Letters to the Faithful
The Fatima Affair
FROM THE DESK OF
Bishop Brian J. Kennedy, O.S.B.
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
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 message that God has given
us to spread into the whole world. Christ established His Church to spread this
message. Through the successors of the Apostles, we have received the same
mandate from God; Jesus is Lord. There is salvation only in the name of Jesus.
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 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 .
SEE: http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/prayto.html
See: http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/mediatrix.html
See: http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/THEOTOKOS.html
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