Education, Sanctification, and Consecration The following is a transcript of a catechetical workshop given by Father Michael Rodriguez at the recent Our Lady s Army of Advocates conference in Cleveland, Ohio. When you read this catechectical teaching and dwell on the deep spirituality of our Catholic Faith, you will wish you had been there amidst like-minded companions who wish to do the Will of God and learn how to be closer and closer to Him in ardent adoration. If you cannot come to the next conference, we urge you to order DVD s of the conference speeches to listen to over and over and to share with your loved ones. By Fr. Michael Rodríguez, Diocese of El Paso, TX This Year of Our Lord, 2017, is truly a special year. It is the centennial of the Six Apparitions of the most holy Mother of God at Fatima, Portugal. These Apparitions, which took place between May 13 and October 13, 1917, are likely a magnificent fulfillment of the Scriptural prophecy found in Apoc. 12:1, And a great sign appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Fatima Centenary Graces During this centenary year of the Fatima Apparitions, there are no doubt special graces available to us which are specific to this year: we might rightly call them Fatima centenary graces. How do we know this? Well, we have the testimony of two of the greatest mystics in the history of the Catholic Church: Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824), and St. Gertrude the Great, both of whom were profoundly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich was a German Augustinian nun who was also a mystic, visionary, stigmatist, and prophet. She saw, in actual visual detail, many of the invisible realities of God and the Catholic religion which most of us simply have to accept on faith, e.g. angels, devils, Purgatory, the lives of Our Lord and the Blessed Mother, and the grace of the Sacraments. One of the many things which God revealed to Blessed Anne Catherine 20 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 20 6/28/2017 11:30:52 AM
Emmerich was that the saints are particularly powerful on their feast days and should be invoked then. This insight into the workings of God s grace in His saints was confirmed on many occasions by St. Gertrude the Great (1256-1302). St. Gertrude was also German; she was a cloistered Benedictine nun and mystic, and is the only female saint in all the annals of Church history to be granted the title, the Great. If the saints are particularly powerful intercessors on their feast days, how much more so the Most Holy Mother of God!, and still more so this year, given that 2017 is the centennial of Her most important Apparition ever! Therefore, I now write to you, exhorting you to take full advantage of the Fatima centenary graces which God is disposed to grant us through Our Lady, Mediatrix and dispenser of all graces. In spite of our numerous failings, sins, and infidelities, God offers us His help and grace. This is why Our Blessed Mother came to Fatima one hundred years ago what a marvelous grace from God unique to the 20th century! Now we must respond to this grace! God s grace: this is why in the vision granted to Sr. Lucia at Tuy, Spain, on June 13, 1929, the words Grace and Mercy appeared as crystal clear water flowing from the Most Holy Trinity and the Cross, and running down over the altar. Now 2017 is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation! (2 Cor 6:2) How shall you respond? God s grace: these are the intense rays of light which radiated forth repeatedly from the hands of Our Lady of Fatima! We must cooperate with this grace! As a way of cooperating with the grace specific to this Fatima centennial year, the Fatima Center is promoting the plan Triumph 2017, in the hope of contributing to the promised Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This plan consists of three things: (1) Education, (2) Sanctification, and (3) Consecration. Faith, Hope, and Charity Not only are Education, Sanctification, and Consecration the substance of the Triumph 2017 plan, but these are also essential to the spiritual life as a whole. The spiritual life (also called the life of grace or the interior life) is the living out of the three theological virtues 22 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 22 6/28/2017 11:30:57 AM
Faith, Hope, and Charity and Education, Sanctification, and Consecration are closely related to Faith, Hope, and Charity, respectively. Education is meant to serve Faith; in order to grow in the supernatural virtue of Faith, one must educate oneself in the truths of the Faith. Sanctification is meant to serve Hope; in order to grow in the supernatural virtue of Hope, one must grow in holiness which includes detachment from worldly cares and concerns. Consecration is meant to serve Charity; in order to grow in the supernatural virtue of Charity, one must give one s entire being body, mind, heart, and soul to Jesus through Mary. The spiritual life is a life that is supernatural (i.e. not of this world) because it is rooted in the supernatural virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity: to believe in God, to hope in God, and to love God. This is the lifeblood of the spiritual life: to believe in God, to hope in God, and to love God. Faith, Hope, and Charity are called the three theological virtues because they unite us to God through Jesus Christ. Note how our modern world has done the opposite: rather than seek union with God, it has rejected God, denied God, and separated itself from God! This past century is likely the most godless of all centuries, and the Blessed Virgin Mary came to Fatima exactly one hundred years ago to make an urgent plea She called mankind to return to God... to stop offending God, to make reparation for sin, and to find peace in the only authentic way: submission to God, obedience to God and union with God. Faith unites us to God Who is Truth, Hope unites us to God Who is supreme Beatitude, and Charity unites us to God Who is infinite Goodness. The end or purpose of the spiritual life is union with God. Education, Sanctification, and Consecration also unite us to God insofar as they help us grow in the supernatural virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity! Faith is a divinely infused virtue by which we believe, on God s authority, what God has revealed and teaches through His Holy Church. Hope is a divinely infused virtue by which we confidently expect, in virtue of God s promise, the endless happiness of Heaven and the means necessary for its attainment. The first and foremost object of our hope is the possession of God in Heaven. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 23 CR119 Book.indb 23 6/28/2017 11:30:57 AM
Charity is a divinely infused virtue which leads us to love the Lord our God as the sovereign good, and purely for His own sake, and to love our neighbor for God s sake. God is the author, motive, and object of Faith, Hope, and Charity: (1) God is the author of the three theological virtues. He gives us these three precious pearls at Baptism, He infuses them into our souls, and the Holy Ghost makes them develop and increase. (2) God is the motive of Faith, Hope, and Charity. We believe, hope, and love God because of God. We believe because God is Truth and that which He reveals is true. We hope for salvation and Heaven because God is omnipotent and faithful to His promises. We love God because He is supreme beauty and goodness. (3) God is the object of Faith, Hope, and Charity. These virtues unite us to God, who is infinite Truth, Beatitude, and Goodness. Fatima and Faith, Hope and Charity Faith: Notice how Our Lady of Fatima places great emphasis on the truths of the Faith: the Most Holy Trinity, God s justice, God s mercy, God s goodness, God s wrath, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, and by extension, Death and Judgment, the angels, the devil, sin, the Holy Eucharist, Papal authority, the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in God s plan of Redemption, prayer, sacrifice, and reparation. At Fatima there is a profound and pressing call on the part of most holy Mary to believe in God and the things of God. She calls us to faith. Hope: Take note of how Our Lady of Fatima places great emphasis on the conversion of sinners, the salvation of souls and attaining Heaven. This is precisely what we are to hope for. We hope for the pardon of our sins, the help of God s grace and Mary s intercession, and life everlasting. The theological virtue of Hope makes us habitually live, in spirit, in Heaven and for Heaven. At Fatima there is a profound and pressing call on the part of most holy Mary to hope in God and the attainment of Heaven. She calls us to hope. Charity: Pay attention to how Our Lady of Fatima places great emphasis on the love of God and reverence for God. She deeply laments that men 24 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 24 6/28/2017 11:30:57 AM
The Angel of Peace taught the children how to more perfectly adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. are offending God, which is the opposite of loving God; She instills in the shepherd children of Fatima great respect for God, His commandments, His sacraments, and His representatives on earth, especially the Pope; and She reveals to them Her Immaculate Heart, which is a burning furnace of divine love and a marvel of charity. At Fatima there is a profound and pressing call on the part of most holy Mary to love God after the example of Her own heart. She calls us to charity. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 25 The Prayer Taught By the Angel of Peace When the Angel of Peace first appeared to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in the Spring of 1916, he taught them to pray for faith, hope, and charity: My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. He taught them to make reparation for those who have no faith, hope, and charity: I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee. With respect to this prayer taught by the Angel 25 6/28/2017 11:30:57 AM
of Peace, Father Gruner wrote the following: When the Angel came in 1916, he gave the children two prayers. He gave them the first prayer in the spring and the second in the autumn. Both these prayers referred to the most prevalent sin of the 20th Century, the sins against God. The sins against God in His Divinity are lack of faith, the lack of adoration, the lack of hope and the lack of love of God. The Angel taught them a very simple prayer to make acts of faith, hope and charity and acts of adoration, and at the same time to pray for the forgiveness of those who do not make these acts. In the spring of 1916 then, the Angel prostrated himself with his forehead touching the ground and taught the children to follow his example. Then he repeated the following prayer three times: My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee! The children remained in this prayerful position of full prostration and profound adoration from early in the day until evening, reciting this prayer for hours and hours and hours. When they finally lifted their forehead from the ground it was already night time. They continued to pray this prayer every day from that spring day until sometime in the summer. [Jacinta s Tears, pp. 3-4] Triumph 2017: Education, Sanctification, and Consecration As mentioned above, the Fatima Center is promoting a plan called Triumph 2017, and it is threefold: (1) Education, (2) Sanctification, and (3) Consecration. Education, Sanctification, and Consecration are sure to help us grow in the supernatural virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, respectively. What are some specific ways in which each one of you can respond to Our Lady s Message at Fatima through Education, Sanctification, and Consecration? As you consider the specific proposals outlined below, remember: (a) there are special graces attached to this year, 2017, in order to help you carry out this spiritual discipline, and (b) it is urgent that each Catholic do his or her small part this means you! thus contributing to the Church s overall effort to merit sufficient grace so that the Holy Father, in union with all of the world s 26 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 26 6/28/2017 11:30:58 AM
bishops, may finally consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Education: It should not surprise us that Education plays a significant role in the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. Lucia wrote in her memoirs that her first recollection was learning the Ave María, from her mother s lips. Her mother, Maria Rosa, was very devout, and was one of the few people in Aljustrel who could read. Aljustrel was the name of the village where the three shepherd children and their families lived, about ½ mile south of Fatima. Most of Maria Rosa s books were pious ones. Maria Rosa not only instructed her own children in the catechism, but the neighbors children as well. In the evenings, Senhora Maria Rosa would read to her children from the Bible and from the Lives of the Saints. She was diligent and constant in reminding them to say their prayers, especially the Holy Rosary. Thanks to this excellent domestic education and prayer, Lucia was able to receive her First Holy Communion at the age of six instead of ten, as was then the custom. On June 13, 1917, during Her second Apparition, Our Lady asked something very specific of little Lucia, I want you to learn to read and write and later I will tell you what else I want. The following are four areas in which you can work on Education for Triumph 2017: (a) the Message of Fatima, (b) the truths of the Catholic Faith, (c) the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and (d) the Crisis in the Church. Education: The Message of Fatima Educate yourself and others on the full Message of Fatima. As a starting point, I encourage you to read (or re-read!) The True Story of Fatima, by Fr. John de Marchi (an Italian priest of the Consolata Missionaries, I.M.C), which is available in large quantities at the Fatima Center. To study and learn the full Message of Fatima means understanding that Russia has not yet been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as required by God, nor have the complete contents of the Third Secret been disclosed as mandated by Our Lady. Thus, the full Message of Fatima reveals grave disobedience to God on the part of the Popes since 1929 (with respect to The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 27 CR119 Book.indb 27 6/28/2017 11:30:58 AM
the Consecration of Russia) and 1960 (with respect to full disclosure of the Third Secret), and a consequent state of grave disobedience to God into which they have led the Church. Education: The Truths of the Catholic Faith Educate yourself and others on the truths of the Catholic Faith. This is of supreme importance. There are still far too many devout Catholics who are familiar with the Traditional Latin Mass and pray the Holy Rosary, yet fail to grasp the gravity of what is taking place throughout the mainstream Catholic Church, namely, the loss of the Catholic Faith. The truths of the Catholic religion are no longer being transmitted in the vast, vast majority of Catholic parishes, schools, and homes. The situation can hardly be more dire, because without these truths, we are no longer Catholic, we cannot please God, and we cannot be saved! The Fourth Council of Constantinople (869 A.D.) pronounced the following solemn teaching, which was reaffirmed by the First Vatican Council (1869-1870 A.D.): The first condition of salvation is to maintain the rule of the true faith. Today, in the year of Our Lord, 2017, where is the Catholic parish or school that is maintaining the rule of the true faith? Consider the following three examples of the rule of the true faith: the missionary mandate of the Catholic Church, the Four Last things, and the sanctity of Holy Matrimony. Where in mainstream Catholicism are these truths of the Catholic Faith being taught correctly? Where? In one of the most important passages in all of Sacred Scripture, Mt 28:18-20, just as Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is about to ascend into Heaven, He commands His Apostles to baptize, teach, and convert all nations to Him this is known as the Great Commission. The Catholic Church is called to and has the authority to convert all souls to Jesus Christ and the one, true, Catholic religion. What a noble calling! What a marvelous duty! What an astounding mission! Yet where in mainstream Catholicism is this being taught? Where? On the contrary, hundreds of millions of Catholics are being diabolically deceived into thinking that one is supposed to respect false religions! 28 The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 CR119 Book.indb 28 6/28/2017 11:30:58 AM
The Four Last things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. The soul that perishes in a state of mortal sin shall be condemned to hell for all eternity. Where in mainstream Catholicism is the truth being taught about Heaven, Hell, and one s judgment? Where? On the contrary, hundreds of millions of Catholics are being diabolically deceived into thinking that one automatically goes to a better place upon death and is at peace with God. The Catholic Church teaches that the primary purpose of marriage is the procreation and education of children. Where in mainstream Catholicism do you find this taught and lived? Where? When was the last time you came across a large Catholic family of ten, twelve, or sixteen children at the local parish? With regard to the sanctity and indissolubility of marriage, Jesus Christ and His Church teach, What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. (Mt 19:6) On the contrary, hundreds of millions of Catholics are being diabolically deceived by Pope Francis himself! into thinking that it is merciful to make the Church annulment process faster and easier. In order to recover the Catholic Faith and maintain the rule of the true faith, we must educate ourselves and others on the truths of the Faith. In order to avoid all of the ambiguity, confusion, errors and heresies so prevalent in mainstream Catholicism over the past five decades, I strongly urge you to study pre-vatican II material, e.g. Catechisms, papal encyclicals, theology manuals, and prayer books. As a simple starting point, I encourage you to read the Catholic Catechism booklet published by the Fatima Center for this centenary year, 2017. Continued next Issue [1] Education: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. [2] Education: The Current Crisis in the Church [3] Sanctification [4] Francisco and the Hope of Heaven [5] Consecration Treat yourself to the treasure of having your own DVD of Father Rodriguez s entire speech. Share this food for the soul with your friends and loved ones. To order, see page 54 of this isue. The Fatima Crusader Summer 2017 29 CR119 Book.indb 29 6/28/2017 11:30:58 AM