Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
Wednesday, October 13th Lk. 11: 42-46 Celebrating Our Lady of Fatima – Miracle of the Sun on October 13, 1917!!!
Fr. Ed Broom has written a 5-Week Family Consecration to Our Lady of Fatima and Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto. (English and Spanish)
For Parents earnestly striving to get their family to heaven, this is a one of a kind Family Consecration to establish family prayer and fasting/sacrifices (age appropriate) that if lived out, will not only take you and your family to heaven, but many, many others with you. Plus, you will enjoy a more united and joyful family life here on earth!
All for the greater honor and glory of God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the honor of our blessed Mother Mary, as well as the two youngest saints in the Catholic Church – Francisco and Jacinta Marto, your two new friends and advocates!
Contact us at lovegodsavesouls@gmail.com for information on participating in this powerful Family Consecration – a sure antidote to the evils that threaten our families today, especially our children!
Today’s Meditation is in honor of Our Lady of Fatima’s sixth and final appearance on 13 October 1917 to the three shepherd children of Fatima—Lucia de los Santos (age 10), and her two younger cousins, Francisco (age 9) and Jacinta (age 7) Marto.
OUR LADY’S LAST APPEARANCE IN OCTOBER 1917 THE GREAT MIRACLE OF THE SUN—OCTOBER 13TH by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Friends in Our Lady, Francisco and Jacinta, today we arrive at the long-awaited day—October 13th, the day of the promised great miracle. Yes, the beautiful Lady, who had already come from heaven five times, promised that in October a big miracle would occur. Twelve noon would be the appointed time.
THE CROWDS. By now news had spread far and wide about the Apparitions to the three Shepherd children—Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. Furthermore, that a great miracle would occur that day. People came from great distances to witness this miracle. It happened that around 70,000 people were present.
ATTITUDES OF THOSE WHO CAME. The attitudes of those who came to witness the promised miracle varied. Some were firm believers. Others believed only partially. Still others came out of curiosity. Finally, others were cynical, sneering and scoffing non-believers. A message for us is that we must beg Our Lady, and Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco for faith, but not simply a shallow and superficial faith! No! We must beg Our Lady to give us a strong, dynamic, faith; as Jesus said, a faith that can move mountains!
THE WEATHER. The weather could not have been worse! It was raining hard the night before and most of the day. People were traveling by foot and others on animals, some alone and others in groups, and a few in cars. But it was a cold, damp, wet and in a certain sense miserable day! In our lives, we must accept the cold and rainy days, as well as the sunshiny days. The sun of God’s love can always be shining in our hearts if we live in the state of grace.
NOON ARRIVES AND NOTHING AT FIRST! Noon arrives and nothing occurs. Many start to complain that this was a hoax, a lie, that the children were deceived and deceiving many. There was a fear that the children might be lynched by the crowd.
THE GREAT MIRACLE OF THE SUN. A sea of people could be seen. Suddenly there was a bright light coming from the heavens that enlightened the whole countryside. The rain ceased. The clouds separated and a large sun appeared, larger than normal. But one could look at the sun without damaging one’s eyes, as if it were only the moon! The sun seemed to get larger and larger, brighter and brighter, until the heavens seemed to be brilliantly lighted, more brilliantly lighted than ever before seen. All of a sudden, the sun started to spin in the sky, almost like a Ferris-wheel. Then the sun began to shoot out rays of light in all different colors like a rainbow. Again it seemed as if the sun were getting bigger and bigger in the sky. All at once the sun looked like it was heading towards the earth, such that it would crash into the earth and the world would come to an end, terrifying the people on the ground. Just as suddenly, the sun stopped spinning and returned to its place in the sky.
MIRACLES THAT OCCURRED. As a result of this Miracle of the Sun, various miracles occurred—miracles over nature and miracles of grace.
1. DRYING OF GROUND AND CLOTHES. As mentioned earlier, it had been raining immensely the whole night before and into the morning. The Miracle of the Sun dried both the ground and the people, along with the clothes they were wearing.
2. BLIND PERSON RECOVERS SIGHT. A blind person had his sight restored.
3. CRIPPLE WALKING. A person who was crippled was able to rise and walk.
4. SINNERS CONVERTED. In the realm of grace, many fell to their knees and began to confess their sins and to pray fervently the Act of Contrition.
5. NON-BELIEVERS AND FAITH. Of great importance, many of the sceptics, cynics, and non-believers began to believe.
Children and families, as we draw close to our Consecration Day in which we would like to consecrate our whole being to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the prayers of Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, we should draw from this great Miracle of the Sun that occurred October 13, 1917, this important message that God continually wants to and still can produce miracles in the world.
However, it must be said that the greatest miracles that can possibly occur are MIRACLES of GRACE. This occurs when a sinner returns to God. This occurs whenever any person makes a good Sacramental Confession. This occurs when a person who never prays, starts to pray. This occurs when a mediocre and lazy Catholic becomes fervent and zealous, and really wants to become a saint—like Francisco and Jacinta. This occurs when ugly vices and addictions are converted into the practice of deeply rooted virtues. All of these miracles can occur now if we place ourselves in the hands and Immaculate Heart of Mary, as did Francisco and Jacinta.
Through the power, the presence, and the prayers of Our Lady, rain transforms into a rainbow, the hard ground brings forth perfumed flowers; the barren desert blossoms colorful cacti, darkness give way to the sunrise, and the sadness and gloom of sin converts into the multi-faceted fragrance of the flowers of virtues. Truly, taking seriously your Consecration to Mary through the prayers of Francisco and Jacinta, can radically change your life and the life of your whole family. Now we are going to visit the children and learn from the visions given to them that day, visions only seen by them, in addition to the Great Miracle of the Sun seen by everyone, and the many important messages God wants to teach us!
1. SAINT JOSEPH WITH THE CHILD JESUS IN HIS ARMS BLESSING THE WORLD. The meaning is of great importance. In our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through Francisco and Jacinta, we should also fall in love with Good Saint Joseph. This is the greatest of all saints! He is the earthly Father of Jesus. He is the Spouse/Husband of the Virgin Mary. He is the Patron of men. He is the Patron of workers. He is the Terror of Demons. He is the Patron of a holy and happy death. Saint Joseph is the Patron Saint of all families. He is the protector of all of us. As he protected and saved the Child Jesus from being killed by the wicked King Herod, he wants to protect you and your family and lead you safely to Heaven. Pray often to Saint Joseph. In the vision, the Child Jesus is blessing those who honor his earthly Father, the Good and Holy Saint Joseph. Also, in this vision could be seen Our Lady in a white robe with a blue mantle, beside the sun. It was as if Our Lady were saying: “Look at my beloved son, Jesus, and my Spouse, Saint Joseph. Love them and entrust yourselves to their care.”
2. SAINT JOSEPH AND THE CHILD JESUS BLESS THE WORLD. They both seemed to trace the sign of the cross and bless the world. Let us humbly ask for this blessing, too, as we make our consecration to Mary. Indeed, consecration to Mary means entering into the Family of Mary—Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph. We enter into the best of all families. By the way, this scene points to the importance of praying the JOYFUL MYSTERIES of the Rosary. In these mysteries we find Good Saint Joseph.
3. APPEARANCE OF OUR LORD AND OUR LADY OF DOLORS / SORROWS. Remember that Our Lady suffers due to sin and due to the offenses against her privileges, especially five sins are the source of Our Lady’s sorrows: sins against her Immaculate Conception, sins against her Perpetual Virginity, sins against her Divine Maternity, sins in which her images are desecrated and profaned, and sins when innocent children are damaged by ugly things happening in the world, the schools, and the electronics media. We want to console and comfort Our Lady, as did Saints Francisco and Jacinta, by our Consecration, our daily Rosaries, and by living a holy life. In this scene we have an allusion to the importance of praying the SORROWFUL MYSTERIES of the Rosary.
4. OUR LORD AS A MAN BLESSES THE WORLD. Then Jesus, now as a grown man dressed in white, blesses the world, very much like Saint Joseph had done earlier. My friends in Jesus and Mary, it must be understood that our Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the prayers and the example of Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, also means to consecrate ourselves to Jesus. In a word, love and devotion to Mary always leads us to a greater, love, reverence, and obedience to Jesus. In fact, the last words recorded of Our Lady in the Bible are found in the Wedding Feast of Cana. When there is no more wine at the wedding, Mary’s says to the servant and to us: “Do whatever He tells you!”—referring to Jesus! (Jn. 2: 1-12) Our Lady, Saint Joseph, and Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, want us to come to know and love Jesus more and more each day. Jesus appearing as a grown man points to the importance of praying the LUMINOUS MYSTERIES of the Rosary, or if you like, the Mysteries of Light. These are Mysteries that point to the Public Life of Jesus when he was 30 to 33 years of age.
5. OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL. Finally, Our Lady appears once more and this time she appears to the Prophet Elijah on the Mountain, high on the mountain. The heights of the mountain point to the heights of heaven and Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven and Crowning as Queen of Heaven. Of course, this lifts our minds and hearts with the desire to pray the GLORIOUS MYSTERIES of the Rosary.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel will be very important for the day of our Consecration because we will be receiving and wearing forever the garment that Our Lady loves most: The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This brown Scapular that we will wear always starting on the day of our consecration is our external sign of our Consecration to Mary. By wearing the Scapular, we are saying: “I belong to Mary. I am in the School of Mary. I am protected by Mary. I am Mary’s child now and forever. I am in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The Scapular is made of two small squares of brown cloth attached to strings so it can be worn over our shoulder with one cloth in front over our heart and one cloth in back. Thus the wearing of the Scapular should fill us with great joy because it is a constant reminder for us in all times and places that Our Lady has her loving arms around us, hugging us, protecting us, and drawing us always closer to her Immaculate Heart.
CONCLUSION. The October Miracle of the Sun was one of the greatest miracles in the History of the Church in the past 2000 years. The messages from the miracle are almost beyond count. However, for us who are soon to make our consecration, the message must be clear. Our Lady, and Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, ardently desire that we give ourselves to Jesus and Mary right now. Our Lady desires our prayers, our Rosaries, our sacrifices and sufferings to save souls and make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady desires, and the children of Fatima desire, that your short life on earth will be a pilgrimage and bridge to your final destiny which is Heaven, Heaven Heaven—to be united with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and with Our Blessed Mother, forever in Heaven!
