Fatima and World Peace

Our Lady of Fatima

After showing the three shepherd children a vision of hell (the “First Secret” of Fatima) Our Lady told them that many souls would be saved from damnation if people embraced devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Mary said, ““You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I am going to tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.” The Blessed Virgin Mary then revealed to them the “Second Secret”:  “The war is going to end [World War I]; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light [this happened in the Fall of 1938], know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions against the Church and against the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.” How many Catholics even realize that the “errors of Russia”, and not just communism but above all revolution and rebellion against God and the moral order he established, have indeed spread throughout the world, including America and Europe. The enemies of Christ today control all the “choke points” of western culture – the media, entertainment industry, publishing, fashion, arts, education, finance, and even control US and NATO foreign policy. They promote immorality in order to morally weaken and more easily manipulate and control the masses, and they thrive on endless war, and even talk about the need for a third world war in order to take total control of the world. Don’t be fooled by what you see on TV, be it the “liberal” CNN or the “conservative” Fox News. Don’t believe the enemies of truth when they speak of seeking to promote peace, freedom, and democracy while they commit mass murder around the world while they corrupt, oppress, and impoverish us. Believe instead the words of Our Lady of Fatima, who promised us the gift of “an era of peace” if only we heed her requests. And those are: 1. Renouncing sin and making reparation for our sins (and even those of others) by offering up our daily trials and crosses as a sacrifice to God rather than complaining about them; 2. Praying the Rosary every day while meditating on the mysteries; 3. Going to confession and Mass and receiving holy communion on the First Saturday of every month, or at least for five months (See “Reparation for the sins commited against the Immaculate Heart of Mary” at http://www.knightsoftheholyrosary.net/home-1/fatima-rosary/); and 4. Pray daily the Fatima prayers, and offer up prayers and sacrifices for priests, bishops, and the pope, and pray that the pope will fulfill Our Lady’s request to consecrate Russia, in union with all the bishops, to her Immaculate Heart, which will bring about the conversion of that nation as well as an era of peace. Many people think that the consecration has already been done as requested. Even Pope John Paul II admitted publicly that it still needs to be done. We will talk about this important subject, as well as the “Third Secret of Fatima”, in our next article, and hopefully that will be soon.

Review of “The Secret of the Rosary” by Saint Louis de Montfort

Reviewed by Darrell Wright

Our Lady of Fatima as Seen by the Three Children

This is probably the finest book ever written about the Rosary. It shows the great spiritual power of the Rosary, and has an appeal to both younger as well as adult readers. It explains why the Rosary is the most important private prayer. As one ecclesiastic has said of De Montfort’s book, “It goes far beyond mere research. We might say that it contains everything that can be said about the Rosary – its content and form, its real worth, about the instruction necessary for its appreciation and use.”

About the Author

The author of The Secret of the Rosary and the originator of total consecration to Mary, St. Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort (1673–1716) remains one of the greatest apostles of Marian devotion the world has ever known. As a young priest, De Montfort dedicated himself to preaching to the people. This highly gifted orator’s language was simple but full of divine wisdom. De Montfort’s whole life was marked by constant prayer, love for the poor and holy joy in humiliations and persecutions. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

This small book is an absolute gem. A gem for those who want to learn about the Rosary prayer as well as for those who pray it already.

St Louis describes the Rosary as a “Crown of Roses” and as “The mystical rose tree of Jesus and Mary in life, death and eternity.”

In simple language, this book is presented in the form of the prayer itself, with 53 short chapters which include stories from history, spiritual advice and preaching.

St Louis writes with zeal about the Rosary: that which is not only important for increasing our love and devotion to Our Lord and Our Lady – but also, as given for our salvation, the combination of Our Lord’s Prayer and The Angelic Salutation (Hail Mary).

He states that, “through the Holy Rosary:

1. Sinners are forgiven;

2. Souls that thirst are refreshed;

3. Those who are fettered have their bonds broken;

4. Those who weep find happiness;

5. Those who are tempted find peace;

6. The poor find help;

7. Religious are reformed;

8. Those who are ignorant are instructed;

9. The living learn to overcome pride;

10. The dead [the souls in purgatory] have their pains eased.”

He claims that the Holy Rosary has “chased away devils, destroyed sin and renewed the world.”

On reading this book, one will gain knowledge of the origins of the Rosary in the appearances of Our Lady to Saint Dominic and his subsequent passion for preaching the Rosary.

It also contains history of the passing of the legacy from Saint Dominic to Blessed Alan de la Roche and in turn to Saint Louis himself. The first two belonged to the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans who have a profound connexion to the history of the prayer. De Montfort himself was a Third Order Dominican.

The holy Rosary was brought to the world, first by Saint Dominic himself, whom on retreating to a forest to pray continuously for three days and nights for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics and sinners, fell into a coma. Our Lady appeared to him and said:

“Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world … the Angelic Psalter [the first half of the Hail Mary (Lk 1: 28, 42)] which is the foundation stone of the New Testament.”

Saint Louis gives insight into the very real dangers of evil, unfortunately taken far more seriously in his time than in our own. This loss of such seriousness is a sad thing indeed! The images Saint Louis colorfully depicts bring to life these dangers, now so invisible to our sensibilities. He states that the Rosary is a necessary prayer to combat the evil one.

Saint Louis’ writing is also very colorful regarding the many beautiful accounts of visionary experiences by people over the centuries through devotion to the Rosary, as well as of confrontations with demons.

For example, Saint Louis tells of St Dominic forcing demons during an exorcism to state the truth about the Rosary. After much crying out in protest, they were forced to say, at the insistence of Our Lady, whose help Dominic had invoked:

“Oh, you who are enemy, our downfall and our destruction, why have you come from heaven to torture us so grievously? O advocate of sinners, you who snatch them from the very jaws of hell, you who are a most

sure path to heaven, must we, in spite of ourselves, tell the whole truth and confess before everyone who it is who is the cause of our shame and our ruin? Oh, woe to us, princes of darkness.

“Then listen, you Christians. This Mother of Jesus is most powerful in saving her servants from falling into hell. She is like the sun which destroys the darkness of our wiles and subtlety. It is she who uncovers our hidden plots, breaks our snares, and makes our temptations useless and ineffective.

“We have to say, however, reluctantly, that no soul who has really persevered in her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints. We fear her more than all the other saints in heaven together, and we have no success with her faithful servants.

“Many Christians who call on her at the hour of death and who really ought to be damned according to our ordinary standards are saved by her intercession. And if that Marietta (it is thus in their fury they called her) did not counter our plans and our efforts, we should have overcome the Church and destroyed it long before this, and caused all the Orders in the Church to fall into error and infidelity.

“Now that we are forced to speak, we must also tell you that nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because she obtains for her servants the grace of true contrition for their sins by which they obtain pardon and mercy.”

There is an attitude amongst Catholics of today, that the Rosary is for the simple, even superstitious type of person. St Louis strongly warns against this attitude.

He writes of a learned Bishop who on expressing his pride in wearing a Rosary, said, “My dear brethren in Jesus Christ, I am a Doctor of Theology and a Doctor of Canon as well as Civil law, but I say to you, as your Bishop, that I take more pride in wearing Our Lady’s Rosary than in any of my episcopal regalia or academic robes.”

St Louis quotes another priest as saying, “How true it is that this God-given prayer has divine power – the power to touch our hearts and to fill them with horror of sin and the love of virtue.” De Montfort himself states: “I, who write this, have learned from my own experience that the Rosary has the power to convert even the most hardened hearts.”

I highly recommend this book to those who know nothing of the Holy Rosary and to those who know much. Simply put, the words of this saint bring with them grace from heaven. That of which he speaks, the true stories he recounts, and his zeal for this sublime prayer cannot but help one to reach for their beads and pray the Rosary, a most powerful spiritual weapon given to us from heaven.

126 pgs, PB

This masterpiece on the Rosary can be purchased at http://www.knightsoftheholyrosary.com/Rosary

Fatima and Reparation for Sins Committed Against the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our Lady of Fatima as She Appeared to the Three Children

What is the greatest offense and worst insult one can give to a man? Is it not the defaming and insulting of his mother? Christ also is supremely offended and insulted when people do not believe in the divine privileges granted to his Mother Mary. And so he requests that we offer prayers and make sacrifices to atone or make reparation for the sins of disbelief committed against his Mother’s Immaculate Heart.

On December 10, 1925, Our Lady, holding the Child Jesus close, appeared to Sister Lucia at her convent in Pontevedra, Spain, and showed her her Heart. The Child said, “Have pity on the heart of your Blessed Mother, which is covered with thorns that ungrateful men push in at every moment, with no one making an act of reparation to pull them out.” Our Lady then added, “Look, my daughter, at my Heart surrounded by thorns that ungrateful men are continually pushing in with their blasphemies and their ingratitude. You, at least, must take care to console me. Tell everyone for me that if they, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, make a good confession [may be made within eight days, before or after], receive Holy Communion, say a Rosary [five decades], and keep Me company for a quarter of an hour by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary for the intention of making reparation to me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls.”

The Five First Saturdays Devotion is for the purpose of of making reparation for the five principle sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

• the sin of those who deny her Immaculate Conception (being conceived without Original sin)
• those who deny her Perpetual Virginity (being a virgin before, during, and after giving birth to Jesus)
•  those who deny her Divine Motherhood (being Mother of the divine Person Jesus Christ and therefore “Mother of God”) and deny her being our spiritual Mother
• those who oppose and attack her images
• those who teach children not to love and honor her

Jesus to Sr. Lucia: “Ask, ask again insistently for promulgation of the Communion of Reparation in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the First Saturdays. The time is coming when the rigor of my justice will punish the crimes of diverse nations. Some of them will be annihilated.”

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Message of Fatima

The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, devotion to which goes back at least over five hundred years but which gained much momentum after Jesus asked of St Margaret Mary Alacoque for the spread of this devotion in the 17th century.

In the Message of Fatima we see that Jesus desires that the Immaculate Heart of his mother Mary be venerated together with his Sacred Heart.

Before she died in 1920, the Fatima seer Blessed Jacinta Marto told her cousin Lucia:

“Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from Her and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to Her.”

During the July 13, 1917 apparitions Mary said:

“You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If people do what I am going to tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

On December 10, 1925, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Sr Lucia, and by her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The most holy Virgin rested her hand on Sr Lucia’s shoulder, and as she did so, she showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Child said:

“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 the most holy Virgin said:

“Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive
months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

On February 15, 1926, the Infant Jesus appeared to Sr Lucia again. He asked her if she had already spread the devotion to his most holy Mother. She told Him of the onfessor’s difficulties, and said that Mother Superior was prepared to propagate it, but that the confessor had said that she, alone, could do nothing.

Jesus replied: “It is true that your Superior alone can do nothing, but with my grace, she can do all.”

On May 18, 1936, Sr. Lucia wrote to her confessor, Fr. Gonzalvez, having asked Our
Lord why He wouldn’t convert Russia without the Holy Father making the Collegial Consecration (i.e. with all the bishops of the world) of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Jesus told her:

“Because I want my whole Church to acknowledge that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that it may extend its cult later on, and put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.”

In the following prayer revealed to the Fatima children we see intimate relationship and spiritual union between the Hearts of Jesus and Mary:

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. And by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.”

Holding out her heart surrounded by thorns which pierced it from all sides, Our Lady told Lucia on June 13, 1917:

“God wishes you to remain in the world some time because he wants to use you to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn his throne.”

Our Lady said, “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice, ‛Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’ ”

For more info. on the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Message of Fatima, see
http://www.knightsoftheholyrosary.com/Fatima-Rosary

Modern Fashions and the Message of Fatima

“Fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.” (Our Lady of Fatima)

Even a person wearing blinders today would realize that fashions in girls and womens clothing have become so sexually provocative and revealing as to constitute an extremely serious moral problem, reflecting an even more serious spiritual problem in our western culture, one that is infecting many Catholics as well.

Our Lady of Fatima revealed to the young seer Jacinta Marto before her death in 1920:

“Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.”

“Woe to women lacking in modesty.”

“More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.”

The evolution of women’s fashions in dress between 1920 and today has been nothing short of revolutionary. Today the tight-fitting and revealing clothing for women and girls is worn by a great majority, and even by most church-going Catholics. How many of them realize that when by their manner of dress they provoke a man to lust, they share in the guilt of the man’s sin, and are even more guilty than he is?

Our Lord said, “Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5.28). If the woman is responsible for provoking this lust, how can she be without sin, even serious sin?

Saint John Chrysostom instructed women of all times about dress when in the fourth century he declared:

“You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not, indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment … When you have made another sin in his heart, how can you be innocent? Tell me, whom does this world condemn? Whom do judges punish? Those who drink poison or those who prepare it and administer the fatal potion? You have prepared the abominable cup, you have given the death-dealing drink, and you are more criminal than are those who poison the body; you murder not the body but the soul. And it is not to enemies you do this, nor are you urged on by any imaginary necessity, nor provoked by injury, but out of foolish vanity and pride.”

The late Father Bernard A. Kunkel, a great defender of modesty and decency, said concerning the words of Our Lady of Fatima: “She knew that…forces of evil would design these fashions, together with the filthy literature…movies and television shows…all as part of their program to break down morality, especially among the young people. Our Lady was only exposing this plan.”

The Knights and Dames of the Holy Rosary believe that the virtue of modesty is the guardian of chastity. We always dress in a manner pleasing to Our Lord and Our Lady, and courageously defend the importance of this much neglected virtue, for nothing less than the salvation of souls is at stake.

The Immaculate Conception and the Message of Fatima

December 8 is the solemnity (and Holy Day of Obligation) of the Immaculate Conception, when the Church celebrates the day when the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb (St Ann) without any stain of Original Sin. This singular privilege was bestowed upon Mary by God through the merits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice on the Cross, which were applied to Mary before that sacrifice took place. Hence the angel Gabriel saluted Mary with the words “Hail, full of grace….” Being completely filled with God’s grace, there was absolutely no trace of sin, either Original Sin or actual sin, in Mary. This is a great mystery, but we know that God, who is outside the temporal order, and who knows all things and can do all things, can apply the graces of Christ’s redemption to Mary beforehand. Mary’s Immaculate Conception was proclaimed a dogma of the faith to be believed by all in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception is the source of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and as Our Lady of Fatima revealed to the three children, “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart,” and that “Jesus desires that the Immaculate Heart of Mary be venerated alongside his Sacred Heart.” In one of the Fatima prayers taught to the three children by the angel we see these words: “…and by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.” There is a great mystery contained in this prayer, that of Mary sharing in a singular way in the infinite merits of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice.

Part of the Fatima message is that God desires not only that we cultivate devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary but that we also pray (especially the rosary) and offer sacrifices and holy communions in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Hence the Five First Saturdays of Reparation  (see this link Fatima/Rosary page at the Knights website). Most Catholics unfortunately haven’t even heard about reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, even many who know something about the Message of Fatima.

As Knights and Dames of the Holy Rosary we should not only fulfill the requests of Our Lady of Fatima regarding the First Saturdays of Reparation each month, but we should make this important practice known to others. The salvation of many souls and world peace depend in large measure upon the fulfillment of the Fatima message, and this is an essential part of that message.

“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”

www.knightsoftheholyrosary.com

Month of the Holy Rosary

October is a little over half over, but it’s better late than never to mention that this month is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, and we are called during this month to be extra faithful and diligent in our devotion to Our Blessed Lady and her rosary.

The Feast of The Most Holy Rosary on Oct. 7 was established by Pope Pius V after the greatly outnumbered Christian fleet defeated the Moslem invaders at the famous Battle of Lepant0 in 1571. The pope asked all Catholics to pray the rosary for this special intention, for the battle was crucial in preventing a Moslem takeover of all of Europe. The pope attributed the miraculous victory to Our Lady’s rosary.

The Holy Rosary is, in St Padre Pio’s words, “the weapon” which Our Lady has given us in these “last times” to defeat our enemies: the spirit of the world, the disordered cravings of the flesh, and the devil, our chief enemy. The devil seeks our damnation primarily by using the “world” and the flesh, but Our Lady crushes his head underfoot, and her faithful servants armed with her rosary do likewise.

Our website, knightsoftheholyrosary.com should be up and running with the store open within the next week. Thank you for your patience!

Ave Maria!

Knights Launching, Store Open Soon

We’re almost ready for serious action at knightsoftheholyrosary.com! Check out the Knights and Dames clothing up so far (we’ll have polo shirts and patches up next), and also the important booklets and books relating to the Message of Fatima and the Rosary.

We are living in very challenging times and Our Lord and Our Lady are inviting YOU to engage in spiritual battle for the salvation of your soul and the salvation of others, as well as the salvation of our culture, armed with the grace that comes from heaven through Our Lady’s Rosary. Sr Lucia, the Fatima seer said, “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord, and obtain the salvation of many souls.” (“Calls” from the Message of Fatima)

Become a Knight or a Dame of the Holy Rosary!

Knights and Dames of the Holy Rosary

Praised be Jesus Christ and his Most Holy Mother Mary!

This is from Darrell, the editor of this blog. This is also my first experience doing this kind of thing, so please bear with me.

The Knights website has been under snail pace construction for about 8 months now, and we are now on the verge of finally getting our Knights and Dames shirts and sweatshirts, and will have some other items on the website within a few weeks as well.

Those who have an interest in becoming a Knight or Dame should realize that by just wearing one of our shirts one is already bearing witness to the faith. People will ask questions about the Knights, about the meaning of the Latin words on the front of the shirt, about the Rosary. Many doors will open up to conversations about the Catholic faith that can lead to the salvation of souls.

And the way to be ready to fruitfully engage in those conversations is to first of all be in the state of grace oneself, to have a deep prayer life, and to frequent the sacraments of confession and the eucharist. We must be vessels of grace before we can be channels of grace to others.

Next, we should know our faith. Besides the books and booklets and other items we will be selling soon, we will also have a number of free downloads relating to the Rosary, the message of Fatima, and the Catholic faith in general.

So thanks for bearing with us in our slow construction of the Knights of the Holy Rosary website. We plan to have a Spanish page before too long (with Caballeros and Damas del Santo Rosario clothing as well). Anyone willing to help in translating and in the construction of the Spanish page, please contact us. We’re also interested in rosary makers providing rosaries for us to distribute. And, of course, donations to help us to spread the rosary and the message of Fatima far and wide. Most of all we ask you to offer prayers and sacrifices for the success of this fledgling endeavor, so that through this organization, operating on a shoestring budget, we may through the grace of God and through Our Blessed Lady’s hands help to bring about the salvation of many souls and also help to bring peace to our troubled world.