THE
DEVIL APPEARED AT FATIMA
The
Fatima Affair
FROM
THE DESK OF
Bishop
Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B.
According
to the Word of God, the devil will manifest himself in the appearance which best
suits his unholy purpose. He is the deceiver, the
imposter.
St. Paul warns us, "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light". (2
Corinthians 11:14, NAB)
The
Church cannot afford to be shocked or dismayed at the prospect that the devil
would impersonate our Heavenly Mother. We are very emotional and sentimental in
our relationship with Mary and this can often serve to blind us to truth. The
devil knows that and plays on our emotion and sentimentality. "Beloved, do not
trust every spirit, but put the spirits to a test to see if they belong to God,
because many false prophets have appeared in the world". (1 John 4:1,
NAB)
Month
after month, the imposter of Fatima directed the children to establish devotion
to herself. On July 13, 1917, she showed the children a vision of hell. Again,
she promised salvation to those who would be devoted to her. "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 what I say to you is done, many souls
will be saved".
God
has already saved us from hell by the blood of the Lamb and our testimony to
Jesus. God already has provided a way to save them from hell. God established,
not devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but a Church that will share the
good news of God's salvation revealed in Christ. This is confirmed by the power
of the Holy Spirit working through His Word and Sacraments. "I solemnly assure
you, the man who hears my word and has faith in Him who sent me possesses
eternal life. He does not come under condemnation, but has passed from death to
life". (John 5:24 NAB)
It
is illogical to even consider the prospect that Mary, seeing her Son in all His
glory, seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for all believers
would even contemplate making the statement that it is devotion to her that is
God's plan to save the world. It makes no sense for the believer to equate
salvation with the number of rosaries that are said when we have Christ living
to make intercession for us.
The
great deceiver of Fatima promises salvation to those who embrace devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. This promises more than the
Church
promises to those who attend Mass and receive the Sacraments!!!!!! God's one
promise of salvation has already been made and fulfilled on the cross. We can be
very certain that God did not send Mary to earth to change God's eternal plan of
salvation. It is just this kind of deceit that leads to other false statements
about Mary; Mediatrix of all graces
etc. The devil's deceit is felt far and wide within the Church as is evidenced
in the number of well meaning but deceived souls proclaiming Mary is Mediatrix
of all graces. How would have such a statement sounded to the Apostles?
This
salvation we enjoy is from God in Christ; “The man Christ Jesus, who gave
Himself as ransom for all". (1 Timothy 2:1, 3-6 NAB)
Our
first responsibility to the world is prayer. The second is to spread the good
news
that
salvation is ours in Jesus alone and Jesus alone is the hope of mankind.
God's
plan is so perfect and all inclusive that there is no need to substitute,
supplement
or modify the Divine plan.
THE
GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE LAST WORD GOD HAS GIVEN US TO SPREAD INTO THE
WHOLE WORLD.
THROUGH
THE APOSTLES AND THEIR SUCCESSORS WE HAVE RECEIVED THE SAME MANDATE FROM
GOD:
JESUS
CHRIST IS LORD AND THERE IS NO SALVATION
IN
ANY OTHER NAME
During
the first apparition at Fatima, Lucia asked the lady if Lucia would
go
to heaven. Having been assured that she and Jacinta are glory bound, they were
told
that Francisco will also go to heaven, but he must say many rosaries. Firstly,
let
me make a side note, God does not send people from heaven to preach the Gospel.
It
is for that purpose that God has established the Church, the Sacraments and has
given
the Church authority to speak in His name and exercise the power of the keys
firstly
given to Peter and then all the Apostles equally and their successors. Had this
lady
been the Mother of the Christ, I am very certain that what Jacinta would
have
heard would have gone something like this. God so loved Francisco that He
gave
His only Son, that by believing in Him, Francisco will not perish but have
eternal life.
Instead
of giving Francisco the Word of God, she laid the "grace" for his salvation on
the
number
of rosaries he would say. She did not tell him that Jesus is the way, the truth
and
the life. She didn't say no one comes to the Father but through Him.
OUR
RESPONSE
Our
response should be to reaffirm our loyalty to God, to Jesus Christ, to the One,
Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church, to the faith of the undivided Church
and
to the Word of God found in the Scriptures and the teachings of the Apostles.
Our
response should be to affirm our Love and devotion to the great
Mother
of the Christ (Christotokos). Our response should be to stand up
and
be counted as being faithful to the Gospel of Christ. We should
STOP
THE DEVIL in his tracks and proclaim the vision of Fatima to be a fraud,
a
work of the devil and an abomination to God, Mary and to the Church
.
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