Today we celebrate the 106th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun[1] which took place at Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917.
As most of our readers know, this is the greatest public miracle not to be recounted in Sacred Scripture. The tremendous significance of this should not be lost upon us. God has given us such a great grace because it is needed to overcome the terrible darkness overcoming our age.
Here are just some of the reasons why it was such a great miracle:
- Our Lady foretold the very date and time of this miracle three months in advance. People had gathered, expecting proof – that the children either were speaking the truth or had made it all up. Rarely does God grant such precision in the prophesying of a coming miracle.
- The miracle was witnessed by at least 70,000 people, though some eye-witnesses present at the event provided a much higher estimate (up to 100,000).
- The miracle was also attested to by those who had no faith and who even hated the Catholic Church. They were present because they expected to triumphantly ridicule all those people who believed in God. Nevertheless, they truthfully reported the miraculous event.
- The miracle was not only seen at Fatima, but for hundreds of miles about.
- The miracle left tangible evidence in its wake. All night long and throughout the morning it had rained. The ground was muddy and the people’s clothes were soaked as well as dirty from kneeling in the mud. Yet after the miracle, the ground and clothes of the onlookers were dry and their clothes were clean as well.
- A most astonishing effect of this miracle and one of its best proofs is: “The amount of energy needed to accomplish this process of instantaneous drying, would have incinerated everyone present had it taken place in the natural order of things. As this aspect of the miracle contradicts the laws of nature radically, no demon could ever have achieved it.”[2]
- All of these facts make it utterly impossible for disbelievers to convincingly suggest the miracle was only an illusion, a conspiracy of lies, or some kind of mass hypnosis.
- Then there is the subject matter of the miracle – namely, that the greatest object which humans see in the sky, whose constancy provides the light and heat we need to live, was subject to chaotic and erratic motion.
- Finally, and most importantly, is what the miracle entailed. Namely that the earth seemed to be on the verge of destruction from the sun “falling” upon it. This was the consistent testimony of the eye-witnesses: they were filled with fear at the impending annihilation of our world.
You can probably think of other reasons why this miracle justly deserves to be considered the greatest miracle not recounted by Sacred Scripture. Please send your thoughts to us in the comment section below.
A miracle this great naturally leads man to ask the question “Why?” Why did God grant this particular miracle, and not some other? In God’s great works, even the smallest details point to important realities. So it makes sense for us to ponder these questions: Why did God choose the sun? Why on this particular day? Why at this particular time in history? Why in this location? Why the erratic motion and giving off of unnatural colors? Why did the sun plummet towards the earth? Why at the last moment did the sun return to its normal activity? We would do well to reflect upon these and other related questions, because clearly God is speaking LOUDLY to all of us through this great event. Are we listening?
To honor the anniversary of such a wondrous and grace-filled miracle, let us meditate upon its significance.
The people present for the miracle thought the world was about to end. They saw the sun crashing down upon the earth. Then suddenly the earth was restored to its normal place. Does this miracle foreshadow Our Lady’s conditional prophecies for a world that continues to unrepentantly offend God? What natural, man-made and supernatural calamities will befall mankind if we fail to obey God and Our Lady?
In this miracle, did the sun represent the Catholic Faith? It gives life to the world by its light (truth) and warmth (grace). Yet the sun began to act strangely and the people looked directly at it. Might this evoke how the many perennial teachings of the Church are ignored or denied, the supernatural minimized, and the Church being reduced to simply natural things man can “see,” such as the ‘community of the people’ and being ‘kind and tolerant’ to others? The sun was dislodged from its position in the firmament. It began to spin dizzily and emit strange colors. The people stood by in stupefied amazement. Did this foreshadow the effects an ‘evil’ council[3] would have upon the Church.
Or might the sun have stood as a type for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?[4] Padre Pio famously said: “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” With the fabrication of a new Mass that centers upon man (anthropocentric) instead of God (theocentric), much of the mystery, beauty, and sacredness of the Mass has been stripped. It is now banal and ordinary, and all men gaze upon it without that fear of God which is a necessary part of authentic worship (in spirit and in truth).
The New Mass gyrates and spins usually (the weekly innovations, including rock music and ‘liturgical’ dance) and now displays strange colors (a co-opted rainbow). Does the sun crashing towards the earth signify the attempts to destroy the Ancient Mass and the terrible fruits which a new ‘evil’ Mass[3] will have upon the earth? Yet let us take heart, because the sun at Fatima was suddenly restored at the last moment to its rightful place, order was restored, and the people were cleansed. What might this foreshadow with regards to the Faith and Mass once Our Lady is obeyed?
What other reasons do you think God might have chosen this particular miracle at Fatima? We invite you to add your reflections to the discussion below.
Let us renew our commitment to heed Our Lady’s call for increased penance and prayer! This is NOW even more important than ever! Consider all that has happened in the past few years.
Almost the entire world was placed on lockdown; and the threat of renewed lockouts are ever present. Many people have been coerced into having experimental drugs injected into their bodies – repeatedly. The number of ‘sudden’ deaths from ‘unexplained’ causes grows steadily every day, even among the young and the athletically fit. Economies have suffered greatly and inflation is soaring. Our food sources are being genetically modified and there is a mass propaganda campaign inducing us to eat insects instead of meat. The cancel culture continues to recklessly destroy lives and denigrate our history, and decimate our civilization. Depression, abuse, and suicide have sky-rocketed. Many people have lost confidence in elections and the democratic system. As many men completely reject God, the issues of illegal immigration, abortion, wokeism, and transgenderism are dramatically polarizing our society. Many nations are facing an energy crisis. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is escalating and many people believe we are on the verge of a full scale third world war.
And far worse is what is taking place within our beloved Church. Many churches have remained closed or suffer under a variety of restrictions. The channels of sanctifying grace are being choked off. Sacrileges abound within our churches. One of the few areas in which the Church is flourishing and experiencing growth is among those families (very often, young) where a sincere effort is being made to recover and restore Catholic Tradition; yet now their own hierarchy is attacking them and refusing to ‘listen and respond’ to their spiritual needs. The Ancient Rite of the Roman Mass, with its origin with St. Peter himself, is being restricted, suppressed and branded as ‘disobedient and divisive.” declared “illegal.” Heterodox clerics are being advanced to higher positions within the hierarchy. Good priests who are faithful to Church teaching are being unjustly silenced, persecuted and cancelled.
Pro-abortion politicians like Nancy Pelosi are welcomed at the Vatican and given Holy Communion – despite being excommunicated by her local bishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. Francis and many bishops actively participated in public pagan rituals in Canada, even though the Catholic Church has always maintained that all pagan rites are demonic. The German bishops are in open rebellion against Catholic Tradition, and the Flemish bishops are advocating for a rite of blessing over so-called “same-sex couples.” Well-founded rumors reported that the goals of the ‘Synod on Synodality’ included ordaining women (as deaconesses and later as priestesses), eliminating celibacy for priests (an Apostolic practice!), allowing those in public mortal sin to receive Holy Communion, changing the Church’s moral doctrine on homosexuality and contraception, and advancing a pro-LGBT agenda in every facet of pastoral life. This is utter madness and a complete and utter betray of Jesus Christ.
We must obey Our Lady!
To one who has faith and knows the Message of Fatima, it is patently obvious that Russia has not been consecrated as Our Lady requested. She promised Russia’s conversion (that is, to the one true Catholic Faith), world peace and the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart. The situation in the Church and the world has only worsened since March 25, 2022.
Our Lady will fulfill Her promises once we obey – and She will do so promptly! Mankind must see a causal – hence, temporal – link between the Consecration of Russia and the conversion of Russia and world peace because Our Lord told Sister Lucia that this is the means by which the world will accept a worldwide devotion to the Immaculate Heart. Nevertheless, many Catholics, even faithful ones, have been deceived on this matter. Not just once, or twice, but repeatedly. More than fourteen papal acts have failed to obey Our Lady’s simple requests (see the latest Fatima Crusader, Issue 129, p. 16, for details).
Clearly, satan and his diabolical minions have been unleashed with ever increasing power and their influence will only continue to grow until we collectively turn to Our Lady! At this moment in history, Only She Can Help Us!
I urge you, let us spread Her Message of Fatima to those we know. You can use the simple mnemonic device Roman Catholic S.O.S. because we clearly need to send a loud and urgent plea to Heaven.
- R – Rosary: Pray a terco (Portuguese, for “five decades”) every day! If you already do, pray it slower and with greater attention, or pray all fifteen mysteries.
- C – Consecration: Pray for the proper Consecration of Russia and consecrate yourself personally to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
- S – Scapular: Always wear the Brown Scapular faithfully.
- O – Offer Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Do penance, especially by your daily duty and keeping God’s law. Pray for souls, especially for the Pope.
- S – Saturday: Practice the First Saturday devotion every month!
Let us intensify our devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Above all, let us never lose faith. In the end, we know that Her Immaculate Heart will triumph!
ENDNOTES
[1] You can read the details surrounding this great miracle in the ninth and tenth chapters of The True Story of Fatima by Fr. John de Marchi, which is linked HERE at our site for your convenience.
[2] For more information, see The Devil’s Final Battle, Chapter 1, ”The Message and the Miracle”, pp. 1-8. This quote from page 6 is actually a verbatim statement of Fr. Gregory Hesse, S.T.D., J.C.D. (R.I.P. 2006) in the Heaven’s Key to Peace video. If you have not seen this video, it is well worth the watch.
[3] The term ‘evil’ is used because Fr. Ingo Dollinger reported that his friend [then] Cardinal Ratzinger confided to him that the Third Secret of Fatima, the part as yet unrevealed, warned against changing the Mass (i.e., to an ‘evil’ Mass) and referred to an ‘evil’ Council (see The Fatima Crusader, Issue 92, May 2009, p. 9). Lest anyone be scandalized, all should bear in mind the Augustinian definition of ‘evil’, namely “the absence of a good which should rightly be present.” It is undeniable that numerous goods which belong to every Ecumenical Council were absent from the Second Vatican Council (such as clarity and precision in teaching, dispelling ambiguities, dogmatic definitions, condemnations of the gravest errors infecting the world, etc.). Likewise, it is undeniable that numerous goods which have always been part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are absent from the New Mass.
[4] For a further reflection upon the Mass and the Miracle of the Sun, we invite you to view the conference “The Message of Fatima and the Latin Mass” (2017) by David Rodríguez at the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation homepage.