Mary, the Mother of God appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal six times, every 13th of the month, from May 1917 through October 1917. October 13th this year marks the 100th anniversary of the last of the Fatima apparitions of Mary. To commemorate this significant anniversary, the Church has asked us to join in prayer and learning as we unite with Mary, as she draws us ever closer to her son, Jesus.
In October of 2013 in his first year as Pope, Pope Francis consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, asking Mary to help us “revive and grow” in our faith. He asked Mary to welcome the consecration with the benevolence and love of a Mother, as he announced: Mary, “guard our lives in your arms. Bless and strengthen every desire for goodness; revive and grow (our) faith; sustain and illuminate (our) hope; arouse and enliven (our) charity; guide all of us on the path of holiness.” In a special way, Pope Francis lifted up to Mary the children of the world, the poor, the excluded, and the suffering. As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fatima this month, Bishop Joseph Kopacz consecrates our Diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He officiated at a consecration mass last Sunday at the Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle in Jackson. This weekend, he asks all of us pastors to have prayers of consecration in our individual parishes, uniting all of the parishes in our large diocese in this sacred consecration to Mary. With our world becoming more secular, with American society often turning toward anger, violence, and intolerance, a conversion and a change of heart with the help of our Blessed Mother is greatly needed.
Our readings today tell us about a great feast that God is preparing for us, symboling our enteral life with him. From the prophet Isaiah, we hear a vision of a great banquet of rich food and the best wines, a vision that foreshadows the heavenly banquet that we will have when we unite with God after we end our lives here on earth. At this banquet, God will wipe away our tears and will destroy death forever by giving us everlasting life. I think that all of us can relate to this message and this wonderful banquet because feasts and banquets are so integral a part of our celebrations and gatherings. Through our consecration to Mary, she will help us in our preparation for the banquet of eternal life.
As we hear about banquets and feasts today, we cannot forget the reality of our world: a recent mass shooting in Las Vegas that destroyed many innocent lives, hurricanes that have caused terrible destruction here in the United States and in the Caribbean, a tense standoff with North Korea over their missile launches and their development of nuclear weapons, and a lot of big issues our society is facing in a very divided political landscape. God assures us he is with us today with assurances of our eternal life with him. Isaiah provided this image to Israel in the midst of many people turning away from their faith in the years before their exile in Babylon. Likewise, the original message of Fatima in 1917 occurred with more than a year left in the first Word War, in a time of terrible destruction and persecution. Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal to guide us to prayer and penance so that our hearts would be purified, so that peace could be received by humanity. Mary’s Immaculate Heart give us a message of interior conversion and a change of heart that has been emphasized by Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. With Mary as a model of a life totally consecrated to God of a pure heart open to the call and grace of God, we have no better example of faith.
As we hear about banquets and feasts today, we cannot forget the reality of our world: a recent mass shooting in Las Vegas that destroyed many innocent lives, hurricanes that have caused terrible destruction here in the United States and in the Caribbean, a tense standoff with North Korea over their missile launches and their development of nuclear weapons, and a lot of big issues our society is facing in a very divided political landscape. God assures us he is with us today with assurances of our eternal life with him. Isaiah provided this image to Israel in the midst of many people turning away from their faith in the years before their exile in Babylon. Likewise, the original message of Fatima in 1917 occurred with more than a year left in the first Word War, in a time of terrible destruction and persecution. Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal to guide us to prayer and penance so that our hearts would be purified, so that peace could be received by humanity. Mary’s Immaculate Heart give us a message of interior conversion and a change of heart that has been emphasized by Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. With Mary as a model of a life totally consecrated to God of a pure heart open to the call and grace of God, we have no better example of faith.
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