Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | MAY 13-26, 2017 Planning Your Will and Special Gifts Personally – Leave a legacy of what matters to you most. Financially – Wisely manage the assets that God has entrusted to you, in full compliance with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Spiritually – Strengthen our parishes and our Catholic community through your charitable giving. The Catholic Foundation of Northern Colorado is here to help you plan your Will, including the opportunity for special gifts that you may not be able to create on your own. As Catholic faithful, we believe our earthly treasure is a gift from God, and we can give it a way to serve the greater good. Give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven. LUKE 12:33–34 www.TheCatholicFoundation.com giving@thecatholicfoundation.com Jean Finegan | 303.867.0613 Deacon Steve Stemper | 303.468.9885 The second apparition, June 13, revealed that Francisco and Jacinta would soon be taken to heaven; Lucia would remain on earth a while to tell the story of Fatima; but the third apparition would reveal much more. On July 13, Our Lady revealed to them the "Secrets of Fatima," the third of which would not be released until 2000 by St. John Paul II. The fi rst was a vision of hell and a warning about World War II; the second, a warning about Russia. L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published a special insert in 2000 on the secrets. "The fi rst and second parts of the 'secret'…refer especially to the fright- ening vision of hell, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Second World War, and fi nally the prediction of the immense damage that Russia would do to humanity by abandoning the Christian faith and embracing Com- munist totalitarianism." The third secret was a prophesy. Lucia wrote, "[There was] a bishop dressed in white, we had the impression that it was the Holy Father. Other bish- ops, priests, men and women religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big cross…before reaching there, the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, a± icted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the moun- tain on his knees, at the foot of the big cross he was killed by a group of sol- diers who fi red bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other bishops, priests, men and women religious, and various lay people of di› erent ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the cross there were two angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God." THE 'MIRACLE OF THE SUN' Two apparitions later, tension was growing in Fatima; authorities were alarmed by the number of people fl ock- ing to the Cova da Iria (some 30,000 people attended the fi fth apparition) and the children were being detained, even causing the fourth apparition to be delayed by a few days. But the children, with help of con- solation from Our Lady, were promised a miracle at the fi nal apparition, which would take place October 13, so that the world would believe. Lucia described the vision: "After our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the fi rmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel." Then came the miracle: the Sun "danced" to eyewitnesses, which were 70,000 in attendance. "Opening her hands, she made them refl ect on the sun, and as she ascended, the refl ection of her own light contin- ued to be projected onto the sun itself," Lucia wrote. "Here…is the reason why I cried out to the people to look at the sun…I was moved to do so under the guidance of an interior impulse." AFTERMATH After the apparitions of Fatima, the world changed. After canonical inquiry, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima declared the visions, which are private revela- tion, worthy of belief in 1930. After the start of World War II, Pope Pius XII released the fi rst two secrets of Fatima and consecrated the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, specifi cally mentioning Russia. Pope Paul VI later renewed that consecration during his papacy. St. John Paul II was arguably the most devoted to the message of Fatima; following his assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, he attributed Our Lady of Fatima to saving his life. He renewed the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary the following day. We were bathed in a heavenly light that appeared to come directly from her hands. The light's reality cut into our hearts and our souls, and we knew somehow that this light was God, and we could see ourselves embraced in it." " For more information on the history of Fatima, visit ewtn.com/fatima/index.asp.

• Cover