As the world enters the 91st year since Our Lady first appeared at Fatima, mankind still awaits the collegial consecration of Russia and the final revelation of Our Lady’s words concerning the Vision of the Third Secret. At Fatima, Our Lady’s distinct words provided counsel and admonition, while the accompanying signs and symbols fulfilled all seven purposes that authentic prodigies may hold. While scholars examine all the text from and about Fatima in regard to the Third Secret and the collegial consecration, we must also study the Fatima signs. That God wills the elect to understand His signs, at the proper time, is supported by inerrant Scripture: “For the Lord knoweth all knowledge, and hath beheld the signs of the world, he declareth the things that are past, and the things that are to come, and revealeth the traces of hidden things.”[1]The Purposes of Signs
Throughout salvation history, the signs of God indicate various purposes. A true sign can possess any one or more of the following seven functions: It confirms God’s Word, His goodness, authenticates prophesy, verifies God’s blessings and His intervention for the sake of the elect, strengthens the faithful with hope, insures or testifies to God’s Presence, or declares His judgment upon sin. [2] The signs of the world oppose the Catholic City, both in her human and eternal nature, leading souls to revolt against God, mimicking but falsifying God’s Word, undermining true prophecy, weakening or destroying the virtues by employing their imitators as replacements, and working contrary to God’s Will.[3] In sum, God’s signs and the world’s signs contradict each other. This explains why “the whole truth about Fatima,”[4]specific to the salvation of souls living in this era, remains contradicted by the world.
Fatima follows the pattern of Scriptural prophecy, which is given by visions, words, types and signs. In regard to Scripture, the usual course is to first study the text of its prophecy. As most Catholic biblical exegetes agree, “When the generations for whom it was chiefly intended would come into being, the true author of all true prophecy, the Holy Spirit, would in his own ways allow his elect to take from the text the knowledge that had from the beginning been concealed therein. In this, then, is to be found the reason why the magisterium of the Church, which is based directly on tradition in all matters of faith and morals, must depend largely on experience and the interpretation of signs when there is a question of unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled prophecy.” [5]
What St. Justin the Martyr said in relation to the Old Testament which prophesied Jesus as the Son of God can also be applied to the public revelation and prophecies of Fatima: We are “compelled to belief by those who prophesied before the events. With our own eyes, we are witness to things that have happened and are happening, just as they were predicted. And this, we think, will appear to you as the strongest and surest proof.”[6]
Fatima, judged by the Church as “worthy of belief,”[7] prophesied “things that have happened and are happening.” Above all, Fatima has proven to be in perfect accord with Church dogma and doctrine, which is the supreme test of any revelation. The validity of the Virgin’s merciful message and apocalyptic warnings – and, principally, the solution to avert the latter - was authenticated by miraculous signs, from the seemingly small to the stupendous.
The Mother of God vs. Modernism
The Virgin Herself is a sign: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.”[8] Our Lady is the same Woman foretold in Genesis who will crush the serpent and his plots: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” [9]
This same Virgin, who came to Fatima, subtlely underscored dogma, doctrine, sacred history and Scriptural prophecy in the dates She appeared, the place She chose, the distinct dress and adornments She wore, the succinct words She uttered, the visions and secrets She revealed, and the many signs She gave. Together they form a consistent whole, fortifying the Secret given in three parts which concern the following: first, the salvation of souls; second, the salvation of the nations and of Christendom, the peace of the world; and third, the preservation of the Catholic Faith and the salvation of the Church. “These three themes, which are joined by an indissoluble bond, reveal to us the extraordinary mystical, moral, political, ecclesial, and dogmatic implications of the Secret of Fatima.”[10]
Not long before the first Fatima apparition, Pope St. Pius X had issued Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907) against the modernists and Our Apostolic Mandate (1910), in which the latter declared:
“We must repeat with the utmost energy in these times of social and intellectual anarchy when everyone takes it upon himself to teach as a teacher and lawmaker - the City cannot be built otherwise than as God has built it; society cannot be set up unless the Church lays the foundations and supervises the work; no, civilization is not something yet to be found, nor is the New City to be built on hazy notions; it has been in existence and still is: it is Christian civilization, it is the Catholic City. It has only to be set up and restored continually against the unremitting attacks of insane dreamers, rebels and miscreants. Omnia instaurare in Christo. (To restore all things in Christ)”[11]
Because Modernism is insubordinate to Tradition and Scripture, it redefines everything pertaining to sacred dogma and doctrine, leaving no stone of the Catholic City unturned. It is especially defiant against Vatican I, which affirmed the “sacred dogmas must be perpetually maintained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be a recession from that meaning under the pretext of a deeper understanding." [12] As the prophetic Pascendi expounded, modernism pretends that dogmas are merely symbols instead of absolute truths. “Thus the way is open to the intrinsic evolution of dogma. Here we have an immense structure of sophisms [false reasoning] which ruin and wreck all religion.”[13]
Modernism, the “synthesis of all heresies,”[14] is an insidious sign of apostasy that lives in the souls of men, wherein should reside the kingdom of God.[15] It is the heresy of inversion, spawned by the same evil entity behind liberalism, which brought forth the “Enlightenment,” the French Revolution, and “The Age of Reason.” However, throughout salvation history, when the elect are (or soon shall be) insidiously besieged, God manifests His Divine Intervention in diverse ways – as did the Sacred Heart in the visions of Paray-le-Monial before liberalism and rationalism began to sweep Christian Europe.
The year 1830 initiated the prelude to “The Age of Mary,” in which the Virgin Mother of God herself began to earnestly entreat Her children, giving us a repeated message of prayer and penance, and sacramentals like the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, the Badge of the Immaculate Heart (the Green Scapular), and the miraculous water at Lourdes. Yet Fatima is the crown of all, with its message and its signs to the world, culminating in the Miracle of the Sun.
The First Sign: Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Ghost,
Figure of Israel and the Church
The smallest of the Fatima signs are two adornments of the Virgin. The ornaments, however, speak for themselves, if only we have the eyes to see: “For it is good to hide the secret of a king, but honourable to reveal and confess the works of God.”[16]
The first symbol was a waist-length yellow necklace, from which hung a luminous orb or ball of light; the orb shone even brighter than the radiating light of Our Lady’s risen and glorious body.[17] The second ornament was a small yellow star, suspended on Our Lady’s long gown between knee and hem.[18] There is no extant record that Our Lady or Sr. Lucia, the last surviving visionary who died in 2005, ever commented upon these two adornments.
Of the necklace and the shining orb, Fatima historian and expert Frére Michel of the Holy Trinity wrote, “… in the light of the liturgy, itself completely saturated with Holy Scripture, it seems to us that we can easily guess the symbolic meaning of this ornament. Does it not remind us of the ‘jewels,’ the traditional attribute of the spouse? Sicut sponsam ornatum monilibus suis – ‘As a bride adorned with her jewels,’ continues the canticle of Isaiah, which the Church places on the lips of the Immaculate One.”
“Is it not in this sense that we must look for the most profound significance of this mysterious jewel described by Lucy? Several verses of the Canticle seem to invite us to do so; thus the divine Spouse [is] speaking to the Bride, the figure of Israel and of the Church, personified in the Blessed Virgin: ‘You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride!’ (Cant. 4:9-10)”[19]
The Second Sign: The Mediatrix of All Graces
The meaning of the jewel and necklace is intertwined with the little yellow star. Known as “The Star of Esther,” it “points to a particular Old Testament history called The Book of Esther, which relates the story of a Hebrew queen whose intercession saved her people from annihilation…Just as the star adorning Our Lady of Fatima points to The Book of Esther, so does The Book of Esther point to all of the Fatima revelations. Esther’s theme centers on secrets and revelations, suggesting [it] is a figure type for The Apocalypse (Greek for Revelations)…The Book of Esther appears to encapsulate what Fatima highlights about both the Virgin’s and the Church’s singular office in salvation history.”[20]
Centuries ago, St. Albert noted Queen Esther [21] as a figure type of the Virgin Mary. Since the Star of Esther was one of the Fatima Virgin’s adornments, it is clear that The Book of Esther calls for a thoroughly traditional, theological study. That said, it must also be noted that no Church Doctor ever attempted a complete examination of this canonical, historical book. For those of us living in the Fatima era, the proper interpretation of Esther is vital. The interpretation must be in accord with Church dogma and doctrine, the constitution of the Church, apostolic tradition, and study of history with a “Catholic conscience.”[22] Such a venture includes “studies into the spiritual, moral, social, political, educational, economic and cultural conditions of the times,”[23] employing the Scholastic method of faith and reason.
Both of the Virgin’s adornments reveal the “secrets” of Mary and about Mary, which are carefully hidden in the Old Testament and apocalyptic figure types. As to the method prescribed for the interpretation of Scripture (which, with Tradition, is one of the two sources of Revelation), Pope Pius IX clarified that “the rules which the holy Synod of Trent salutarily decreed concerning the interpretation of Divine Scripture in order to retrain impetuous minds, are wrongly explained by certain men. We, renewing the same decree, declare this to be its intention: that, in matters of faith and morals pertaining to the instruction of Christian Doctrine, that must be considered as the true sense of Sacred Scripture which Holy Mother Church has held and holds, whose office it is to judge concerning the true understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures; and, for that reason, no one is permitted to interpret Sacred Scripture itself contrary to the sense, or even contrary to the unanimous agreement of the Fathers…”[24] (All emphasis mine) In regard to the literal and mystical sense of Scripture, Pope Pius XII taught, “In this work, let interpreters keep in mind that their greatest care should be to discern and define what the so-called literal sense of the Bible is.”[25] In obedience to Trent’s decree, this examination of The Book of Esther will hold to the sense held by the Church and the Fathers, for as St. Augustine noted: "What lies hidden in the Old Testament, is made manifest in the New." [26]
The Central Figures in Esther
Almost five hundred years before Christ, God raised up a Hebrew virgin, an orphan adopted and educated by her uncle Mardochai, to save the Israelites from annihilation. Through an unusual series of events, she became the queen of ancient Persia, living in its capital city of Susan.
The very name of this Hebrew queen, who was loved by the king above all others, refers to “hidden things.” She was “named Edissa, ‘who by another name was called Esther.’” In the Old Testament of the Hebrew text, her name was Hádássah - meaning myrtle, a white, five-pointed, star-shaped flower. The Hebrew texts [also] relate that she gave her name as Hester (in Persian, Esther – which means ‘star.’)…The alteration from Hádássah to Hester refers to a secret, because Hester translates to ‘hidden [meaning of the] star.’” In addition, the “Hebrew name for The Book of Esther is Megillat Esther – e.g., "revelation [of that which is] hidden.”[27]
Intriguing as a figure type is Assuerus, Esther’s spouse, the Persian monarch apparently serving as a figure type of God. Modern-day Iran is the heart of ancient Persia, even to the city of Susan (Susa). Is it not possible that Our Lady’s choices to appear at Fatima, a village named after a Mohammedan woman who converted to Catholicism, and Her display of Esther’s Star provide many traces of the Third Secret’s hidden things? For The Book of Esther centers on secrets and revelations, a plot among nations against one kingdom and the elect, prayer and sacrifice, and the final triumph of the Queen.
Esther’s history may prefigure the world’s punishments by further persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father in the form of war against crumbling Christendom by Mohammedanism, as well as by nations under the influence of Russia, which has “spread her errors throughout the world.”[28] Also contemplate the description of the Third Secret Vision, which depicts soldiers bearing “guns and arrows”[29] and consider which soldiers today use both of these weapons. Like Esther who softened the Persian king’s wrath and changed his heart, we may hope that Our Lady of Fatima will, after the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the papal promulgation of the Five First Saturdays, also convert many souls, including the hearts of those who now hold to Islam.
In The Book of Esther, however, Assuerus’ Persian kingdom appears to represent the kingdom of God on earth but also the heavenly kingdom. His first queen, Vasthi, represents Eve while Esther, his second queen, prefigures the Virgin Mary. Mardochai, uncle of Esther, is “an enigmatic ‘type within type.’ He seems to embody in his person the faithful in exile but also a ‘vizier’ or vicar, if not the Vicar of Christ.”[30] As Esther’s guardian, he is also figurative of St. Joseph, guardian and chaste spouse of the Virgin, archetype of Esther and the Church. As we know, St. Joseph briefly appeared during the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima to bless the world with the Christ Child.
Finally, there is Mardochai’s nemesis, Aman “of the race of Agag.”[31] This reference is yet another trace – this time to the struggles between Esau and Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca (another type of the Virgin). These brothers prefigure two nations or “cities” – the first of reprobates and the second of Jesus Christ and the elect.[32] The race of Agag are also known as Amalcites and Edomites (descendants of Esau [33]), about whom God Himself prophesied “the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.”[34]Due to their pride and treachery against Jacob, God revealed in a vision to Abdias the eventual destruction of Esau’s line. As punishment, the Edomites would never experience a final triumph over Jacob;[35] rather, they would be eventually reduced to “stubble,” until there "shall be no remains of the house of Esau.”[36] Astonishingly, in Abdias’ vision, the Lord asked, “How have they searched Esau, how have they sought out his hidden things?”[37]
Returning to Aman, King Asseurus’ first vizier, he was called “our father” and “was worshipped by all as the next man after the king,” [38] a worship that defies the First Commandment in lieu of appropriate honor of a high office. However, from the beginning of his appointment, Aman secretly schemed, first against the king and later, due to his hatred of Mardochai the Jew, against the entire nation of the Hebrews.
It follows that Aman also appears to serve as a “a type within type” of treason against God and His Kingdom – e.g., as Lucifer-turned-Satan (the highest angel in the hierarchy of angels who revolted against God and tried to ascend to His throne), an anti-Christ figure, and one who gains and then abuses the authority of his high position by plotting against “the three necessary societies” – the family, civil society, and the Church.[39] As expounded in the Old Testament, his perfidious qualities - including lying, conspiracy, hypocrisy, soothing words, deceit, "feigned indulgence and favor - are always those of the traitor."[40] These traits are also descriptive of Judas,[41] once Christ’s apostle and friend, as well as of many Christians in the end times.[42]
In a word, Aman prefigures treachery “not from without but from within”[43] the earthly kingdom of God, against the Lord and His people. In relation to Fatima and the Star of Esther, his role as nemesis against the elect must be taken seriously. The Old Testament makes clear that the Israelites were the elect, but today’s elect are the faithful Catholics. As St. Justin the Martyr explained, since the time of Christ, “The true spiritual Israel, descendants of Judah and Jacob and Isaac and Abraham…are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ.”[44]
Esther’s history may prefigure the world’s punishments by further persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father in the form of war against crumbling Christendom by Mohammedanism, as well as by nations under the influence of Russia, which has “spread her errors throughout the world.”[28] Also contemplate the description of the Third Secret Vision, which depicts soldiers bearing “guns and arrows”[29] and consider which soldiers today use both of these weapons. Like Esther who softened the Persian king’s wrath and changed his heart, we may hope that Our Lady of Fatima will, after the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the papal promulgation of the Five First Saturdays, also convert many souls, including the hearts of those who now hold to Islam.
In The Book of Esther, however, Assuerus’ Persian kingdom appears to represent the kingdom of God on earth but also the heavenly kingdom. His first queen, Vasthi, represents Eve while Esther, his second queen, prefigures the Virgin Mary. Mardochai, uncle of Esther, is “an enigmatic ‘type within type.’ He seems to embody in his person the faithful in exile but also a ‘vizier’ or vicar, if not the Vicar of Christ.”[30] As Esther’s guardian, he is also figurative of St. Joseph, guardian and chaste spouse of the Virgin, archetype of Esther and the Church. As we know, St. Joseph briefly appeared during the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima to bless the world with the Christ Child.
Finally, there is Mardochai’s nemesis, Aman “of the race of Agag.”[31] This reference is yet another trace – this time to the struggles between Esau and Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca (another type of the Virgin). These brothers prefigure two nations or “cities” – the first of reprobates and the second of Jesus Christ and the elect.[32] The race of Agag are also known as Amalcites and Edomites (descendants of Esau [33]), about whom God Himself prophesied “the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.”[34]Due to their pride and treachery against Jacob, God revealed in a vision to Abdias the eventual destruction of Esau’s line. As punishment, the Edomites would never experience a final triumph over Jacob;[35] rather, they would be eventually reduced to “stubble,” until there "shall be no remains of the house of Esau.”[36] Astonishingly, in Abdias’ vision, the Lord asked, “How have they searched Esau, how have they sought out his hidden things?”[37]
Returning to Aman, King Asseurus’ first vizier, he was called “our father” and “was worshipped by all as the next man after the king,” [38] a worship that defies the First Commandment in lieu of appropriate honor of a high office. However, from the beginning of his appointment, Aman secretly schemed, first against the king and later, due to his hatred of Mardochai the Jew, against the entire nation of the Hebrews.
It follows that Aman also appears to serve as a “a type within type” of treason against God and His Kingdom – e.g., as Lucifer-turned-Satan (the highest angel in the hierarchy of angels who revolted against God and tried to ascend to His throne), an anti-Christ figure, and one who gains and then abuses the authority of his high position by plotting against “the three necessary societies” – the family, civil society, and the Church.[39] As expounded in the Old Testament, his perfidious qualities - including lying, conspiracy, hypocrisy, soothing words, deceit, "feigned indulgence and favor - are always those of the traitor."[40] These traits are also descriptive of Judas,[41] once Christ’s apostle and friend, as well as of many Christians in the end times.[42]
In a word, Aman prefigures treachery “not from without but from within”[43] the earthly kingdom of God, against the Lord and His people. In relation to Fatima and the Star of Esther, his role as nemesis against the elect must be taken seriously. The Old Testament makes clear that the Israelites were the elect, but today’s elect are the faithful Catholics. As St. Justin the Martyr explained, since the time of Christ, “The true spiritual Israel, descendants of Judah and Jacob and Isaac and Abraham…are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ.”[44]
The Consolation of the Elect
The imagery found in Esther and The Apocalypse, both among the Church’s infallible canonical books, bear great similarities. Esther appears to prefigure The Apocalypse, which “is chiefly the grand finale of the Kingdom of God on earth, the completion of all prophecies in a final synthesis.”[45] Both books console the elect “in the hardships of a virtuous life and in the dangers of practicing their religion with persecutions facing them.”[46] In Esther, the dream of Mardochai relates:
“Behold there were voices, and tumults, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon the earth. And behold two great dragons came forth ready to fight one against another. And at their cry all nations were stirred up to fight against the nation of the just. And that was a day of darkness and danger, of tribulation and distress, and great fear upon the earth. And the nation of the just was troubled fearing their own evils, and was prepared for death. And they cried to God: and as they were crying, a little fountain grew into a very great river, and abounded into many waters.”
“The light and the sun rose up, and the humble were exalted, and they devoured the glorious. And when Mardochai had seen this, and arose out of his bed, he was thinking what God would do: and he kept it fixed in his mind, desirous to know what the dream should signify.” [47]
This dream was later interpreted by Mardochai, who waited a decade before its meaning was made manifest:
“The little fountain which grew into a river, and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters, is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. But the two dragons are I and Aman. The nations that were assembled are they that endeavoured to destroy the name of the Jews. And my nation is Israel, who cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved his people: and he delivered us from all evils, and hath wrought great signs and wonders among the nations: And he commanded that there should be two lots, one of the people of God, and the other of all the nations. And both lots came to the day appointed already from that time before God to all nations: And the Lord remembered his people, and had mercy on his inheritance.” [48]
Since Esther is a great Marian figure type, should we not carefully consider the “types within types” of Mardochai’s dream, especially the parts which he later understood symbolized the Queen? Note also that it was only when in terror and preparing for death that the nation of the just first “cried to God,” and as they were crying that this little fountain grew into a great river. Might this dream prefigure what will happen in our own day? Must the Third Secret Vision come to pass before the nation of the just cry to God for His intercession, which must be accomplished through the Mediatrix of All Graces?
The Holy Spirit says of the Virgin: “My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up.”[49] In the Scriptures, a fountain symbolically prefigures fear of the Lord, wisdom, the law of the wise, understanding, God’s blessings, or the Virgin Mary.[50] A river may designate the prosperity of the saints, affliction, Christ or the Virgin, God’s Presence, the Holy Ghost, and God’s Love.[51] The Sun or its light indicates grace, God’s Presence, His Glory and Justice, or the glory of the just.[52] At Fatima, the Virgin - the Fountain Enclosed, this River of Grace – shone with a light more brilliant than the sun, and it was She who gave the spectacular sign of the Miracle of the Sun.
Finally, the first sentence describing Mardochai’s dream includes the elements:
· “Behold there were voices, and tumults, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon the earth.” [53]
So does the very last sentence of The Apocalypse’s eleventh chapter, immediately before “a woman clothed with the sun” is seen:
· “And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail.”[54]
There are other parallels between Esther and The Apocalypse, with the following only a sampling: allusions to the kingdom of God; all the classes of mankind; the patience of the elect in exile; a wedding feast, persecutions of the elect by other nations (the reprobates); false worship; apostasy; penance and sackcloth; the ancient Persians; great signs and wonders among the nations; “a woman” of royalty; a dragon; water; the sun; voices, tumults, tribulations, thunder; and earthquakes.
The Continuing Tale of Two Cities
In fine, both books tell “the tale of two cities” from the beginning of the world – Esther in abridged form, The Apocalypse in its entirety. As St. Augustine wrote:
“Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, ‘Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.’”
“In the one, the princes and the nations it subdues are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and the subjects serve one another in love, the latter obeying, while the former take thought for all. The one delights in its own strength, represented in the persons of its rulers; the other says to its God, ‘I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.’”
“And therefore the wise men of the one city, living according to man, have sought for profit to their own bodies or souls, or both, and those who have known God ‘glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise,’ - that is, glorying in their own wisdom, and being possessed by pride, - ‘they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.’"
“ ‘For they were either leaders or followers of the people in adoring images, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.’ But in the other city there is no human wisdom, but only godliness, which offers due worship to the true God, and looks for its reward in the society of the saints, of holy angels as well as holy men, ‘that God may be all in all.’” [55]
Only the Lady Queen Can Help You
Once Esther was aware of Aman’s decree to annihilate the entire Jewish nation throughout Persia, she privately sent a message to Mardochai - a command to him and all the people to pray and fast for her intention, taking no food or water for three days, before she interceded with the king.[56] She and her maidens did likewise.
In her prayer to God, the Queen acknowledged that the punishments so far forthcoming were due to the apostasy of her people. [57] But now they were faced with total annihilation, and their only hope was the Queen – just as Our Lady of Fatima said of herself in the third person, “Only She can help you.” Thankfully, the king heard Esther’s plea and the elect were saved.
In light of Fatima, we must wonder - what would have happened if the elect had ignored the Queen’s command? What if they doubted that she could intercede with the king for their sake?
At the conclusion of The Book of Esther, we find the probable outcome to those questions in the king’s letter, favoring the Jews and condemning the executed Aman, who was once second after the king. If the people disregarded Esther’s command for prayer and penance, which allowed her to intercede and softened the king’s heart, the ultimate outcome would have been the elect annihilated and the kingdom overtaken by secret enemies.[58]
Sr. Lucia once referred to chapters 7-12 of The Apocalypse, which exhibits the same theme of treachery, apostasy (that begins “at the top” [59]), and a final attempt to annihilate the Church and the elect, in order to usurp the Kingdom of God. It is also strongly suggested in the Vision of the Third Secret with the martyrdom of “the bishop in white” and all the faithful who follow him. As Sr. Lucia revealed, when asked about the Third Secret, “It’s in the Gospel and The Apocalypse; read them!” [60]
“The little fountain which grew into a river, and was turned into a light, and into the sun, and abounded into many waters, is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. But the two dragons are I and Aman. The nations that were assembled are they that endeavoured to destroy the name of the Jews. And my nation is Israel, who cried to the Lord, and the Lord saved his people: and he delivered us from all evils, and hath wrought great signs and wonders among the nations: And he commanded that there should be two lots, one of the people of God, and the other of all the nations. And both lots came to the day appointed already from that time before God to all nations: And the Lord remembered his people, and had mercy on his inheritance.” [48]
Since Esther is a great Marian figure type, should we not carefully consider the “types within types” of Mardochai’s dream, especially the parts which he later understood symbolized the Queen? Note also that it was only when in terror and preparing for death that the nation of the just first “cried to God,” and as they were crying that this little fountain grew into a great river. Might this dream prefigure what will happen in our own day? Must the Third Secret Vision come to pass before the nation of the just cry to God for His intercession, which must be accomplished through the Mediatrix of All Graces?
The Holy Spirit says of the Virgin: “My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up.”[49] In the Scriptures, a fountain symbolically prefigures fear of the Lord, wisdom, the law of the wise, understanding, God’s blessings, or the Virgin Mary.[50] A river may designate the prosperity of the saints, affliction, Christ or the Virgin, God’s Presence, the Holy Ghost, and God’s Love.[51] The Sun or its light indicates grace, God’s Presence, His Glory and Justice, or the glory of the just.[52] At Fatima, the Virgin - the Fountain Enclosed, this River of Grace – shone with a light more brilliant than the sun, and it was She who gave the spectacular sign of the Miracle of the Sun.
Finally, the first sentence describing Mardochai’s dream includes the elements:
· “Behold there were voices, and tumults, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon the earth.” [53]
So does the very last sentence of The Apocalypse’s eleventh chapter, immediately before “a woman clothed with the sun” is seen:
· “And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail.”[54]
There are other parallels between Esther and The Apocalypse, with the following only a sampling: allusions to the kingdom of God; all the classes of mankind; the patience of the elect in exile; a wedding feast, persecutions of the elect by other nations (the reprobates); false worship; apostasy; penance and sackcloth; the ancient Persians; great signs and wonders among the nations; “a woman” of royalty; a dragon; water; the sun; voices, tumults, tribulations, thunder; and earthquakes.
The Continuing Tale of Two Cities
In fine, both books tell “the tale of two cities” from the beginning of the world – Esther in abridged form, The Apocalypse in its entirety. As St. Augustine wrote:
“Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, ‘Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.’”
“In the one, the princes and the nations it subdues are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and the subjects serve one another in love, the latter obeying, while the former take thought for all. The one delights in its own strength, represented in the persons of its rulers; the other says to its God, ‘I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.’”
“And therefore the wise men of the one city, living according to man, have sought for profit to their own bodies or souls, or both, and those who have known God ‘glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing themselves to be wise,’ - that is, glorying in their own wisdom, and being possessed by pride, - ‘they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.’"
“ ‘For they were either leaders or followers of the people in adoring images, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.’ But in the other city there is no human wisdom, but only godliness, which offers due worship to the true God, and looks for its reward in the society of the saints, of holy angels as well as holy men, ‘that God may be all in all.’” [55]
Only the Lady Queen Can Help You
Once Esther was aware of Aman’s decree to annihilate the entire Jewish nation throughout Persia, she privately sent a message to Mardochai - a command to him and all the people to pray and fast for her intention, taking no food or water for three days, before she interceded with the king.[56] She and her maidens did likewise.
In her prayer to God, the Queen acknowledged that the punishments so far forthcoming were due to the apostasy of her people. [57] But now they were faced with total annihilation, and their only hope was the Queen – just as Our Lady of Fatima said of herself in the third person, “Only She can help you.” Thankfully, the king heard Esther’s plea and the elect were saved.
In light of Fatima, we must wonder - what would have happened if the elect had ignored the Queen’s command? What if they doubted that she could intercede with the king for their sake?
At the conclusion of The Book of Esther, we find the probable outcome to those questions in the king’s letter, favoring the Jews and condemning the executed Aman, who was once second after the king. If the people disregarded Esther’s command for prayer and penance, which allowed her to intercede and softened the king’s heart, the ultimate outcome would have been the elect annihilated and the kingdom overtaken by secret enemies.[58]
Sr. Lucia once referred to chapters 7-12 of The Apocalypse, which exhibits the same theme of treachery, apostasy (that begins “at the top” [59]), and a final attempt to annihilate the Church and the elect, in order to usurp the Kingdom of God. It is also strongly suggested in the Vision of the Third Secret with the martyrdom of “the bishop in white” and all the faithful who follow him. As Sr. Lucia revealed, when asked about the Third Secret, “It’s in the Gospel and The Apocalypse; read them!” [60]
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Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic (http://www.keepingitcatholic.org), is the author of "The Age of Mary" Catholic, Internet-Based Study Guides, and "The Return of the King" (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is also the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II), the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda Magazine, and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family's Magnificat Magazine.
Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic (http://www.keepingitcatholic.org), is the author of "The Age of Mary" Catholic, Internet-Based Study Guides, and "The Return of the King" (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is also the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II), the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda Magazine, and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family's Magnificat Magazine.
The article above, "Fatima: The Signs and the Traces of Hidden Things," was published in the June 2008 issue of Catholic Family News. All Rights Reserved by the author.
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Footnotes
[1] Eccl 42:19, The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1899 edition photographically reproduced]
[2] Heb 2:3-4; Ps 96: 17; Judg 6:17; Josh 24:15-17; Is 7:14; Ex 3:12; Num 17:20
[3] Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis (Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine Christian Doctrine), August 12, 1950
[4] The writer here employs as a paraphrase the title of a three-volume book set, referencing the works of Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: Volumes I, II, and III
[5] Rev. R. Gerald Culleton, The Book of Destiny: A Sourcebook of Catholic Prophecies About “The Man of Sin.” [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1974; originally issued in 1951]: p. 40 [emphasis in the text mine]
[6] William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. I. [Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1970]: p. 53
[7] De Marchi, John I. M.C., Fatima from the Beginning. [Missões Consolata, Fátima, 1986]: p. 227
[8] Is 7:14
[9] Gen 3:15
[10] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Secret and the Church, Vol II. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003]: pp.9-10
[11] Pope St. Pius X, Our Apostolic Mandate (Letter to the French Bishops and Archbishops on the “Sillon”), August 25, 1910: para.11
[12] Vatican Council I, can. 3
[13] Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrines of the Modernists), September 8, 1907: para. 12-13
[14] Ibid., para. 39
[15] Lk 17:21
[16] Tob 12:7
[17] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: Science and the Facts, Vol I. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003]: 145
[18] Ibid., 149
[19] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit.,146
[20] Marianna Bartold, “Hidden Revelations: The Star of Esther and the Secrets of Fatima,” Catholic Family News, May 2008: p. 13
[21] St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Glories of Mary. Fourth Reprint Revised. [Brooklyn, NY: Redemptorist Fathers, 1931]: p. 39.
[22] Hilaire Belloc, Europe and the Faith. [Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers; retypeset and republished 1992. Originally New York: The Paulist Press, 1920]: p. 3
[23] Culleton, op cit., p. 17
[24] Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma. “Pius IX,” #1788. [Fitzwilliam, NH: Loreto Publications, 1954]: p. 444
[25] Ibid., “Pius XII,” #2293; p. 621
[26] Hugh T. Pope, “Angels,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907] [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm]
[27] Bartold, op. cit., p. 14
[28] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit., pp. 182-183
[29] The Message of Fatima, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 26, 2000. Vatican website. [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html]
[30] Ibid., p. 15
[31] Esth 3:1
[32] St. Louis De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary. [Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers]: 115, 117, 118
[33] Gen 36: 1-43; Jer 49: 7-8
[34] Ex 17: 14-16
[35] Abdias 1
[36] Ibid., 17
[37] Ibid., 6
[38] Esth 16:11
[39] Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (On the Christian Education of Youth), December 31, 1929: para.3
[40] Gen 34: 13-31; Jud 9:1-5; 1 Sam 18: 17-19; Dan 6:1-8
[41] Lk 6:16
[42] 2 Tim 3:4
[43] Pope St. Pius X, op cit., para: 3
[44] Jurgens, op.cit; p.59
[45] Culleton, op. cit. p. 6
[46] Culleton, loc. cit., pp. 8-9
[47] Esth 11: 5-12
[48] Loc. cit., 10: 6-12
[49] Cant 4:12
[50] Prov. 14: 27; Prov. 16:22; Prov. 18: 4, Jer 2:13; Cant 4:12
[51] Ps. 1:3; Ps 124:4; Is 32: 1, 2; Is 33:21; Jn 7: 38,39; Apoc. 22: 4-5
[52] Ps. 19: 4-7; Matt 17:2; Matt 13:43
[53] Esth. 11: 5-12
[54] Apoc. 11: 19
[55] St. Augustine, The City of God. “Excerpts on the Two Cities,” Medieval Sourcebook. [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aug-city2.html]
[56] Esth. 4: 15-17
[57] Ibid., 14: 6-9
[58] Ibid., 16: 3-16
[59] Fr. Paul Kramer, The Devil’s Final Battle. [Terryville, CT: The Missionary Association. Copyright Good Counsel Publications, 2002]: pp. 33, 100. Fr. Kramer notes the testimony of “Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, who was nothing less than Pope John Paul II’s own personal papal theologian. In a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg, Cardinal Ciappi revealed that ‘In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.’”
[60] Mark Fellows, Fatima in Twilight. [Niagara Falls, U.S. and Canada: Marmion Publications, 2003]: p. 295
[1] Eccl 42:19, The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1899 edition photographically reproduced]
[2] Heb 2:3-4; Ps 96: 17; Judg 6:17; Josh 24:15-17; Is 7:14; Ex 3:12; Num 17:20
[3] Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis (Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine Christian Doctrine), August 12, 1950
[4] The writer here employs as a paraphrase the title of a three-volume book set, referencing the works of Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: Volumes I, II, and III
[5] Rev. R. Gerald Culleton, The Book of Destiny: A Sourcebook of Catholic Prophecies About “The Man of Sin.” [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1974; originally issued in 1951]: p. 40 [emphasis in the text mine]
[6] William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. I. [Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1970]: p. 53
[7] De Marchi, John I. M.C., Fatima from the Beginning. [Missões Consolata, Fátima, 1986]: p. 227
[8] Is 7:14
[9] Gen 3:15
[10] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Secret and the Church, Vol II. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003]: pp.9-10
[11] Pope St. Pius X, Our Apostolic Mandate (Letter to the French Bishops and Archbishops on the “Sillon”), August 25, 1910: para.11
[12] Vatican Council I, can. 3
[13] Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrines of the Modernists), September 8, 1907: para. 12-13
[14] Ibid., para. 39
[15] Lk 17:21
[16] Tob 12:7
[17] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: Science and the Facts, Vol I. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003]: 145
[18] Ibid., 149
[19] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit.,146
[20] Marianna Bartold, “Hidden Revelations: The Star of Esther and the Secrets of Fatima,” Catholic Family News, May 2008: p. 13
[21] St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Glories of Mary. Fourth Reprint Revised. [Brooklyn, NY: Redemptorist Fathers, 1931]: p. 39.
[22] Hilaire Belloc, Europe and the Faith. [Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers; retypeset and republished 1992. Originally New York: The Paulist Press, 1920]: p. 3
[23] Culleton, op cit., p. 17
[24] Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma. “Pius IX,” #1788. [Fitzwilliam, NH: Loreto Publications, 1954]: p. 444
[25] Ibid., “Pius XII,” #2293; p. 621
[26] Hugh T. Pope, “Angels,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907] [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm]
[27] Bartold, op. cit., p. 14
[28] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit., pp. 182-183
[29] The Message of Fatima, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 26, 2000. Vatican website. [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html]
[30] Ibid., p. 15
[31] Esth 3:1
[32] St. Louis De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary. [Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers]: 115, 117, 118
[33] Gen 36: 1-43; Jer 49: 7-8
[34] Ex 17: 14-16
[35] Abdias 1
[36] Ibid., 17
[37] Ibid., 6
[38] Esth 16:11
[39] Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (On the Christian Education of Youth), December 31, 1929: para.3
[40] Gen 34: 13-31; Jud 9:1-5; 1 Sam 18: 17-19; Dan 6:1-8
[41] Lk 6:16
[42] 2 Tim 3:4
[43] Pope St. Pius X, op cit., para: 3
[44] Jurgens, op.cit; p.59
[45] Culleton, op. cit. p. 6
[46] Culleton, loc. cit., pp. 8-9
[47] Esth 11: 5-12
[48] Loc. cit., 10: 6-12
[49] Cant 4:12
[50] Prov. 14: 27; Prov. 16:22; Prov. 18: 4, Jer 2:13; Cant 4:12
[51] Ps. 1:3; Ps 124:4; Is 32: 1, 2; Is 33:21; Jn 7: 38,39; Apoc. 22: 4-5
[52] Ps. 19: 4-7; Matt 17:2; Matt 13:43
[53] Esth. 11: 5-12
[54] Apoc. 11: 19
[55] St. Augustine, The City of God. “Excerpts on the Two Cities,” Medieval Sourcebook. [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aug-city2.html]
[56] Esth. 4: 15-17
[57] Ibid., 14: 6-9
[58] Ibid., 16: 3-16
[59] Fr. Paul Kramer, The Devil’s Final Battle. [Terryville, CT: The Missionary Association. Copyright Good Counsel Publications, 2002]: pp. 33, 100. Fr. Kramer notes the testimony of “Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, who was nothing less than Pope John Paul II’s own personal papal theologian. In a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg, Cardinal Ciappi revealed that ‘In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.’”
[60] Mark Fellows, Fatima in Twilight. [Niagara Falls, U.S. and Canada: Marmion Publications, 2003]: p. 295
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