Mary, who appeared to those children, was herself a poor peasant woman, and little more than a child when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. She was one of these little ones, and so were the Apostles -- just fishermen. So too the prophets were common folk -- a dresser of sycamores.
The Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, delivered a homily involving the apparitions at Fatima on the occasion of the consecration of the Archdiocese of San Francisco to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. The text of the homily can be found here.
He writes early in the homily:
To be sure, in many ways there has been great progress over the past century: one thinks immediately of improvements in technology that have increased ease and speed of communication, commerce and travel; progress in the treatment and alleviation of physical and mental illness; progress in civil rights. Yet, there have also been horrendous setbacks in other areas, and even in those very areas where progress had been made. If we think about the century we are now concluding, does it not show itself to be one that in so many ways has been a living reflection of hell, one that on so many fronts has roundly mocked God?And:
What is happening to our world? In so many different ways, what was once unthinkable has become routine. The century since the Fatima apparitions now ending has mocked God, but God will not be mocked: not because He delights in wreaking vengeance on us, but because turning our backs on God only bounces back to us, leading to our own self-destruction.He recounts some of the horror of the intervening years and likens it to a hell on earth. He attributes this in part to our failure to heed the message of Fatima, and calls us to heed that message, and respond to the requests made by Our Lady.
He points to Mary, the Mother of God and our mother, cites the words of Pope St John Paul II, and then reminds us of the central part of the message of Fatima:
What did she ask us to do? It should come as no surprise, because it is the central part of her message wherever and whenever she appears: prayer, penance and adoration. And she was very clear at Fatima about the twofold purpose of this request: to save souls from hell, and to establish peace in the world.He concludes by turning again to Pope St John Paul II, this time his encyclical on the Eucharist, where the Pope quotes the words of St Thomas Aquinas:
Come then, good Shepherd, bread divine,
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us, still keep us thine;
So we may see thy glories shine
in fields of immortality.
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us, still keep us thine;
So we may see thy glories shine
in fields of immortality.
O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,
Our present food, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
With saints whose dwelling is with thee.
Our present food, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
With saints whose dwelling is with thee.
It is a wonderful homily, and I encourage you to take some time and read and reflect on it today.
