In that earlier post, we discussed that Pope Paul VI made a pilgrimage to Fatima on May 13, 1967 for  the 50th anniversary of Our Lady’s first visit. In his address, he referred to “The great sign which the Apostle John saw in Heaven, “a woman clothed with the sun,”  in connection with Our Lady of Fatima.  After thus linking . Fatima with Chapter 12 of the Apocalypse,,  he cautioned,  “we wish to call the attention of all sons of the Church once more to the indissoluble link between the spiritual motherhood of Mary … and the duties of redeemed men toward Her, the Mother of the Church.”  It was quintessentially typical of him that he urges  the faithful to be obedient even as he disobeyed the Blessed Mother and betrayed her children. (Pope Paul VI,Apostolic Letter, “Signum Magnum”, that is, Great Sign)

And then, on the same date, in the same place, but 33 years later,  that is, in 2000,  Pope John Paul II spoke on the occasion of the Beatification of the Fatima shepherds, Jacinta and Francisco,

“Another portent appeared in Heaven; behold, a great red dragon” (Apoc. 12:3). These words from the first reading of the Mass make us think of the great struggle between good and evil, showing how, when man puts God aside, he cannot achieve happiness, but ends up destroying himself.…

“The Message of Fatima is a call to conversion, alerting humanity to have nothing to do with the “dragon” whose “tail swept down a third of the stars of Heaven, and cast them to the earth” (Apoc. 12:4).  (Pope John Paul II, Homily at Fatima, May 13, 2000)

Ten years after Pope John Paul II’s reference linking the message of Fatima with Apocalypse, Chapter 12, Pope Benedict XVI on  May 13, 2010, said of the message of Fatima:

“He deceives himself who thinks that the prophetic mission of Fatima is concluded.” He added: “There are indicated future realities of the Church which little by little are manifesting themselves… and therefore it is the sufferings of the Church which are announced.”

We include two other quotes from the pope’s talk at Fatima May 13, 2010:

“Man has the power to unleash a cycle of death and terror, but he is not able to stop it.” And then: “The faith in vast regions of the earth risks being extinguished, like a flame without fuel.”

Although Pope Benedict is a modernist and was one of the “Periti” who highjacked Vatican II – and therefore bears  much responsibility for the revolution unleashed by the Council, he did work to reverse at least some of the  errors unleashed by that Council. By issuing  Summorum Pontificum, releasing the true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Benedict did much to restore grace to the impoverished Church.  And by his words at Fatima in 2010, he  helped mitigate his errors in the Vatican’s farcical Third Secret of 2000.

What changed his mind in the decade from 2000 to 2010? I believe it was the work of Father Gruner and the other true Fatimists, such as John Vennari and Christopher Ferrara who never ceased their efforts to keep the true message of Fatima alive.  Indeed, Pope Benedict seems possibly to be the suffering Pope spoken of so long ago by Jacinta. Her sufferings and constant prayers may have been what mitigated the disaster somewhat, especially if augmented by the prayers and sacrifices offered by those who have consecrated themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in response to Father Gruner’s efforts. It is so good to see that Ferrara and the Fatima Center continue this fight to keep the message of Fatima before the eyes of the faithful.

For now, we return to Chapter 12, verses 11-14:

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. Woe to the earth, and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.  And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, who brought forth the man child:  And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

This tells us of Satan, the Ancient Serpent, who has set up his Kingdom on earth  among the Godless nations and wars against the Woman, that is the most Blessed Virgin and the Church, the Bride of Christ.  Our Lord Himself has promised us that the Gates of satan’s worldly kingdom, the man-made utopia  which is even now promoted by Pope Francis himself-those hateful gates of satan’s kingdom on earth will not prevail, for the Victory belongs to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Think now, when Jesus our Savior was stripped naked, nailed to a cross so that all might watch Him die, seeming to be abandoned, in utmost desolation, was He vanquished by the devil? No, far from it!  And thus, think now, as the Church suffers at the hands of the same workers of satan that shouted, “Crucify Him!”; is she vanquished? No, far from it! Believe this! believe it and trust! Take heart and renew your prayers, offer all as reparation. Now is not the time to fail.

In the above passage,  the Church, attacked by the serpent is given the wings of a great eagle to fly to a place of safety in the desert. To understand this passage, we look back to Exodus, to the time when the Lord God saved His Chosen People from the power of the Ancient Enemy in pagan Egypt.

After leading them miraculously into the desert, the Lord tells the leader of the Israelites,  Moses,

“Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.  If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine.  And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation.”

In this passage, our Heavenly Father reminds that after punishing the wicked Egyptians, He  rescued His children “upon the wings of eagles”, that is by His angelic messengers. The “wings of eagles” refers to angelic spirits, either good or fallen, depending on their context.  For instance, Ezechiel 17,  the Kings of Babylon and Egypt are referred to as eagles that are allowed to war against the King of God’s people, who has broken his oath with  the Lord. We know that all nations have their guardian angels and they have fallen angels as well, to tempt them if they are good nations, and to rule them if they do not serve Christ the King. How powerful are these Principalities and Powers today!

However, in Isaiah 40 ,  the Lord promises,  “They that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles”. Thus, our Heavenly Father promises that those who trust in Him will be sustained by their angels, as has been proved many times in the lives of our heroic saints. In this, we see that the Church of these latter times after being chastened, will return to trust in the Lord,  Who sends the Church ministering Angels to lead her to safety. Applying this to our times, we again refer to the prophecy of St. John Bosco, which we posted as No Longer in Rome. Note that the Angels appeared to the Holy Father and the faithful. They carried a banner:

”They presented it to the Holy Father and said: ‘Receive the banner of He Who fights and scatters the strongest armies of the world. Your enemies are dispersed. Your children with tears and sighs beg you to return.’ “Looking at the banner one could see written on one side, ‘Queen conceived without sin,’ and on the other side, ‘Help of Christians.’ “

Returning to the Apocalypse, in verses 15-16,.

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as it were a river; that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

Now,  the term, “the earth” refers to the Church, as when we read of the Second Beast who arose from the earth, meaning from within the Church.  From our Savior comes grace that saves us, but from the ancient enemy, the serpent, there flows a torrent of vile sins, to flood the Church will filth, both material and spiritual filth (heresy, apostasy).  But this passage shows that the earth, that is the Church, “swallows it up”, that is, by the graces which flow through her to the salvation of souls, the Church will cast out all evil, reconcile repentant sinners, restore the Faith, and bring forth new and glorious saints, virgins and martyrs.  Apropos this passage, recall the prophecy of St. Hildegard in her work Scivias, which we discussed earlier,  The Figure of a Woman.

And for now,  we remember, all graces flow through the Immaculata, the Woman clothed with the Sun. And thus, her Immaculate Heart triumphs.

Pray the Rosary and trust in Our Lady – she will not fail!

Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey:  First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of sinners.

†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
†  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
†  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.
†  St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
†  St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Please pray for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!