One of Mary’s most popular titles is Our Lady of Fatima. 105 years ago, Mary appeared to three young children in Fatima, Portugal. You can read about the apparitions in full here.
There are two points to the Fatima story that especially stand out to me.
The first is that the children ask about the soul of their friend Amelia and our Lady told them that Amelia would be in purgatory until the end of time. What could a young person at that time have done that was so terrible as to merit that punishment? I don’t know, but I think it is a sobering idea that I need to keep in mind for my own life and to warn my family about it.
From Catholic Tradition:
One of the things seldom talked about in the Message took place during her first visit with the children in May of 1917. It concerns Purgatory. On that occasion Lucy began to question the beautiful Lady to find out who she was. Happy when the Lady said she had come from Heaven, Lucy immediately asked about her own eternal happiness and Our Lady lovingly told her that she would go to Heaven, After being assured that her two companions, Jacinta and Francis, would go to Heaven as well, Lucy further asked about two of her little companions who had recently died: “Is little Maria das Neves in Heaven,” “Yes” answered Our Lady, “she is in Heaven.” Finally, Lucy asked about another companion, called Amelia, and Our Lady answered: “She will be in Purgatory until the end of the world.”
Little Amelia was eighteen years old when she died. She is in Purgatory and will, on the testimony of Our Blessed Mother, stay there until the end of time. Her fate contains a warning for all of us. Let us take to heart and make certain that her fate will not be our own.
Secondly, Mary showed the children a vision of hell, one that Sr. Lucia never forgot.
Hell exists, despite watered-down theology that says it does not.
I regret not really having a devotion to this feast day growing up. I think sometimes when the church shrouded things in gauze and flowery language to mystify the mystical, it added a lot of confusion and put things out of reach of the common person.
In my opinion, the visions at Fatima should have been promoted more as a contemporary, 20th-century miracle. Maybe it was in some places, but in Michigan in the latter part of the century, Catholic school kids were taught about Fatima in the same lessons with Lourdes, and the crusades, and the martyrs. To a kid, anything that didn’t happen this year is ancient history.
But now with the perspective of an adult, I realize that my grandparents were only 15 when this happened. My grandmother was Catholic then. I realize mass media wasn’t as fast as it is now, but still, I wonder how she learned about Fatima and how the news of the apparitions reached her ears. 11 years after the first apparition, my mother was born. The first of my husband’s siblings came just a few years after the 30 year anniversary.
And yet, Fatima to me was something that happened in the way distant past. Perception is a funny thing.
Ways to Celebrate:
The 2020 Movie about Fatima is available for streaming on Amazon.
I watched this with my granddaughter yesterday and it held her attention for most of it. It is beautifully done though perhaps a tad too long.
If you haven’t yet, have a May crowning in your home. It doesn’t have to be a big deal or expensive. This is an inexpensive crowning we did a year ago.
Read the Fatima Story – it’s even available on Kindle so you can access it right away.
But most importantly, pray the rosary and say the Fatima Prayer.
Catholic Icing has a fun and easy craft to do as well.
The Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell.
Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.
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