Elizabeth Clare Prophet - August 9, 1998

 

Update on Fátima and Medjugorje
Celebration of the Fortieth Anniversary
of the Founding
of the Summit Lighthouse

1

Mother Mary would like us to review two of the most important series of messages to have been given to light-bearers in this century--the messages from Fátima and Medjugorje.

Let us look first at Fátima. The messages from Fátima give us prophecy but they also give us the antidote to the prophecy. As you know, prophecy is not set in stone. Prophecy is given to us as a warning so that we can act in time to avert or mitigate it.

In 1917, as World War I raged and the Bolsheviks plotted their revolution, the Blessed Mother appeared six times to three shepherd children near Fátima, Portugal. The children were Lucia dos Santos, ten; Francisco Marto, nine; and Jacinta Marto, seven.

They were cousins from the little village of Aljustrel. Lucia was the youngest of the seven dos Santos children; Francisco and Jacinta were the two youngest of the eleven Marto children. All three cared for the families’ combined flocks of sheep.

In 1916, prior to Mother Mary’s appearances, the children received three visitations from an angel who spoke reassuringly to them. “Do not be afraid,” he said. “I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me. “He knelt on the ground and repeated three times: “O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love thee. I beg pardon of you for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love thee.” Then he rose and said: “Pray thus. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” <1>

From that day on, the children repeated this prayer for hours, kneeling and placing their foreheads on the ground as the angel had demonstrated. They were preparing themselves to receive the Blessed Mother.

On his second visit, the Angel of Peace asked the children to continually offer prayers and sacrifices to the Most High. When Lucia asked, “How are we to make sacrifices?” The angel replied: “Offer up everything within your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in reparation for the sins by which he is so much offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners.” <2>

Beginning on May 13 and continuing for five consecutive months on the thirteenth day of each month, Mother Mary came to the children and gave them messages and prophecies. For an end to war and the restoration of peace she requested the daily recitation of the rosary, worldwide devotion to her Immaculate Heart and penance.

Mother Mary repeated her request in each of her appearances that the children recite the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world. She also asked the children to offer themselves to God, to accept all the sufferings he would choose to give them and to pray for the conversion of sinners.

A Secret in Three Parts

On her third visit, Mother Mary gave the children a “secret” in three parts. At that time they did not tell anyone the details of the secret and it was not until 1927 that Lucia revealed the first two parts of it.

The first part of the secret was a vision of hell. The children were terrified by a sea of fire that opened up in front of them:”Even the earth itself seemed to vanish, and we saw huge numbers of devils and lost souls in a vast and fiery ocean.” <3>

In the second part of the secret, Mother Mary told the children: “You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

Mother Mary went on to say that World War I would end, but there would be another war if people did not stop offending God. In order to prevent this war, she said that she intended to return and ask for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and for the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturdays of the month.

The Blessed Mother stated that if her requests were fulfilled, Russia would be converted and there would be peace. “If not,” said Mary, “Russia will spread her errors throughout the entire world, provoking wars and persecution of the Church. The good will suffer martyrdom. The Holy Father will suffer much. Different nations will be annihilated.” <4>

The Disbelief of the Authorities

At first the appearances of Mother Mary to the three children were met with disbelief. Lucia’s mother was the most skeptical of the family members. She wanted her daughter to publicly recant what she considered to be a hoax. In an effort to get Lucia to admit that she was lying, she scolded the child harshly and treated her with scorn. Mrs. dos Santos would not be converted until she witnessed the “miracle of the sun,” which occurred during Mother Mary’s final visitation to the children.

The parish priest, after questioning Lucia about the first two visitations, thought the apparitions might be the work of the devil. Despite the increasing number of pilgrims who came daily to visit the site of the apparitions or to be present during the apparitions, the ecclesiastical authorities remained reserved and aloof. The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon even went so far as to forbid the clergy from taking part in any of the events.

Journalists employed by the prevailing revolutionary government of Portugal, which had persecuted the Church since coming to power in 1910, ridiculed the apparitions. They claimed that they were an organized plot to incite the people against the government and they encouraged the civil authorities to intervene.

On August 13, the date set for Mother Mary’s fourth appearance, the administrator of the district of Fátima kidnapped the children and took them to his house, where he then interrogated and imprisoned them. When all three refused to divulge the secret message they had received, he became enraged and locked them in the public jail, threatening to kill them by boiling them in oil.

The administrator had the children led separately to their supposed death. He told each one that the child who had been led out previously had been killed. But throughout this persecution the children remained unshakable, and two days later the administrator returned them to their homes. Although the children did not expect to see the Blessed Virgin until the following month, she appeared to them on August 19 in a field about a mile from Fátima, where they were tending their sheep.

The Two Final Apparitions

The people, if not the authorities, were now convinced that the children were telling the truth and the apparitions were genuine. The September 13 appearance was attended by thousands of pilgrims. Mother Mary again told the children to give the rosary daily to obtain an end to the war. She promised them that she would perform a miracle on her final visit in October.

When October 13 arrived, many more thousands came to see the expected miracle. The day was unseasonably cold and rainy. Many who waited for the approaching hour of the miracle had spent the night out in the rain and were drenched to the skin.

A little later than the promised hour of noon, the Blessed Mother appeared and spoke to the children. As she finished speaking, the miracle of the sun began. The sun grew pale, started to spin around in circles, turning on its axis like a “gigantic wheel of fire.” <5> Three times it stopped and then resumed its spinning motion. Suddenly, it plunged toward the ground, causing the onlookers to cry out in terror, many falling to their knees in prayer.

About ten minutes later, the sun rose to its normal position in the sky and again became too bright to look upon. All the pilgrims noticed that their rain-soaked clothes had become completely dry. Comforted, at peace, yet convinced that they had truly witnessed a miracle, the crowds dispersed.

What Was the Third Secret?

Years later in 1929, Mother Mary appeared to Lucia and said it was time for the pope--in union with all the bishops of the world--to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.Despite Lucia’s appeal to two different popes, the consecration to Russia has never occurred exactly in the manner Mother Mary requested. And, as Mary prophesied, World War II became a reality.

What about the third part of the secret? Lucia wrote it down, and it was sealed and stored in the archives of the Bishop of Leiria--not to be opened until 1960 or after her death, whichever came first. Pope John XXIII read the third part of the secret in 1960 but did not reveal it. To this hour, no pope has ever revealed its contents.

Now we will watch a video that depicts the Fátima story. I watched this video with my son Seth the other night and I was truly struck by the innocence of these children. Whether we are children or adults, all of us may one day meet with persecution. It is simply part of the price we pay in our love for Jesus.

As Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” <6> These children were prophets of their time and of our time. <7> In watching this video, I was reminded once again of Mother Mary’s plea that we give her rosary. I hope you will take this message to heart and rededicate yourself to the rosary. Know that as you faithfully recite the rosary every day, you are contributing to world peace. And you have a very special place reserved for you in the heart of the Blessed Mother.

The name of the video is “The Day the Sun Danced.”[28-minute video playback ]

Five years after the apparitions, the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima appointed a commission to study them. In 1930, after a seven-year investigation, he confirmed the appearances of the Blessed Mother in a pastoral letter and said they were worthy of belief by the faithful.

The Appearances at Medjugorje

Mother Mary has also desired to bring her sons and daughters closer to her heart through her appearances to six youths in the small village of Medjugorje. She began appearing to them on June 24, 1981, and has continued her appearances on a daily basis for 17 years now. Medjugorje is in what was then Yugoslavia but is now Bosnia-Herzegovina.

These appearances have also been met with skepticism and persecution. The seers were aged 10 to 16 when the apparitions began. They were interrogated by authorities of the Communist government and the Catholic Church. At one point, the local police detained the youths, told them to recant and threatened to have them committed to a mental asylum.

The parish pastor and other priests at first doubted the authenticity of the apparitions. This caused one of the seers, Ivanka, to remark, “The only ones who do not believe us are the priests and the police!” <8> The youths were subjected to medical, psychological and psychiatric examinations to determine if their behavior was being caused by drugs, hypnosis or other factors. And they were also closely examined while in the state of ecstasy during the Blessed Mother’s visitations.

As the throngs of believers continued to increase, the Communist government became alarmed at the religious revival taking place. Huge crowds of people would gather on a hillside overlooking Medjugorje to witness the apparitions. The authorities took repressive measures and several priests and nuns were arrested. For almost two years the police forbade anyone to visit the place of the apparitions.

For about six months during this time the appearances took place at various other sites--such as fields, woods, and the homes of the youths and many others in the village. Beginning in January 1982, the Blessed Mother has appeared in the rectory, the sacristy and the choir loft of the parish church.

A Commission to Investigate the Apparitions

Bishop Zanic of Mostar, the diocese where Medjugorje is located, openly voiced his doubt about the apparitions. He said: “The phenomenon at Medjugorje will be the greatest shame of the Church in the twentieth century. One can say that these are hallucinations, illusions, hypnosis or lies.” <9>

In 1986, the commission he impaneled to investigate the apparitions reached a similar conclusion. Vatican officials, however, not satisfied with that investigation, instructed the Church hierarchy in Yugoslavia to undertake a second investigation to determine whether the visions were worthy of belief.

In 1991, the Catholic bishops of Yugoslavia finally released a statement on the appearances. “On the basis of investigations so far,” they said, “it cannot be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations.” <10> This statement caused some confusion as to whether the Vatican itself disapproved of Medjugorje. However, an official announcement from the Vatican in August 1996 reaffirmed that anyone may go on a private pilgrimage and may continue to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje. But these pilgrimages may not be regarded as official authentification of the apparitions.

The position of Pope John Paul II regarding the appearances at Medjugorje is said to be favorable. In 1995, Vicka, one of the visionaries, went to Rome as the translator for 350 wounded and crippled Croatian soldiers who had obtained a private audience with the pope. He immediately recognized Vicka and said to her, “Are you not Vicka from Medjugorje?” He then prayed over her, blessed her and said: “Pray to the Madonna for me. I pray for you.” <11> The pope is reported to have said several times that he would like to visit Medjugorje, but he has not yet done so.

Notwithstanding the pope’s comments, in 1998 Rome reiterated its former statement on the appearances. A letter from Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was received in Medjugorje on June 24 of this year—the seventeenth anniversary of the apparitions. It repeated word for word the 1991 conclusion of the bishops of the former Yugoslavia..

Medjugorje Today

It is interesting to note that during the civil war that resulted in the breakup of Yugoslavia not one bomb fell on the parish of Medjugorje. A 1997 Medjugorje newsletter recognizes the protection that the Blessed Mother has given to the apparition site: “Is it not clear that there is a tie between the devastating war that exploded in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the edifying message of Medjugorje? The destructive war has not conquered the place where God chose to spread this extraordinary message of peace and conversion. Today, Medjugorje, by the grace of God, is more beautiful and resplendent than ever.” <12> I believe that Mother Mary began her appearances in Medjugorje because her requests at Fátima have not been fulfilled. The pope to this day has never revealed the third part of the Fátima secret.

The children said that during her Medjugorje visitations the Blessed Mother gave them messages stressing peace, conversion, prayer, fasting, penance and a sacramental life. Mirjana, one of the seers, said, “Our Lady continues to invite us to prayer and fasting, saying: ‘You have forgotten that with prayer and fasting you can ward off wars, suspend natural laws.’ “ <13> The messages from the Blessed Mother are still being given to the visionaries. And in addition to these messages, Mother Mary has said that she will give to each of them a total of ten “secrets” —prophecies of events that will occur on earth in the near future. Mirjana, Ivanka and, most recently, Jacov, have received all ten secrets. The remaining three—Ivan, Marija and Vicka have received nine secrets.

Although the Catholic Church has declined to confirm that the visitations are authentic, Mother Mary said to us in a 1987 dictation that she was indeed appearing to the youths. Over the last 17 years, 20 million people have made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje and many report having been spiritually strengthened and even transformed by their experiences there.

Here in the West, the recent fall of Communism in the former Soviet Union has caused many to believe that the Fátima prophecies are a thing of the past. They have forgotten that the third part of the Fátima secret, thought to be the most terrible, has never been revealed by the popes. The catastrophe that has befallen the former Yugoslavia, where over 250,000 people have died and more than two million have become refugees, is a painful reminder that great dangers exist as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union. And we have not yet passed through the time of earth’s returning karma.

At both Fátima and Medjugorje the Blessed Mother has given the same message--that we can save ourselves and the planet--if we will faithfully pray and give the rosary.

“I Have Come to Prepare for Calamities to Come”

I would like to close with some of Mother Mary’s words to us from her 1987 dictation that spoke of her appearances in Medjugorje:

now, then, beloved, that I have also appeared in Yugoslavia to these special hearts, young in body but ancient of days, as the Queen of Peace. For peace is a pillar of fire that is thrust as a sword in the very midst of Communist territory….Blessed ones, Medjugorje has become as a figure-eight flow where so many hearts give attention to me that the light may descend as judgment.

understand, blessed ones, that I have come there to prepare this people for calamities to come. The simple of heart need to be reminded of their original faith. To deliver to them a message beyond that which they comprehend within the supposed security of the Church would only serve to neutralize the message and their opinions of its authenticity.

thus, to depart from scripture or canon would be to obviate the very purpose of my coming, which is to draw a tremendous devotion of people of every faith to the heart of God and the Divine Mother, that in this sacred tie to heaven they might pass through a darkness to come….

I have desired, then, that you should see and understand the light, the determination, the joy, the confidence that the seeing of myself has given to the six—and which through them has been radiated to the many. <14>

Pray the Rosary

In response to Mother Mary, I believe it is imperative that we all give a rosary daily. Therefore in honor of Mother Mary’s ascension day and her Fátima message, I ask you to join with us in giving Mother Mary’s Scriptural Rosary for the New Age each day this coming week. We will be giving this rosary here in the Court every evening during our violet-flame vigil.

After this week, I encourage you to continue giving a rosary every day in order to fulfill the Blessed Mother’s request at Fátima. If you cannot give the long rosary, you can choose to give the shorter, 15-minute Child’s Rosary. We have eight long rosaries on tape, and four tape albums and a CD of short rosaries that can be used to give your devotions to Mother Mary. What a wonderful opportunity it is to spend even 15 minutes each day speaking to the Blessed Mother and turning over to her your personal burdens and the burdens of the world.

We are going to start our vigil by giving the Healing Mysteries Rosary for the Fifth Ray followed by decree 56.03, “The Fátima Prayers” and “The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

Consider the breakup of the Soviet Union and consider the wonderful and most beautiful souls that have come out from Russia to the United States, to this point of contact with us—to this very Court. They are tremendous souls and we are most grateful to have them in our community. And we send that message to you across the waves and to your hearts.

Let us give the rosary now.


This lecture was given by Elizabeth Clare Prophet on August 9, 1998, the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Summit Lighthouse and Mother Mary’s Ascension Day.

1. William Thomas Walsh, Our Lady of Fátima (Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books, Doubleday and Co., 1954), pp. 36-37.

2. William C. McGrath, “The Lady of the Rosary,” in A Woman Clothed with the Sun: Eight Great Appearances of Our Lady in Modern Times, ed. John J. Delaney (Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books, Doubleday and Co., 1961), p. 180.

3. Ibid., p. 193.

4. Ibid., p. 194.

5. Ibid., p. 202.

6. Matt. 5:11,12.

7. In a previous lecture on Fátima, the Messenger said:”Mother Mary has asked me to comment on the fact of her appearances to the humble of heart and to children throughout the ages.These particular children had known Mother Mary in a previous life. In fact, they had been among the children who had actually denied her presence. And so her coming to them was to fulfill the promise that God gives to all who are in the process of the ascension: that those who ascend (in this case, Mother Mary) may appear to those who have denied them on earth so that the deniers may offer a service to God in atonement for their earlier rejection of the Christ.
By this the children are not shown to be any better or any worse than the rest of us. For we all have our opportunity for atonement and when we have that opportunity, God comes personally to us. I am certain that apart from their denial of Mother Mary (probably about 2,000 years earlier), these were very holy children or they would not have been selected. We see in the unfolding of their lives that two of them (Francisco and Jacinta) did not live past the age of ten. These children were prepared to come into incarnation specifically to balance this karma and carry this message.

8. Joseph A. Pelletier, The Queen of Peace Visits Medugorje (Worcester, Mass.: An Assumption Publication, 1985), p. 49.

9. Kenneth L. Woodward, “Visitations of the Virgin,” Newsweek, 20 July 1987, p. 55.

10 . “A Letter from Rome on Medjugorje,” posted on the official Medjugorje site on the Internet—www.medjugorje.org.

11 . “Pope John Paul II on Medjugorje,” www.medjugorje.org/pope.htm

12 . “A Letter from the Queen of Peace Committee, “www.medjugorje.org.

13 . Pelletier, The Queen of Peace Visits Medugorje, p. 139.

14 . Mother Mary, “Be Prepared and Be at Peace,” June 7, 1997, 1997 Pearls of Wisdom, pp. 228, 229


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