The Fatima Apparition of August 13, 1917 did not occur when it was supposed to. The three seers of Fatima: Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, had been essentially taken “hostage” by the local government administrator just prior to the Apparition. As a result they were not present, but were miles away being threatened with torture (being boiled in oil) if they did not reveal the “Secret” that the Blessed Virgin Mary had shared with them earlier (a vision of Hell, amongst other things).
Nevertheless, Mary was not about to be upstaged or thwarted by a mere bureaucrat. Our Lady did appear to the shepherd children on August 19th.
During this Apparition, our Lady requested that the seers continue to return on the 13th of the month and to continue praying the Rosary.
Lucia asked her as to what they should do with the money that was beginning to be donated. Mary replied that two “litters” (like stretchers to carry someone) are to be made, one to be carried by Lucia, Jacinta and some girls, the other by Francisco and some boys, for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Money left over is to be used for the construction of a chapel to be built on the site.
Mary concluded with, “Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for the sinners. You know that many souls go the hell because there is none who pray for them.”
As I have said previously, I plan on blogging about these Apparitions in hopes that Catholics in recovery can find some additional tools to pack in their spiritual toolkit for fighting addictions. Every month from May through October, on or about the 13th, I shall post something on that month’s Apparition through the 100th Anniversary in 2017. Initially I’ll be very basic, but when the anniversaries approach again up through 2017, I hope to delve deeper. I am still beginning my journey of exploring the spiritual wealth of Fatima, and the more I read, the more I am coming to regard Fatima as an essential devotion to any Catholic in recovery from addictions.
You can keep up with Sober Catholic’s blogging on Fatima at this link: All the Fatima Posts.
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Know someone, perhaps yourself, who might like Catholic devotionals for alcoholics? Please take a look at my books! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)