Fatima and the 'Miracle' of the Sun

by COGwriter

On October 13, 1917, tens of thousands of people are claimed to have seen what has been called "the miracle of the sun."

Is this proof that the Lady of Fatima came from God?

Is it possible that Jesus' mother Mary appeared in Fatima?

Is there a way to know for absolute certainty?

Are there biblical warnings that many have overlooked?

This article will address those questions and more about Fatima.

(Note: citations that are not shown are in the book: Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions.)

Here is a link to a related sermon: Fatima and the ‘Miracle of the Sun’.

Background

The modern story of Fatima began in 1915, when a girl named Lúcia dos Santos, with some companions, saw something in the air that they could not identify which did not seem to be of earthly origin.

In 1916, some children including Lúcia, received messages from something that years later were said to have come from an angel. That unusual visitor indicated that something else would happen in the future.

In the little known town of Fátima, Portugal, beginning on May 13, 1917, three children (Lúcia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto, and Francisco Marto) said they saw some type of female apparition six times, once per month. The monthly appearances culminated in a visit where tens of thousands of people claimed to witness some type of miracle/change in the sky on October 13, 1917. This apparition is now commonly referred to as “our Lady,” “the Lady,” or “the Virgin of Fatima” and multiple millions believe it was Mary herself.

So, why pay attention to this? There are at least four reasons:

1) Some of the events claimed to have been predicted in 1917 have taken place. This has given the Fatima messages credibility even among non-Catholics.
2) The Fatima appearances, though not necessarily all the messages, have been somewhat accepted by the Vatican. As there are at least 1-2 billion people with at least some minimal ties with the Church of Rome, this means that a huge number of people throughout the world have reasons to pay attention to the Fatima messages because of their religion.
3) Some of the Fatima messages are claimed to still be for the future. Whether people believe them or not, there will be repercussions from them. Some of those repercussions will likely shock the world. Some of them are scary. If you survive, you will be affected by their repercussions in the not too distant future.
4) Learning the truth about the shocking messages of Fatima could save you and your loved ones from making horrible mistakes.

Fatima is so important to Pope Francis that he had his pontificate dedicated to the 'Lady of Fatima' on May 13, 2013. A video of some related interest is Fatima and Pope Francis.

Pope Francis has also had the 'Fatima' statue sent to the Vatican one or more times as well as Syria (e.g. ‘Fatima statue’ to bring peace to Syria next month?).

And in 2017, the year of the 100th anniversary of Fatima, he declared Catholics could get a plenary indulgence related to Fatima.

Plenary Indulgences

Here is information from CatholicOnline on plenary indulgences:

An indulgences is defined as "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned." The first thing to note is that forgiveness of a sin is separate from punishment for the sin. Through sacramental confession we obtain forgiveness, but we aren't let off the hook as far as punishment goes.

Indulgences are two kinds: partial and plenary. A partial indulgences removes part of the temporal punishment due for sins. A plenary indulgence removes all of it. This punishment may come either in this life, in the form of various sufferings, or in the next life, in purgatory. What we don't get rid of here we suffer there. http://www.catholic.org/prayers/indulgc.php accessed 09/11/17

Often, Roman Catholics pay to get these indulgences.

This was a problem in the past that people like Martin Luther objected to.

Nowadays, there are various ways to get them.

One is to give a gift to the Church of Rome on the behalf of someone who has died.

Priests will make prayers and/or devote Catholic mass to the departed. This supposedly results in less time in purgatory.

Purgatory is the place one supposedly pays the final penalty for sins. While Jesus is the one who in actuality paid that penalty, Roman Catholics added the doctrine of purgatory after they stopped teaching a version of the doctrine of apoctastasis.

But what does any of that have to do with Fatima?

Pope Francis offered special indulgences related to Fatima. This way, one can out of purgatory almost free in 2017:

Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence opportunity throughout the Fatima Anniversary Year.

There are three ways of obtaining the indulgence.

To obtain the plenary indulgence, the faithful must also fulfill the ordinary conditions: Go to confession and Communion, be interiorly detached from sin, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

1 – Pilgrimage to the Shrine
Make a pilgrimage to the Fatima shrine in Portugal and participate in a celebration or prayer dedicated to the Virgin. In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke the Mother of God.

2 – Prayer before any statue of Our Lady of Fatima
Visit with devotion a statue of Our Lady of Fatima solemnly exposed for public veneration in any church, oratory or proper place during the days of the anniversary of the apparitions, the 13th of each month from May to October (2017): there devoutly participate in some celebration or prayer in honor of Our Lady.

3 – Application for the elderly and infirm
Those who, because of age, illness or other serious cause are unable to get around well, can pray in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and spiritually unite themselves to the jubilee celebrations on the days of the apparitions, the 13th of each month, between May and October 2017.

They also must “offer to our merciful God with confidence, through Mary, their prayers and sufferings or the sacrifices they make in their own lives.” http://livingfatima.com/plenary-indulgence-for-the-100th-anniversary-of-fatima/ accessed 09/11/17

I will add that my wife and I were offered a plenary indulgence if we were in the audience to see Pope Francis the last time we were in Rome. We declined. We have visited the Fatima shrine, but that was in 2011, hence we were not granted a plenary indulgence for that. And, of course, we also did not pray in devotion to Mary before any statue.

But many will.

'Secret' Messages

The generally-related story of Fatima is that three innocent children were blessed to see an apparition who gave “secret” messages.

Yet, Lúcia wrote that the Lady kept telling the children to do sacrifices. Notice, for one example, what she wrote Jacinta said:

That Lady told us to say the Rosary and to make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

8 In saying before, Sacrifices, and oblations, and holocausts for sin thou wouldest not, neither are they pleasing to thee, which are offered according to the law... 12 He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his seat for ever, at the right hand of God...14 By virtue of that one single offering, he has achieved the eternal perfection of all who are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:8, 12, 14 DRB)

On January 21, 1920, according to Lúcia, Jacinta told
her:

Never tell the Secret to anyone, even if they kill you.119

Notice that it was called “the Secret.”  Later, Lúcia ended up telling multiple secrets and hence did not comply with Jacinta’s last request to her.  And if it is “the Secret” and it involved possibly preventing World War II (as many believe the second secret was intended for), why would Jacinta say that it should never be revealed?

One part of Lúcia’s writings that struck me as odd is that she and Jacinta never would tell the secrets while Jacinta was alive, no matter how many priests and bishops tried to get it out of them. Yet later, Lúcia finished writing the following on August 31, 1941 for an October 1942 expanded edition of a book about Jacinta:

What is the secret? It seems to me that I can reveal it, since I already have permission from Heavento do so. God’s representatives on earth have authorized me to do this several times and in various letters, one of which, I believe, is in your keeping.

In late 1948, Life Magazine (along with a picture of an envelope) reported this about Lúcia:

The Bible itself does not suggest that demons are black and transparent, yet it also does not say that they could not be. The fact that the torment was only seen for an instant could possibly be construed as consistent with other parts of the Bible. Of course, the apparition did not claim to be “our kind heavenly Mother” (those were Lúcia’s words decades later), and is not capable of taking them to heaven.

Apparition Made Blasphemous Claim Related to the First Secret

After seeing the vision of punishment, according to Lúcia, “Our Lady” said “poor sinners… To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”161

That should send shockwaves to all who profess Christ, whether Catholic or otherwise. Catholics should be concerned, because according to the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, on “private revelations” it “is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation,”162 yet that is precisely what the Lady of Fatima did by apparently stating that salvation from the lake of fire can come from “devotion to” her “Immaculate Heart.”

Decades ago, the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, “Devotion to Our Lady of Fatima is actually a petition for a Woman to save man from nature made destructive through the rebellious intellect of man.”163   Yet, the Bible says that only God can do that, and that He would do it through His Son (Acts 4:10-12).

Nowhere does the Bible even hint that we should petition Mary.

What  Lúcia  said  in  an  interview  on  November  17, 2001 is also a concern:

In her Fourth Memoir (written late 1941) she added:

In Portugal, the dogma of Faith will always be preserved; etc…Do not tell this to anybody. Francisco, yes, you may tell him.168

Many believe that the second secret predicted the end of WWI and that there would be a WWII under the Pontificate of Pius XI.  Pius XI’s pontificate was from 6 February 1922 through 10 February 1939. When the secret was allegedly given, the current pope’s name was Benedict XV–and since it was not Pius many believe that this is additional evidence that the second secret was an accurate prophecy. But the fact that this message was not written down until after Pius started his pontificate brings some question to it.

Would Mary Ask for a Public Repentance Secretly?

What should be one of the biggest controversies about Fatima, and one that should lay to rest any doubt that the Lady was not the Mary of the Bible, has to do with the second secret.
Notice one part:

If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI.170

Would God, through any of His representatives, give a message that He wants people to heed; only to keep it a secret until it is too late?

Of course not!

A Satanic apparition might, but there would be no way that Jesus’ mother could possibly have given a message calling for the world to heed what she said while at the same time keeping the message secret until it is too late to respond to it.

If the Vatican truly believed Lúcia’s were messages from God or Mary, why didn’t the popes (and their bishops around the world) consecrate Russia after hearing of the messages?

Lúcia was very frustrated and later claimed (in 1946) that on June 13, 1929 (and it more likely was June 12, 1930 as that is what the note in her own handwriting stated) she had visions from the Lady and Jesus requiring that this be done then. Lúcia wrote:

So were those popes all terribly wrong or were there reasons that they did not believe that the messages from Lúcia came from Saint Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus?

In her Third Memoir, written in the summer of 1941 and published in 1942, Lúcia claimed that in 1917 the Lady asked for the consecration of Russia.Yet, in a hand written letter from her (a copy of which I viewed), the translation of it states:

The request about Russia — it appears that it was in June 1930, from Thursday to Friday, and that it took place from the 12th to the 13th, from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. at night.180

Thus, it may be that parts of the secret were expanded after some of the “predicted” events had taken place.  This seems to be evidence of that idea as Pope Pius XI called for a day of prayer for Russia to change on March 19, 1930181 and Lúcia originally wrote that her vision happened in June 1930.

The Jesuit Priest Gonçalves, who was the first to report this vision, for some reason reported 1929 instead of 1930, with Thursday dates for both.182   Dr. Fernandes speculated that perhaps the priest did so to try to improve Lúcia’s credibility? But it seems to have the opposite effect.

After Germany invaded Poland, Lúcia sent a third letter to Rome. It appears that in 1940 the second part of the message gained a certain amount of credibility.199 But just because an apparition says something that comes to pass, this does not mean it is from God (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-4). In an interview with Priest Augustine Fuentes on December 26, 1957, (that was originally published with the imprimatur of the Bishop of Fatima) Lúcia reportedly said:

Father, the Most Holy Virgin is very sad because no one has paid any attention to her message, neither the good nor the bad...But believe me, Father, God will chastise the world and this will be in a terrible manner. The punishment from heaven is imminent.

Dr. Joaquin Alonso, who spent much time with her writings, wrote:

Lúcia may be deceived in the mystical interpretation of her experiences… At times, she herself is in doubt that God is talking to her… 206

The Miracle of the Sun

The big 'proof' for Fatima is supposed to be something called the "miracle of the sun."

A photostatic copy of a page from Ilustração Portugueza, October 29, 1917

Lucia wrote that the 'Lady' told her the following on July 13, 1917:

I want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to continue to pray the Rosary, every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of war, because only she can help you. ...

Continue to come here every month. In October, I will tell you who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle for all to see and believe. (Santos, p. 178).

Lucia wrote that the 'Lady' told her the following on August 15, 1917:

I want you to continue going to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, and to continue to pray the Rosary every day. In the last month, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe. (Santos, p. 180).

Lucia wrote that the 'Lady' told her the following on September 13, 1917:

Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October, the Lord will come as well as Our Lady of Dolours and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only to wear it during the day. (Santos, p. 181)

The "rope" was intended to cause pain and discomfort. This was part of the "suffering for sinners" that the Lady wanted the children of Fatima to endure. "Our Lady of Dolours" means Our Lady of Sorrows.

Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular, a sacramental associated with promises of Mary's special aid for the salvation of the devoted wearer. (Wikipedia, accessed 09/13/17)

On the 13th of October in 1917, thousands saw something.

Notice the following account of what was seen by Dr. José Maria de Almeida Garrett, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of Coimbra, Portugal:

"It must have been 1:30 p.m when there arose, at the exact spot where the children were, a column of smoke, thin, fine and bluish, which extended up to perhaps two meters above their heads, and evaporated at that height. This phenomenon, perfectly visible to the naked eye, lasted for a few seconds. Not having noted how long it had lasted, I cannot say whether it was more or less than a minute. The smoke dissipated abruptly, and after some time, it came back to occur a second time, then a third time

"The sky, which had been overcast all day, suddenly cleared; the rain stopped and it looked as if the sun were about to fill with light the countryside that the wintery morning had made so gloomy. I was looking at the spot of the apparitions in a serene, if cold, expectation of something happening and with diminishing curiosity because a long time had passed without anything to excite my attention. The sun, a few moments before, had broken through the thick layer of clouds which hid it and now shone clearly and intensely.

"Suddenly I heard the uproar of thousands of voices, and I saw the whole multitude spread out in that vast space at my feet...turn their backs to that spot where, until then, all their expectations had been focused, and look at the sun on the other side. I turned around, too, toward the point commanding their gaze and I could see the sun, like a very clear disc, with its sharp edge, which gleamed without hurting the sight. It could not be confused with the sun seen through a fog (there was no fog at that moment), for it was neither veiled nor dim. At Fatima, it kept its light and heat, and stood out clearly in the sky, with a sharp edge, like a large gaming table. The most astonishing thing was to be able to stare at the solar disc for a long time, brilliant with light and heat, without hurting the eyes or damaging the retina. [During this time], the sun's disc did not remain immobile, it had a giddy motion, [but] not like the twinkling of a star in all its brilliance for it spun round upon itself in a mad whirl.

"During the solar phenomenon, which I have just described, there were also changes of color in the atmosphere. Looking at the sun, I noticed that everything was becoming darkened. I looked first at the nearest objects and then extended my glance further afield as far as the horizon. I saw everything had assumed an amethyst color. Objects around me, the sky and the atmosphere, were of the same color. Everything both near and far had changed, taking on the color of old yellow damask. People looked as if they were suffering from jaundice and I recall a sensation of amusement at seeing them look so ugly and unattractive. My own hand was the same color.

"Then, suddenly, one heard a clamor, a cry of anguish breaking from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed all at once to loosen itself from the firmament and, blood red, advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was truly terrible.

"All the phenomena which I have described were observed by me in a calm and serene state of mind without any emotional disturbance. It is for others to interpret and explain them. Finally, I must declare that never, before or after October 13 [1917], have I observed similar atmospheric or solar phenomena."

Professor Almeida Garrett's full account may be found in Novos Documentos de Fatima (Loyala editions, San Paulo, 1984) http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/miracle.asp accessed 09/13/17

(Interestingly, a photo purported to be “the miracle of the sun” in 1917 which was also published in Life Magazine as proof of Fatima,145  turned out to be from 1922 and not 1917.)

Yes, something exciting happened on October 13, 1917.

But that does NOT prove it was from God.

Consider also that when asked how to distinguish between valid religious/spiritual experiences and psychological trauma, Catholic Priest John Lozano responded with:

…religious ecstasy and psychological trauma are similar…behind the ecstasy there is an experience of God, whereas behind the trauma there is not. In trauma, the person cannot recall what happened during the trance state, whereas the ecstatic person is extremely active and alert although the body falls into some kind of lethargy.

Now this is a major problem for many Fatima watchers because during the so-called “miracle of the sun,” on October 17, 1917 Lúcia could not recall what she said/ shouted while allegedly in some version of ecstasy.

Archbishop Sheen felt that a Marian “miracle” would be a factor in Muslims and others together and become end time Catholics in the Day of Wrath (Dies Irae):

And as Mary revealed herself in that first Miracle of the Sun, so may we look forward to another revelation of her power when the world has its next rehearsal for the Dies Irae.

So, there is a claim that Mary revealed herself with the 'miracle of the sun.'

But she did not.

Despite “the miracle of the sun” on October 13, 1917 (of which there were many differing accounts143 and hence not the clear “proof” the Lady said it would be), it was not until October 13, 1930 that the Fatima apparitions were declared “worthy of belief” by Pope Pius XI.144 Yet, “worthy of belief” is not the same as acceptance as truth or dogma.

And this was NOT from God.

Some may claim that since it was predicted before it happened and then happened that day, let me also add that occultists predicted something would happen on May 13, 1917 (Fernandes J, D’Armada F. Celestial Secrets, The Hidden History of the Fátima Incident. Anamolist Books, San Antonio (Texas), 2006, pp. 9-18. One account was written on February 7, 1917 and another was published on March 10, 1917). They were right, but that does not mean that the true God inspired them or Fatima.

Would Jesus’ Mother Want to Publicly Honor Herself?

Is something from the 'miracle of the sun' day that can plainly demonstrate that the Lady at Fatima could not have been Mary?

Yes.

Notice what Lúcia wrote that the apparition said on October 13, 1917:

I want to tell to you that a chapel is to be built here in my honour.87

And this happened, as my wife and I actually visited that Capelinha in Fatima in 2011.

31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31, DRB)

29 …no flesh should glory in his sight… (1 Corinthians 1:29, DRB)

11 …every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:11, DRB)

9 Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory. (Psalms 113:9, DRB)

Mary is not God. Despite her role as the mother of Christ (and yes, I believe that Jesus is God lest someone criticize me for using this expression), no proper Roman or Eastern Orthodox Catholic (or Protestant for that matter) believes that Mary is God either.

It is important to note that the apparition wanted a chapel built essentially for her glory. That is not what a true follower of Christ would have done. Mary of the Bible did not do that nor drop any hint that she ever would do that. A “Marian” apparition that appeared to Estelle Faguette at Pellevoisin, France in 1876 said, “I choose the little ones and the weak ones for my glory.”88    

But God specifically said the weak were chosen for His (not Mary’s) glory (1 Corinthians 1:27-29), so that apparition was false also. Actually, statements from many “approved apparitions” have requested actions for their glory or otherwise contradicted scripture.89

This is a doctrine of demons:

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV)

Do not fall for deceiving spirts or doctrines of demons.

October 13, 1917 Brown Scapular: Does it Contradict Catholic Dogma?

Lúcia claimed, “The Rosary and Scapular are inseparable.”755

A brown scapular originally was a wool object that sometimes comes in the form of metals instead.  It seems to be worn like a medallion.   

“Sister Lúcia has said all Catholics should wear the Brown Scapular as part of the Fatima message.”756

Supposedly, when the apparition appeared on October 13, 1917, Lúcia, Francisco, and Jacinta saw her hold a brown scapular in her hand.757     

“At the end of the 40s…Lúcia… recalled that the Blessed Virgin…wished that devotion of the holy Scapular be propagated.”758

Of course, if Mary actually wanted this, it seems odd that it took Lúcia decades to tell this to anybody.

“The  Brown  Scapular  is  part  of  a  religious  habit belonging in its own right to the Carmelite order. Devotion for the Scapular of Our Lady of Carmel was born in the 13th   century when after being purchased from Palestine by the Saracens, the Carmelite brothers encountered great difficulties in getting established in Europe and elsewhere…

Simon Stock, elected Prior General of the order in 1247, had, a few years later an apparition…presenting the Scapular to him as a sign of salvation for his brothers.”759

The Lady Contradicted Other Scripture

Between the first and third appearances of the Lady of Fatima, many sick and afflicted people wanted to make requests of her. So they told the three children their requests.

Since Lúcia was the only one of the three who spoke to the Lady, she tried to pass on many of those requests. But, notice what Lúcia wrote about what the Lady said regarding the requests from those people during her July 13, 1917 appearance:

Our Lady said it was necessary for such people to pray the Rosary in order to attain these graces during the year.503

But this is against scripture.

Notice what the Bible says that the sick or afflicted are to do:

13 Any one of you who is in trouble should pray; anyone in good spirits should sing a psalm.

14 Any one of you who is ill should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him.

15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:13-15, NJB)

Saying that the only way people would get their requests possibly answered by “praying the Rosary” is blasphemous as God Himself had recorded how such requests were to be handled, and those instructions differ from what the Lady stated.

There is no work one can do and certainly no item that one can wear, or any repeating of memorized prayers that can provide salvation. Lúcia (as well as Simon Stock on the scapular) is in clear contradiction of scripture here and was teaching blasphemy.

I am not arguing against prayer, yet no serious believer of the Bible should conclude that Mary, the mother of Jesus, would contradict sacred scripture.

In 1918, notice what Lúcia told a grocery store owner named Joaquina Vieira about what she saw in 1917:

Joaquina Vieira:       Hey, Lúcia, what did you see?
Lúcia:           I saw a Lady…I asked her who she was.
Joaquina Vieira:       And, what did She reply?
Lúcia:                       She pointed her finger to the sky.95

So, either Lúcia was lying then, was intentionally misleading, forgot, or simply did not believe then that the Lady plainly identified herself as the “Lady of the Rosary” in 1918.
Either way, the Lady of Fatima never declared that she was Mary of the Bible according to the 1917 testimonies of the primary witnesses.

The Plan for Fatima is Ecumenical and Inter-faith

Although pretty much all pontiffs prior to Francis had issues with Lucia and/or Fatima, the Vatican has long had ecumenical plans that they wish to involve their version of Mary in

Also notice something from Vatican II:

Moslems…They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion.587

Chapter 19 of the Qur’an/Koran/Quran is, from an Islamic perspective, devoted to Mary and Jesus (“Mary” is also spelled Maryam, Marium, or Miriam in Arabic translations into English). Here are a few passages from it:

019.020  Y: She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?”…

019.027…S: And she came to her people with him, carrying him (with her). They said: O Marium! Surely you have done a strange thing.

019.028 Y: “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!”588

066.012 Y: And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants).589

While the above supports the virgin birth of Jesus, some also seem to believe that the Qur’an is supportive of teaching the “immaculate” conception of Mary in Islam.590
So, there are Islamic ties to Mary that resemble those in post-sixth century Catholicism.

Interestingly, Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

It is our firm belief that…Islam…will be converted to Christianity…It is our belief that this will not happen through direct teaching of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Muslims to a veneration of the Mother of God.582

He also wrote he believed that the apparition:

…chose to be known as “Our Lady of Fatima” as a pledge and sign of hope for the Muslim people… so that they one day would accept…583

Thus, Archbishop Sheen essentially thought that the appearance in Fatima was to also ultimately result in Muslims (and possibly Hindus) accepting his faith. Notice that he also wrote:

Our missionaries report the most extraordinary reaction of these peoples as the Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried through the East. At the edge of Nepal, three hundred Catholics were joined by three thousand Hindus and Moslems, as four elephants carried the statue to the little church for Rosary and Benediction…The final evidence of the relationship of the village of Fatima to the Moslems is the enthusiastic reception that the Moslems in Africa and India and elsewhere gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima… in Mozambique the Moslems, who were unconverted, became Christians as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected…

Missionaries in the future will, more and more, see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure they preach Our Lady of Fatima.584

In  the  21st    century,  Giuseppe  De  Carli  wrote  the following related to Islam and Fatima:

The Shiites believe that the Fatima shrine belongs, by right, to Muslims, and that Catholics have stolen it from their rightful owners. They argue that if a Lady dressed in shining white appeared there, then it’s because she had a message for the Muslims, not for Christians.

Ali Ağca, in his megalomania thought he had a mission from God. Apparently, when John Paul II visited him at the Rebibbia prison in 1983, he asked the pontiff, “So who is Fatima for you?” Twice now I have done on-the-scene reporting from Fatima and I have spotted Arabs who seemed to want to remain incognito…Fatima has a religious and political significance.594

So, some Muslims, at least, believe that the messages for Fatima were apparently different than those publicly revealed, that Fatima is for them, and any message for Fatima has to do with Islam.

Notice also from Priest L.J. Cizik:

It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima’s Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems.

On December 27, 1983, Ali Ağca (the man who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II) referred to Muhammad's daughter as the goddess of the Fatima apparitions.

Eastern Signs and Faiths

While “Mary” is known throughout the Middle East and West, she is less known, though revered by some like a goddess, in Eastern religions:

Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and other pilgrims regularly worship at famous Roman Catholic shrines to the Virgin Mary such as Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal...Many venerate her like one of their own goddesses...601

Archbishop Sheen also wrote:

At Patna, the Brahman Hindu governor of the province visited the church and prayed before the statue of Our Lady. In one tiny village of Kesra Mec, more than twenty-four thousand people came to see the statue.598

Some trace the striking similarities between Mary and especially the White Clad Kuan Yin back to the historical influence of Christians coming to China in the early 600’s… At the time the Chinese were longing for the divine feminine, and Chinese Buddhism needed someone who could compete with the powerful Taoist goddesses. 608

Thus it is clear that the idea of female apparitions appearing exists in at least one Eastern faith. Some believe that Kuan Yin was a male now with the outward appearance of a female609 (perhaps Satan may appear like “her,” in Revelation 13:4) and that her visits may be related to visitors in China in the 600s.

Kuan Yin is also known as the “Goddess of Mercy” and is sometimes called Guan Yin.610  A few of the pictures I have seen of her show her riding a serpentine beast in the water, which brings up a tie to Revelation 17:1-3. Various paintings and statues I have seen of Kuan Yin remind me of Marion ones, including the frequent use of a type of halo and a crown, the style of dress, as well as sometimes being shown as a Madonna with child. Hence, this may be a reason that the Chinese might be inclined to pay attention to a future “Marian” apparition.   Centuries-old Chinese prophecies suggest that the Chinese may end up paying attention to Western religious leaders in the end time.

The Fatima Crusader reported:

October 2003, when Rector Guerra held an interfaith Congress at Fatima…the heretical Father Jacques Dupuis said…that all religions — Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist — are positively willed by God and these religions are all part of the “Kingdom of God.”615

I would agree that those statements are heretical. Some with “New-Age” tendencies have felt that despite “some back-pedaling from Vatican spokespeople” related to similar statements from Rector Guerra, the Church of Rome is using Fatima to attract followers of “the Goddess” they believe is Diana/Artemis/Isis/Asherah.616     This would shock many Catholics—Asherah is specifically condemned in the Bible (1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 21:7; 23:4; 2 Chronicles 15:16, NJB).  Since I do not believe that “goddesses” come from God, it would be wise to consider that any goddess appearances, if real, were demonic in origin (cf. Revelation 13:4; Isaiah 47).

Eastern Orthodox Concerns

The following was written over a decade ago by a member of the Orthodox Church and is warning people that false apparitions claiming to be Mary will lead to people to Antichrist:

"Mother goddesses" known in the ancient world were not just confined to the Near East and Mediterranean but are universal. The Kogi Indians, among whom we lived in Columbia, worship a spirit called Nabuba, the "Ancient Mother." When Roman Catholics missionaries attempted to evangelize the Kogi int he last century, they used a not-uncommon strategy for drawing pagan peoples into Rome's fold: rather than explaining the differences between the pagan mysthology and Christian truth, they found "equivalences," Christ, under this syncretistic view, corresponds to the Kogi Sejukukui (a trickster god who faked his own death by hiding in a cave), while Nabuba is said to be the Virgin Mary. This confusion has led the Kogis to call their pagan temples "cansamaria," a corruption of "casa de Maria" (house of Mary).

Given these Roman Catholic "evangelistic methods" of more than a century ago, it is it any wonder that contemporary "apparitions" of Mary are invariably accompanied by ecumenistic messages promoting the idea that all religions are equally valid and Orthodox Christianity is but one "path" among many? A recent issue of Orthodox Tradition (1966) contains the account of Matushka (wife of a Russian Orthodox priest) Katherine Swanson's trip to Medjugorje, Croatia, to investigate the most famous of the recent cases of apparitions of Mary in the Roman Catholic world. In it she recounts a telling episode:

Our guide took our group for an audience with the "seers." During this audience, a pilgrim asked one of the children the following questions: "Does the Virgin say that the Catholic Church is the true church?" The response given by the child provides clear evidence of the ecumenical content and religious relativism which, oddly enough, increasingly mark the "revelations" at Medjugorje: "Our Blessed Mother says that all religions are equally pleasing to God."

The Life magazine article, then, is yet another contribution to this line of thought. Given the idea that all paths are equally valid, then all "Marys" are equally valid, too. The author describes several of the Marys of our times: Miearculous Mary (such as at Medjugorje), Mediator Mary (Who, as the author quotes Fr. Andrew Greeley saying, lets people into Heaven through the "back door"), (Editors notes: the Orthodox Church of course never taught about the "back door", and of course one only prays that this is a matter of a figure of speech, but let us not dwell on the "back door", but the gates of Paradise, the Kingdom of our God). Mediator Mary of the feminists, and Mother Mary. This last one, Mother Mary, is the role which the author considers the most appealing to non-Catholics: "The emotional need for her is so irresistible to a troubled world that people without an obvious link to the Virgin are being drawn to her. It is known that Muslins revere Mary as a pure and holy saint...Interdenominational Marian prayer groups are springing up throughout the world. Many Protestants, even some who still reject notions of a supernatural Virgin, miss Mary."

To which Mary are Muslims and Protestants being drawn? The Protestant Reformation rejected the distorted view of Mary which had developed in the West since the Schism of 1054, and which would ultimately result in the Roman Church's proclamation of their dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But Protestantism did not just reject the Western view of Mary; it ignored Her altogether, in effect denying Her role in the Incarnation and, consequently, the part She plays in our salvation. As Rome began to see her more and more as a "goddess," a fourth Hypostasis of the Trinity, as it were, the Protestants reacted by down playing Her position and refusing to honor Her at all, this in spite of the Gospel words:"All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed."

Today, as heterodox Christians become more and more ecumenist and work toward creating a "One World Church," the search has begun for a Mary of universal recognition, one who will appeal not only to those who bear the name Christian, but apparently to Muslims and others as well, just as attempts are likewise being made to identify the "new Christ" with the Muslim concept of their coming Mahdi and with the Messiah still awaited by the Jews. This, of course, will be no Christ at all but the antichrist.

(Jackson P. ORTHODOX LIFE., No. I, 1997., Brotherhood of Saint Job of Pochaev at Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. pp. 18-22.  http://fr-d-serfes.org/orthodox/theotokos.htm viewed 05/11/09)

Notice what Bishop Kennedy of the Celtic Orthodox Church wrote:

The great deceiver of Fatima promises salvation to those who embrace devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary… We can be very certain that God did not send Mary to earth to change God's eternal plan of salvation. It is just this kind of deceit that leads to other false statements about Mary; Mediatrix of all graces etc. The devil's deceit is felt far and wide within the Church as is evidenced in the number of well meaning but deceived souls proclaiming Mary is Mediatrix of all graces. How would have such a statement sounded to the Apostles? This salvation we enjoy is from God in Christ; “The man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as ransom for all". (1 Timothy 2:1, 3-6 NAB)… We should STOP THE DEVIL in his tracks and proclaim the vision of Fatima to be a fraud, a work of the devil and an abomination to God, Mary and to the Church. (Kennedy BJ, Bishop. The Fatima Affair. HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH / MONASTERY. Toledo, Ohio. http:// www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/fatima.html viewed 05/17/12 )

In the 21st century, various Catholics hope that Marian apparitions, etc. will be factors that will lead to ecumenical unity, sometimes preceded by what is called 'inter-religious dialogue':

"Mother Mary is revered with great devotion by the Indian community as a mother and a spiritual figure of maternal protection,  said Friar Jayaseellan Pitchaimuthu OFM, head of the Indian Chaplaincy in Holy Land. She is acknowledged as the "protector and patroness" of the Indian Chaplaincy in Holy Land because she is a "model  for the migrants, he told CNA.

The friar explained that the Marian feast day is particularly important in the Indian context because of its relation to other faiths.

Members of other religions, including Hindus and Muslims, "regard Marian devotions in esteem," he said. Thousands of devotees "both Catholics and non-Catholics" flock every week to the Marian apparition site at Velankanni, near Chennai in South India, and other shines that have recorded various miracles, he said. In this way, the friar explained, "Marian devotion also leads to a platform for inter-religious dialogue." (Gonzales AA. Indian migrants in Holy Land prepare for Marian feast. (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/indian-migrants-in-holy-land-prepare-for-marian-feast)

This is dangerous!

The Apostle Paul warned that even someone appeared as an angel from heaven, if that representative tried to change the gospel, he/she should not be listened to, but should be cursed:

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. (Galatians 1:8, Douay-Rheims)

Many Marian apparitions have preached a gospel different than what the Apostle Paul and other real Christians taught, and putting Mary as one to turn to for salvation is also a false gospel.

The reality is that it is likely that false apparitions, claiming to be "Mary" may be among the signs and lying wonders that the Bible warns are coming (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

For even more information on Mary and Catholic teachings on the rise of an anti-pope/Anti-Christ, please check out the book Fatima Shock!

The Lady of Fatima Did NOT Look Like the Statues Suggest

Did the Lady of Fatima look like the statues that are sold at Fatima, like the one in the little chapel there?

No.

Here is some of what Lúcia herself wrote about what they saw on May 13, 1917:

…we beheld a Lady all dressed in white…She… radiated a light…We stopped, astounded before the Apparition.22

She also wrote that it sometimes held a ball (not a heart) in her hands.23

Here is some of what the Parish Priest of Fatima, Manuel Marques Ferreira, wrote in 1917 that the children reported about the apparition:

The clothing was a white mantle, which fell from the head to below the skirt, which was golden from the waist to below the strings...The skirt was all white and gold… [and] fell only to the knees; the coat was white…no shoes, but white socks with no gold; about the neck there was a gold chain with a pointed medallion.24

This skirt information came as a shock to me as I was unaware of it prior to late 2010. Later I learned that in the late 19th  century, some wealthy people wore “Diana” costumes which featured a “short skirt” (Diana is often historically featured that way25) along with a covering white tunic with gold spots.26 This seemed remarkably similar to what the children claim to have seen in the early 20th century. A poem from the third century said Diana wore “half-boots. Her cloak is woven with gold thread,” while at least two mosaics from that period show her wearing a “short chiton” (a short tunic/skirt), and one has a cloak that goes over her head while a tapestry shows “that the ends of her cloak flutter on either side of her.”27

One reason the Fatima skirt report is not well known is that Priest Ferreira’s report and similar documents were not widely released until 1992, 75 years later. In 1917 Portugal, not even “ladies of the night” wore such skirts as they would have been considered to be scandalously provocative.28

Portuguese researchers Dr. Joaquim Fernandes (Professor of History at the University of Fernando Pessoa in Porto, Portugal) and Fina D’Armada speculated that the reason that the “skirt” information was not released until 1992 (some claim there was also an earlier release) was that because by then much of the world would not find such descriptions of female apparel scandalous, 29 yet nearly all of the pictures or statues allegedly of Mary of the Bible rarely show her wearing anything shorter than a dress down to the top of her feet.

Assumption and More Connections to the Goddess Diana

Perhaps it should be noted that the connection of the Lady of Fatima to Diana is more than merely the short skirt.  Diana is usually “represented as a beautiful young woman,”30  , and was known as the “revered virgin”31  and "the Lady Artemis”32 (also as “the virgin”33 or “the Lady of Ephesus”34). There are suspected connections between her and how many people view Mary.35   For example, “Diana... was called the Mother of the World“36 as was Mary.37

Researcher E.C. Brewer claimed that the ancient Ephesians’ views toward the image of Diana that allegedly fell  from  heaven  (Acts  19:35-36)  were  similar  to  how many in Avignonet, France reportedly viewed the arrival of a particular Marian image in 1283.38    The image was claimed to have arrived from heaven in order, apparently to support a Marian heresy and drive out those who had a more biblically appropriate view of Mary’s role.39    Miriam Lambouras, an Eastern Orthodox writer, also reported that there seemed to be a connection between the goddess Diana and what was seen in Fatima.40   The arrival of images and/ or ladies “from heaven“ had to be handled cautiously, as such arrivals are often demonically-inspired.

Some believe that the reason that August 15th was chosen as the day for the feast of the “Assumption of Mary” is that it was related to a similar festival for Diana.41    The Catholic

Encyclopedia suggests questionable circumstances:

Thus, it is known that this dogma originated from false sources.  It was not officially adopted as Catholic dogma until 1950.43  Despite these facts, this teaching is believed by some to have caused the greatest ecumenical advancement ever for the Church of Rome.44   Yet, both the Bible in the 1st century (John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54), and those like Saint Polycarp of Smyrna in the second century,45 taught that Christians were awaiting the resurrection, not that some would be prematurely resurrected.

In the fourth century, the Catholic apologist Arnobius condemned Diana for having “half-covered thighs,”46 which the Lady of Fatima could have displayed if she walked, sat, or any wind blew.  In 906 A.D., Regino of Prüm wrote that certain women left the Catholic faith, “being seduced by the illusions and phantasms of demons” involving “the pagan goddess Diana.”47   The Catholic saint Augustine specifically referred to Diana as one of several “false and lying deities.“48    It would seem that apparitions that resemble Diana should be suspect to all Christians who agree with Augustine on that point.

While there are differences in appearance of Diana of Ephesus (who the Apostle Paul had problems because of in Acts 19:28-36) and her manifestation as Diana the huntress, there are clothed ancient representations of both of them with a short skirt, and one with a cape.

One cannot help but wonder why a claimed successor to the apostles would send a short-skirted pagan goddess as a gift.  Yet, Pope Paul did so in 1556.  Women dressed like Diana the Huntress would not have been allowed at proper Catholic functions in the 16th century.

Of course, Diana the huntress is often featured carrying a bow.51   And while the Lady of Fatima apparently did not display a bow, she could perhaps be considered one, like the Antichrist in Revelation 6:2 (who is shown in vision with a bow), who will try to conquer through messages that resemble parts of Christianity, but are improperly changed (cf. Galatians 1:6-8).
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a historical figure, not a mythological or demonic figure like the goddess Diana.52

The “Lady” that appeared in Fatima was not Mary.

Short Skirt Confirmed by Jacinta

In 1917, the Catholic priest and investigator Canon Manuel Nunes Formigão interviewed the three Fatima children.53   Here is some of what he wrote:

Jacinta confirms that Our Lady’s dress fell only to the knees… Our Lady obviously could not have appeared other than dressed with the utmost decency and modesty…{This} constitutes a serious problem, opposing the very validity of the Apparition, giving rise in the spirit to the dread that this whole affair is a mystification, prepared by the Prince of Darkness.54

Contra factum non argumentum est is a Latin principle of debate, stating there is no valid argument against a fact. It is an important principle, as sometimes logic may result in incorrect conclusion. Many WANT to believe that Jesus' mother Mary showed up at Fatima, but she could not have.

In order to believe Fatima was from God, you must believe that:

• The investigative priests, including Canon Formigão (who believed in Fatima) lied about what the three children saw.
• Jesus' mother Mary came to ask for glory for herself
• Salvation comes from other than Jesus alone
• Jesus' mother Mary wanted children to inflict suffering on themselves.
  

There is more, but the reality is that to believe that Jesus' mother Mary appeared, one must believe against the Bible. One would must accept an argument against facts.

Now, Fatima believers will tell you that the following are also facts:

• A female apparition appeared once per month from May 13 to October 13, 1917 and were only seen by three children.
• The apparition had messages, some of which were later written down and partially considered to have been fulfilled.
• That some people who visited the site(s) of the visits reported healings.
• That something happened in the sky on October 13, 1917 as predicted.

Now most of those are facts.

But NONE of those facts must lead to the conclusion that Jesus' mother Mary appeared at Fatima.

The reality is that all did not believe after the 'miracle of the sun.'

Something happened, but their is NO PROOF it was from God.

Furthermore, consider that, for decade, the popes had real problems with Lucia and Fatima.

Joaquim Fernandes and Fina D’Armada wrote related to the short skirt:

It could be said that this description of the Being, finally revealed in 1992, is the real secret of Fatima.

If more people knew the truth about this they may have viewed Fatima as something not from God.

And what about the prediction? Consider the following:

1 'Whatever I am now commanding you, you must keep and observe, adding nothing to it, taking nothing away. 2 'If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, offering you some sign or wonder, 3 and the sign or wonder comes about; and if he then says to you, "Let us follow other gods (hitherto unknown to you) and serve them," 4 you must not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer's dreams. Yahweh your God is testing you to know if you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4, NJB).

The message of Fatima was a false one about a false salvation. It was not the original biblical faith. Therefore, no Christian should believe it was from God.

Also, none of the Marianism we see today was practiced by Jesus or His apostles.

Not the Original Faith

“Traditional” Catholics would also do well to consider that the type of veneration of Mary that many Catholics now participate in is absent from the Holy Bible, it is also not found in the earliest traditions of the church either. The Catholic Encyclopedia itself admits:

Devotion to Our Blessed Lady…is not contained; at least explicitly in the earlier forms of the Apostles’ Creed…we do not meet with any clear traces of the cultus of the Blessed Virgin in the first Christian centuries.261

The reason that there are no clear traces of the “cultus” associated with Mary is because it was not an apostolic tradition nor from the Bible.

Notice what Saint Jude urged Christians:

3...I was under a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3, DRB)

Marian dogmas (other than the virgin birth) and Marian devotion were absolutely not part of the original apostolic faith that the saints were given.  The true Christian faith was not to be changed by heresies often called innovations.

Early Christians did NOT venerate Jesus' mother Mary. None had statues of her either (see What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons?)

Furthermore, history shows that, starting in the third century, with Gregory the Wonder Worker, Marian apparitions became known. They, and other apparitions/visions, helped conquer first Asia Minor, then other parts of the old Roman Empire. Appariations affected Europe(see Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions). A Marian apparition has been 'credited' in Russia accepting idols and icons (see Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future). Also, Marian apparitions were involved in the turning much of Latin America Roman Catholic (see The 'Lady' of Guadalupe: Any Future Ramifications?).

Do not fall for false apparitions"lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11, NKJV).

Marian apparitions have been part of Satan's devices throughout history. Do not be ignorant of them nor believe that they are from God.

More Scriptures and the Lady of Kingdoms

The Bible warns of a “virgin” that uses enchantments who is also called the Lady of Kingdoms:

1 Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called delicate and tender…4 Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms. 6 I was angry with my people, I have polluted my inheritance, and have given them into thy bend: thou hast shown no mercy to them: upon the ancient thou hast laid thy yoke exceeding heavy.

Mary is NOT the Answer

The answer to the problems facing humanity is repentance, and ultimately the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

Yet, notice a false claim by a Roman Catholic

Expect victory when you call on the Holy Name of Mary

By Donal Anthony Foley –

The name of Mary is holy because it was and is the name of the Mother of God, the woman chosen to become the Mother of Christ. And since this indicates her personal holiness then likewise her very name is holy, in the same way that the name Jesus is holy.

October, the month of the Rosary, and Oct. 13 sees the 100th anniversary of the final apparition at Fatima and of the miracle of the Sun. As the Fatima centenary year draws to a close, let’s renew our resolution to pray the Rosary every day with fervor, and so constantly call on the Holy name of Mary. https://wafusa.org/expect-victory-when-you-call-on-the-holy-name-of-mary/

The above is blasphemous.

The Bible teaches that "holy and awesome his name" (Psalm 111:9, NJB). Not Mary's.

The #105 edition of the Fatima Crusader put out by The Fatima Center had the following from its leader Priest Nicholas Gruner (bolding in source):

I was encouraged that in the former Archdiocese of our new Pope there exists a sanctuary and two parishes dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is especially practised on the first Saturday of every month. So the words and requests of Our Lady of Fatima would not be foreign to him.

The other thing I had in my background was a prophecy from Antonio Ruffini, who has a prophetic gift. He told me in January, 1990 that this Pope – he didn’t name him – but he just said “the successor of the successor of John Paul II would be the one to do the consecration.” If Ruffini is not mistaken, then it’s a good sign. We may finally have a Pope who is going to do the consecration of Russia. Prudently though, we have to wait and see whether or not Ruffini completely understood whatever message he got on that.

100 years of Fátima, an economic miracle

Pope Francis will be in Fátima at the weekend, Portugal’s only pilgrimage site. The Virgin Mary was apparently sighted here 100 years ago, and this visit marks the anniversary. Fátima’s tourism industry is booming, with 7 million visitors in the past year. It’s the economic driving force behind the entire region. 05/11/17 http://www.dw.com/en/100-years-of-f%C3%A1tima-an-economic-miracle/av-38793752

Having visited Fatima, it is and has been a major reason for tourism in Portugal and especially the region it is in. This is one reason why it is hard to find books in Fatima that tell the full truth about it (and my wife and I searched all the book stores we could find there about it–and they all sold pro-apparition books, and none we found sold books warning against believing it). While I agree that something appeared there, what appeared was NOT Jesus’ mother Mary nor was it sent by God.

Consider the Bible and Facts

The 'Lady' at Fatima:

1. Did not refer to herself as Mary.
2. Did not refer worship to Jesus.
3. Referred to the Lady of the Rosary.
4. Wanted a chapel built for her glory.
5. Wore a short skirt.
6. Was not dressed in a properly modest manner for the time and culture.
7. Promoted a false gospel of salvation.

Even if the apparition possibly later called herself Mary, was dressed appropriately, and referred worship to Jesus, certain aspects of the Fatima “messages” opposed scripture.

What showed up at Fatima was NOT Jesus' mother Mary. That is an incontrovertable fact.

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:14-15)

Notice that sorcerers and those who love and practice lies are not allowed into the city of the Kingdom of God.

Those who DO HIS COMMANDMENTS, not those who accept false ways of salvation or believe in lies, are the ones that make it.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7, NKJV)

7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)

Goddess worship is a form of having "pleasure in unrighteousness."

Jesus' mother Mary did not appear at Fatima.

Do not let 'the miracle of the sun' or other signs and lying wonders turn you to a false gospel. Do not consider that prayer before a statue, brown scapulars, or rosaries can save you.

While Christians should consider that Jesus' mother Mary was blessed (Luke 1:48), they should not look to her for salvation.

Jesus, not Mary, is the only name under heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:10-12)!

Here is a link to a related sermon: Fatima and the ‘Miracle of the Sun’.

Back to home page