homes, places of work and our nation. May the celebration of the Marian year in Nigeria and the eventual re-consecration of our country to your immaculate heart, restore total peace. Oh holy mother of god and mother of the church, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, make us able to bring to all others true joy and peace, which come to us from your son, our lord Jesus Christ, who, with the father and the holy spirit, lives and reigns, forever and ever, Amen

WHY MARY IS HONORED ABOVE ALL WOMEN

Visitation of Our Blessed Mother to Elizabeth, the Child in her Womb leap for Joy: Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why is Mary the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran? Why did GOD choose her and prefer her above all the women of creation (Qs 3:42)? No other prophet’s mother was given such an honor. What made this woman so special to GOD and the world?

God Chose Mary to Bring the Messiah into the World God gave Mary great honor because of the glorious task he assigned to her. He chose her to bring the Messiah into the world. It was the most unusual and important mission ever given to a woman. She would be the mother of the Savior of the world. God's angel said to her, "O Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name is Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of those nearest to God"(Qs 3:45). Mary was given a great honor. But to her son belongs the greater honor. Her son, Jesus Christ, is in heaven and lives forever.

Catholics Do Not Worship Mary Catholics do not worship Mary. We honor her just as God honored her. Mary did not die for the sins of the world. Mary cannot offer forgiveness for sin. Only Jesus, who came forth from her womb, can do these things. Only Jesus is worthy of worship.

Only Jesus Can Offer Salvation It is said about Jesus, "He will save his people from their sins"(Matthew 1:21). He was called "Immanuel" which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). When the prophet John saw Christ Jesus coming toward him, he said, "Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Only Jesus, God’s "Word" sent from heaven, and born to Mary without sin is called "a holy son" (Qs 19:19).





MARY, MODEL AND TEACHER OF FAITH

The Virgin Mary, “perfect icon of the faith,"



In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by [his] Son. When the fullness of time arrived, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law. All of the expectant waiting for the Savior's coming in the Old Testament was concentrated in our Lady's faith: “In Mary . . . is fulfilled the long history of faith of the Old Testament, with its account of so many faithful women, beginning with Sarah: women who, alongside the patriarchs, were those in whom God's promise was fulfilled and new life flowered." Like Abraham, “our father in faith," who left his homeland trusting in God's promise, Mary abandoned herself with complete trust in the Angel's announcement, thus becoming a model and mother for believers. The Virgin Mary, “perfect icon of the faith," believed that nothing is impossible for God, and thus made it possible for the Word to come to dwell among mankind.

Our Mother is a model of faith. Our Mother is a model of faith. “By faith, Mary accepted the Angel's word and believed the message that she was to become the Mother of God in the obedience of her devotion (cf. Lk 1:38). Visiting Elizabeth, she raised her hymn of praise to the Most High for the marvels he worked in those who trust him (cf. Lk 1:46-55). With joy and trepidation she gave birth to her only son, keeping her virginity intact (cf. Lk 2:6-7). Trusting in Joseph, her husband, she took Jesus to Egypt to save him from Herod's persecution (cf. Mt 2:13-15). With the same faith, she followed the Lord in his preaching and remained with him all the way to Golgotha (cf. Jn 19:25-27). By faith, Mary tasted the fruits of Jesus' resurrection, and treasuring every memory in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), she passed them on to the Twelve assembled with her in the Upper Room to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:1-4)."

Our Lady lived out her faith amid a fully human life, that of an ordinary woman. “[God] did not spare her pain, exhaustion in her work or trials of her faith. A village woman one day broke into praise for Jesus exclaiming: Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nourished you. Jesus said in reply: Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it (Lk 11:27-28). It was a compliment to his Mother on her fiat (Lk I:38), her 'be it done.' She lived it sincerely, unstintingly, fulfilling its every consequence, but never amid fanfare, rather in the hidden and silent sacrifice of each day." Our Lady “lived entirely from and in her relationship with the Lord; she was disposed to listen, alert to recognizing the signs of God in the journey of his people; she was integrated into a history of faith and hope in God's promises with which the fabric of her life was woven."

Teacher of faith By faith, Mary penetrated into the Mystery of God One and Three in a way granted to no other creature. And as “mother of our faith," she has made us sharers in that knowledge. “We can never hope to fathom this inexpressible mystery; nor will we ever be able to give sufficient thanks to our Mother for bringing us into such intimacy with the Blessed Trinity." Our Lady is Teacher of faith. Every aspect of faith in Christian life finds its prototype in Mary: being faithful to God and viewing the circumstances of ordinary life in the light of faith, even in moments of obscurity. Our Mother teaches us to be totally open to the divine will “even though it is mysterious, and often does not correspond with their own wishes, and is a sword that pierces their soul, as the elderly Simeon would say prophetically to Mary when Jesus was presented in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:35)." Her complete trust in God's faithfulness and in his promises never wavers, even when the Lord's words were difficult or apparently impossible to accept.

Therefore, “if our faith is weak, we should turn to Mary." Amid the darkness of the Cross, our Lady's faith and docility yields an unexpected fruit. “In the person of John, Christ is entrusting all men to his Mother, and especially his disciples: those who were to believe in him." Mary's motherhood extends to Christ's whole Mystical Body. Jesus gives us his Mother as our mother; he places us under her care, and offers us her intercession. Therefore the Church constantly invites the faithful to turn with particular devotion to Mary. Our weakness is not an obstacle to grace. God takes it into account; that's why he has given us a mother. “In the struggle which the disciples must confront—all of us, all the disciples of Jesus, we must face this struggle—Mary does not leave them alone: the Mother of Christ and of the Church is always with us. She walks with us always, she is with us . . . Mary accompanies us, struggles with us, sustains Christians in their fight against the forces of evil."

In the school of faith, our Lady is the best teacher, for she always had an attitude of trust, of openness, of supernatural outlook, no matter what happened around her. Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. “Let us try to imitate her, talking to our Lord, conversing like two people in love about everything that happens to us, even the most insignificant incidents. Nor should we forget that we have to weigh them, consider their value, and see them with the eyes of faith, in order to discover the Will of God."

Mary's path of faith, although certainly different in many ways, is also similar to that of each one of us. Moments of bright light alternate with moments of darkness with respect to God's will. When they found Jesus in the Temple, Mary and Joseph did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. If, like our Lady, we welcome the gift of faith and place all our trust in God, we will confront each situation in our life cum gaudio et pace—with the joy and peace of God's children.

Imitating Mary's faith In our Lady “the faith journey of the Old Testament was thus taken up into the following of Christ, transformed by him and entering into the gaze of the incarnate Son of God." In the Annunciation, Mary's response shows us her faith as a commitment, a self-giving, a vocation: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. Like Mary Most Holy, Christians should live “with their eyes on God, repeating her words fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum . . . On these words depends the faithfulness to one's personal vocation—which is always unique and non transferable in each case—that will make us all cooperators in the work of salvation that God carries out in us and in the entire world."

But how can we always respond with a faith as firm as Mary's, never losing trust in God? By imitating her. When confronted by God's presence, Mary refuses to give in to fear or mistrust. Rather she “enters into a deep conversation with the Word of God that has been announced to her; she does not consider it superficially but meditates on it, lets it sink into her mind and her heart so as to understand what the Lord wants of her, the meaning of the announcement." Like our Lady, let us try to recognize God's will in all that happens in our lives. Mary reflects deeply and ponders on all the events in her life from the perspective only faith can give. With our Mother's help, let us strive to make this our response as well.

By contemplating Mary's life and imitating her, letting her lead us by the hand, we will be helped to stir up in those around us, in our relatives and friends, a greater openness to the light of faith. We will do so by the example of our consistent life, by our personal conversations, of friendship and trust, that include the necessary doctrine, to help facilitate a personal encounter with Christ through the sacraments and practices of piety, both when working and when resting. “If we become identified with Mary and imitate her virtues, we will be able to bring Christ to life, through grace, in the souls of many who will in turn become identified with him through the action of the Holy Spirit. If we imitate Mary, we will share in some way in her spiritual motherhood. And all this silently, like our Lady; without being noticed, almost without words, through the true and genuine witness of our lives as Christians, and the generosity of ceaselessly repeating her fiat, which we renew as an intimate link between ourselves and God."

Let us turn to Mary and ask her to help us live by faith and to recognize Jesus in our lives. We need a faith that assures us that nothing is comparable to the Love of God in which we have been made sharers; faith that nothing is impossible for those who work for and with Christ in his Church; faith that all men and women can convert to God; faith that despite our own wretchedness and falls we can be made whole again with God's help and that of those around us; faith in the means of holiness that God has given his Church, in the supernatural value of work and of little things; faith that we can redirect this world to God if we always hold onto his hand. In short, faith that God puts each of us in the best circumstances, whether of health or sickness, of working environment, etc., so that we can become saints, if we respond through our daily struggle.

“Christ lays down one condition: we must live by faith; then we will be able to move mountains. And so many things need moving... in the world, but, first of all, in our own hearts. So many obstacles placed in the way of grace! We have to have faith, therefore: faith and works, faith and sacrifice, faith and humility. For faith makes us all-powerful: If you will only believe, every gift you ask for in your prayer will be granted (Mt 21:22)." Spurred by a strong faith, let us tell Jesus: “'Lord, I do believe, but help me to believe more and better!' Let us address this same plea to our Lady, Mother of God and our Mother, and Teacher of faith: Blessed art thou for thy believing; the message that was brought to thee from the Lord shall have fulfillment (Lk 1:45). “Mother, help our faith!"

Life of Mary: Wedding Feast at Cana


After spending many years in Nazareth, our Lord sets out to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God. All the evangelists report the first act in this new stage of Christ's life: his baptism by John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan. But only St. John the Evangelist mentions our Lady's presence at the beginning of Jesus' public life: On the third day, a wedding feast took place in Cana of Galilee, and the Mother of Jesus was there. Jesus, too, and his disciples were invited to the wedding " (Jn 2:1-2).

There Jesus, at the request of his Mother, carries out his first miracle. A Jewish wedding feast usually lasted seven days, and in a small town like Cana, it is likely that everyone took part in the celebration, in one way or another. Jesus came accompanied by his first disciples. With so many people attending, it is not surprising that the wine ran short. Ever attentive to the needs of those around her, Mary was the first to realize it and told her Son: They have no wine (Jn 2:3). After his reply (which is not easy to interpret), Jesus complied with his Mother's request and performed a great miracle by converting water into wine.

But what John wishes to tell us does not end there. Writing his Gospel at the end of a long life and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he would have meditated at length on Christ's miracles and teachings. Thus he brings out for us the deepest meaning of this first sign, as recent Popes have pointed out, in agreement with many christain faithfuls. The Evangelist's chronological care in situating this event has a deep significance: According to the book of Exodus, the manifestation of God to Israel when establishing the Covenant took place three days after reaching Mount Sinai. Now, “the third day" since his return to Galilee in the company of his first disciples, Jesus is about to manifest his glory for the first time. Similarly, the full glorification of his Sacred Humanity will take place “on the third day" after his death, through the Resurrection.

Going beyond the historical fact of the wedding, John stresses that Mary's presence at the beginning and at the end of Jesus' public life corresponds to a divine plan. The name our Lord uses to address her in Cana (“woman," rather than “mother") seems to show his intention to form a family founded, not on the bonds of blood, but on faith. This is the same way God addressed Eve in Paradise, when promising that from her progeny would come the Redeemer (Gen 3:15). In Cana, Mary realizes that her maternal mission does not end on the natural plane: God is relying on her to be the spiritual Mother of his Son's disciples. Thanks to her intervention, the disciples' faith in the promised Messiah begins to grow. John himself states this at the end of his account: And so, it was in Cana of Galilee that Jesus performed the first of the signs by which he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him (Jn 2:11).



In Cana, Mary realizes that her maternal mission does not end on the natural plane: God is relying on her to be the spiritual Mother of his Son's disciples. Most faithful say that this wedding feast is symbolic of the Word's union with mankind. As the prophets had announced: I will seal with you an eternal alliance … Nations that do not know you will run to you (Is 55:3, 5). The Fathers of the Church see in the water contained in the stone jars, prepared for the Jewish purifications (Jn 2:6), a symbol of the Old Law which Jesus is bringing to perfection through the New Law of the Spirit imprinted on hearts.

In the Old Testament, a New Covenant is promised for the messianic times, often with the image of a wedding feast, which will abound with every kind of good, especially wine. It is significant that, in John's account, wine is the main protagonist. It is mentioned five times, with the clear statement that the wine Jesus brings about by his power is better than the one that was beginning to run out (Jn 2:10). The quantity of water changed into wine (more than 130 gallons) is also remarkable. Such superabundance is typical of the messianic times.

Woman, what is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come (Jn 2:4). Whatever the exact meaning of these words (which would have also been reflected in his tone of voice, the expression on his face, etc.), our Lady continues to trust her Son. Mary leaves the matter in his hands and directs the servants to do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5)—her last recorded words in the Gospels. That brief phrase recalls what the people of Israel told Moses when, on the Lord's behalf, he asked their consent to the Sinai Covenant: We will do all that the Lord has spoken (Ex 19:8). Those men and women were to be repeatedly unfaithful to the covenant with God. In contrast, the servants in Cana obeyed promptly and completely: Jesus said to them: 'Fill the jars with water.' And they filled them to the brim. Then he told them: 'Take them out now and bring them to the steward.' And they did (Jn 2:7-8).

Mary's trust inaugurates her Son's messianic mission. She precedes the disciples in faith, who come to believe in Jesus after the miracle occurs. Thus our Lady assists her Son in the first moment of the formation of Christ's new family. The Evangelist seems to suggest this when he brings his account to a close: After this he went down to Capharnaum with his Mother, his brethren, and his disciples, and they stayed there for some days (Jn 2:12). Everything is now ready for our Lord, by announcing the Good News through his words and deeds, to begin forming the new People of God, his Church.

CHRONOLOGY OF FATIMA

By Prof. Michael Ogunu Coordinator of the Fatima Apostolate in Africa


1. May 13, 1917 - First apparition of Our Lady to the three little shepherds in Fatima

2. October 13, 1917 – Last apparition of Our Lady to the three shepherds and the miracle of the sun

3. October 13, 1921 – Mass is allowed to be celebrated in the Chapel of the Apparitions for the first time.

4. October 13, 1930 – The Bishop of Leiria declares worthy of faith the apparitions and authorizes devotion to Our Lady of Fatima

5. May 13, 1931 –First consecration of Portugal to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, done by the Portuguese Episcopate according to the message of Fatima.

6. October 31, 1942 – Píus XII, speaking in Portuguese on the radio, consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, making veiled mention of Russia, following the request of Our Lady

7. May 13, 1946 – The statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the chapel is crowned by Cardinal Marsella, a pontifical delegate. The crown was offered by Portuguese women in thanksgiving for having freed Portugal from the Second World War.

8. May 13, 1967 – The Holy Father Paul VI travels to Fatima on the 50th anniversary of the first apparition to ask for world peace and unity of the Church

9. May 12-13, 1982 – The Holy Father John Paul II travels to Fatima as a pilgrim to thank Our Lady for having survived the brutal attempt on his life suffered exactly one year before in St. Peter’s Square. Kneeling, he consecrated the Church, humanity and peoples to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, making a veiled mention of Russia.

10. March 25, 1984 –In St. Peter’s Square, before the image of Our Lady, John Paul II again consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary together with all the bishops of the world who had previously been notified to unite themselves with His Holiness in this consecration. Lucia later confirmed that this consecration satisfied the petition made by Our Lady.

11. May 12-13, 1991 – The Holy Father John Paul II returns to Fatima for the second time as a pilgrim on the 10th anniversary of the attempt on his life

12. May 13, 2000 – The Holy Father John Paul II, in his third visit to Fatima and before more than a million pilgrims beatifies Francisco and Jacinto and reveals the third part of the “secret of Fatima”. A historic moment of great transcendence. The Pope confirms one more time the importance of the messages and the heroic holiness of the visionary children. He presents them as very important examples of prayer, love and penance. He recognizes the transcendence of the messages the Virgin communicated to them.

13. October 8, 2000 – John Paul II made an unprecedented Act of Entrustment of the Third Millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Most Holy at the Jubilee Mass celebrated by some 1,400 Bishops, their largest gathering in Rome since the Second Vatican Council, and in the presence of the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima that had been specially brought to St. Peter’s from the Sanctuary of Fatima.

14. May 2010 – Pope Benedict XVI visited the Shrine of Fatima and said that Fatima was an event “when heaven itself was opened over Portugal, like a window of hope that God opens when man closes the door to Him”.

15. May 13, 2013 – At his request, Pope Francis’ Pontificate was consecrated to Our Lady at Fatima by Cardinal Policarpo, Patriarch of Lisbon together with all the Bishops of Portugal.

16. October 12 & 13, 2013 – Our Lady’s Statue was brought to Fatima for the celebration of the Marian Day in the Year of Faith, when Pope Francis renewed the entrustment of the world to her Immaculate Heart, asking Mary’s help to “revive and grow faith”.

Our Lady Keeps Her Promise




Within two months of the Consecration of the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25th, 1984, that is, May 13th, the 67th Anniversary of the First Apparition at Fatima, an explosion destroyed 80% of the Soviet Union's main munitions storage depot for its Northern Fleet. In 1984, Western Intelligence Services had found that Russia was preparing to start war by invading Western Europe through the North (Sweden etc.) A large fleet was being readied. The West was quite worried. The faithful began a crusade of Rosaries for Peace. Millions prayed it individually and in families and Rosary Rallies too were held. On May 13th an explosion took place putting out of commission a hundred Russian War-Ships. No one knew how it happened but we know that it was the power of the Rosary.

On December 13th, 1984, an explosion in Siberia destroyed the Soviet Union's largest ammunition base. The Soviet Union’s Minister of Defense, Marshal Ustinov, died or was killed on December 19th, 1984. Three days later, Marshal Sodolov, the new Minister of Defense died. Just one year after the Consecration, in March of 1985, the President of the Soviet Union, Chemenko, died. Mikhail Gorbachev was made President. Gorbachev instituted glasnost and perestroika (freedom of the press and freedom of religion), which would lead to the downfall of Communism. Around August 15th, 1989, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, Poland moves towards a government led by non-Communists.

On October 7th, 1989, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, the Hungarian Communist Party Votes to transform itself toward European democratic socialism. On November 9th, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. The fall of the “Iron Curtain” was an event that many of us never expected to see in our lifetime. On December 1st, 1989, Gorbachev met with Pope John Paul II and promised religious freedom. The Holy Father referred to this meeting as a “sign of the times...a sign that is rich in promise”. The Pope would say that this meeting was “Divine Providence”. On March 15th, 1990, the Vatican established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. In May of 1990, Bishop Amaral of Leiria-Fatima said: “Everything leads us to think that the consecration requested by Our Lady has been done”.

On June 13th, 1990, Cardinal Paskai of Hungary said: “Profound changes have begun in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The events that happened cannot be explained by purely human factors. Politicians who are believers also acknowledge the hand of God can be seen in these changes. We too are certain that the promise of Our Lady is fulfilled and that these changes are a result of her intercession”. On October 13th, 1990, the first religious service, since the Communist Revolution of 1917, was held at the Cathedral of the Assumption inside the Kremlin. Prior to this, the Cathedral was used as a museum of atheism.

On November 11th, 1990, when congratulated for Poland being freed from Communism, Pope John Paul II said: “No, not me, but by the works of the Blessed Virgin, in line with her affirmations at Fatima” On August 19th, 1991, the Communists tried to overthrow Gorbachev. Just days later, on August 22nd, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, they were defeated. The first Russian pilgrims in years came to Fatima on October 13th, 1991, the 74th anniversary of the 6th Apparition of Fatima. This historic event was televised on 150 stations and twice as many radio stations in the Soviet Union. December 8th, 1991, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, marked the start of the Commonwealth of Republics, the end of the Soviet Union. Twelve days later, the newly named President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin met with the Pope in Rome.

On Christmas Day, 1991, the Communists flag came down for the last time over Russia. On December 30th, fifteen republics were freed from Soviet domination as the Warsaw Pact ended. January 1st, 1992: Russia emerges as an independent state, open to religious freedom, public cult and religious practices. The new Community of Independent States recognizes the independence and sovereignty of the former Soviet republics. The Soviet Union of Marxist and atheistic republics passed away at the age of 74 years. This day the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. (The Soviet Union could not celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, that is, its 75th Anniversary. The Fatima Message could! Both began on October 1917 at the same time!)

The four major dates of the historical changes that ended an era (August 22nd, 1991, December 8th, 1991, December 25th, 1991 and January 1st, 1992) are marked by the Marian presence, according to the will of God, the Lord of History!

THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT IN OUR SOCIETY

By Prof. Michael Ogunu President of the Executive Board of the World Apostolate of Fatima in Africa and Coordinator of the Fatima Apostolate in Africa



Paper Presented at the Meeting of all Diocesan Coordinators of the 2017 Marian Year in Nigeria and the Chaplains and National Leaders of All the Marian Societies in Nigeria (Convened by the Director of Pastoral Affairs, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Ojaje Idoko) and Held at DRACC, Lugbe, Abuja on 21st March, 2017]

INTRODUCTION In his introduction to “The Message of Fatima” published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, former Prefect of the Congregation, (now Pope Benedict XVI Emeritus) remarks as follows: Throughout history, there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which go to the heart of human events and which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history. These manifestations can never contradict the content of faith, and must therefore have their focus in the core of Christ’s proclamation: the Father's love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required for abandoning oneself to him with filial devotion. This too is the message of Fatima which, with its urgent call to conversion and penance, draws us to the heart of the Gospel. According to the Cardinal, “Fatima is undoubtedly the most prophetic of modern apparitions” What were these apparitions at Fatima and what messages did Our Lady convey to the world through the seers?

THE APPARITIONS OF THE ANGEL OF PEACE AT FATIMA IN 1916 In the Spring of 1916, three shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal, Jacinta, aged 6, her brother Francisco, 8, and their cousin Lucia, 9, encountered an Angel who identified himself as “the Angel of Peace”. He taught them to pray thus: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You. I ask pardon of you for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You”. He told them that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary were attentive to their prayers.

The Angel appeared to them again in Summer and told them to pray very much, saying, “the Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High. Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace on your country”. In the Autumn the Angel appeared again holding a Chalice in his hands, with a host above it from which some drops of blood were falling into the sacred vessel. Leaving the chalice and the host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated on the ground and repeated three times the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. Through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of you the conversion of poor sinners”.

Then, rising, he took the Chalice and the Host in his hands. He gave the Sacred Host to Lucia and shared the Blood from the Chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God”. Once again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with the children three times more, the same prayer: “Most Holy Trinity …”, and then disappeared. Such was the prelude to the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.




A year later, in 1917, Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children at Fatima, on the 13th of each month, except for August, from May to October. On 13th May, Jacinta, now aged 7, her brother Francisco, 9, and their cousin Lucia, 10, were looking after their sheep in the place where there now stands the Chapel of the Apparitions, and the Basilica above it. Suddenly a beautiful Lady from heaven appeared on top of a small tree, radiating light. She asked if they would offer themselves to God and bear the sufferings He would send them, in reparation for the conversion of sinners. When the children accepted, she said they would have much to suffer, “but the grace of God will be your comfort”.

From her hands Our Lady then communicated an intense light, whose rays, the children said, “penetrated our hearts and the innermost depths of our souls, making us see ourselves in God, Who was that light”. They fell on their knees in adoration of the Holy Trinity and said, “My God, I love you in the most Blessed Sacrament.” Before she returned to heaven Our Lady asked them to pray the Rosary every day, as she did in each apparition, for peace and an end to the First World War.

At the second apparition on 13th June, Our Lady said she would soon take Jacinta and Francisco to heaven, but not Lucia because Jesus wished to use her “to make me (Our Lady) known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart”. They then saw Our Lady's Immaculate Heart encircled by thorns which symbolized the sins of humanity, for which she was seeking reparation. On 13th July, Lucia asked Our Lady to work a miracle so that people would believe she was appearing to them. She promised to do this in October, and asked them to make sacrifices for sinners, and when they did so to pray: “O my Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

The children were then shown a vision of the souls of sinners suffering in the fires of hell, when Our Lady said, “To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace”. She warned there would be a second world war, if people did not comply with her requests, and that the Church and the Holy Father would be persecuted and have much to suffer from those who denied and rejected God. She asked the Holy Father to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart and for the Five First Saturday’s devotion.

Pope St. John Paul II fulfilled her request for the consecration of Russia by the act he carried out at St Peter's on 25th March 1984, and this is why the Communist Soviet Union collapsed and was dissolved on 25th December 1991, and the persecution of the Church in Russia and Eastern Europe ceased. At the end of the July apparition, Our Lady asked them to say the following prayer at the end of each decade of the Rosary: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy”.

Our Lady was unable to appear on 13th August because the children were kidnapped by the mayor of Ourem, who imprisoned them when they refused to reveal the third part of the secret they had been given by Our Lady in July. He threatened to kill them by plunging them into a vat of boiling oil, but this was only a trick, and when it failed, he took them back to Fatima. Our Lady then appeared on August 19 at Valinhos, a place near their village of Aljustrel, and told them sadly, “Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinner; for many souls go to hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them”.

A very large crowd came for the 13th September Apparition, around 30,000 people. Our Lady told the children to continue praying the Rosary to obtain the end of the war. She also said that in October Our Lord would come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel, and that St. Joseph would come with the Child Jesus to bless the world. She said that God was pleased with their sacrifices, and that they did not need to wear the rope as a penance at night, but only during the day. Finally she said: “In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe”.

The last and the most dramatic of the 1917 apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima took place on October 13th. It was witnessed by 100,000 people, according to an estimate by a professor from the University Of Coimbra, Portugal. Many walked for miles over the rough fields. It rained all night of the 12th and the morning of the 13th. Standing in mud up to their ankles, the people huddled together under umbrellas, seeking protection from the relentless rain as they prayed their Rosaries. Our Lady asked for a chapel to be built in her honor, and said: “I am the Lady of the Rosary. I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and to ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord and God any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must pray the Rosary. Let them continue praying it every day.

Thereafter, upon taking leave of her three little friends for the last time, Our Lady stretched out her hands towards the rays of the sun, and as she was lifted upwards, her light was in no way overshadowed by the sun. The vision was indeed brighter than the sun. Along the face of the sun, other visions appeared in succession: St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, Lucia saw Our Lord and Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and Lucia saw Our Lady of Carmel.

Some years later, when Lucia was a Religious Sister of St. Dorothy, Our Lady appeared to her again in Spain (10th December, 1925 and 15th February, 1926) in the Convent of Pontevedra, and on the night of 13th / 14th June 1929, in the Convent of Tuy, requesting the devotion of the Five First Saturdays (to, on the First Saturdays of five consecutive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, pray five decades of the Rosary, meditating on the mysteries, and keep Our Lady company for at least fifteen minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary — all with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary), and the Consecration of Russia to the same Immaculate Heart. This request had been announced by the Apparition on 13th July, 1917, in what is called the “Secret of Fatima”.




The Message of Our Lady of Fatima can be summarized as follows: Our Lady's requests for prayer, reparation, penance and sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin. Before Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, the Angel of Peace visited them. The Angel prepared the children to receive the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his instructions are an important aspect of the Message that is often overlooked.

The Angel demonstrated to the children the fervent, attentive, and composed manner in which we should all pray, and the reverence we should show toward God in prayer. He also explained to them the great importance of praying and making sacrifices in reparation for the offenses committed against God. He told them: “Make everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners”. In his third and final apparition to the children, the Angel gave them Holy Communion, and demonstrated the proper way to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist: all three children knelt to receive Communion; and Lucia was given the Sacred Host on the tongue and the Angel shared the Blood of the Chalice between Francisco and Jacinta.

Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary in each of Her apparitions, asking the children to pray the Rosary every day for peace. Another principal part of the Message of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, which is terribly outraged and offended by the sins of humanity, and we are lovingly urged to console Her by making reparation. She showed Her Heart, surrounded by piercing thorns (which represented the sins against Her Immaculate Heart), to the children, who understood that their sacrifices could help to console Her.

The children also saw that God is terribly offended by the sins of humanity, and that He desires each of us and all mankind to abandon sin and make reparation for their crimes through prayer and sacrifice. Our Lady sadly pleaded: “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, for He is already too much offended!” The children were also told to pray and sacrifice themselves for sinners, in order to save them from hell. The children were briefly shown a vision of hell, after which Our Lady told them: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart in order to move ever closer to Her, and therefore to Her Son. Our Lady stressed the importance of praying at least five decades of the Rosary daily. Lucia later explained that Our Lady appeared in Her final apparition as Our Lady of Mount Carmel because She wants us to wear the Brown Scapular. Our Lady also stressed that we must make sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of doing our daily duty well, in reparation for the sins committed against Our Lord and Our Lady. She also stressed the necessity of prayers to save poor sinners from hell.

“If what I say to you is done”, says Our Lady, “many souls will be saved and there will be peace”. She said that if people did not stop offending God, He would punish the world severely by means of war, famine, persecution of the Church, and persecution of the Holy Father. To prevent these chastisements, Our Lady offered a remedy: She would return to ask for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the Five First Saturdays. If Her requests were heeded, there would be peace. If not, Russia's errors (atheistic communism) would spread throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church; the Holy Father would suffer much, the good would be martyred and various nations would be annihilated.

Our Lady indicated to us the specific root of all the troubles in the world, the one that causes world wars and such terrible suffering: sin. She then gave a solution, first to individual people, then to the Church's leaders. God asks each one of us to stop offending Him. We must pray, especially the Rosary. By this frequent prayer of the Rosary, we will get the graces we need to overcome sin. God wants us to have devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to work to spread this devotion throughout the world.

To Sr. Lucia (and to all who are devoted to the Blessed Virgin) Our Lady said, “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God”. If we wish to go to God, we have a sure way to Him through true devotion to the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. When Sister Lucia questioned Our Lord as to why He would not convert Russia without the solemn public consecration of that nation specifically, Jesus answered: Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that it may extend its homage later on, and put the devotion to the Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is central to the Fatima Message. God determined that the Consecration of Russia and the Communion of Reparation on First Saturdays of the month be the means of implementing this devotion throughout the world, and gave this task to His Pope and Bishops and to individual souls to practice and promote the devotion.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MESSAGE
The message of Fatima can be implemented in the following ways at personal and community/parish levels: Pray the Rosary everyday as requested by Our Lady, meditating on the mysteries in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the conversion of sinners, for your own salvation and the salvation of all mankind and for peace in the world. Stop offending God who is already too much offended by the sins of men. Go to Confession regularly and amend your life.

Be faithful in your performance of your daily duty and offer the sacrifices that such fidelity entails as acts of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary for your sins and the sins of the whole world. Practice Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and encourage others to do so. E.g. by consecrating yourself and your family or parish community to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and encouraging others to do the same.

Practice the First Saturday devotion in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and encourage others to do so. Priests should initiate parish/community practice of the devotion in the same way as the First Friday devotion. Avoid all types of sin, especially the sins of impurity and immodesty, pride, envy and jealousy, corruption, character assassination and neglect of your daily duties Encourage others to be pure and holy by your personal example. Pray daily for peace in our world and for our fellow Christians who are under persecution in non-Christian countries on account of their faith. Like some of the early Christians, many are executed daily for proclaiming Christ as their Lord and Savior. Do whatever you can to make marriages succeed according to God’s plan.

BE A PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST.
Pray, pray a great deal for sinners for many souls goes to hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and pray for them as disclosed by Our Lady. Help those in need who turn to you for help as well as others who do not come to you but who you know are suffering untold hardships and need your help. Encourage and support Marian devotions as best you can.