Our Lady of Fatima

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of Our Lady of Fatima. At left is a copy of the beginning of the third secret as it was recorded for Bishop of Leiria. There is much which can be said of this most extraordinary appearance of Our Lady. It is an especially attractive devotion because its revelation occurred so close to the times in which we are living.

During his tenure as Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI offered a theological commentary on the revelations of Fatima. We share here his concluding remarks:

I would like finally to mention another key expression of the “secret” which has become justly famous: “my Immaculate Heart will triumph”. What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Saviour into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise.