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Some reflections on Fatima message By Father Louis J. Cameli Pope John Paul II has shared the third secret of Fatima with the whole church. The secret had to do with him and his ministry in the church. There was no need to share it widely before now. For more than 80 years, people have speculated about the secret. For many, it seemed to be a terrible secret, a dire prediction of apocalyptic destruction that fueled considerable anxiety. The truth is plainer, perhaps less dramatic, and even reassuring, but still quite challenging. Across the centuries, the revelations, visions, and messages of holy men and women (and sometimes children) have always been a means to help the church focus on the person and message of Jesus Christ in a particular way for a particular time. The revelations and messages are not the heart of faith. They do not replace the center of our belief in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They never do this. Rather, they apply the meaning of Jesus Christ and his saving work in a given situation. Listen to the message of Fatima, and you will not hear anything radically different than what you would encounter in the Gospels. The message of Fatima calls believers in the church to be ready for difficult times, for hatred, for persecution, for the possibility of martyrdom. The message also encourages believers to begin with their own conversion of heart, to turn more and more completely to Jesus. Finally, the message calls believers to pray for sinners, not to condemn them, not to fight them on their own terms, but to pray for their conversion. Expressed in this way, the message of Fatima does indeed echo Jesus in the Gospels. He tells his followers not to be surprised if the world hates them and that they will endure persecution. He invites his disciples to watch and pray so that they will not enter into temptation. He describes his mission very simply as saving sinners, finding what was lost and bringing it back to the Father. Cardinal Sodano, the secretary of state for the Holy See, briefly described the third secret of Fatima. We must wait for a fuller description from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. His description, however, indicates that the third secret was meant for the Holy Father as he confronted the immense challenges of his office. The life of faith and ministering to faith, as the Holy Father does, demand courage, commitment, and strength. In the end, the message of Fatima overall and the third secret as well reassure us. We make our journey not alone but in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, who in their own way will continue to remind us of all that Jesus taught and did. Through them, we hear the consoling and strengthening words of Jesus himself, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John. 16:33) |