Our Lady of Fatima and the Dogma Most Denied
-Part II-
“Truly, it is the greatest of errors
to neglect the business of eternal salvation.”
−St. Eucherius
by Marianna Bartold
Part I of this essay began with the opening sentence of the Third Secret of Fatima: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.” Explaining that to this day never have the words of Our Lady been completely released, we know that Lucia and others who knew it (or who thoroughly studied it) collectively gave enough information to put the matter in context. We also know that this incomplete sentence, with its telling phrase of “the dogma of the Faith” refers to the Church’s primary dogma, infallibly thrice defined: “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.”[1]
As observed in Part I: “Today, this singular dogma about the Church is either unknown or rejected within the Church, which is another sign of Fatima’s veracity, lending further credence that the Third Secret’s smothered Message centers on ‘an apocalyptic crisis of the faith in the Church starting from the top’ [2] −namely, the revolt which St. Paul said must come first [3] …The dogma of the Faith is, in our time, also the dogma most denied. Known by the acronym of EENS (‘Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus,’ or ‘Outside the Church, there is No Salvation’), it is truly the foremost dogma of the Church about herself.”
Regarding this dogma, Part I shared about it the Church’s three infallible definitions. The essay then proceeded to prove that, due to Tradition and Scripture (the only two sources of Divine Revelation), the Church has always held this dogma. Providing quotes ranging from the early Church to recent times (from St. Augustine to John Paul II [4] ), it was then stated:
“Whether or not they realize it, Catholics regularly declare their belief in the EENS dogma. In the Nicene Creed, prayed within the Church since 325 A.D. and which we pray today at every Mass, we declare our belief in ‘one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.’ With the Apostles’ Creed, we pray, ‘I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church…’ The Athanasian Creed, although not commonly prayed in the west today, begins with these words: ‘Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly’ and ends with this declaration: ‘This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.’”
Holy Scripture Proves the EENS Dogma
In addition to Tradition, as stated in Part I, the Church possesses for the EENS dogma many proofs from the Sacred Scriptures. For our sincere consideration and meditation, the essay began with excerpts [5] from The Sincere Christian, the work of the 19th century Bishop George Hay (1729-1811), which will now continue.
∙ “The Church is the Body of Christ, and all who belong to the Church are members of His body, and united with Jesus Christ the head; but those who are out of the Church are not members of His body, nor are they united with Christ the head. Now, speaking of His Church and her members under the figure of a vine with its branches, He says, ‘I am the vine, you the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me, ye can do nothing. If anyone abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth’ [John 15: 5, 6]. What Christ here says under the figure of a vine is equally true as to the members and the body, for no member separated from the body can do anything. It has neither life nor feeling but falls into corruption, which expressly shows that if we be not united to the Church of Christ, whether we consider this Church as a body consisting of the head and members, or as a vine with its branches, we are not united with Christ, but on the way to perdition.”
∙ “Jesus Christ, addressing Himself to His eternal Father, says, ‘Now this is eternal life: that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent’ [John 17: 3]. Hence it necessarily follows that all those who do not know Jesus Christ cannot have eternal life. Now, this knowledge of Jesus Christ is not the mere knowledge that such a person existed, but believing Him to be what He is, the eternal Son of God, made man for the salvation of mankind, and therefore He says again, ‘For God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting’ [John 3:16].
“Hence, the believing in Jesus Christ is one condition positively required by God in order for salvation, so that without this belief there can be no salvation. For as He Himself again declares, ‘…he that doth not believe is already judged; because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God’ [John 3:18] and ‘…he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him’ [John 3:36]. And the beloved disciple [St. John the Evangelist] adds, ‘For many seducers are gone out into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh; this is a seducer and an anti-Christ’ [2 John 1:7]. By which it is manifest that those who do not know Jesus Christ, and consequently do not believe in Him, and also those who do know that there was such a Person but refuse to believe, and confess that He is the Son of God come in the flesh, cannot be saved; and therefore, that the knowing and believing in Jesus Christ is appointed by Almighty God, as an absolute condition of salvation.”
∙ “But it is not enough to believe in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is also required to believe His doctrine, His words, those Divine truths which He has revealed; and, indeed, how can we believe Him to be God if we refuse to believe what He says? Hence, when He gave the pastors of His Church, in the persons of His Apostles, their commission to preach the Gospel, He ordered them to teach the world ‘to observe all those things whatsoever I have commanded you…’ [Matt. 28: 20]. And He immediately adds, ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned’ [Mark 16:16]. Thus, it is manifest that the belief of His doctrine, the observance, and consequently the belief of all those things which He commanded His Apostles to teach is a necessary condition of salvation. Nay, He adds in another part, ‘For he that, shall be ashamed of Me, and of My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when He shall come in the glory of His Father, with His holy Angels’ [Mark 8:38]. Now, if being ashamed of His words brings such a condemnation, what will the denying of them do? It is evident, therefore, that the true Faith of Jesus Christ comprehends the belief both of His Person and His words—that is, of His doctrine; and that this Faith is laid down by Almighty God as a necessary condition of salvation.”
∙ “As it is impossible that Jesus Christ could reveal contradictions, or say to one that anything is true, and to another that it is false, the true Faith of Jesus Christ cannot contain contradictions; it must be the same everywhere, and in no point contrary to itself. This the Scripture expressly affirms, ‘One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism’ [Eph. 4:5]. Now, St. Paul positively declares that ‘…without Faith it is impossible to please God…’ [Heb. 11:6]; consequently, this one true Faith of Jesus Christ is so absolutely required as a condition of salvation that without it, let a man do what he will, it is impossible to please God, or be saved.
Bishop Hayes further explained the EENS dogma by referencing and explaining Acts 13:48 (“…as many as were ordained to everlasting life believed”), stating that “consequently, those who did not believe were not ordained to eternal life; whence it evidently follows that Faith is a condition absolutely required by God for obtaining eternal life. For St. Paul affirms, ‘But the sure foundation of God standeth firm, having this seal: The Lord knoweth who are His…’ [2 Tim. 2:19].
St. Paul was alluding to “Our Blessed Savior, speaking of those who belong to Him, says, ‘…I know mine, and mine know Me…My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish for ever’ [John 10: 14, 27, 28]. As Bishop Hayes wrote: “Can any words express more clearly that to know Jesus Christ, and to hear His voice, and follow Him—that is, to believe and obey Him—are the distinguishing marks of His sheep, to whom He gives eternal life? Consequently, those who do not believe Him are none of His, and therefore will not be saved, as He expressly says to the Jews, ‘But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep’ [John 10: 26]; ‘…For if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sin’ [John 8: 24]; which shows, too, a demonstration that Faith in Jesus Christ is expressly appointed by Almighty God as a condition of salvation. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ [Acts 4: 12].”
Christ and His Church
After offering more Scriptural proofs, the eminent author concluded one section of his working by writing, “Now, seeing that the true Faith, or the firm belief of those truths which Jesus Christ revealed, is thus absolutely required as a condition of salvation, it follows as a natural consequence that out of the true Church of Christ there is no salvation, because this true Faith can be found only in the true Church of Christ; to her the sacred charge of the truths of eternity was committed; the words of Jesus Christ were first put into her mouth, and an express covenant made by God, That they should never depart from her mouth. It is therefore from the pastors of the Church alone we can learn
the true Faith, since they alone are authorized to preach it, and in hearing them we hear Christ Himself. Hence St. Paul says, ‘How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? …And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent…’ [Rom. 10: 14, 15]. Now, the pastors of the Church were ordained and sent by Jesus Christ to ‘teach all nations, and to preach the Gospel to every creature;’ consequently, it is only from them that the truths of the Gospel can be learned.”
…“Now, if we search the Holy Scriptures, we find two conditions absolutely required to make our good works agreeable to God and conducive to our salvation.
“First, that we be united to Jesus Christ by True Faith, which is the root and foundation of all Christian virtues; for St. Paul expressly says, ‘Without Faith it is impossible to please God’ [Heb. 11: 6]. Observe the word impossible; He does not say it is difficult, but that it is impossible. Let, therefore, a man have ever so many good natural dispositions, and be as charitable, devout, and mortified as the Pharisees were, yet if he have not True Faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven. They refused to believe in Him, and therefore all their works were good for nothing as to their salvation; and unless our righteousness exceed theirs in this point, as Christ Himself assures us, we shall never enter into His heavenly kingdom. But even True Faith itself, however necessary, is not sufficient alone to make our good works available to salvation; for it is necessary.
“Second, we must be in charity with God, in His friendship and grace, without which even True Faith itself will never save us. To be convinced of this, let us only give ear to St. Paul, who says, ‘Though I should have all Faith, so as to remove mountains, though I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, though I should give my body to be burnt, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing’ [1 Cor. 13: 2]” …for nothing can avail us in Christ but “Faith that works by charity” [Gal. 5: 6].
As Bishop Hayes reminded members of the true Church, “Nothing can contribute more effectually to produce the most necessary and salutary dispositions in their hearts, both towards God, towards one another, and towards those who are separated from their Communion, than the frequent and serious consideration of their vocation to the Faith of Christ, and to the Communion of that Church out of which there is no salvation.”
Our Lady of Fatima Points to Divine Revelation
This essay could easily become a book by adding more proofs and responding to all of the usual objections to the EENS dogma, but its true purpose is two-fold: 1) to briefly show that the EENS doctrine, from the Church’s infancy solemnly held, is an infallible dogma, a divinely revealed truth (meaning from Tradition and/or Scripture) defined by the Church and to which the Catholic faithful must adhere, and 2) to display that Our Lady of Fatima, who touched upon all of the truths of Faith which have long been undermined, also addressed in the Great Secret this dogma.
We know the latter because (as previously mentioned in Part I), when asked in 1943 about the contents of the Third Secret, Lucia replied, “In a certain way, I have already revealed it.” [6] In her Fourth Memoir, she implicitly disclosed it in a sentence of substantial importance: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.” In this age of false universalism, it is imperative to the salvation of souls that Catholics know and understand that which was infallibly stated by St. Paul: “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:14).
As I explained in Fatima: The Signs and Secrets, due to the Virgin’s first words of the Third Secret, for decades the faithful interpreted Our Lady’s opening phrase, “In Portugal” to mean “Throughout Portugal.” Previously understanding that the sentence indicated apostasy throughout the rest of the world while Portugal remained faithful, we now begin to more deeply grasp its meaning: Only parts of Portugal will preserve the dogma of the faith, while many other formerly Catholic countries will abandon this foremost dogma−a terrible indictment to how widespread the apostasy has become.
Why is this so? Our Lord revealed to Sr. Lucia certain chastisements of Portugal, previously protected from the ravages of WWII because the country’s bishops collegially consecrated it to the Immaculate Heart in 1931, renewing the act in 1938 and 1940. Even so, as Lucia wrote:
“But in spite of this, the Hearts of Our Good Lord and Our Good Mother are sad and grieved. Portugal in its majority does not correspond either to Their graces or love. They [the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary] frequently complain about the sinful life of the majority of the people, even of those who call themselves practical Catholics. But above all, They complain very much about the lukewarm, indifferent and extremely comfortable life of the majority of the priests and members of religious congregations.”
“The number of souls He meets through sacrifice and intimate life of love is extremely small and limited. These confidences lacerate my heart, mainly because I am one of those unfaithful souls. Our Lord doesn’t restrain Himself in setting me there, showing me the mountain of my imperfections that I recognize with huge confusion…”
“Nevertheless, Our Lord goes on communicating with my soul. He seems concerned about the destiny of some countries and wishes to save Portugal, but she is guilty, too.” [7]
This revelation is a startling testimony to the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. It reminds us of a previous declaration of the universal Church, “The times in which we live demand action−but action which consists entirely in observing with fidelity and zeal the divine laws and the precepts of the Church, in the frank and open profession of religion, in the exercise of every kind of charitable works, without regard to self−interest or worldly advantage.” [8]
The entire Church Militant must follow Our Lady’s five requests. The Holy Father and the bishops must effect the solemn, public consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, and all must respond to the other four requests—daily Rosary, making all we do a sacrifice for the conversion of sinners, the chaste wearing of the Brown Scapular, the Five First Saturdays of Reparation—whilst always recalling that “the Church is built of living stones. It is built of saints. And saints are made only by the grace of God and the infused virtues and gifts of the Holy Ghost, not by speeches and publicity and campaigns, which are all doomed to sterility without the essentials of prayer and sacrifice.” [9]
***
Marianna Bartold is the author of Fatima: The Signs and Secrets and Guadalupe: Secrets of the Image. The founding publisher of The Catholic Family’s Magnificat and editor of Sursum Corda (now Latin Mass) magazines, she also digitally publishes traditional Catholic classics on Kindle. Join Marianna on Facebook (Fatima and the Apocalypse) or her main Facebook main page (Keeping It Catholic).
Copyright Marianna Bartold 2019. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. This article (Part II) was first published in the August 2019 issue of Catholic Family News.
Notes
1) Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215; Pope Boniface VIII, the bull Unam Sanctam, 1302; Pope Eugene IV, the bull Cantate Domino, 1442.
2) Miguel, Aura. Totus Tuus: Il Segreto di Fatima nel Pontificato de Giovanni Paolo II [Itaca: Castel Bolognese, 2003]: p. 137.
3) 2 Thess 2:3.
4) Quotes on the EENS dogma came from St. Augustine, Pope Pelagius II, Pope Innocent III, Pope Clement VI, the Catechism of the Council of Trent, Pope St. Pius V, Pope Leo XII, Pope Gregory XVI, Pope Pius IX, the First Vatican Council, Pope Leo XIII, Pope St. Pius X, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, and John Paul II.
5) “Our Savior declares…when He says to the pastors of His Church, in the persons of His Apostles, when He sent them to preach the Gospel, ‘And whosoever shall not receive you, NOR HEAR YOUR WORDS, going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” [Matt. 10: 14, 15].
“Our Savior, speaking of His Church under the figure of a flock, of which He Himself is the good shepherd, says: ‘And other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring. And they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd’ [John 10: 16]. He is here speaking of those who were not then joined in communion with His Apostles and other disciples, and He calls them at that time ‘His sheep;’ but to show there was no salvation for them in the state in which they then were, and unless they were united to the fold, He says, ‘them also I must bring,’ which shows that, according to the disposition of the Divine decrees, it was absolutely necessary that all who belong to Jesus Christ, all whom He acknowledges for His sheep, should be brought to, and united in communion with, that one fold, which is His Church.”
“In consequence of this, we are assured that, when the Apostles began to publish the Gospel, ‘The Lord increased daily together such as should be saved.’ Or, as the Protestant translation has it, ‘The Lord daily added to the Church such as should be saved’ [Acts 2: 47]; which points out in the strongest manner, by what God actually did, that being added to the Church is a condition absolutely required by Him in order to be saved; and if that were so then, it must be so now, and to the end of the world; for the conditions of salvation, ordained at the beginning and revealed by Jesus Christ, cannot be altered by any other…”
6) Alonso, Fr. Joaquin. La verdad sobre el Secreto de Fátima, p. 61; see also Frère Michel, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Third Secret, Vol. III, p. 684.
7) Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Secret and the Church, Vol. II. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, 1989]: pp. 749-750.
8) Pope St. Pius X, E Supremi (On the Restoration of All Things in Christ, October 4, 1903): para. 14.
9) Chautard, O.C.S.O., Dom Jean-Baptiste. The Soul of the Apostolate. [Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1961]: p. 17. [Emphasis added.]
Our Lady of Fatima and the Dogma Most Denied
-Part I-
“The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world.”
—Sister Lucia of Fatima
by Marianna Bartold
“In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.” Those who are knowledgeable about the Fatima, Portugal apparitions recognize that sentence as the opening of the Third Secret, which the Virgin wished to be publicly revealed by 1960 or upon Lucia’s death, whichever came first. Although to this day never have the words of Our Lady been completely released, we know that Lucia and others who knew it (or who thoroughly studied it) collectively gave enough information to put the matter in context.
In my book, Fatima: The Signs and Secrets, I addressed Our Lady’s words regarding the dogma of the faith, writing as follows:
In 1943, when asked about the contents of the Third Secret, Sr. Lucia said, “In a certain way, I have already revealed it.” [1] How so? In her Fourth Memoir, she implicitly disclosed it in a sentence of substantial importance: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.” This sentence, which ends with the intriguing “et cetera,” is the prelude to the Third Secret Message−the part of the secret still hidden.
“The dogma of the Faith” is a telling phrase, one which addresses the Church’s primary dogma, infallibly thrice-defined: “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.” [2] Today, this singular dogma about the Church is either unknown or rejected within the Church, which is another sign of Fatima’s veracity, lending further credence that the Third Secret’s smothered Message centers on “an apocalyptic crisis of the faith in the Church starting from the top” [3]−namely, the revolt which St. Paul said must come first.[4]
Due to the rampant apostasy and the unrelenting crisis within the Church and in the world, Catholics wonder if mankind is living in the time of “the revolt” preceding “the son of perdition,” [5] aka the Antichrist. It is a serious question.
Only this past June, on Pentecost Monday, a small group of bishops and cardinals—including Cardinal Raymond Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Cardinal Janis Pujats, archbishop emeritus of Riga, Latvia, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, and Kazakh Archbishops Tomash Peta of Astana and Jan Pawel Lenga, emeritus of Karaganda, Kazakhstan—released a “declaration of truths,” reaffirming key Church teachings at a time they describe as “almost universal doctrinal confusion and disorientation.” [6] (Coincidentally or not, the latter word brought to mind Sister Lucia of Fatima who, almost 50 years ago, wrote of “diabolical disorientation” and a “diabolical wave.” [7])
As the National Catholic Register reported, “The signatories remind each bishop, priest and layperson that they have ‘the moral duty to give witness unambiguously to those truths that in our days are obfuscated, undermined, and denied.’
“They also believe that if such a witness occurs, these truths could ‘initiate a movement of a confession of the truth’ that would act as ‘reparation’ for the ‘widespread sins against the faith’ and the ‘hidden and open apostasy from Catholic Faith’ of a ‘not small number’ of clergy and laypeople.” [8]
That these few, brave cardinals and bishops publicly spoke of apostasy (hidden and open) amongst both laity and the clergy again reminds us of 2 Thess. 2:3 and Our Lady’s words at Fatima about “the dogma of the Faith.”
Outside of the Church, There is No Salvation
The dogma of the Faith is, in our time, also the dogma most denied. Known by the acronym of EENS (“Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus,” or “Outside the Church, there is No Salvation”), it is truly the foremost dogma of the Church about herself. As previously stated, three times in our sacred history has the dogma been infallibly defined. A defined dogma is binding on all the faithful. Should we not understand a dogma, then it is our obligation to pray and to study it. To assist in such a worthy endeavor, I will list the following proofs that the Church, entrusted by God with Divine Revelation, has from her infancy taught this doctrine, later defined as a dogma, as follows:
∙ Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Innocent III (1215): “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.”
∙ Unam sanctam, the papal bull of Pope Boniface VIII (1302): “Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins, as the Spouse in the Canticles [Canticle of Canticles 6:8] proclaims: ‘One is my dove, my perfect one. She is the only one, the chosen of her who bore her,’ and she represents one sole mystical body whose Head is Christ and the head of Christ is God [1 Cor 11:3]. In her then is one Lord, one faith, one baptism [Eph 4:5]. There had been at the time of the deluge only one ark of Noah, prefiguring the one Church, which ark, having been finished to a single cubit, had only one pilot and guide, i.e., Noah, and we read that, outside of this ark, all that subsisted on the earth was destroyed.”
∙ Council of Florence, Cantate Domino, papal bull of Eugene IV (1441): “…It [the Church] firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the ‘eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Matthew 25:41), unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.”
Other Proofs of the Dogma
∙ St. Augustine of Hippo (354 A.D.—430 A.D.): “A man cannot have salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. He can have honor, he can have the sacraments, he can sing alleluia, and he can answer amen, he can possess the Gospel, he can have and preach faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, but never except in the Catholic Church will he be able to find salvation.” (Sermo ad Caesariensis Ecclesia plebe, 418 A.D.)
∙ Pope Pelagius II (birth year unknown—590): “Consider the fact that whoever has not been in the peace and unity of the Church cannot have the Lord…Although given over to flames and fires, they burn, or, thrown to wild beasts, they lay down their lives, there will not be (for them) that crown of faith but the punishment of faithlessness…Such a one can be slain, he cannot be crowned. …[If] slain outside the Church, he cannot attain the rewards of the Church.” (Denzinger, #246-247)
∙ Pope Innocent III (1160—1216): “With our hearts we believe and with our lips we confess but one Church, not that of the heretics, but the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside which we believe that no one is saved.” (Denzinger, #423)
∙ Pope Clement VI (1291—1352): “…No man of the wayfarers outside the faith of this Church, and outside the obedience to the Pope of Rome, can finally be saved.” (Super Quibusdam, 1351)
∙ Catechism of the Council of Trent: “Hence there are but three classes of persons excluded from the Church's pale: infidels, heretics and schismatics, and excommunicated persons. Infidels are outside the Church because they never belonged to, and never knew the Church, and were never made partakers of any of her Sacraments. Heretics and schismatics are excluded from the Church, because they have separated from her and belong to her only as deserters belong to the army from which they have deserted. It is not, however, to be denied that they are still subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, inasmuch as they may be called before her tribunals, punished and anathematized. Finally, excommunicated persons are not members of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent.
“But with regard to the rest, however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still belong to the Church. Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still within the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power.” (The Creed, Article IX, 1566)
∙ Pope St. Pius V (1504—1572): “The sovereign jurisdiction of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation…” (Regnans in Excelsis, papal bull excommunicating the heretic, Queen Elizabeth of England, and all those who obeyed her orders, 1570)
∙ Pope Leo XII (1760—1829): “We profess that there is no salvation outside the Church…For the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth. With reference to those words Augustine says: ‘If any man be outside the Church he will be excluded from the number of sons, and will not have God for Father since he has not the Church for mother.’” (Ubi Primum, 1824)
∙ Pope Gregory XVI (1765—1846): “It is not possible to worship God truly except in Her; all who are outside Her will not be saved.” (Summo Iugiter, 1832)
The same pope declared: “Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism,’ may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that ‘those who are not with Christ are against Him,’ and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore ‘without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate.’” (Mirari Vos, 1832)
∙ Pope Pius IX (1792—1878): “In particular, ensure that the faithful are deeply and thoroughly convinced of the truth of the doctrine that the Catholic faith is necessary for attaining salvation.” (Nostis et Nobiscum, 1849)
He likewise stated: “It must be held by faith that outside the Apostolic Roman Church, no one can be saved; that this is the only ark of salvation; that he who shall not have entered therein will perish in the flood.” (Denzinger, #1647)
∙ First Vatican Council: The rule of what we must believe as Catholics was defined by the First Vatican Council, thusly: “Further, all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the Word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by her ordinary and universal teaching [magisterium], proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed.” (Dogmatic Constitution, De Fide, chap. 3; 1870)
∙ Pope Leo XIII (1810—1903): “He scatters and gathers not who gathers not with the Church and with Jesus Christ, and all who fight not jointly with Him and with the Church are in very truth contending against God.” (Sapientiae Christianae, 1890)
Pope Leo XIII also taught: “Christ is man’s ‘Way’; the Church also is his ‘Way’…Hence, all who would find salvation apart from the Church are led astray and strive in vain.” (Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus, 1900)
Again, he wrote: “This is our last lesson to you; receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you: by God’s commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church.” (Annum Ingressi Sumus, 1902)
∙ Pope Saint Pius X (1835—1914): “It is our duty to recall to everyone great and small, as the Holy Pontiff Gregory did in ages past, the absolute necessity which is ours, to have recourse to this Church to effect our eternal salvation” (Iucunda Sane, 1904)
∙ Pope Benedict XV (1854—1922): “Such is the nature of the Catholic faith that it does not admit of more or less, but must be held as a whole, or as a whole rejected: This is the Catholic faith, which unless a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.” (Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum, 1914)
∙ Pope Pius XI (1857—1939): “The Catholic Church alone is keeping the true worship. This is the font of truth, this is the house of faith, this is the temple of God; if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation…Furthermore, in this one Church of Christ, no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors.” (Mortalium Animos, 1928)
∙ Pope Pius XII (1876—1958): “By divine mandate the interpreter and guardian of the Scriptures, and the depository of Sacred Tradition living within her, the Church alone is the entrance to salvation: She alone, by herself, and under the protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit, is the source of truth.” (“Allocution to the Gregorian,” October 17, 1953)
∙ Pope John Paul II (1920—2005): “The mystery of salvation is revealed to us and is continued and accomplished in the Church…Like Brother Francis we have to be conscious and absorb this fundamental and revealed truth, consecrated by tradition: ‘There is no salvation outside the Church.’ From her alone there flows surely and fully the life-giving force destined in Christ and in His Spirit, to renew the whole of humanity, and therefore directing every human being to become a part of the Mystical Body of Christ.” (Radio Message, October 3, 1981)
The Credo and the Scriptures
Whether or not they realize it, Catholics regularly declare their belief in the EENS dogma. In the Nicene Creed, prayed within the Church since 325 A.D. and which we pray today at every Mass, we declare our belief in “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.” With the Apostles’ Creed, we pray, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church…” The Athanasian Creed, although not commonly prayed in the west today, begins with these words: “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly” and ends with this declaration: “This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.”
In addition to Tradition, the Church possesses for the EENS dogma many proofs from the Sacred Scriptures. For our sincere consideration and meditation, following are excerpts from The Sincere Christian, the work of the 19th century Bishop George Hay:
∙ “Our Savior declares…when He says to the pastors of His Church, in the persons of His Apostles, when He sent them to preach the Gospel, ‘And whosoever shall not receive you, NOR HEAR YOUR WORDS, going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” [Matt. 10: 14, 15].
∙ “Our Savior, speaking of His Church under the figure of a flock, of which He Himself is the good shepherd, says: ‘And other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring. And they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd’ [John 10: 16]. He is here speaking of those who were not then joined in communion with His Apostles and other disciples, and He calls them at that time ‘His sheep;’ but to show there was no salvation for them in the state in which they then were, and unless they were united to the fold, He says, ‘them also I must bring,’ which shows that, according to the disposition of the Divine decrees, it was absolutely necessary that all who belong to Jesus Christ, all whom He acknowledges for His sheep, should be brought to, and united in communion with, that one fold, which is His Church.”
“In consequence of this, we are assured that, when the Apostles began to publish the Gospel, ‘The Lord increased daily together such as should be saved.’ Or, as the Protestant translation has it, ‘The Lord daily added to the Church such as should be saved’ [Acts 2: 47]; which points out in the strongest manner, by what God actually did, that being added to the Church is a condition absolutely required by Him in order to be saved; and if that were so then, it must be so now, and to the end of the world; for the conditions of salvation, ordained at the beginning and revealed by Jesus Christ, cannot be altered by any other…”
— Continue with Part II of Our Lady of Fatima and the Dogma Most Denied —
Marianna Bartold is the author of Fatima: The Signs and Secrets and Guadalupe: Secrets of the Image. The founding publisher of The Catholic Family’s Magnificat and editor of Sursum Corda (now Latin Mass) magazines, she also digitally publishes traditional Catholic classics on Kindle. Join Marianna on Facebook (Fatima and the Apocalypse) or main page (Keeping It Catholic).
Copyright Marianna Bartold 2019. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. This article was first published in the July 2019 issue of Catholic Family News.
Notes
1) Alonso, Fr. Joaquin. La verdad sobre el Secreto de Fátima, p. 61; see also Frère Michel, The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. III, p. 684.
2) Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215; Pope Boniface VIII, the bull Unam Sanctam, 1302; Pope Eugene IV, the bull Cantate Domino, 1442.
3) Miguel, Aura. Totus Tuus: Il Segreto di Fatima nel Pontificato de Giovanni Paolo II [Itaca: Castel Bolognese, 2003]: p. 137.
4) 2 Thess 2:3.
5) Ibid. "Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…"
6) Pentin, Edward. “New ‘Declaration of Truths’ Affirms Key Church Teachings.” National Catholic Register. June 10, 2019
7) Phrases from Sr. Lucia of Fatima come from A Little Treatise by the Seer on the Nature and Recitation of the Rosary, a collection of excerpts from Sr. Lucia’s letters written between 1969-1971. It was originally published in Uma vida ao service de Fatima with an Imprimatur from the Bishop of Leira, Fatima – Dom Joae Venancio, May 13, 1971.
8) Ibid.
“But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.”— Lk. 21: 28.
by Marianna Bartold
Copyright 2017. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
NOTE: When colleagues like Patrick Archbold and readers alike asked for my input on the two upcoming heavenly events of 2017, it occurred to me that, rather than answer incoming questions one-by-one, I would save time by writing an article. Originally published as a 2-part essay in Catholic Family News (March and April 2017), I here present the 2 parts (for the convenience of my readers) as one piece.
Within the next six months, two celestial events will occur in this year of the Fatima Centennial. Already, Catholics are asking if they are signs of significance relating to Fatima, especially the seeming 100 year time limit for the collegial consecration. While nobody can foresee the ultimate answer, this essay offers considerations for prudential discernment because the prophecies of Fatima, the greatest “crown of all Marian apparitions” granted to the Church, continue to unfold.
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 prophecy, verifies God’s blessings and His intervention for the sake of the elect, strengthens the faithful with hope, insures or testifies God’s Presence, or declares His judgment upon sin.[1]
Let’s first turn to the Holy Bible, which infallibly confirms that the lights of the firmament are intended for many purposes, including “for” signs.
• “And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars” (Genesis 1:14-16).
Thus, the ancient Hebrews understood that God designed the lights of heaven to serve many purposes. “In Hebrew, the word ‘season’ is ‘moed’ and signifies an appointed or fixed time” but, interestingly, it does not refer to the seasons of spring, summer, fall or winter. “‘Signs’ and ‘seasons,’ used by God with respect to the mission of the stars, were to indicate ‘happenings’ and the ‘periods of time’ pertaining to them, specifically for prophetic reasons, especially that of signifying historical incidents at chosen times as the plan of salvation unfolded.”[2]
• A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel…” (Numbers 24:7).
• “The sun, and the moon, and the stars being bright, and sent forth for profitable uses, are obedient” (Baruch 6:59).
• “Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him” (Matthew 2:2).
• “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved” (Luke 21: 25-26).
The Solar Eclipse and the Constellation Virgo
One will note that, with both of this year’s events, the sun is present but obscured or behind another heavenly object. As we know from Scripture, the sun is the material symbol for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of Justice.
• Initially addressing August 21 (day of the approaching solar eclipse over the U.S.), three things are observed about this date:
—First, it is the vigil (the eve) of the octave of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin.
—Second, it is the vigil of “The Immaculate Heart of Mary" (traditional liturgical calendar) or “The Queenship of Mary” (updated liturgical calendar).[3] Whichever calendar one may reference, the coming total eclipse occurs on the eve of a feast day of Our Lady.
—Third, it is the anniversary of the one-time apparition of Our Lady of Knock, the silent vision [4] pointing to the Apocalypse Ch. 8:1: “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour.” Since “heaven” denotes the Church, the prophecy foretells silence in the Church for the mystical time of half an hour. We also recall that Sr. Lucia of Fatima said that the Third Secret is in the Gospels and the Apocalypse—specifically referring to Apoc. Chapters 8-13. [5]
• Almost a month later, on September 23, 2017, the sun will rise behind the constellation Virgo—an annual event. What is rare and striking about this year is the interaction of the planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Last year, on November 20, 2016, Jupiter (the “king” planet) entered the constellation Virgo. In retrograde motion, Jupiter is currently in Virgo’s womb, but exits Virgo on September 23 (after 43 weeks, 6 days or 9.5 months, an over-due gestational length of an unborn baby). On that day, almost directly above the head of Virgo will be Leo (the 12th largest constellation), which includes—but is not limited to—12 brighter lights of heaven, three of them being the planets Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Additionally, the moon will be near (but not directly under) the feet of Virgo.
What immediately comes to mind is Apocalypse Chapter 12:1-4: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.”
The Book of Destiny, a generous tome of essays on the Apocalypse, explains: “Before the eyes of the Seer [St. John], a great sign, the first of the ‘signs,’ a portent of something momentous, appears in the Church. It is a sign of divine origin. ‘Signs’ in prophetical terminology are ominous revelations of what is about to happen…The word furthermore denotes the wonders wrought by evil powers. In the Septuagint, [6] the word [sign] is used for celestial phenomena. The sign [of “a woman clothed with the sun”] appearing here is GREAT, because it will indicate the time of the judgment that shall proclaim the ‘Great Day’ of Almighty God. It will herald the near approach of the events narrated in chapters eleven and thirteen. Appearing in heaven, it will point to the center of the whole desperate struggle for the possession of the world by Satan and his hordes. When this sign appears in the Church, the advent of Antichrist is near…The interpretation of this ‘sign’ is thus very important.”[7]
In my book, Fatima: The Signs and Secrets, I explained why this GREAT sign strongly indicates both the Virgin of Fatima and the Great Miracle of the Sun, which so terrified the 70,000 witnesses that they thought the world was ending. “Just as the Apocalypse foretold, in 1917 it was the Woman who first appeared as ‘a great sign’ in the Church. ‘And there was seen another sign in heaven−and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems.’ This sign is not ‘a great sign’ like the Woman clothed with the sun, but it is another sign, one that is in stark contrast against the woman, an ominous sign that appears in the Church.”[8]
Additionally, in the early 20th century book, The Apocalypse of St. John, Fr. Sylvester Berry states that, in Chapter 12:1-9, St. John “shows us the true nature of that conflict. It shall be war unto death, between the Church and the powers of darkness, in a final effort of Satan to destroy the Church and thus prevent the universal reign of Christ on earth.”
Below are excerpts of Fr. Berry’s commentary, with the number denoting the verse of Apocalypse 12:
“1. …The brightness of the sun is a fitting symbol for the enlightening power of the Church’s teachings. [Author’s Note: We might then consider the symbolic meaning of a sun’s eclipse.]…The crown of twelve stars represents the twelve Apostles and, through them, the whole ministry of the Church. It may also denote the assembly of faithful nations, symbolized by the mystic number twelve.
“2. The Church is ever in labor to bring forth children to eternal life. In the sad days here predicted, the sorrows and pains of delivery shall be increased many-fold. In this passage, there is an evident allusion to some particular son of the Church whose power and influence shall be such that Satan will seek his destruction at any cost…This person can be none other than the Pope to be elected in those days. The Papacy will be attacked by all the powers of hell. In consequence, the Church will suffer great trials and afflictions in securing a successor upon the throne of Peter…
“3. …The dragon is Satan, red with the blood of martyrs which he will cause to flow. The meaning of the seven heads and ten horns must be sought in the description of the beast that represents Antichrist, where they symbolize kings or worldly powers (Apoc. 17:9-12). Those of the dragon must have a similar meaning…
“With the beast of Antichrist, only the horns have diadems as symbols of royalty or governing power. The heads are branded with names of blasphemy (Apoc. 13:1). Hence, they symbolize the sins and errors that will afflict the Church. Seven, the number of universality, indicates that, in this final struggle to prevent the universal reign of Christ, all forms of sin and error will be marshalled against the Church. A prelude to this may be seen in the errors of Modernism which has been rightly designated ‘a synthesis of all heresies.’ The number seven is also appropriate since all sins are included in the seven capital sins. In like manner, all errors that have afflicted the Church may be summed up in these seven: Judaism, paganism, Arianism, Mohammedanism, Protestantism, rationalism, and atheism.
“The dragon is seen in heaven, which is here a symbol of the Church…This indicates that the first troubles of those days will be inaugurated within the Church by apostate bishops, priests, and peoples—the stars dragged down by the tail of the dragon.
“4. The tail of the dragon represents the cunning hypocrisy with which he succeeds in deceiving a large number of people and pastors—a third part of the stars…The dragon stands before the woman ready to devour the child that is brought forth. In other words, the powers of hell seek by all means to destroy the Pope elected in those days.
“5. The woman brings forth a son to rule the nations with a rod of iron… Scarcely has the newly elected Pope been enthroned when he is snatched away by martyrdom…During the interregnum, ‘that wicked one shall be revealed’ in his fury against the Church.
“It is a matter of history that the most disastrous periods for the Church were times when the Papal throne was vacant, or when anti-popes contended with the legitimate head of the Church. Thus also shall it be in those evil days to come.”[9]
Fatima, the Apocalypse, and the Lights of Heaven: Part 2
“Sweet Heart of Mary, be our salvation.”
—Favorite brief prayer of little Jacinta of Fatima
To continue with Fr. Berry (numbers below denote the verse of Apoc. 12):
“6. The Church deprived of her chief Pastor must seek sanctuary in solitude, there to be guided by God Himself during those trying days. This place of refuge prepared for the Church is probably some nation, or nations, that remain faithful to her…In those days, the Church shall also find refuge and consolation in faithful souls, especially in the seclusion of the religious life.
“7. St. Michael, the guardian angel of the Church, shall come with his hosts to defend her against the onslaughts of Satan and his minions. The followers of St. Michael are the angelic hosts of heaven and all faithful bishops and priests of the Church. The minions of Satan are the fallen angels with the leaders of heresy, schism, and persecution.
“8, 9. The battle is waged in the Church, the kingdom of heaven, from which the dragon and his angels are cast out and hurled down to earth. The earth symbolizes the nations hostile to the Church—the world over which Satan rules. By the aid of St. Michael, the Church shall purge herself of all heretics, schismatics, and apostates…”[10]
“Michael, Your Prince,” and the Mysterious 21 Days
Interestingly, while St. Michael is specifically mentioned in the Apocalypse, it is not the first time his name appears in the bible. In fact, the first scriptural occurrence wherein Michael’s name is given may shed light on the time-frame of 21 days (again, the length of days between September 23, 2017, which will see the exiting of Jupiter from Virgo’s womb, and October 13, the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun).
As I explained in the first chapter of my book, Fatima: The Signs and Secrets, it is a moral certainty that St. Michael is the Angel of Fatima. The same chapter also touches upon a 21 day period in the Old Testament in regard to a vision of the last days. The heavenly characters include St. Gabriel, St. Michael, and an unnamed prince (angel) of the Persian kingdom—in reality, a demon who resisted a good angel for “one and twenty days”:
“In the Prophecy of Daniel, Chapter 10, the Holy Scriptures give Michael’s name for the first time. Daniel’s chapters 7-12 are considered to be his four ‘apocalyptic’ chapters…
“Beginning with Chapters 7 and 8, Daniel wrote the first of his prophetic and apocalyptic visions. Explanations of these visions were given by the angel Gabriel, [11] who appeared to him as a man. In Chapter 10, it is recorded: ‘In the third year of Cyrus king of the Persians, a word was revealed to Daniel surnamed Baltassar, and a true word, and great strength: and he understood the word: for there is need of understanding in a vision.’[12] Following this event, the prophet Daniel mourned and fasted for 21 days.[13]
“Then appeared a good angel (whose name is not given by Daniel, but who may have been Gabriel returning to the prophet), saying, ‘Daniel, thou man of desires, understand the words that I speak to thee, and stand upright: for I am sent now to thee.’ [14] After speaking of Daniel’s prayers and sacrifices, the angel revealed, ‘I am come for thy words,’ [15] and then declared, ‘But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days; and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians. But I am come to teach thee what things shall befall thy people in the latter days, for as yet the vision is for days…’”
“…To return to the prophet Daniel, he had for 21 days fasted and prayed in reparation to the Lord, for he had seen a great and terrifying vision of what would befall his people. Although he understood the vision, he did not yet know that it was a vision ‘for days’−meaning far into the future, the end times. The 21 days were thrice the ancient custom of seven days’ of fasting, which tell us that Daniel’s 21 days of sacrifice displayed extreme sorrow and extraordinary penance. Unbeknownst to Daniel, the 21 days of his penance and reparation offered to God coincided with the angel’s battle with a powerfully resistant devil, the ‘prince of the kingdom of the Persians.’ However, it becomes clear that Daniel’s acts of reparation were accepted by God, for the angel spoke of Daniel’s sacrifices and also told him, almost in a confiding manner, of his own struggle against the ‘prince’ (meaning leader, one of a higher [hierarchical] order) demon of the Persians. Since angels of Heaven do not engage in idle gossip or expect human sympathy, it is also certain that God wished Daniel to know what had transpired and that, due to his own prayers and penances, St. Michael was sent by God to assist the good but lesser angel.”
“At the end of the same chapter, the good angel declares: ‘But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth: and none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince’ [16] …meaning the prince of the elect, those who belong to God’s kingdom on earth and follow His commandments. In the Old Testament, the chosen people were those of the earthly Israel, but this ancient nation was a living figure-type of the spiritual Israel (today known as the Roman Catholic Church) that would be established by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.” [17]
“Michael’s name is mentioned a third time in The Prophecy of Daniel, when the good angel speaks of the last events of the end times (the Novissimi), the time when anti-Christ shall appear and persecute God’s people: ‘But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time…' [18]
(Author’s Note: One sentence from the October 13, 1973 message of Our Lady of Akita is remarkably similar to this Scriptural prophecy. Given on the 56th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, it begins: “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before…)
It is this same great archangel whom God sent to Fatima; Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host, chosen to precede the “great sign” that would appear in heaven (the Church)−the “woman clothed with the sun.” [20] It is he who taught the children how to make acts of adoration and reparatory mortification to God. Like the prophet Daniel before them, who prayed and fasted for 21 days (again, thrice the usual time) after he saw a vision of the end days, the three Fatima children also developed the habits of heavy penance. Perhaps the 21 days between September 23 and the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun serve as a reminder for us to do the same.
Final Thoughts
Additionally, the date of September 23 is both the memorial of Pope St. Linus (pope-martyr and immediate successor of St. Peter) and of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (who for 50 years bore the stigmata of Christ’s Passion). These two events bring to our minds the Great Secret of Fatima, in particular “a bishop dressed in white ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’” (sic) who is killed by soldiers with guns and arrows and, with the death of so many people from all walks of life, what appears to be the Passion of the entire Church.
Are we prepared for these events? In truth, wouldn’t we rather avoid them completely? Let’s not forget that Our Lady foretold two possible paths for the future, either one of them dependent upon the Church’s free-will response to her motherly commands. She told us that “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” She made specific “requests” which even now, in this year of the Fatima Centennial, remain disregarded. Because Fatima is constantly contradicted, she promised, “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
The Immaculate Heart devotion has long been willed by Christ. Almost seven centuries ago, the Sacred Heart made clear to St. Mechtilde (Matilda) that He Himself is “the herald of this devotion [to His Mother’s Heart], which He teaches to us both by word and example.” In modern times, Our Lord told Sr. Lucia the reason why the solemn, public collegial consecration of Russia to the Virgin’s Heart is His Will: “Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that Consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that it may extend its cult later on and put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart…”
As we ponder this year’s celestial events, let’s also consider St. Ambrose’s commentary on St. Luke’s eschatological discourse of the great apostasy, wherein he interpreted the symbols of sun, moon and stars in this way:
“Many apostatizing from Christianity, the brightness of the Faith will be dimmed by this cloud of apostasy: since the heavenly Sun grows dim or shines in splendour according to my Faith. And as in its monthly eclipse the moon, by reason of the earth coming between it and the sun, disappears from view, so likewise the holy Church, when the vices of the flesh stand in the way of the celestial light, can no longer borrow the splendour of His divine light from the Sun of Christ. And in the persecutions, it was invariably the love of this life that stood in the path of the Divine Sun. Also the stars−that is, men surrounded by the praise of their fellow Christians−shall fall, as the bitterness of persecution mounts up; which must however come to pass, until the number of the faithful be made up; for so the good are proved and the weak made known.” [20]
About the Author
Marianna Bartold is the author of Fatima: The Signs and Secrets and Guadalupe: Secrets of the Image. The founding publisher of The Catholic Family’s Magnificat and editor of Sursum Corda (now Latin Mass) magazines, she also digitally publishes traditional Catholic classics on Kindle. (Click here to see the growing book list.)
Join Marianna on Facebook at Fatima 100: Our Lady and the Apostles of Our Times, a discussion group for those who understand the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart must be done.
Notes
[1] For examples, please see Heb. 2:3-4; Ps. 96:17, Judg. 6:17; Josh. 24: 15-17; Isa. 7:14; Exod. 3:12; Num. 17:20.
[2] Guadalupe, Fr. Miguel. The Seven Veils of Our Lady of Guadalupe [Goleta, CA: Queenship Publishing, 1999]: p. 266. [Emphasis added.]
[3] In 1944, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be celebrated on 22 August, coinciding with the traditional octave day of the Assumption. The date was changed after Vatican II, and the Queenship of Mary was instead instituted on August 22.
[4] The vision of Knock is explained in greater depth in my book, Fatima: The Signs and Secrets.
[5] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. III. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2001]: p. 788.
[6] Septuagint: The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., the Old Testament), approved by the Catholic Church but rejected by orthodox Jews and Protestant sects.
[7] Kramer, Rev. Herman Bernard, editor. The Book of Destiny [Rockford, IL: TAN Books & Publishers, 1975. Originally published in 1955 by Buechler Publishing Co., Belleville, IL. Reprinted in 1972 by Apostolate of Christian Action, Fresno, CA from which the 1975 printing was made]: pp. 275- 276. [Emphasis added.]
[8] Bartold, Marianna. Fatima: The Signs and Secrets. [Lapeer, MI: KIC, 2014, available in paperback and Kindle editions]: p. 93.[Emphasis added.]
[9] Berry, Rev. E. Sylvester. The Apocalypse of St. John. [Lapeer, MI: KIC, 2015. Amazon Kindle edition republished from the original 1921 edition.]
[10] Ibid.
[11] Dan. 8: 15-26; 9: 21-27.
[12] Dan. 10:1. [Emphasis added.]
[13] Dan. 10:2.
[14] Dan. 10:11. [Emphasis added.]
[15] Dan. 10:12.
[16] Dan.10:21.
[17] Bartold, op cit. Excerpted from Chapter 1.
[18] Dan. 12:1. [Emphasis added.]
[19] Apoc. 12:1.
[20] St. Ambrose, cited in The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers.
[http://books.google.com/books?id=MCX6nTwu8U8C]. Also see SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission. [http://www.saintspeterandpaulrcm.com/weekly_bulletin.htm] [Emphasis added.]
