Our Pilgrimage Journey Continues: Mary’s Great Promise is Not Yet Over
Last December for the centennial anniversary of Our Lady’s request for the First Saturday devotion in reparation to her Immaculate Heart, we launched an extremely successful First Saturday Pilgrimage Program. Filmed on-location in Fatima, throughout Portugal, and Spain, with stunning cinematography and gentle voice-over meditations from our chaplain Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher CFR, this unique virtual experience has brought Fatima to the homes of thousands across our country and globally. And while the first five Saturdays of this 12-month pilgrimage have already passed, we are not stopping there. This devotion is so important that we encourage you to keep going and finish the year with us.
This Year of Extraordinary Grace is Our Invitation to Do More
Halfway through this Extraordinary Marian Jubilee Year and the 2026 shrine season I am overwhelmed when I think of the incredible gift that we have received in the Church overall and especially at this sanctuary. Being designated as a place of pilgrimage during this special time we take seriously the trust that the Church has placed in us. The World Apostolate of Fatima Our Lady’s Blue Army is a Public Association of the Faithful, entrusted with being the official voice for the Church on the message of Fatima.
The Third Part of the Secret of Fatima
Over the years, much has been made over the third part of the Secret of Fátima. It was expected to be released in the year 1960, but it was not and people wondered why. Thankfully, we now stand in a place historically to look at the matter with a better mind owing to disclosures that have come to light in the past twenty-five or so years. Let’s take a dive into things.
The Lady Made of Light
The Blessed Mother at Fatima appeared dressed all in white and as if she was “made of light,” according to the shepherd children. The light that radiated from her opened their eyes to the vast and unexplainable nature of God and manifested His presence in the depth of their hearts. What a phenomenal gift for these young seers, who could never put into words what they experienced, because, as St. Paul states, “Who can comprehend …the love of God that surpasses all knowledge?”
“Where the World’s Headed Nobody Knows…”
Wars and rumors of war. Politics as a blood sport. The deterioration of society and the dismantlement of a culture.
The 1971 song Ball of Confusion by the Temptations summarizes it best. “Round and around and around we go, where the world’s headed nobody knows!” We do know, and we have the power to change the world and bring it back into proper orbit. We must first realize that we have taken it astray.
Young Hearts: The holy death of Jacinta and the 1918 Flu
St. Jacinta Marto endured a prolonged and painful illness that led to her death on the night of Feb. 20, 1920, in the Estefania Hospital in Lisbon. Only a night nurse, Aurora Gomes, was present in the ward that evening, but when questioned, she could not recall any details of the young seer’s death, nor anything about the child herself. As Our Lady foretold, Jacinta died alone, far from her relatives and friends, due to complications arising from the Spanish Flu pandemic, which swept around the world between Jan. 1918 and Dec. 1920.
Sister Lucia was a Martyr to Daily Duty
If there is anything we can learn from Venerable Sister Lucia, it is heroic patience and perseverance, which she embraced fully as each day unfolded – one to the next – until her death at age 97 on Feb. 13, 2005. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of her holy passing, Lucia is a good reminder of how to become a saint through what she called “the long, hard road of martyrdom that has to do with daily living.”
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!
Pray, Hope and Sleep Peacefully in the Arms of God
We were sitting having dinner the other evening. Outside on the deck on a patio chair was one of our neighborhood cats. She was curled up, peacefully asleep, unaware of the turmoil that defines our present day. I commented to my wife that this reminds me of the Scripture passage when Our Lord states:
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life?” (Mt 6:26)
Mary Calls Us To Deep and Abiding Prayer
Prayer is the mainstay of the Christian and Catholic life and so it isn’t surprising to see how, once the Fatima children had experienced the awesomeness and power of the angel of Fatima and the beauty and goodness of Our Lady, they increasingly devoted their lives to prayer.
