Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

"Hallo Mary, full of grace.........."

                                       

There is a particular type of academic, or pseudo academic, who appears to place more importance on the political correctness of the spiritual life than in, say, piety or reverence or, even, prayer.

Now, as most of you will know, I am untainted by the Novus Ordo, I only attend, if necessary, at funerals or weddings (more funerals these days).

And the high jinxes of the congregation and, very often, the priest, leave me feeling that my purpose in life has ended and the world has finally gone round the twist.

A few weeks ago, at the candlelight procession in Fatima, the Rosary was recited as normal.

Just as at Lourdes, different nationalities took it in turns to say the decades.

First we had the Portuguese version, (naturally), then the French, Spanish and so on until it was Britain's turn.

I have often wondered what is meant by 'estuarial English', now I know.

The female's voice was distinctly the wrong end of the Thames Valley, not improved by the fact that she appeared to have a clothes peg on the end of her nose.

But worse was to come. She recited the Hail Marys in the fashion of the day.

No 'Thys' or 'Thous'......it went something like this:-

"Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus"

Perhaps that is how everyone says the Rosary these days; but it grated, sounding vile and worldly and it has led me into researching more into the sin of inclusivity that seems to have permeated HMC over the past 25 years in particular.

This may seem trivial but, as Father Baker of Downham Market once said about the post V2 changes: "The Church has been put in a boiler suit".

And saying the 'Hail Mary' in this fashion is just another example of pc stupidity, reducing what should be holy to street level.

In my researches I have come up with some interesting findings......more, much more on the inclusive language agenda that is being shoved down the throats of the gullible Catholic; but that is something thee will have to wait for.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

In the presence of a living saint

We have spent the last four days with a group of pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

It has been a profound and uplifting experience, not least because our group of 16 people was led by a venerable priest, Father Peter Lessiter.

Unable to move, Fr Lessiter celebrates the Mass with great humility and devotion

The pilgrimage itself was very demanding in terms of having a strict programme of devotions at various times and venues throughout the Shrine but, if I tell you that Father Lessiter, wheelchair bound,  was at the helm during those four days, despite being seventy nine years of age and in his forty ninth year as a priest, you will have some small concept of the very great demands that were made on this, the most humble of men.

And then, if I tell you that Fr Lessiter is basically paralysed due to various illnesses you will appreciate the tremendous effort he made in order to provide the rigour and integrity to the group and to give honour to Our Lady of Fatima and her Divine Son.

Retirement is a word not recognised by Fr Lessiter; God called him to the priesthood and there he will remain until such time that God will call him again.

Not for him the two bedroomed bungalow in the suburbs and the leisurely life style of the average retired parish priest.

Father L maintains a spiritual and mental programme of activity that would put a 25 year old to shame.
 
A much loved and respected priest

And when people thank him for his witness and guidance his stock reply is:

"Don't thank me, thank Almighty God, He's the one who is deserving of praise; I am just His servant"

It is hard to imagine the daily struggle of an aged man who has lost 80% of body movement.

But Father Lessiter bears it all without complaint or any reduction of his immense good humour.

Watching him celebrate the Latin Mass, virtually immobile but for slight movements of the hands, is a humbling experience.

Every slight action takes an enormous effort of will; just standing at the altar must sap his energy considerably.

Yet he continues, unremittingly in his drive to save souls.

During his lifetime he has brought the Sacraments to many thousands of Catholics living a 'recusant' like existence prior to 2007.

He has also been on constant call, night and day to take the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to those in danger of death - anywhere in England and Wales.

And, most especially, he has been on call to minister the Last Rites to brother priests, many of whom, have turned to the traditional Faith on their deathbed.

It may take more than a hundred years for Fr Lessiter to receive the recognition he deserves but, I am confident that the day will come when he is canonised by Holy Mother Church.

Please remember him in your prayers, he has a gruelling and mentally draining period ahead of him and a difficult return journey to make.

Coincidentally, you may like to read Fr Ray Blake's post that touches on the subjects of retirement and evangelisation, you may read it HERE

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Coming soon...Fatima!

This May we shall journey on pilgrimage to Fatima.

                                           Sister Lucia of Fatima

I have some reservations which appear quite irrelevant and possibly also impolite to Our Lady.

First and foremost is the fact that I love Lourdes. I like the way one enters the domain with the entrance surrounded by trashy piety shops selling flashing statues of the saints and rosary beads made out of orange pips and, immediately, a different atmosphere surrounds you.

The air of piety increases as you approach the Grotto until, at last, you are there and praying close to where Bernadette prayed and to where the Mother of God appeared.

I feel at home in Lourdes; I like the way in which you can pray most of the day at the Shrine, take the baths, undertake the Stations of the Cross and then go out for a glass or two of wine and a simple meal.

And, then, afterwards you may go back and pray again. Fantastic!

Fatima is an unknown quantity. It has interested me from an early age for all the obvious reasons.

But there is something a little frightening about Fatima.
It is of our own parents or grandparents lifetime and it is also several notches higher than Lourdes on the warning scale.

Pray, repent and do penance - three words that resound in our minds, not least because the world does not pray, repent or do penance - quite the opposite, in fact.

The message of Our Lady of Lourdes was, the same but softer; at least to my ears.

By the time of the first Fatima visitation the world had been awakened to the potential of Communism and its errors and the First World War, with its hideous loss of life was drawing to a close.
Modernism was spreading its poison within the Church.

And now, who knows what is in store for a world that destroys life so casually and ignores the teachings of the Son of God made Man?

Today is the Feast of St Bernadette who died in 1879. An appropriate day (coincidentally) for this post.

We shall be in Fatima for May 13th and for the Papal dedication.

We shall be in the company of a priest who only celebrates the old Mass.

We shall pray for you all while we are there.

And, after we have prayed, no doubt, we shall go and have a glass or two of wine and a simple meal.

In the manner of all Catholic pilgrims.

O Mary conceived without sin
Pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Our Lady of Lourdes,
Pray for us.
St Bernadette,
Pray for us.


O my Jesus
Forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell,
and lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those in most need of thy mercy.
Our Lady of Fatima,
Pray for us.










Saturday, November 3, 2012

Most feared by Satan - The Black Madonna



On 15th June 2012, Poland's Czarna Madonna Icon (Black Madonna)  began its 'Ocean to Ocean' Pro Life Pilgrimage from the Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok with the final destination being Fatima and the Atlantic Ocean.

En route it will have visited vast swathes of Eastern Europe and many countries.

Here is how the organisers describe the pilgrimage:


On 15 June 2012 an icon of the Mother of God began its pilgrimage from the Pacific Ocean at Vladivostok in Russia to the Atlantic Ocean at Fatima in Portugal. The icon itself is a very beautiful replica of the Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa. The pilgrimage which has come to be known as Ocean to Ocean is an act of entrustment to Our Blessed Lady of the Civilisation of Life and Love which is now under massive global attack by the Culture of Death.
Ocean to Ocean combines a deeply spiritual pilgrimage with Our Lady with the promotion of the pro-life and pro-family teachings of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. It has received the blessing of high-ranking priests of the Orthodox Church in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and Poland. In the West it has the support of many Catholic Bishops and priests and pro-life and pro-family groups.

At present it is in Britain, Scotland and England only, sadly, it will not visit Wales.
It would have been very fitting if the icon had been taken to the National Shrine of Wales, Our Lady of the Taper in Cardigan, equal to England's Walsingham Shrine to Our Lady.
The great thing is that Satan and his demons have a particular fear of the Black Madonna so we may ask, especially during the course of this visit,  for Our Blessed Mother's protection in the future.
The Pilgrimage website is HERE

Thursday, October 13, 2011

On this great feast of Fatima....

'The Miracle of the Sun'



Make a note of this prayer

If you have a need in this life, if you have a problem concerning yourself or others, if you have a yearning for the abolition of the abortion laws, a desire for world peace, if you are sick or if your children have abandoned the faith, if your soul is in mortal danger – say this prayer – and say it for Thirty Days
Why?
Because it’s The Thirty Days Prayer to Our Lady.
My own Mother said this prayer every day of her adult life, so that all of her seven children would keep the faith…and they did!
Ever glorious and blessed Mary,
Queen of Virgins,
Mother of Mercy,
hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls,
through that sword of sorrow
which pierced thy tender heart
whilst thine only Son,
Christ Jesus, our Lord,
suffered death and ignominy on the cross;
through that filial tenderness
and pure love He had for thee,
grieving in thy grief,
whilst from His cross He recommended thee
to the care and protection
of His beloved disciple, St. John,
take pity,  I beseech thee,
on my poverty and necessities;
have compassion on my anxieties and cares;
assist and comfort me
in all my infirmities and miseries,
of every kind whatsoever.
Thou art the Mother of Mercies,
the sweet comforter
and only refuge of the needy and the orphan,
of the desolate and afflicted.
Cast, therefore,
an eye of pity on a miserable,
forlorn child of Eve,
and hear my prayer;
for since,
in just punishment of my sins,
I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils,
and oppressed with much anguish of spirit,
wither can I fly for more secure shelter,
O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
than under the wings of thy maternal protection?
Attend, therefore,
I beseech thee,
with an ear of pity and compassion,
to my humble and earnest request.
I ask it,
through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son;
Through that love and condescension wherewith
He embraced our nature, when,
in compliance with the divine Will,
thou gavest thy consent, and whom,
after the expiration of nine months
thou didst bring forth
from the chaste enclosure of thy womb,
to visit the world,
and bless it with His presence.
I ask it,
through that anguish of mind
wherewith thy beloved Son,
our dear Saviour,
was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives,
when He besought His eternal Father
to remove from Him, if possible,
the bitter chalice of His future passion.
I ask it,
through the threefold repetition
of His prayers in the garden,
whence afterwards,
with dolorous steps and mournful tears,
thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre
of His death and sufferings.
I ask it,
through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh,
occasioned by the cords and whips
wherewith He was bound and scourged,
when stripped of His seamless garment,
for which His executioners afterwards cast lots.
I ask it,
through the scoffs and ignominies
by which He was insulted;
the false accusations and unjust sentence
by which He was condemned to death,
and which He bore with heavenly patience.
I ask it,
through His bitter tears and bloody sweat;
His silence and resignation;
His sadness and grief of heart.
I ask it,
through the blood which trickled
from His royal and Sacred Head,
when struck with the sceptre of a reed
and pierced with His crown of thorns.
I ask it,
through the excruciating torments He suffered,
when His hands and feet were fastened
with gross nails to the tree of the cross.
I ask it,
through His vehement thirst,
and bitter potion of vinegar and gall.
I ask it,
through His dereliction on the cross
when He exclaimed,
"My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?"
I ask it,
through His mercy extended to the good thief,
and through His recommending
His precious soul and spirit
into the hands of His eternal Father
before He expired, saying, "It is consummated."
I ask it,
through the blood mixed with water,
which issued from His Sacred Side
when pierced with a lance,
and whence a flood of grace
and mercy has flowed to us.
I ask it,
through His immaculate life,
bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross,
at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions,
by the bursting of rocks,
rending of the veil of the Temple,
the earthquake,
and the darkness of the sun and moon.
I ask it,
through His descent into hell,
where He confronted the Saints
of the old law with His presence,
and led the captivity captive.
I ask it,
through His glorious victory over death,
when He arose again to life on the third day,
and through the joy
which His appearance for forty days after gave thee,
His blessed Mother,
His Apostles,
and the rest of His Disciples;
when in thine and their presence
He miraculously ascended into heaven.
I ask it,
through the grace of the Holy Spirit,
infused into the hearts of His Disciples,
when He descended upon them
in the form of fiery tongues,
and by which they were inspired with zeal
in the conversion of the world,
when they went to preach the gospel.
I ask it,
through the awful appearance of thy Son,
at the last dreadful day,
when He shall come to judge
the living and the dead,
and the world, by fire.
I ask it,
through the compassion He bore thee in His life,
and the unspeakable joy
thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven,
where thou art eternally absorbed
in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections.
O glorious and ever blessed Virgin!
comfort the heart of thy supplicant,
by obtaining for me,
(Mention your prayer intention here...)
And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour
doth honour thee as His beloved Mother,
to whom He refuses nothing,
because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour,
so let me speedily experience
the efficacy of thy powerful intercession,
according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection,
and His filial loving heart,
who mercifully granteth the requests
and complieth with the desires
of those that love and fear Him.
Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin,
beside the object of my present petition,
and whatever else I may stand in need of,
obtain for me also of thy dear Son,
our Lord and our God,
a lively faith,
firm hope,
perfect charity,
true contrition of heart,
unfeigned tears of compunction,
sincere confession,
condign satisfaction,
abstinence from sin,
love of God and my neighbour,
contempt of the world,
patience to suffer affronts
and ignominies, nay, even,
if necessary,
an opprobrious death itself,
for love of thy Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Obtain likewise for me,
O sacred Mother of God,
perseverance in good works,
performance of good resolutions,
mortification of self-will,
a pious conversation through life,
and, at my last moments,
strong and sincere repentance,
accompanied by such a lively
and attentive presence of mind,
as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament
of the Church worthily,
and die in thy friendship and favour.
Lastly, obtain through thy Son,
I beseech thee,
for the souls of my parents,
brethren,
relatives and benefactors,
both living and dead,
life everlasting,
from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift,
the Lord God Almighty,
to Whom be all power now and forever.
Amen.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

FATIMA AND THE SUN DANCES AGAIN

I have just come from speaking on the phone to an elderly priest friend who was in Fatima for this year's Feast of 13th May and the rest of the week. He had an amazing story to tell; at about 1.30pm the sun danced once more as it did back in 1917. In his words:
"It began to rotate and change colours so we saw all the colours of the rainbow. It lasted ten to fifteen minutes."

May 13th 1917
If I remember correctly, it was at 1.30pm on 13th May 1917 that the sun danced for the first time.....I am not sure on that timing but it was again witnessed by a crowd estimated to be many thousand strong.
The spectacle apparently began during prayers in thanksgiving for the Beatification of Bl Pope John Paul II (who believed that it was the hand of Our Lady of Fatima that deflected the assassins' bullet).
However, whilst I know that my priest friend is totally reliable I cannot find any credible reference to this happening on the internet.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Pray for Japan, pray for the world, Fatima and Akita - "live the Rosary"

A group of Catholic priests survived the Hiroshima bomb in 1945, living just metres from the epicentre which wiped out all buildings and people within a wide area. How did they survive? This clip tells a little of the story; they "lived Fatima" they "prayed the Rosary"
In 1973, a Japanese nun received Our Lady in a series of visions, the message of Fatima was repeated in Akita.  
 
 



This extract is from The Catholic Knight blog - link at the end.

Exactly what is the message of Fatima? For the average laymen it amounts to just three things....
  1. Repent of your sins.
  2. Believe the gospel.
  3. Pray the rosary.
It is essentially the same message given at Akita.


Our Lady of Akita

According to this prophecy at Akita, and many others from many places around the world, what Japan has just suffered will be magnified and spread throughout the world in the not-too-distant future. The people of Japan now bear a great burden, to repent of their sins, turn to Jesus Christ, and spread to the world the message of warning His mother gave to them in 1973. They MUST do this.  The message was given to them.  It is their burden to carry.  May God give them the strength to do just that and heal their nation.  May God give us all the strength to continue to pray the rosary and plead for His mercy.

Our Lady of Akita, pray for us.
St. Peter Baptist, martyr and patron of Japan, pray for us.
St. Francis Xavier, patron of Japan, pray for us.
St. Paul Miki, martyr, pray for us.
St. Anthony Dainan, martyr, pray for us.
St. Anthony Ishida, martyr, pray for us.
St. Francis Nagasaki, martyr, pray for us.
St. Francis of St. Bonaventure, martyr, pray for us.
St. Gabriel Jusuke, martyr, pray for us.
St. Gaius Francis, martyr, pray for us.
St. James Kisai, martyr, pray for us.
St. Joachim Sakachibara, martyr, pray for us.
St. John Kokumbuku, martyr, pray for us.
St. John Soan de Goto, martyr, pray for us.
St. Leonard Kimura, martyr, pray for us.
St. Leo Tanaka, martyr, pray for us.
St. Louis Ibachi, martyr, pray for us.
St. Louise of Omura, martyr, pray for us.
St. Matthias of Meako, martyr, pray for us.
St. Michael Kozaki, martyr, pray for us.
St. Paul Aybara, martyr, pray for us.
St. Peter Shukeshiko, martyr, pray for us.
St. Romanus Aybara, martyr, pray for us.
St. Thomas Danki, martyr, pray for us.
St. Thomas Kozaki, martyr, pray for us.
St. Vincent Kaun, martyr, pray for us.
Holy Martyrs of Japan, pray for us.

God our Father,
you guide everything in wisdom and love.
Accept the prayers we offer for the nation of Japan;
by the wisdom of their leaders and integrity of their citizens,
may their suffering be lessened,
may harmony and justice be restored
and may there be lasting prosperity and peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 Ends/....

It is a sad fact, that, after the Atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki in the August of 1945, the Japanese, naturally, developed a fear, even hatred of all things nuclear. Now we have the Sendai disaster with its nuclear overtones and we again have the voice of Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Akita ringing in our ears: "Pray, Do Penance, Repent"