The sixth apparition of Our Lady - October 13, 1917

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By October, the news of Fatima spread more, and the people learned that a miracle was to happen on October 13 in the Cova da Iria. So, thousands and thousands of pilgrims came to Fatima from the farthest towns of Portugal and even from other nations. Among the great crowds of faithful and curious people were scientists, journalists, photographers and intellectuals. Let us read the description left to us by a non-believer journalist, Avelino de Almeida, a special correspondent for “O Seculo”, the most important newspaper of Lisbon: «On the road, I see the first groups of pilgrims, almost all of them barefoot… they pray the Rosary with a devout melody… the sky is completely cloudy and it begins to pour. But nobody loses their patience, and they continue on with striking endurance».

How many pilgrims were there that day? Some say 50,000, others say 70,000, still others say 100,000. From the 12th there was already an enormous crowd in that blessed place which had spent the night outdoors, under the rain, praying and singing.

The three shepherd children arrived at the place of the apparitions a bit before noon. They started to pray the Rosary in the rain; all of a sudden, Lucia asked everyone to close their umbrellas. Everyone obeyed and all at once the rain stopped. Then, at noon sharp, they saw the “flash of light”.
«What do you want of me?» Lucia asked as always.
«I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honour. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end…»
«I have many things to ask of you. Will you fulfil them?»
«Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins». Then, looking very sad, Our Lady said: «Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already too much offended».

Our Lady started to rise towards Heaven; but before disappearing, she opened her hands and from them came forth a light which reflected onto the sun. Next to the sun, the shepherd children saw St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady, the Holy Family; then Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows: Jesus blessed the world; in the end Our Lady of Carmel. All of a sudden Lucia shouted: «Look at the sun!»

The sky was cloudy, but suddenly the clouds disappeared and everyone saw the sun: it was a strange sun, it looked like a silver ball and you could look at it without hurting your eyes. Suddenly it started to whirl like a ball of fire, reflecting beams of yellow, green, red, blue and purple light in all directions… which amazingly coloured the clouds in the sky, the trees, the rocks, the earth and the huge crowd. It stopped for a few instants and then began its dance of light again like a pinwheel. It stopped again and for a third time it began giving off more colourful and brilliant fireworks. The ecstatic crowd watched breathlessly.

All of a sudden, everyone thought that the sun was going to detach itself from the firmament and fall upon them! A single shout was heard from all the people; it expressed the people’s terror, and one could hear the spectators shouting their own emotions: «A miracle! A miracle!» some said; «I believe in God!» others exclaimed; «Hail Mary!» others prayed; «My God, have mercy on us», most people shouted and, falling in the mud on their knees, they prayed aloud the act of contrition, convinced that they were going to die.

At last, the sun stopped dancing, went back to its place and began to shine again so nobody could look at it. A last astonishing fact: all those people, who were for the most part soaked to the bone, right after the miracle were completely dry.

The miracle of the sun was the most outstanding miracle ever seen in the world. All the more outstanding because the three shepherd children had predicted many months before when and where such a miracle would take place.

Why did Our Lady wish to perform this amazing miracle? To prove to everyone that Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta were telling the truth, and to show us that they were saying very important things. In fact, they are the most important things we could desire: Peace and Love among men.

And since Our Lady turns to children in particular, we now turn to you, young readers, so that you may reflect on our Mother in Heaven’s words and put them into practice. In fact, the story of Fatima doesn’t end with the last apparition on October 13, and it doesn’t only concern Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, but it continues in all times and in every corner of the earth, wherever a child accepts our Mother in Heaven’s invitation, gives himself to Her, promises to pray the Rosary every day and accept everything the Lord wishes to send him in order to console the Heart of God who is so offended, to convert sinners and for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which is the triumph of Love and Peace.

MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH

The triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the triumph of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love, that is, the triumph of God, who will reign again in the hearts of men after removing hatred and sin from them.
As soon as Adam and Eve, the first two human beings, were created, they were full of Love, because the Holy Spirit dwelt in their hearts, that is, God Himself who is total Love. Satan, the Angel who was the first to go against God, saying «no» to Him, convinced them to disobey just like he did. This first disobedience was man’s first sin and that is why it’s called “original sin”. With this sin, Adam and Eve drove the Spirit of Love away from their hearts and let Satan come in, the spirit of hatred and evil, and this sin was handed on from father to son, already showing its fruits in the first sons of Adam and Eve, when Cain killed Abel, his brother. Today we can see how often this hatred among men is renewed in the world, which causes pain to the Heart of our Father in Heaven.

But God continued to love men even after they had offended Him, and He wanted to come among them, since they were stifled by hatred, to free them from sin and give them joy, peace and the freedom of the sons of God again. However, in order to be able to come back among His sons who had driven Him out of their hearts by disobeying, He needed someone who would give himself to Him with total obedience: for this reason He sent the Archangel Gabriel to Mary of Nazareth, the purest and kindest girl on earth, to ask her if she was willing to give herself to Him. Mary answered: «Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your will».
She said her «Yes» to God, thus making up for Eve’s «no». And just as Eve had driven the Holy Spirit away from her heart with that «No», so Mary made him come back with her «Yes»: from that moment the Holy Spirit established his eternal dwelling place in Mary’s Heart, and spreads from Her in order to drive Satan, hatred, away from the hearts of men, and to return himself, who is Love.
This is why the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the triumph of the Spirit of Love. How will this come about? Precisely with the consecration to Our Lady. When we say to Her: «Mother I give you my heart and will for eternity, save humanity», we give ourselves to Her just as She gave Herself to God, we say «Yes» to Her just as She did to God. And since in Her we find the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that is, of Love, with our consecration to Her we say «Yes» to the Spirit of Love who lives in Her and from Her is conveyed to us.

Do you remember, children, what happened when Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta consecrated themselves to God in the first apparition by answering «Yes» to Mary’s invitation? She opened her hands and from them came forth a light which pierced them all: «that light was God» Lucia wrote later on. The three shepherd children were enlightened, transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit.
The same thing happens to each person who consecrates himself to Mary. There is an exchange of Love: we give Her our heart full of sin and our will which is so weak and uncertain, and She gives us Her Heart, full of Love and Her strong and total goodwill. She sends us the Holy Spirit, by extending the Reign of Love of the Father in us, and She makes us Her collaborators to continue this Reign in other people too. This is the most profound and fundamental meaning of consecration: offering oneself to God through Mary, to work with Her in bringing the Kingdom of God in every heart.
It’s a serious commitment to keep all your life. But in order to do this, we must always give new strength to our souls with the Rosary and with daily Communion: in this way we will obtain each day the strength to accept and offer everything the Lord wishes to send us for the conversion of sinners, for Peace in the world and to console the suffering Heart of God.