by Father Joseph de Ste. Marie, Professor of Theology, Pontifical Faculty of St. Theresa, Rome
This is part of Father's talk at Fatima in October 1981 which helps us to understand the crucial importance today of Our Lady of Fatima and Her message. The intervention of God in human history through the Fatima events was predicted in the Bible and is God's definitive response to revolt in varying degrees of many nations and people away from the revelation and rule of Jesus Christ. This revolt against God, Jesus Christ and His Church, started 500 years ago and shows itself at its worst point in Marxist revolution.
www.fatima.org
Page 1 of 6
under the color of culture. As for Luther, he was at the very beginning of the division of Christian Europe. He was the great divider: "Gott ist im Himmel, du bist auf Erden' ('God's in His Heaven; you are on earth'.) Between Heaven and earth, Luther establishes an impassable abyss. He denies all mediations. In the end Luther, who talks so much about Christ, denies the mediation of Christ's Humanity. A fortiori he denies the mediation of Christ's Mother, His Co-Redemptrix. Therein lies the essential significance of the 16th Century: The affirmation of man, of rupture between Heaven and earth by the denial of the mediations which unite them: Christ, Mary and first of all the Church. Such is the beginning of the revolt of modern times against God. Faced with this attack, the Church replied through the Hierarchy - through the Council of Trent - and by means of a galaxy of Saints - St. Ignatius, St. Theresa, St. John of the Cross, St. Peter of Alcantara, and so on: it was through them that the prophetic charisma was realized and superabundantly exercised.
www.fatima.org
Page 2 of 6
French Revolution as the work of Masonry which had come into being at the beginning of the Century, and as the exaltation of reason: in other words we see man rejecting God, so as to become his own master and be entirely self-sufficient.
Mankind, due to its revolt from God's sweet rule, is as a result of its sins going headlong on its way to destruction. The devil and his human agents over an extended period of time have set up a militantly atheistic regime in Russia to fight against God,
www.fatima.org
Page 3 of 6
the Catholic Church and all that is truly good. Except for the intervention of God in human history the military power in the control of Moscow and hatred motivating the militant atheists is enough to destroy us all. God will save mankind from total destruction only through the intercession and merits of Our Lady of Fatima, who will convert Russia. Passing on quickly, as we must, to the 20th Century we have the great turning point of 1917 - yet another point which I shall develop in my study - the turning point which is at one and the same time the outcome of, and a new point of departure for, not only this entire process of revolution, but also the whole of this prophetic revelation. After the consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart by Leo XIII in 1899, and the subsequent non-cooperation by men, God could tolerate no more; He could no longer permit men's crimes to go without chastisement; yet neither could He cease to seek to spare us through pure mercy. And when men had refused to respond, or had given insufficient response, to the appeal of His Son's Heart, He sent them His Mother; the Heart of Christ somehow withdrew behind the Heart of Mary. Such was the great turning point of 1917. And let it be noted; at the very moment when as a consequence of the Bolshevik victory, the 'Red Dragon' emerged at one extremity of Europe in Leningrad, which then was still Petrograd, at the other extremity of Europe, at Fatima where we are now, there appeared the 'Woman Clothed with the Sun', the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Such was the miracle of October 13, 1917, the miracle of the sun, a miracle which calls for an entire book to itself . . . But, dear friends, this sun is the symbol of Christ. And as you know - I recalled it yesterday in meditating the Rosary with the priests - this miracle of the sun was renewed four times at the Vatican, for Pius XII in 1950, when he defined the dogma of the Assumption: i.e. the dogma of Mary taken up into Heaven, of Mary 'assumed' by Christ, the dogma of the Woman totally reclaimed by the 'Sun of Justice' and established by Him in glory and in the power of His Kingship as Sun of both Heaven and earth.
www.fatima.org
Page 4 of 6
My conclusion is as follows. The message has been given. Sister Lucia has suffered a sort of martyrdom since 1917 because there has been no effective response to Our Lady's demands. We must therefore meditate on the message and concentrate our attention on the Heart of Mary and Her appeal, which is not an abstract appeal but the appeal of our Mother's Heart. We must look towards Her, listen to Her and hear what She says to us all: 'Come to My Heart, for only by so doing will you be converted and become sufficiently steadfast in the battles which await you and able for the crosses which you must bear.' Such is Her appeal to all of us. And this appeal is for the theologians and for those in positions of responsibility as well as for every Christian called to apostolate. 'Listen to Me (She says) but also make My appeal heard.'
On March 25, 1984, Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's in Rome consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the statue of Our Lady venerated in Fatima. This statue was specially brought to Rome for this occasion. After consecrating the world the Pope publicly acknowledged to Our Lady of Fatima that She was still awaiting His Holiness and the Bishops to consecrate "certain people'' to Her. The Pope is awaiting the further support of the prayers of the faithful and the cooperation of the bishops before he will consecrate Russia in the form Our Lady of Fatima specifically commanded. Only when the Pope and the bishops do this will the world have freedom from
www.fatima.org
Page 5 of 6
war and hunger. Only when this is done will the Church again enjoy freedom from persecution.
Conclusion
My conclusion is therefore very practical. Let there be no hysteria concerning dates or concerning expectation of chastisements. The dates are unknown; the chastisements certain. The practical conclusion for us all is to look towards the Heart of Our Mother. And we are going to begin doing so immediately with this pilgrimage which will be a point of departure, not something done in passing or a pious act occupying a moment or two while we are on tour. It will be a point of departure as from your hearing Our Lady's appeal and my joy will derive from having contributed towards this. It will be a point of departure in that, having heard Our Lady's appeal, you will learn to make each succeeding day's response increasingly effective. My talk is offered to you among so many other things in order to help you to make it A POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR LEARNING TO RESPOND TO MARY. It is from the efforts of the entire Church, from the prayer and sacrifice of each one of us that there will come the movement and the graces necessary to permit the Pope and the successors of the Apostles to make this liberating consecration. It is then that Mary's Heart will triumph. It is then that peace will be given to Russia and, starting with Russia, to the entire world. It is then that Mary will be proclaimed Mediatrix of all graces. It is then that Renewal will come, the veritable Renewal, not a 'renewal' that is false and calculated to deceive. It is then that there will come the true Renewal promised by God in the entire Church and throughout the entire world, to the greater glory of the Hearts of Christ and Mary, of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.
AMEN.
www.fatima.org
Page 6 of 6