FATIMA IS NOT A PRIVATE REVELATION EDITOR S NOTE: Recently, while travelling on May 13th, the 100th Anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima, I sought out a Tridentine Mass to attend. The priest was traditional and offered a holy Mass, but alas, during his sermon about Fatima the Rosary, the Five First Saturdays, the pious part of Fatima he added that, Fatima was NOT a public revelation it was a private revelation. I was deeply saddened. How, I thought, could we ever get the Consecration done if even pious, traditional priests tell the Pope, the bishops and the faithful that Fatima is only a private revelation, which means you don t have to believe in Fatima; it is only a private revelation and, therefore, imposes no obligation on you or the Church. This, as Father Gruner had often said, is the prime opposition to obedience of the Pope to consecrate Russia. It insults the Virgin Mary and God Himself, Who publicly endorsed the urgent Message of Fatima by the Miracle of the Sun. The excerpts below, which clearly address this error, are taken from Father Gruner s last public speaking engagement before he passed away. The speech was delivered in Cork, Ireland. by Father Nicholas Gruner, B.Comm., S.T.L., S.T.D. (Cand.) Sister Lucy tells us: Our Lady will protect Her dear ones. So, in this coming chastisement, which seems to be inevitable because, unfortunately, we are not listening, there will be annihilation of nations and enslavement of the rest. In the words of another prophecy, the living those who survive will envy the dead. People ask me, Where are we today in the Fatima prophecy? Our Lady said that if Her requests are not granted, there will be wars, persecution of the Church, persecution of the Holy Father and, of course, famine. We are on the edge of the annihilation of nations in this prophecy. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 5 CR119 Book.indb 5 6/28/2017 11:30:47 AM
Pope Benedict XVI, the last time he spoke on Fatima, used rather strong language when he said: He deceives himself. He did not say he was mistaken ; he said: He deceives himself, who thinks the prophetic mission of Fatima is concluded. He is absolutely right! These people who think Fatima is simply a private revelation unfortunately are deceiving themselves. They have been deceived by their peers, and their so-called superiors. I know of a Professor of Theology who thinks that, and I would be quite prepared to debate it before a theological audience any time! But I will give you the essence of the argument to prove Fatima is not a private revelation. There Are Three Kinds of Revelations Public Revelation: which appears in Scripture or tradition that is of the deposit of faith; Public Prophetic Revelation: that binds us as well; Private Revelation. What Is a PRIVATE Revelation? A private revelation is a simple revelation addressed to an individual. For example, if you had a vision of Our Lady and She told you that, to save your soul, you had to pray fifteen decades of the Rosary no one else is bound to believe that except yourself. You are still bound yourself according to Tanquerey to believe it because God is giving you evident signs that this is a message from Him. However, your neighbor who does not have those evident signs has no obligation to believe. Strictly speaking, we can say that is an example of a private revelation. Why Fatima Is NOT a Private Revelation The error is that this same manner of thinking is applied to the argument against Fatima. But it s a mistake to think that. If Fatima was a private revelation: Why would John Paul II say it s addressed to every human being? Why would Our Lord say that the King of France who was beheaded is an example to the Pope and the bishops for not obeying if they do not obey, they too will follow the King of France into misfortune? The King of France was executed by the soldiers of the revolution. His head was cut off. It was a very shall we say rather 6 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 6 6/28/2017 11:30:47 AM
catastrophic finish to his life. As far as his human life was concerned, he was punished for not obeying a command given to him by God through the Sacred Heart. It would be wise for us to listen to the Mother of God. If we think that Fatima is just a private revelation and we can ignore it with no peril to ourselves we are very badly mistaken. We Sit in a Time of Apostasy First of all, apart from any revelation from God, it should be obvious that we are sitting in some sort of apostasy or worse. There are those who are only worried about this world sitting in some sort of annihilation of nations. In the book, Evil Forces are Driving the World Toward War, (available from The Fatima Center), you may not agree with the political analysis that s written by an American regarding the fact that the United States is strivng for war with Russia. If you don t want to believe this political analysis, read chapters 3 and 4 where he describes the consequences even if only one bomb drops on this country [the USA]. As John Paul II said, The Message of Fatima imposes an obligation on the Church, that means each one of us. But there are those who will go further. Dr. Rudolph Graber, a bishop, wrote in the 1960 s stating that Fatima is NOT a private revelation; but it is a public prophetic revelation. The Message of Fatima was certainly public; 70,000 people saw the miracle. The Message is for the world that s also public. Like it or not, every man, woman, and child will be affected by whether or not we listen to Fatima. It s going to be too late if we decide to ignore it and say God didn t warn us. God did warn us. Calling Fatima a Private Revelation Despises Prophecy Saint Paul tells us in the letter to the Thessalonians, Do not despise prophecies. So if we take the attitude that it is only a private revelation and, therefore, we can ignore it at no peril to ourselves, we are doing what Saint Paul says we must not do. Do not extinguish the spirit, do not despise prophecies, but test all things, and hold fast to that which is good. [1 Thes. 5:20-21] Fatima has been tested and found to be good. We are bound to hold on to it. 8 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 8 6/28/2017 11:30:50 AM
Fatima Is in the Deposit of Faith There is another way in which we can know that Fatima is not a private revelation. This argument is one that is not well known but, nevertheless, cannot be disproved. In all likelihood, Fatima itself is in the Deposit of Faith. How can that be, you might ask? Well, it s very simple. Sacred Scripture contains prophecies that have not yet been realized among them, the Apocalypse. When my theology professor said publically in class that Fatima is a private revelation and, therefore, you can ignore it I put up my hand and asked him: Can you affirm absolutely that the appearance of Our Lady of Fatima is not foretold to us in Chapter 12, Verse 1 of the Apocalypse? That the Woman clothed with the sun is none other than Our Lady of Fatima? He said: I cannot affirm that. I said: Therefore, you cannot call it a private revelation; because, as Saint Thomas points out, we have to believe everything in the Bible. If you know the Bible tells you that David had 70 sons not 69, not 71, but 70 then you must believe that with divine and Catholic faith. If you have to believe that article which is not that important you also have to believe the prophecies that are foretold, and will become realized in our time. You can t say that it s not part of the faith. He couldn t answer me, and he never said again that it s a private revelation. So, for those who think you don t have an obligation to believe Fatima or to obey Our Lady of Fatima; unfortunately they put their own souls, and the souls of those who follow them, into danger. The important thing is Our Lady didn t come just to have devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. She certainly asked for that and She asked for processions with Her statue. But it was not only for devotion that Our Lady came to Fatima. She came with a prophetic message the message is for us today, now more than ever. Pope Benedict tells us: the prophetic mission of Fatima is not over. Pope John Paul II said: It [Fatima] is more relevant and more urgent than it was in 1917. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 9 CR119 Book.indb 9 6/28/2017 11:30:50 AM
What Is God s Will For Each One of Us? Saint Augustine tells us that God is so good and wants to give us so many things in His great love and generosity for us, but He finds it difficult to do so. The difficulty is entirely on our side. You see, if God gave us everything He wanted to, we would become prideful and might think we deserved it. So, God has a dilemma how can He give us what He wants without making us prideful? Saint Augustine also tells us in his Confessions that God has found the way. He really doesn t have to think about these things, but, nevertheless, this is how God does it. Even though we don t deserve the graces, God wants to give them to us through the intercession and the merits of the saints. Now, regarding the saints, there is a hierarchy. Saint Alphonsus tells us that it is a great thing for a person to be so good that he is able to save his own soul that is, by the grace of God, to merit his own salvation. Apparently, according to Saint Alphonsus, not many of us do that. He adds that it is a greater thing still, that a person has enough merit to save not only his own soul but also the souls of others as the canonized saints have done. Finally, he says it is the greatest of all things for a human person to merit enough grace to save everyone s soul. That, only the Blessed Virgin Mary has done. So, God wants to give us salvation but he recognizes that we can t merit it by ourselves. We have to do our part and do what we can but most people won t make it. As Our Lady said at Fatima: You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wills to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. You see, if people understood the power of the Blessed Virgin; if they recognized how powerful She is for their own good then they would more frequently ask for Her help, thereby saving many more souls. Up to now in the Church and in the world through the whole two thousand years of history, still the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is not sufficiently established even at the best of times. God has a plan to bring that about and, in so doing, He will change the course of human history. 10 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 10 6/28/2017 11:30:50 AM
Father Isaac Relyea, encouraging the attendees at our Cleveland Conference: Don t run away from the Cross, embrace the Cross. Leave here with the spirit of Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco embracing prayer and fasting and embracing mortification for the salvation of souls. That plan was outlined at Fatima and that plan is what you are called upon to take part in. What Can We All Do? My point to you then is, what can we do? Certainly we can pray the Rosary every day. As Padre Pio said, Pray the Rosary and get others to pray the Rosary. You can wear the Brown Scapular: it is a protection in danger, a sign of salvation, and a pledge of peace. As you wear the scapular devoutly all the time, you will find it easier to pray your Rosary every day. There is a grace attached to that. Sister Lucy said the Rosary and Scapular go together. Our Lady wants us all to wear the Scapular. You can also consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. People say: What should I do because some people tell me that we shouldn t listen to you, or, there s our priest or bishop and they re bigger than you are or more important. I ask you to not judge by their title or by their office but by their fidelity to the Gospel. So let us be confident in God. If we do what God wants God will take care of us. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 11 CR119 Book.indb 11 6/28/2017 11:30:51 AM