The Miracle of the Sun

Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta

Dear Parishioners,

Each year October 13th marks the anniversary of the miracle of Fatima, Portugal.

Our Lady was reported to have appeared to three shepherd children, Jacinta (7), Francisco (9) and Lucia (10), once every month beginning on May 13, 1917 and ending on October 13, 1917.

On 13 May 1917, ten year old Lucia dos Santos and her younger cousins, siblings Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were tending sheep at a location known as the Cova da Iria near their home village of Fatima in Portugal. Lucia described seeing a woman "brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal ball filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun." Our Lady subsequently exhorted the children to do penance and to make sacrifices to save sinners. She also requested that the Holy Rosary be prayed daily—for world and personal peace—and that the Brown Scapular be worn. She asked that we pray for the conversion of Russia. (It should be noted that the beginnings of atheistic communism were starting to appear in Russia at the time.)

It was claimed that the Virgin Mary had promised a miracle for the last of her apparitions on October 13th, so that all would believe. What transpired became known as the "Miracle of the Sun." A crowd believed to be approximately 70,000 in number, including newspaper reporters and photographers, gathered at the Cova da Iria. The incessant rain had finally ceased and a thin layer of clouds cloaked the silver disc of the sun such that it could be looked upon without hurting the eyes. Lucia called out to the crowd to look at the sun. Sometime while Lucia was pointing towards the sun and claiming to have visions of various religious figures in the sky, it is believed that the sun appeared to change colors and to rotate like a fire wheel. Then it seemed as though the sun would crash down to earth. For some the sun appeared to fall from the sky before retreating, for others it seemed to “dance.”

An atheistic reporter commented on the event at the time: "One could see the immense multitude turn towards the sun, which appeared free from clouds and at its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. One might have thought an eclipse was taking place. But at that moment a great shout went up and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was Biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws - yes, the sun 'danced'!"

Many of the onlookers were terrified that the sun would crash down upon them. Then, as the sun returned to normal, each person in the crowd realized that they were completely dry despite being soaked from the rain just minutes before.

While the “Miracle of the Sun” was seen and experienced by so many, the miracle more importantly is certainly meant to draw attention to the message: prayer (especially the Holy Rosary), penance and conversion. It seems that Our Lady, as a most-loving spiritual mother of us all, tries to warn us and to lead humanity back to her Son, Jesus.

Perhaps you may want to read one of the many books about Fatima or watch one of the movies The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952) or the more recent release Fatima (2020) to become more familiar with the entire story.

In the meantime, please remember October is the month of the Holy Rosary and it is also Respect Life Month (from conception until natural death). Please try to pray the holy rosary every day as per Our Lady’s request!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

A "Diabolical Disorientation"

The Fatima Seers: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta

Dear Parishioners,

It was Sr. Lucia, the last living seer of Fatima, who was reported to have used the phrase "diabolical disorientation" between 1969 and 1971 concerning the chaotic situation in society (and the Church). Things were not headed in the right direction for decades, and she understood that there were/are certain diabolical forces behind it all. I certainly agree.

 

As it has played out over time in various cultures worldwide, the following are some of the ways I contend humanity/society has become ever-more disoriented:

• The denial of God to varying degrees (atheism, agnosticism, etc.)
• The ongoing acceptance of socialism (communism, Marxism) as a viable political option
• The emphasis on individual conscience (moral relativism) without understanding the necessity of the conscience being rightly formed
• Sexual freedom and license outside of the context of traditional marriage, fostered by a contraceptive mentality
• The ready acceptance of divorce and remarriage
• Abortion accepted and seen as a "woman's right"
• The transgender movement
• The deteriorating respect for human life at all stages as evidenced by abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, etc.  
• The cry for "gay rights" and so-called "gay marriage"
• Cultures fueled by addictions at staggering levels: alcohol, drugs, sexual (pornography), gambling, etc.

Moreover, Pope St. Paul VI wrote the following in 1972 regarding the Catholic Church itself:

. . . We would say that, through some mysterious crack—no, it’s not mysterious; through some crack, the smoke of Satan has entered the Church of God.  There is doubt, uncertainty, problems, unrest, dissatisfaction, confrontation.

I argue that this smoke of Satan is manifested in the following ways:

• The delusion of universal salvation without the necessity of lifestyle change/conversion (Somehow everybody goes to heaven)
• Downplaying or denying the necessity of the Catholic Church and baptism for salvation (religious relativism/indifferentism)
• Mass apostasy
• Ever-decreasing Mass attendance
• Ongoing abuses in the liturgy
• Loss of respect for and understanding of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament
• Priest sex scandals
• Lack of clarity in Church teaching and a departure from traditional dogma
• Confusing or weak/scandalous leadership
• The ongoing cry for women priests and abolition of celibacy

We, as a society and as a Church, have been headed over the  cliff and into the abyss for some time now.  However, I have never been without hope. God does indeed exist and there is always hope because of Him. And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age (Mt. 28: 20).  

I also believe we are in need of some type of Divine Adjustment to counter the chaotic situation we are encountering. I claim no supernatural insight into the manner of God's acting. Rather, I trust and continually work on my own conversion. Repent, and believe in the Gospel. I acknowledge the absolute necessity of trying to live and remain in the state of grace.  

My best advice is for everyone to strive untiringly to do the same.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Reparation on Five First Saturdays

 

Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary

Dear Parishioners,

For some time now I have been prayerfully considering again offering a public morning Mass on the first Saturday of the month. When I was sick and hospitalized more than a year ago, public Saturday morning Masses at our parish ceased allowing me some time to recuperate. With thanksgiving that I am now healthy and more determined than ever to accomplish whatever God desires, I sense some urgency and a necessity to encourage this perhaps unknown, forgotten or ignored devotion. Below is a brief history of the origin of the first Saturday devotion:

In the third of Her six apparitions at Fatima, Portugal in 1917, Our Lady promised to return to make a special request for the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. Eight years later, on December 10th, 1925, the eldest and only surviving visionary, Lucia dos Santos, was an eighteen-year-old postulant in a Dorothean convent in Pontevedra, Spain. Having returned to her cell that evening after supper, she suddenly saw Our Lady standing close by her, in the presence also of the Child Jesus, Who was standing on a little cloud.

At first Our Lady did not say anything. It was as if She could not speak, being overwhelmed with sorrow. She held Her Immaculate Heart in Her hand for Lucia to see, pierced all around by terrible thorns, and She placed Her other hand on Lucia’s shoulder, as if to communicate a most familiar and loving appeal. It seems almost as if, in anguish, She sought to lean for support on Lucy’s shoulder.

The Child Jesus spoke first, imploring: “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.”

Then Our Lady added: “Look, My daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, try to console Me, and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months shall [1.] confess, [2.] receive Holy Communion, [3.] recite five decades of the Rosary, and [4.] keep Me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me.”             (The Fatima Center)

Beginning this month, first Saturday Mass will be offered each subsequent month at 9 AM followed by a recitation of 5 decades of the Holy Rosary. The Sacrament of Penance (Confession), requested as part of the devotion, can be satisfied within 8 days (before or after). I encourage everyone to consider making the five consecutive first Saturday devotion sometime during 2023.

I had mentioned in a previous homily (January 1, 2023), the five first Saturdays correspond to the five kinds of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They are:

a. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception

b. Blasphemies against her virginity

c. Blasphemies against her divine maternity, at the same time the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all men

d. Instilling indifference, scorn and even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother in the hearts of children

e. Direct insults against her sacred images          (The Fatima Center)

I believe it is of utmost importance that we all take seriously the urgent pleading of Our Lady over the centuries, and especially at Fatima, that has called us to repentance and to turn back to Her Divine Son.

Remember the words of of Our Lady: “I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation . . .” all those who fulfill the requirements of this devotion.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Edward Namiotka