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Angels, Monks, & Fatima Part II: The Angel of Fatima

07-14-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Jose Maria Iraburu

We know that the most solemn interventions of God among men are sometimes preceded by the angels that He sends. This is how we see it in Sacred Scripture: for example, Isaiah in his vocation (Is 6); to Zacharias in the announcement of John (Lk 1,11), to Mary in the announcement of Jesus (Lk 1,26), in the dream of Saint Joseph (Mt 1,20), to the shepherds at night announcing Jesus to them newborn (Lk 2,9), before the flight to Egypt (Mt 2,13), etc. This is how God also wanted the apparitions of the Virgin at Fatima to be preceded by three apparitions of an Angel of Peace. Sister Lucia in Memoria IV (1941), who wrote about the apparitions of the Virgin in Fatima, also refers to the apparitions that an Angel had before them (cf. Memórias da Irmâ Lúcia - Memoirs of Sister Lucia, Secretariado dos Pastorinhos , Fatima 2000, 8th ed. And 2003, 7th ed. Respectively).

First apparition

"It seems to me that it was in 1915 when we were given that first apparition that I judge was that of the Angel (…) on the slope of the Cabezo that faces south, while praying the Rosary in the company of three friends I saw over the wooded valley that stretched out to us, it floated like a cloud, whiter than snow, something transparent, with a human shape (…) On different days, it was repeated two more times ".It is not clear if Francisco and Jacinta were also there. Two paragraphs later, she narrates the first apparition received by the three shepherd children the following year.«It seems to me that, however, it must have been in the spring of 1916 when the Angel appeared to us for the first time on our rock at Cabezo (…) After having lunch and praying there, we began to see from a distance, over the trees that they stretched towards the sunrise, a light whiter than snow, in the shape of a young man, transparent, brighter than a crystal pierced by the rays of the sun. As he approached we made out his features. We were surprised and half engrossed. We didn't say a word. Arriving next to us, he said: - “Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me”. And kneeling on the ground, he bowed his forehead to the ground. Transported by a supernatural movement, we imitate him and repeat the words we heard him pronounce. “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you. I ask your forgiveness for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not wait and do not love you ”. «After repeating this three times, he got up and said: - 'Pray like this. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications "... And he disappeared".

Second appearance

Sister Lucia refers in the same Memorial IV that in a second apparition, in the solitude of the countryside, "we saw the same Angel next to us":"-What are you doing? Pray, pray a lot. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy for you. Offer constantly to the Most High prayers and sacrifices." –And how are we to mortify ourselves? I asked. –Of all that you can, offer a sacrifice in reparation for the sins with which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus bring peace to your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all accept and submit with submission the suffering that the Lord sends you. Note that the Angel of Portugal confirms the traditional belief in the Church that large community entities, such as the city, the nation, have their own Guardian Angel.

Third appearance

In a third apparition, also in the field, the Angel "appeared to us carrying a Chalice in his hand and a Host on it ... He fell on the ground and repeated the prayer three times: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly and I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of his Most Holy Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you for the conversion of poor sinners ».These three apparitions of the Angel are the solemn prologue of the six apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima. The testimonies of Lucía (1907-2005), meticulous, precise, are always consistent with those of hers, two companions of hers already canonized (2017), Saints Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta (1910-1920). They are, therefore, absolutely faith-worthy witnesses.

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