Message of Pope John Paul II for the Sick at Fatima May 13, 2000. Video Night Vigil

Pope John Paul II Arrives
at Fatima Sanctuary
To Beatify Jacinta and Francesco

I was going to do a similiar post back in May but the joy of the First visit to Fatima as pope of Benedict XVI the post on May 13 covered this historic event! I remember with joy the excitement in the sanctuary as the pope arrived seeing his helicopter fly over the sanctuary and knowing he was blessing all those present. I thank God for the grace he gave me to be present for this great moment in the church the long awaited beatifications of the shepherd children.  This event taking place so soon after the Canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska on Mercy Sunday April 30. God had given me the joy to also be present at this momentous occasion in the history of the church. I had a seat near her community on the balcony with the pope. Not because I was worthy or had done anything to merit it. No! On the contrary it was a gift of his great mercy to me, a soul who He has been truly merciful to and wanted to teach me the ways of Providence and Mercy!  I am still learning! So many were so caught up in the News that the Pope was going to reveal the 3rd Secret with the members of the press that  in some cases the Beatifications were overshadowed by some as an after thought.

The Crowds at the Night Vigil on May 12, 2000

Pope John Paul II sick himself gave a heartfelt message to the sick at Fatima during the Beatification Ceremonies I wish to share it once more  for those who never read it!

           Pope John Paul's  

        Greeting to the Sick

                             May 13, 2000

Dear Pilgrims to Fátima!

I would now like to offer a special greeting to the sick, who are present here in large numbers, but I also extend it to all who, at home or in hospital, have joined us in spirit. The Pope greets you with great affection, dear sick people, and assures you and those who are close to you of a special remembrance in prayer. I place the longings of each of you on the altar where Jesus continuously intercedes and sacrifices himself for humanity. I have come among you today as a witness to the risen Jesus. He knows what it is to suffer; he experienced the anguish of death, but by his death he destroyed death itself and is absolutely the first human being to have freed himself from its chains once and for all. He traveled man's whole journey to the heavenly homeland, where he has prepared a throne of glory for each of us.


Dear sick brother or sister!
If someone or something makes you think that you have reached the end of the line, do not believe it! If you know the eternal Love who created you, you also know that there is an immortal soul within you. There are various seasons in life; if by chance you feel winter approaching, I want you to know that it is not the last season, because the last one will be spring: the springtime of the Resurrection. Your whole life extends infinitely beyond its earthly limits: heaven awaits you.

Dear sick people!

I know that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom 8: 18). Take courage! In this Holy Year an abundance of the Father's grace is poured out on those who know how to receive it with the simple, trusting heart of a child. Jesus reminded us of this in the Gospel passage proclaimed earlier. Seek also to be numbered among these "little ones", dear sick people, so that Jesus will delight in you. In a little while he will draw near you to bless you personally in the Blessed Sacrament. He comes to you with the promise: "Behold, I make all things new" (Rv 21: 5). Have trust! Abandon yourselves to his provident hands, as did the little shepherds Francisco and Jacinta. They are telling you that you are not alone. The heavenly Father loves you.
 

Night Vigil Rosary Procession at Fatima

12th of each Month May-October

                
     

              God Willing another post tomorrow on the 13th!

"It was not the church that imposed Fatima but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church!"

Pope on Fatima: Heaven Opened

Over Portugal - Like a Window of

Hope God Opened When Man

Closed the Door to Him!

  "It was not the Church

that Imposed Fatima,

Rather, it was Fatima that

Imposed itself on the Church!"

Arriving in Lisbon, Pope Benedict declared, "I come as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Fatima, invested from on high with the mission of confirming my brothers and sisters as they advance on their own pilgrimage towards Heaven. Heaven itself was opened over Portugal - like a window of hope that God opens when man closes the door to him heaven.

The Virgin Mary came from heaven to remind us of the truths of the Gospel which for humankind—lacking in love and without hope of salvation—represent a source of hope. - in order to refashion, within the human family, the bonds of fraternal solidarity based on the mutual recognition of the one Father, this was a loving design from God; it does not depend on the Pope, nor on any other ecclesial authority: "It was not the Church that imposed Fatima", as Cardinal Manuel Cerejeira of blessed memory used to say, "but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church!"

On the plane the pope was asked by reporters:

 "If the message of the secret could be

extended, beyond the assassination

attempt against John Paul II to

other sufferings of the popes?

The pope responded; "Here too, beyond this great vision of the suffering Pope, which we can initially circumscribe to John Paul II, other realities are indicated which over time will develop and become clear. Thus it is true that beyond the moment indicated in the vision, (concerning the 3rd secret) one speaks about and sees the necessity of suffering by the Church, which is focused on the person of the Pope.
 

The Pope stands for the Church,


and Therefore the Sufferings


of the Church are Announced.

The Lord told us that the Church will always be suffering in various ways, up to the end of the world.  In terms of what we today can discover in this message, attacks against the Pope or the Church do not only come from outside; rather the sufferings of the Church come from within, from the sins that exist in the Church. This too has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way:

    The Greatest Persecution of the Church

 Does not Come from Enemies

on the outside, but is Born from

the Sin Within the Church.

The Church therefore has a deep need to re-learn penance, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness but also the need for justice. Forgiveness is not a substitute for justice. In one word we have to  re-learn these essentials: conversion, prayer, penance, and the theological virtues.


That is how we respond, and we need to be realistic in expecting that evil will always attack, from within and from outside, but the forces of good are also always present, and finally the Lord is stronger than evil and the Virgin Mary is for us the visible maternal guarantee that the will of God is always the last word in history. Read More

 The Pope will participate in a similiar 

Candelight vigil on Wednesday night

the eve of the Fatima apparitions