Our Lady’s Smile
The innumerable pilgrimages by my father’s cousin sparked a desire in me to travel as a pilgrim. Fatima would be my first encounter with an overseas pilgrimage. It was a dream come true!
My father’s cousin had been there seven times. Always, always he lavished us with gifts upon his return. On one occasion he brought each of my siblings a statuette of Our Lady of Fatima. We treasured them dearly!
The Hope of Advent
I held it together until the morning after our beloved family puppy had gone missing. Up until then, I was all action: printing “lost dog” flyers, helping my husband canvass neighborhoods where she’d last been seen, and consoling our three children who were understandably yearning to find her.
The New Totalitarianism Requires Our Urgent Response
One hundred and seven years ago today, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal, bringing a message of urgency, laced in sorrow and concern for the condition of the world of that time.
Fatima’s Spirit of Sacrifice
Sacrifice as a Duty of Love As Lent continues it can be easy to lose that original spark of devotion and energy awakened in us on Ash Wednesday. Our daily sacrifices and resolutions start out strong, but keeping them becomes increasingly tiresome, a chore rather than a loving gift. It is therefore extremely important that […]
Benedict XVI and Fátima’s Prophetic Mission
by Kevin J. Symonds, M.A. “We would be mistaken to think that the prophetic mission of Fatima is complete.” Pope Benedict XVI on May 13, 2010. Pope Benedict was celebrating Mass in Fátima on May 13, 2010, when he made the above remark.[1] It was a little confusing at the time, and even Archbishop Georg […]