There is hardly a single person in the world who has not heard of Virgin Mary. From the first days after her dormition to this day, the Blessed Virgin Mary helps Christians. According to the Holy Scriptures, the Mother of God, appearing to the apostles on the third day after Her Dormition, told them: “Rejoice, I will be with you all the days.”
It is noted that apparition of the Virgin Mary most often coincide with some future catastrophes, wars and other large-scale disasters.
The Virgin Mary supposedly warns people of danger. Most often She appears in the form of a light female silhouette, as if woven from a haze. According to church scriptures, Jesus crucified on the cross entrusted His Mother to the care of John the Evangelist, his beloved disciple, and all humanity to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There is an opinion that the Mother of God does not appear to everyone, but only to those who deeply believe and listen to her advice. Of course, this Divine miracle, like all other miracles, is subject to criticism and disbelief by skeptics. But be that as it may, there are known cases when Divine help contributed to the salvation of people.
SENORA GUADELUPE
In Latin America, the most revered shrine is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. She is considered the patroness of both Americas and is called: “Our Lady Guadalupe.” It all started in December 1531, when 17-year-old Indian Juan Diego, walking to morning mass past Tepeyac Hill, heard someone singing from above.
Climbing the hill, the young man saw a young woman who looked more like his fellow tribesmen than a Spanish woman. The woman seemed to be inside a shining cloud. She introduced herself as the Mother of God. For four days in a row, the Mother of God appeared to Juan Diego, turning to the young man with a request that a church be built on this hill, where everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ.
However, the priests decided that the young man was simply fantasizing, because the Indians, as the Spaniards then believed, had no soul, which means that the Virgin Mary could not appear to them.
Then the Virgin Mary ordered the Indian to collect flowers on a rocky hill. The young man obeyed meekly, even though he knew very well that nothing grew there. And suddenly he saw a rose bush growing right on the stone. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak and take them to the bishop.” This time he will believe you."
When Juan Diego unrolled his cloak in front of the bishop, everyone present fell to their knees: the image of the Blessed Virgin was imprinted on the fabric of the cloak. After this, six million Indians converted to Christianity. Thus the baptism of Latin America took place.
"I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPT"
The small city of Lourdes, located in southwestern France, became widely famous in 1858 thanks to the 14-year-old girl Bernadette Soubirous. It was she who was honored to witness as many as 18 (!) apparitions of the Virgin Mary. In the cold February of 1858, Bernadette and other children were collecting branches for kindling in the grove.
To get to the deposits of branches, they had to ford a stream. When Bernadette came out to the other side, she heard a noise similar to the sound of the wind, and near the grotto that opened to her gaze she saw a lady in a white dress, at whose feet yellow roses were scattered. Surprisingly, no one else saw anything.
This time the girl did not dare talk to the stranger; she decided that it was the ghost of a recently deceased village resident. Despite her fear, she was drawn to the grotto, and she came there again and again. Now the girl understood that the Virgin Mary was appearing before her, asking her to pray for sinners. During one of her apparitions, the Mother of God gave Bernadette an instruction: “Go to the priests and say: I want a chapel to be built here.”
But the priests took the stories as empty fiction, and the girl as completely crazy. Only her confessor asked to know the woman’s name. And Our Lady answered: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” When the girl conveyed these words to him, the priest was amazed to the core.
Bernadette could not know that shortly before the events described, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the ministers themselves had previously used the expression “Sinless Conception.” And this meant that the girl really communicates with the Virgin Mary.
The Mother of God also showed Bernadette a miraculous source, to which millions of people subsequently began to flock. In the first year alone, five officially certified healings took place at this source. Bernadette later became a nun under the name Maria Bernarda and died at the age of 35. Already in 1933 she was canonized by the Catholic Church.
Before recognizing her as a saint, representatives of the Catholic Church opened the grave three times. Witnesses to the exhumation were not only priests, but also doctors and other respected members of society. And each time they were all convinced: the body of Bernadette Soubirous was not touched by decomposition. A temple was built at the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary, and Lourdes is now visited by about five million pilgrims every year.
FATIMA MIRACLE
Perhaps the most significant and famous series of apparitions of the Mother of God began in May 1917 in the Portuguese city of Fatima.
First, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children: Lucie, Jacinta and Francisco, who were playing in a field not far from their house. She asked if they were ready to become the chosen ones of the Lord in order to atone for the insults and blasphemies inflicted on the Mother of God. They enthusiastically agreed.
When leaving, she ordered the children to pray daily for peace and the salvation of sinners and ordered them to come to the meeting place on the thirteenth day of each month. The boys told their parents about everything, and they, in turn, told their neighbors. And already on the 13th of the next month, about 60 people accompanied the children.
It must be said that no one saw the appearance of the Mother of God except these three guys, nevertheless, every month there were more and more people on the field.
Pilgrims began to flock to Fatima from all over the world. Two days before October 13, all the roads leading to the city were clogged with carts and pedestrians. Waiting for the appearance of the Virgin Mary, people, and there were about 70 thousand of them, slept on the ground, despite the cold October rain that had been falling for three days.
Everyone was soaked to the skin. At noon, everyone present knelt down, despite the mud and puddles. Lucia, seeing the Mother of God, exclaimed: “Here she is!”, and everyone saw how the children were enveloped in a light white cloud. It rose up three times and fell again on the children.
Then eyewitnesses said that the rain suddenly stopped, the sun came out, but its appearance was strange: a disk surrounded by a shining crown, which you could look at without squinting.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the sun first spun like a huge fiery wheel, scattering multi-colored bright flashes in all directions, then it seemed to separate from the sky and began to spiral downwards, radiating heat. This sun dance lasted at least ten minutes and was visible many kilometers from Fatima.
When it was all over, people were surprised to find that their clothes were suddenly dry. This was the last appearance of the Mother of God to children.
The Virgin Mary left them three predictions, the last of which was revealed only recently. The first and second were made public by permission of Pope Pius XII in 1942. One spoke of an impending war that would claim millions of lives (apparently, the Second World War was meant). The second prophecy concerned Russia, which must devote its heart to the Virgin Mary so that peace and tranquility will replace the chaos in the country.
But the third message remained a sealed secret for a long time. Only in 2000 did Pope John Paul II lift the veil: it concerned an attempt on his life. Indeed, in 1981, John Paul II was shot by a Turkish terrorist.
But that's not all: presumably, the third message also contains information about the further tragic fate of the Catholic Church. It seems that church hierarchs prefer to hide it so as not to cause unrest among believers.
ON THE ROAD OF WAR
Immediately after the invasion of Hitler’s troops into the territory of the USSR, Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch took seclusion and retired to the dungeon in which the icon of the Mother of God was kept. Without food, water or sleep, he prayed for help for Russia.
Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: “Temples, monasteries, theological academies and seminaries should be opened throughout the country. Priests must be returned from the fronts and released from prisons. They must start serving. There is no way to surrender Leningrad! Let them take out the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God and carry it in a religious procession around the city, then not a single enemy will set foot on its holy land. A prayer service must be performed in front of the Kazan Icon in Moscow, then it must arrive in Stalingrad. The Kazan icon must go with the troops to the borders of Russia.”
Surprisingly, Stalin heeded these words. He promised Metropolitans Alexy and Sergius all assistance. The Icon of the Kazan Mother of God was taken out of the Vladimir Cathedral, it was carried in a religious procession around Leningrad, and the city survived.
According to some reports, the plane, controlled by Stalin’s personal pilot, flew around the defended Moscow with the miraculous Kazan image on board. Few people know that the Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service. Then the icon stood among our troops on the right bank of the Volga, and the Germans were unable to cross the river, no matter how hard they tried.
PHENOMENON IN CHERNOBYL
The rector of St. Elias Church Nikolai Yakushin says: “On a rainy spring evening in the sky over Chernobyl, many townspeople saw a female silhouette descending from the rain clouds in an extraordinary radiance. For a certain time, the rain completely subsided and there was an extraordinary silence. Witnesses of the phenomenon realized with fear that something especially important was happening concerning the city itself.
From the unclear silhouette, an image similar to the image of the Virgin Mary in the form of Oranta gradually became clearly visible.
The townspeople saw in the hands of the Mother of God a bunch of dry grass, which she dropped; the grass fell and scattered across the wet ground. In May, when everything everywhere begins to turn green, bloom and bloom, dried grass is practically not found.
And here on the ground there were large quantities of dry stems of grass called Chernobyl. At one time, the radiance moved to the St. Elias Church, and the Holy Virgin blessed God’s temple with both hands. The vision left as suddenly as it appeared.”
Then the appearance of the Virgin Mary was interpreted in its own way: supposedly the Mother of God blessed the temple, and dry grass most likely meant a lean year. Only 20 years later the meaning of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God became clear. She warned of impending danger, because it was no coincidence that she dropped a bunch of dry grass, called Chernobyl, or wormwood, on the city of the same name.
“The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of this star is “wormwood,” and the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter” (Revelation of St. John the Theologian 8:10-11).
The life of Saint Andrew describes the vision that opened to him: he was shown the beauties of paradise, but, not seeing the Mother of God anywhere, he asked his mysterious companion: “Where is She?” In response I heard: “She walks the earth and collects the tears of those who cry.” This is how the Blessed Virgin Mary walks to this hour and will always walk the earth, collecting the tears of the suffering.
One of the military men who took part in the assault on Konigsberg in 1944 said: “When the front commander arrived, there were priests with him with an icon of the Mother of God. After serving the prayer service, they calmly walked towards the front line. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the shooting from the German side stopped, and our troops began the assault.
The incredible happened: the Germans died in the thousands and thousands surrendered! The captured Germans later said in one voice: “Before the Russian assault began, Madonna appeared in the sky, which was visible to the entire German army. At this time, absolutely everyone’s weapon failed - they could not fire a single shot.”
Everyone remembers the tragedy in Budennovsk in 1995, when Basayev’s gang captured the staff and patients of the central city hospital. During those terrible days, local residents several times saw in the sky the image of a grieving woman, dressed in dark clothes and standing at a cross formed by clouds.
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary occurred both before the terrorist attack itself and after the militants left the city. Many are still convinced that some of the terrorists were demoralized by Her appearance and this was the decisive moment for the release of the hostages.
FICTION OR REALITY?
There is still no consensus about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. People react differently to such rumors. Those who were lucky enough to witness this miracle indignantly reject the idea of a hoax. Skeptics shrug their shoulders.
It must be said that scientists have not yet managed to solve this mystery. Some of them explain this by reasons more familiar to the modern world. For example, the French-American scientist Jacques Vallee is sure that aliens are actually involved in the Fatima miracle.
“The famous visions at Fatima are a striking historical example of the religious overtones of UFO encounters. The factual side of the events is quite well known, but I am willing to bet that few people know the true essence of what happened in 1917 near this small Portuguese town.
Even fewer people, I believe, know that the series of sightings of a creature believed to be the Virgin Mary began two years earlier with a series of classic UFO sightings,” wrote Valle in the book “Parallel World.”
Russian scientist V. Mezentsev explains that the sun dance, which was observed by 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima on October 13, 1917, together with their children, was an optical illusion, a trick of light. Be that as it may, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the Fatima miracle and many other apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Today, when the world is continually shaken by catastrophes, tragedies, confrontations, intolerance and wars, perhaps we should not break spears in meaningless disputes, but simply heed these warnings and hear the main call of the Most Holy Theotokos: “People, stop in your madness!”
And then there will be more goodness and less sorrow in the world.
Galina BELYSHEVA
History does not know many cases when the Blessed Virgin appeared to ordinary people. Apparitions of the Mother of God also occurred in the 20th century. Some of them were even captured on film or video camera. We have selected three of the most impressive stories that will not leave anyone indifferent.
History of the Painted Image on Mount Athos
September 3 in the Orthodox calendar is marked by the feast of the unusual image of the Mother of God, called the Light-Painted. On it the Blessed Virgin is depicted with a loaf of bread in her hands. The name “Painting with Light” is no coincidence: “painting with light” is a literal translation from the Greek word “photography”. And it is with photography that his story is connected.
The events that we will talk about took place in 1903 on Holy Mount Athos and are considered, perhaps, one of the most famous apparitions of the Mother of God of our time. The monks of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery then had a tradition - every week they distributed alms to the nomadic monks on Athos, called Siromakhs, and others in need. The necessary provisions for these purposes were brought to them from the Russian farmsteads of the monastery.
However, this year the Holy Kinot, the main governing body on Mount Athos, decided to stop the distribution of alms, since it corrupts those asking. It was on this day, September 3, 1903, that the monks decided to distribute the last alms, after which they read out the resolution of Kinot.
At the time of the distribution of alms, a certain monk named Gabriel took a photograph with beggars who received alms in the form of flatbread - chereks. However, no one expected that during the development of the negative, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear in the photograph, standing with the poor and receiving alms. It is clear that after this, charity in the Russian monastery on Athos, pleasing to God and His Most Pure Mother, continued.
At the site of the described event in 2011, a chapel was built and a source was drawn to it, and a temple was erected in honor of the Icon of Light. For a long time, the original negative of the photograph itself was lost due to many events that befell the monastery. And only last year it was found again in the archives of the monastery.
The longest apparition of the Mother of God in Zeitoun
Unfortunately, very little is known about this phenomenon in our country. The reason for this is that it happened in Soviet times, when atheistic propaganda tried to hush up such news. At the same time, the phenomenon in Zeitoun is the longest and most documented miracle, which, in addition, was witnessed by the maximum number of people.
The first phenomenon occurred on April 2, 1968 in the city of Zeitoun, which is considered a suburb of the Egyptian capital Cairo. That evening, two car park workers noticed a translucent luminous figure of a Woman on the dome of a temple belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
At first, one of the workers thought that she had decided to commit suicide and began to shout, persuading Her not to do this. Soon they called the priest of this church and realized that this was not an ordinary woman, but the Most Holy Theotokos. She prayed in front of the cross on the dome, which also glowed.
The phenomenon in Zeitoun repeated a week later, and then occurred at varying intervals until May 29, 1971. It lasted for different periods of time: from several minutes to two hours. During this time, crowds of thousands of people of different faiths and even non-believers gathered to see the miracle. Many of them subsequently converted to Christianity.
Also, this appearance of the Mother of God was marked by various miracles and healings. The first of these happened to the same car park worker who first noticed Virgo. The next day, his finger was supposed to be amputated, but the doctor stated that this was no longer necessary, since the finger was healthy.
How the Blessed Virgin looked and behaved was captured on many video and photo cameras. She was wearing long clothes with a covering on her head. A halo shone around the head, behind which it was impossible to distinguish facial features. Sometimes She was seen holding the baby Jesus in her arms. Sometimes She held an olive branch in her hands.
Glowing doves often appeared around the Most Holy Theotokos; it happened that they formed a cross, and then gathered together and seemed to melt into the air. Often the Mother of God turned and blessed people. Moreover, no projectors or lighting devices that could simulate this miracle were found.
However, one must understand that this miracle could also be a phenomenon of a different, opposite nature, as Professor A.I. Osipov, for example, treats it with caution.
The Blessed Virgin resurrected a Muslim in Damascus
The next story is very different from the previous two, as well as from everything you can imagine. Any novelist or screenwriter could envy her plot. But the most amazing thing in the story, perhaps, is that all this really happened. And although the appearance of the Mother of God was witnessed by one person, himself a participant in the events, the incredible consequences of the miracle were confirmed by many, including medical staff.
This incident is best known as the “miracle in Syria.” It was publicized by some media in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Palestine in 2004, first on television, then on radio, through newspapers and magazines. Its participant and protagonist of the events is a certain sheikh from Saudi Arabia. Sometimes sources mention his name: Shahid D.
Shortly before the events described, he successfully married. The marriage of a young wealthy family was marred by only one thing: they had no children. The parents even advised their son to marry another woman, since polygamy is permissible in Islam, and to give birth to an heir from her. Instead, Shahid went with his wife on a trip to Damascus, Syria, to relieve his grief.
There they hired a limousine with a driver-guide who took them to all the sights of the city. The guide sensed their sad mood and soon learned the reason for it. Then the guide advised us to visit the Seydnaya Orthodox monastery, famous for its miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was an interesting tradition there: believers ate part of the wick from the lamp standing in front of the image of the Most Pure One, in front of which they prayed, and after that their useful petitions were fulfilled.
The sheikh and his wife, inspired by what they heard, immediately wanted to visit this place. At the same time, they promised that if their problem was resolved favorably, they would generously reward the driver with twenty thousand dollars and donate four times as much to the monastery itself.
And a miracle happened! Soon after returning from the monastery, the sheikh's wife became pregnant, and nine months later they had a son. But this was only the beginning of the benefits that the Most Holy Theotokos provided to the non-Christian. Shahid did not forget about his promise and warned the driver that he would soon come to Damascus to thank him and make a donation to the monastery.
However, the guide decided to rob the generous Muslim and take all his money. To do this, he persuaded two more partners to meet the sheikh at the airport with him. On the way, Shahid tried to persuade the criminals, promised to pay each of them ten thousand, but, blinded by greed and anger, they took him to a wasteland and killed him, taking all the money and jewelry.
But the desperation of the attackers did not end there: they dismembered the corpse, cutting off the head, legs and arms. However, for some reason, they did not leave the body here, but put it in the trunk, intending to bury it in another deserted place. But then God’s providence unexpectedly intervened. On the way on the highway, the criminals' car broke down.
One driver passing by offered them his help, to which the attackers rudely refused. The driver was alarmed by their behavior. In addition, he accidentally noticed traces of blood pouring from the trunk. Therefore, soon the police were already at this place. After much argument, the criminals had to open the trunk...
But what was everyone’s surprise when a living sheikh came out of the trunk with the words: “The Most Holy Theotokos just gave me the last stitch here!” He pointed to his neck. The three attackers immediately lost their minds, which led them to admit that they had killed this man. They were placed in a prison for the insane.
Doctors confirmed an extraordinary incident: the stitches turned out to be completely fresh. Moreover, even the thinnest and most delicate vessels were connected, which was impossible to accomplish using conventional medical means. The sheikh, brought back to life, in gratitude for this, donated ten times more to the monastery than he had previously promised.
He himself said that he saw everything that happened to him, the appearance of the Mother of God and his healing, as if from the outside. After this incident, the Muslim sheikh and his entire family converted to Orthodoxy. The believer tries to talk about the miracle that happened to him in Syria as often as possible, although the Arab media try to hush up about it, fearing the conversion of even more Muslims to Christianity.
You will learn more about one of the described miracles from the video:
Pope Francis canonized two shepherd children - brother and sister Francisco Marta and Jacinta, who witnessed the appearance of the Virgin Mary in the Portuguese village of Fatima. The canonization ceremony took place on May 13 during a mass celebrated by the pontiff in the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal.
Homily by Pope Francis at the Mass of Canonization of Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Fatima, May 13, 2017
“And a woman clothed with the sun appeared in heaven.” This is what the seer from the island of Patmos tells us in the Book of Revelation (Rev 12:1), adding that She is about to give birth to a Son. Further, in the Gospel we hear Jesus say to His disciple: “Behold Your Mother” (John 19:27). We have Mom! “Such a beautiful Lady,” as the visionaries from Fatima said to each other upon returning home on that blessed day of May 13 one hundred years ago. That evening Jacinta could not stand it and shared this secret with her mother: “I saw our Lady.” They saw the Heavenly Mother. Many others would also like to see, but... they did not see Her. The Virgin Mother did not come here so that we could see Her. We will have all eternity to do this, of course, if we get to heaven.
Our Lady warned and warned us against a godless lifestyle that really profanes God in His creations. This way of life is often imposed on us, and with it is associated the risk of going to hell. Mary came to remind us that the Divine light abides in us and protects us, for, as we heard in the first reading, “her child was caught up to God and His throne” (Rev 12:5). According to Lucia, the three chosen children were enveloped in the Divine light emanating from the Lady. They put on the robes of Light, given to them by God. The faith and experience of many, if not all, pilgrims testify: Fatima is nothing other than this Cover of Light, protecting us like nowhere else on earth. We need to take refuge under the cover of the Virgin Mary and call on Her with the words of the Salve Regina prayer: “show us Jesus.”
Dear pilgrims, we have Mother! Clinging to Her, like children, we live in hope directed toward Jesus. As we heard in the second reading: “those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through one Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17). Jesus, who ascended into heaven, brought to the Heavenly Father our humanity, which He accepted in the womb of Mary, from which He will never renounce. And let us place our unshakable hope, like an anchor, in this humanity, who is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven in Christ Jesus (cf. Eph 2:6). And let this hope become our guide through life! May he always support us, until our last breath.
Confirmed in this hope, we are gathered here to give thanks for the countless graces that have been bestowed upon us over the past hundred years. All these years have passed under the same Veil of Light, spread by our Lady over all four ends of the earth, starting with the land of Portugal, so rich in hope. As an example, we can point out Saints Francis and Jacinta, whom the Virgin Mary introduced into the vast ocean of Divine love and taught to worship it. It was this circumstance that became the source of the firmness that they showed in confronting trials and suffering. God's presence became a constant factor in their lives, as evidenced by their persistent prayers for sinners and their desire to constantly be near the “hidden Jesus” in the tabernacle.
In her Memoirs (III, 6), Sister Lucia quotes the words Jacinta said immediately after the vision she experienced: “Don’t you see all these streets, all these roads and fields, which are full of people crying from hunger, who have nothing to eat? And the Holy Father in the church, praying before the Immaculate Heart of Mary? And the fact that all these people are praying with him?” Thank you, brothers and sisters, for being here with me! I could not help but come here to venerate the Virgin Mary and entrust all of Her sons and daughters to Her. They will not be lost under Her cover, from Her embrace the hope and peace they so need will pour out upon them. I also pray for all my brothers and sisters in Baptism and in the human family, especially for the sick and disabled, prisoners and the unemployed, the poor and abandoned. Dear brothers and sisters, let's pray to God in the hope that other people will hear us, let's turn to them with confidence that God will help us.
Indeed, God created us to be a source of hope for other people, genuine and effective hope, in accordance with the real situation of each individual person. In this “ask” and “demand” of all of us to fulfill the duties associated with our position (Letters from Sister Lucia, February 28, 1943), God makes a general mobilization against the indifference that chills the heart and aggravates our myopia. We don't want to be stillborn children of hope! Life can only survive through the generosity of other lives. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; and if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). The Lord, Who always precedes us, said this and fulfilled it Himself. Every time we bear our cross, He has already done so before us. It was not us who climbed to the cross to find Jesus there. On the contrary, it was He who, in His self-abasement, descended all the way to the cross to find us, to dispel the darkness of evil within us and return us to the light.
Under the protection of Mary, we will become for our world the messengers of the dawn, contemplating the true face of Jesus the Savior, shining with the Paschal light. In this way we will be able to rediscover the young and beautiful face of the Church, shining insofar as it is missionary, hospitable, free, faithful, poor in means, but rich in love.
05/13/1917 (new art). - The first appearance of the Mother of God to three shepherdesses in the Portuguese village of Fatima
"The third secret" in Fatima
First, let us recall the history and meaning of the Fatima apparition of the Virgin Mary.
On May 13, 1917 (April 30, Old Style), the Mother of God appeared to three shepherdesses near the Portuguese village of Fatima; this phenomenon was repeated six times on the 13th day of each month (that is, on the last day of each previous month according to the old style) until October with an ever-increasing crowd of people. The latter phenomenon was accompanied by a “sun dance”, witnessed by tens of thousands of people and reported by all Portuguese newspapers. (All these phenomena occur between arrival in Russia in April and.)
First, the Mother of God showed the children the torment of sinners in hell as a warning and a call to repentance, which was later called the “first secret” of Fatima. The "second secret" was a prediction if people would not repent; To prevent war, She called for “dedicating Russia to the Mother of God.” This is precisely why some Orthodox Christians do not believe in the authenticity of the Fatima apparition, believing that the Mother of God would not entrust this matter to Catholic heretics; however, Her words, conveyed by the children according to their own understanding, can also be understood in such a way that Catholics should give Russia to the Mother of God as Her inheritance and not lay claim to our conversion to Catholicism. Further, the Mother of God informed the Western peoples through these children that only Russia’s conversion to the true path will bring salvation to the world, otherwise Russia “will spread its false teachings throughout the whole world, and this will cause wars and persecution of the Church.”
In essence, this was an attempt to open the eyes of Western people to the unique role of Russia as a “holder” (in the sense of the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Thess. 2) with a call to help its restoration - for the whole world.
However, the Vatican interpreted the words of the Mother of God as the need to convert Russia to Catholicism. The Pope even tried to take advantage of the Bolshevik destruction of the Church to conclude an agreement with the Soviet authorities to establish Catholic structures on the ruins of Orthodoxy. Cardinal d'Herbigny showed particular zeal in this direction. And the Russian exarch of the Catholic Church of the Eastern Rite, L. Fedorov, stated in 1923 that “Catholics breathed freely when it happened... Russian Catholics felt happy” (see: Protod. German Ivanov-Thirteenth. "Russian Orthodox Church facing the West").
The Vatican took the fall of the communist regime in Russia in the same spirit, starting expansion on Russian soil. In 1996–1997 Catholics took the statue of the Mother of God of Fatima to their parishes in Russia - all with the same goal of spreading Catholicism...
And now a new stage has begun in the history of the Fatima message.
On June 26, 2000, the Vatican announced the publication of the “third secret” of the Mother of God, which was recorded in 1944 by nun Lucia, the last surviving girl to whom the Mother of God appeared. For some reason this secret was kept secret by the Vatican until recently.
The finally published text describes the ascent of bishops, priests and monks to a mountain with a crude cross installed on its top. At the same time, “The Holy Father walked through a large city, which was dilapidated, and trembling, with unsteady steps, suppressed by pain and worries, he prayed for the souls of people whose corpses he met along the way. Having climbed the mountain, he knelt at the cross. Here he was killed by a group of soldiers who shot at him with firearms and arrows. In the same way, one after another, other bishops, priests, monks and various secular persons, men and women of various classes and social positions, died.
In the interpretation of this painting by representatives of the Vatican, its eschatological significance was rejected; they attributed this vision to the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981 (“Fatima Ruft”, 2000, Nr. 166, 167), for which a special press conference was convened. It is not clear why the Vatican kept this “secret” under wraps for so long after its “realization”? And where in Italy in the twentieth century could one see a dilapidated city with the corpses of Christians of different classes killed for their faith?
It is unlikely that this vision is generally suitable for any Western European country in the twentieth century. The main country discussed in the previous part of the Fatima message was Russia. And the picture described is quite consistent with what the Bolsheviks did to (most likely he was poisoned) and to the Russian clergy, nobility, officers, and strong religious peasantry in the 1920-1930s.
At the same time, of course, we must take into account that divine warnings and prophecies can be applied to different events at different times, being fulfilled progressively. In Russia in the twentieth century there was a “dress rehearsal” for the Apocalypse. But we know that sooner or later the predicted events of the end of history will occur when humanity loses the opportunity to replenish the Kingdom of God with worthy people and thereby loses the right to exist in the eyes of God - then the continuation of history will become meaningless. Fatima's "third secret" undoubtedly relates to these last times, in which fierce persecution of Christians is again predicted for us.
Let us also note that many ordinary lay Catholics do not share his proposed interpretation of the “third secret” of Fatima, believing that it may relate to future times (“Fatima ruft”, Nr. 167, S. 5).
And the fact that the Vatican does not want to think about this, profaning the Fatima message to please the ecumenical pope and his liberal entourage, who have already reached the point of a “common messiah” with anti-Christian Jews, is yet another deviation of the Vatican from the spiritual meaning of the Fatima call.
"Let no one deceive you in any way"
In some Orthodox publications one could find sympathetic opinions about the so-called Fatima apparitions of 1915-1917, which took place in Portugal in the town of Cova da Iria. This sympathy is based on the fact that in the context of the Fatima events Russia is mentioned, “the conversion of Russia.” But what is the context itself? Does he leave us any reason to sympathize with these references? How justified are the hopes for any kind of “mutual understanding” with Catholicism regarding Fatima, which already had some public resonance (Fatima-Moscow teleconference October 13, 1991) What really happened? What are the signs of the Fatima apparitions? Let's try to figure it out. ...
people don’t believe it, it’s scary, they don’t repent, I judge by myself, so don’t you judge by yourself?
We are talking about the activities of the Vatican to transform Little Russia into Ukraine and a split with Russia and the expulsion of the Russian Orthodox Church from the territory of Ukraine. Russia is the holy land, the House of the Mother of God, that is, the property of the Son. To sanctify means to separate, to stop stealing from God, to split the country, to promote brotherly hatred, for the sake of their own goals, blaspheme the Will of God and Himself. Who doubts, study history and read the Constitution of Ukraine, Article 35
I think, in particular - based on reading the sources indicated below - that the phenomenon in Fatima is a demonic delusion.
All these are purely demonic tricks.
A little later, something similar happened on the territory
Yugoslavia and elsewhere. But the papists did not promote it.
They decided that the Fatima phenomenon was enough.
M.V. Nazarov does not provide any arguments in favor of the truth of this phenomenon.
It seems his logic is this: among Catholics, and especially Old Catholics, there are “good people”
so the phenomenon may well be true,
and, therefore, it is true.
This is how dark one can reach if, despite obvious documentary facts, one continues
to venerate the heretic and apostate false patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) as a “saint”.
If Tikhon is “holy,” then there is nothing to be surprised that the “Mother of God” also addresses the Anchichrist, the Pope of Rome, who, of course, is not a simple errant, but a seasoned heretic and enemy of Christ.
Be careful not to fall into delusion. The Fatima phenomenon is not a deception (the facts do not confirm this), deception is the Catholic interpretation of this phenomenon. Therefore, how can you not, together with them, fall into blasphemy against the Mother of God. Before the blasphemy against St. Patriarch Tikhon has already arrived...
I think that in connection with the signs of recent times and subsequent persecutions, the Roman Church may return to Orthodoxy (Orthodox communities of the Western Rite have existed in some of our Local Churches for a long time), and the Pope may once again take the place of the first of his holy predecessors. among equals. Yes, it will be too late then, the time of great martyrdom will come...
This is by no means a prediction, these are just thoughts that came to mind.
I think, based on many sources I have read, that most of those who wrote above have already fallen into delusion, into the delusion of their own pride and infallibility in their beliefs. How ossified you are, blinkered, self-confident PEOPLE. Not wanting to believe in anything other than what is written on paper, I note written by people. I think the Fatima apparitions are worthy of being paid attention to by believers of ANY denomination, because they lead to universal peace and equality - you are dividing the world with such judgments. I only agree with the first comment, everything else is the ossified beliefs of bigots and religious fanatics.
It is truly painful to read the comments of convinced followers of the Sergian heresy. But the dawn is near - Russia WILL BECOME a Catholic country, as the Blessed Virgin Mary wished. All that is needed is to correctly dedicate Russia to her immaculate heart. This task, however, has already been failed by 5 Holy Fathers, no other than the machinations of the evil one.
Pray and consecrate your hearts to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary!
Rome. 12 May. INTERFAX - Pope Francis and Catholic pilgrims from all over the world will arrive on Friday in the Portuguese city of Fatima on the occasion of the centenary of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, Vatican Radio reports.
On Saturday, May 13, in front of the Fatima sanctuary, the pope will celebrate a mass with the rite of canonization of two witnesses to the apparitions of the Mother of God - Francisco and Jacinta.
The essence of the History of mankind is expressed clearly and on the verge of genius:
"...sooner or later, the predicted events of the end of history will occur when humanity loses the opportunity to replenish the Kingdom of God with worthy people and thereby loses the right to exist in the eyes of God - then the continuation of history will become meaningless"
FROM:
Note: the spelling of the word “meaningless” is APPLIED according to the rules of pre-revolutionary spelling - and not in the mocking form BES... (before voiceless consonants, prefix (used to form adj. and noun))
Gentlemen commentators Nikolai (from 2014-01-24), DeusVult (from 2015-06-18) and anonymous * * * (from 2017-05-12) - Catholicism has long plunged into the cesspool and you want the same for Orthodoxy.
Dear brother Artyom (from 2014-10-11), you got a little carried away about the author of the article... God bless you!
Perhaps I'm wrong. But based on what is happening in the Catholic Church (I mean the legalization of same-sex marriage), a conclusion arises. In the Catholic Church for a long time, even before the time of the Inquisition, in all services there was and is more politics than holiness and worship of God. Throughout their existence, they sought to subjugate everything that moved to their will. In order to become the sole rulers of everything and everyone. If you pay close attention to their actions, then in everything you can see a program similar to the protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The third secret has been 100% proven, but not everyone can understand... According to the Bible and Nostradamus, Russia will be the chosen one - the leader on the planet for 7 zodiac months (consider that the Jews are no longer in business...) If the secret is revealed, then the Catholic Church will be left without parishioners, income. Not everyone knows about the dedication of Russia to the Mother of God by some Popes... Persecution of Russia as well as of Jesus.... Crucify, crucify... And catastrophes will constantly increase on the planet, no one will connect the events in advance, and some will refuse. But it's not as simple as some people think...