Solemnity of the Mother of God: Born under the Law

Solemnity of MARY MOTHER OF GOD

Year of the Youth

January 1, 2019

Jesus, I trust in you!

When the shepherds went to Bethlehem, they glorified God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them by the angels. What was it that they were told? What was it that they had seen? They were told that they shall find in Bethlehem an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. That was the sign given to them and the moment they saw the infant of Mary, they already knew what it meant. They knew that this infant is the Savior who is Christ the Lord: “Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you who is Christ the Lord.” All these are summed up in the Name which today is given to the child: “He was named Jesus.” The Name “Jesus” means “God Saves.” This name tells us who the child is and what was he sent to do. He is God and he comes to save: “You are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.” The Son of Mary is God, therefore he is called Lord. The Son of Mary comes to save us from sins, therefore he is called Savior.

St. Paul tells us the implication of the great mystery of the Incarnation of God’s Son: “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we may receive adoption as sons.” Jesus was born of a woman named Mary. God became man. Today, he is circumcised. He became subject to the law. Circumcision is the sign of the covenant between Abraham and God. Abraham was circumcised when he was 99 years old. Today, when the eternal God entered time, he was circumcised when he was 8 days old. God, who is above the Law, became subject to the Law. He went down to our humble level and he did this for a purpose. He came to ransom us from the Ancient Law of sin which subjected all mankind. He ransomed us at the price of his Blood shed upon the Cross. This is neither absurd nor silly as the president claims it to be. Christ died because a price has to be paid. That is what ransom is all about. It is about paying a price in order to obtain the freedom of a captive. We were captives, hostages of sin. Christ liberated us by shedding his blood on the Cross and dying for us.

By ransoming us from sin, Jesus obtained our adoption as sons of God. “To those who did accept him, he gave power to become children of God.” “As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out: ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a son.” We are no longer slaves but sons and daughters of God. Divine Filiation is the great gift of Jesus to us. To make us his sons and daughters is the ultimate reason why God created us. He wanted us to share in his Divine life. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is that share, that access that God gives us to himself. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us testifies to our freedom. The Holy Spirit in us helps us approach God with the confidence of sons and daughters. Because of the Holy Spirit in us, we are truly rich. He is the inheritance promised to us because he brings us to communion with the Trinity even here on earth. He is our foretaste of heaven, our pledge of eternal life.

The Holy Spirit is the Blessing God gives us every year, year in and year out. Every New Year we should never fail to beg God to send us the Holy Spirit. This is why the Church, at midnight of a new year, sings “Veni Creator Spiritus” (Come Holy Spirit). More than fortune and success for the New Year, the ever abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is most important for us. Sending Him to us is the ultimate reason why the Son of God was born of a woman. So long as the Holy Spirit is with us, we have nothing to fear. As long as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, all will be well. We will always be at peace.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 2018 7: A Young Girl's Prophetic Song

SIMBANG GABI 2018 7

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

DECEMBER 22, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

The Magnificat is an impressive song which oftentimes is unappreciated because when it is sung, we seldom get past the first verse. Of course, Our Lady acknowledged that God has done mighty things for her and therefore, all generations will call her blessed. But the song is not just about what God has done for her. It was also about how God intervened into human history and inverted its paradigms: “He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty handed…” What is wonderful about this song is that it was sung by a 15 year old girl. Such concerns were way beyond the comprehension of a 15 year old. It was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit himself…for how else could a 15 year old sing of these? I am of the opinion that the Magnificat is a clear reflection of the Beatitudes that were declared by our Lord himself: the Lord himself declared the blessedness of those who are accounted as negligible by the world.

A 15 year old girl singing a prophetic song…shouldn’t this be the model of our young people? The Magnificat is an invitation to all the youth to elevate their concerns beyond trivialities like fashion, gadgets, and other self-centered issues. Look around you…are you satisfied with what you see? Do you think that hunger and misery amidst a throw away culture is really right? Do you think that it is right to get your way simply because you are powerful? Apparently, the notorious bully of Ateneo thinks that his taekwondo skills gives him the right to impose himself on everybody whom he perceives is weaker than him. Is it right for a young 14 year old like him to be abusive of the little power that he and his family has? Young people, what are your concerns? Do these transcend your little world of comfort? Are you capable of going beyond yourselves so that you can see the misery of others? Say not that you are young…because the Kingdom of God is your concern. You must contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God by using what you have and who you are to make the world less miserable, less unjust, less cruel. Your youthful idealism must drive you to seek for a better world and in the end, “HUWAG KAYO PAKAKAIN SA SISTEMA.” Youthful idealism will end up meaningless if we begin to “dance with the world” by compromising principles for pay-offs or for a little bit of fame and power. Hindi lahat ng bagay ay nabibili…kasama na diyan ang prinsipyo at ang paninindigan. Hindi lahat ng nabibili ay nagpapaligaya.

Dear young people, let your idealism make you hunger and thirst, not for success, fame and fortune, but for the Kingdom of God. Be hungry for righteousness. Mourn for the prevalence of sinful structures in society. Work for justice by being just and fair. Work for peace by being peacemakers and by resisting temptations to be violent. Be compassionate to the poor. And live simply so that you can always have something to share. Huwag lang panay ang sarili ang isipin natin.

As for the mighty and powerful, balang araw, babagsak din sila. Just wait and see. The Kingdom of God, which is built with blood and sweat, this alone will remain standing for ever.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 2018 6: Empowered by the Holy Spirit

SIMBANG GABI 2018 6

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

DECEMBER 21, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

Upon discovering from the angel that her elderly cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, Mary set out in haste to visit her and attend to her needs. But it was not her alone who went to visit nor was Elizabeth alone who was the object of the visit. Mary was carrying in her womb the Son of God who had just been incarnated. On the other hand, John the Baptist has been living in his mother’s womb for six months then. Mary went to visit Elizabeth. Jesus went to visit John. Mary went to visit Elizabeth to help her through a difficult pregnancy. Jesus went to visit John to sanctify him with the Holy Spirit even though he was still in his mother’s womb: “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,” so said the angel to Zechariah at the temple. Little did Mary realize that she was doing more than just assist her cousin for at that moment when John was sanctified in his mother’s womb, Jesus was already saving him. That moment of charity became a moment of salvation. Beneath what was visible, something invisible was wonderfully taking place.

The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and thus made the Incarnation possible. But let us not forget that the Holy Spirit did something more in Mary. He inspired her to go to Elizabeth. In fact, the conversation between Mary and Elizabeth was a Spirit-filled conversation. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped for joy and she, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared Mary’s blessedness as Mother of the Lord.

Young people, the Holy Spirit whom John received in his mother’s womb is the same Holy Spirit we received on the day we were baptized. He is the same Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary and empowered her. Thus, you and I are empowered also by the Holy Spirit. He empowers us with his supernatural gifts. As our helper, the Holy Spirit in us empowers us to live lives that radiate the goodness of God. He helps us to be who God created (intended) us to be. He is the power who sustains, energizes, and keeps us on a holy path. The Holy Spirit makes us holy. He purifies us from our sins through the Sacrament of Confession. He helps us convert and be Christ-like. He transforms us into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit directs and helps us to do the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit imparts to us gifts that will help us serve the Church. He empowers us to fulfill the calling God has placed on our lives. He pours on us the love of God to sustain us through difficult moments. He keeps hope alive in us through such moments by reminding us that we are constantly loved by God. He helps us pray most particularly when it seems too difficult to pray because our sorrows are too great. He reminds us of what Jesus said and taught us, especially when the trials seem to be too great. And most of all, the Holy Spirit makes us witnesses for Jesus. As the Holy Spirit pointed out to John the Baptist the hidden presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary, so also does he point out the hidden presence of Jesus to the world. This is what we testifies to us. He keeps reminding us that the Lord is near. He reveals to the world the Gospel and he does this through us. Therefore, we should not shy away from being advocates for Christ. Nor should we worry about what to say. The Holy Spirit will put these words on our lips. And those words will be powerful words. Look at what the Holy Spirit placed on the lips of Mary. It was just a greeting but when this greeting reached Elizabeth’s ears, the baby in her womb leaped for joy. Through that greeting, John was sanctified.

We are an empowered people. Baptism gave us the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit make us go in haste to bring the Gospel to our friends and to all people. Young people, you are gifted. More than just your innate talents, you are gifted with something more. You have received the Holy Spirit. Go and share the Gospel. In the power of the Holy Spirit, be disciples. In the power of the Holy Spirit, make disciples.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 2018 5: Open your Door to the Redeemer

SIMBANG GABI 2018 5

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

The appointed time has come and the long wait will soon be over. It was the time for God to send his Son to redeem the world. And so, he sent the Angel Gabriel to Nazareth to a virgin who was betrothed to Joseph. And the virgin’s name was Mary. Why was the angel sent? He was sent to ask Mary for her consent to the Divine Plan that she will bear a Son who will be the Son of the Most High, the ruler of a Kingdom that will have no end. Is it not strange that God should do this? After all, He can do whatever he pleases. He can do all things. He can always have his way. What is he in power for if he could not enforce his will?

And yet, such is the humility of God. The act of becoming man is humbling in itself for God. God is almighty…the universe could not contain him. There is nothing in the universe that does not owe its existence to Him. And yet, in his desire to redeem us, God took the form of a slave, being born in our human likeness. And true enough to his self-emptying (kenosis), he politely knocks at the door of the heart of Mary. He sent his angel to plead with her: Please accept my Son…he will be sent on the mission to save the world. Allow him to take flesh from you and reside in your womb for nine months. Allow him to be nurtured and to be raised by you.

The humility of God: he comes to do us a favor. He comes to save us…and yet he still asks for Mary’s consent. In humility, he comes to Mary and through Mary, he comes to us. He did not force Mary to take him in. He did not want Mary to accept him if it were against her will. Mary enjoyed freedom of will. In the 1^st reading, Ahaz was told: Ask the Lord for a sign, let it be as deep as the nether world or high as the heaven. Ahaz close to reject the offer: I will not ask…I will not tempt the Lord! Mary was allowed to express her hesitation: “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” The angel patiently explained to her how the Holy Spirit will overshadow her and make it possible. All she needed to do is to say “Yes!” And Mary did! She said: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, let it be done according to your word.” That consent, given in freedom, was the key. Through that consent, Mary’s life was changed. Through that consent, the world will never be the same. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us!

Many young people hesitate to open their hearts to Christ. They fear that Jesus will make many demands that will curtail their freedom. They want to enjoy life and to them, it can be done only if they kept away from Jesus. But none is farther from the truth. Away from Jesus, there is no freedom…but only slavery. There is no fulfillment, but only emptiness. There is no contentment because there will always be something lacking. Why is this so? It is because God has created in our hearts a vacuum that only he can fill. God has made us for himself and our hearts will always be restless until we rest in him!

At the inauguration of the World Youth Day in Cologne, Pope Benedict dared the youth: “Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy, has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist. Only he gives the fullness of life to humanity! With Mary, say your own ‘yes’ to God, for he wishes to give himself to you…If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation.’”  

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Immaculate Conception: Original Holiness, Justice, and Beauty

SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 2018

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

DECEMBER 8, 2018

JESUS, I trust in you!

The greeting of the angel Gabriel to Blessed Mary reveals the Immaculate Conception: “Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you!” it was an appropriate description of Mary’s soul which was “full of grace” from the very beginning of her existence. Hers was a soul unlike all of us who were conceived and born deprived of God’s abiding presence: “All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” By the disobedience of Adam, sin entered the world. This sin, which we call “original sin,” is a deprivation of holiness and justice. God created man in a state of original holiness and justice. St. Paul tells us we were “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:24). God created Adam and Eve in a state of original justice and original holiness (CCC 375). According to the Catechism, original justice means Adam and Eve were in a right relationship with themselves, each other, and all of creation (CCC 376). Original holiness means Adam and Eve shared in God’s own life through sanctifying grace, so they were adopted children of God (CCC 375). After the fall, our first parents transmitted to all of us a human nature deprived of this right relationship with God, with one another, with ourselves, and with all creation. Ours is an inherited nature that is deprived of God’s own life, God’s indwelling which is called sanctifying grace.

But not so for Mary: she was full of grace from the very beginning of her mortal existence. This is because she was “chosen before the creation began.” In the world, people are chosen for certain positions according to their achievements and track record. But this is not the case with Mary. Even before she was created, she was chosen to be the Mother of God. Or better yet, when God created the Virgin Mary, he already intended her to be the Mother of his only begotten Son. Therefore, he infused into that little fetus a soul that is full of grace. From the very beginning, the Lord was with her and has never left her. Hers was a human nature that was endowed with original justice and holiness. She was the most beautiful creature that God has ever created. None will be lovelier than her. She is the loveliest of all God’s creation: Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula non est in te.

This is why Mary is our fallen nature’s solitary boast. Mary shows us the original beauty of our human nature. Hers was the beauty of the human being before the fall. Hers is the beauty of human nature redeemed. In her, we see how God wondrously created man and how he even more wondrously redeemed him. Take away all the corruption, all the ugliness of sin, and you will find man as God originally intended us to be. We look at Mary and we see the original plan of God for creation: wonderfully sharing in his Divine Life.

And this is what we ask our Redeemer to make of us: transform us according to the pattern of Mary’s beauty! Save us from sin! Save us from our own selves!  Restore in us the beauty of your Divine likeness. O loveliest of all God’s creation, preserve us in the Baptismal grace. 

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 7: The Priest and the Church of the Poor

SIMBANG GABI 2017

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PEOPLE

DECEMBER 22, 2017

Jesus, I trust in you!

Elizabeth called Mary blessed because she believed that everything told to her by the Lord would be fulfilled. Mary’s response was a song that the Holy Spirit inspired her to sing. In this song, she acknowledged the greatness of the Lord who looked upon her with great kindness. Elizabeth’s praise is the first of so many people who would call her blessed simply because the Almighty has done great things for her.

However, Mary’s song goes beyond thanking God for favors she personally received from him. She recognized how God is now moving in order to bring about the renewal of the entire created world. She sings of God’s mercy inverting the established worldly order: the proud being scattered in their conceit; the mighty being cast down from their throne and the lowly being lifted up; the hungry being filled with good things and the rich being sent away empty…This inversion of the world order is the breaking in of the Kingdom of God in the world. Wherever the gospel is preached to the poor, wherever the brokenhearted are healed, wherever the oppressed and the prisoners are freed, the Kingdom of God is found. The Kingdom of God is the gathering of people around Christ so that they may share in his Divine life. In this gathering of believers, Christ’s law of charity, justice and mercy is lived out.

The priest plays an important role in establishing on earth the Kingdom of God. “Priests exercise the function of Christ as Pastor and Head in proportion of their share in authority. In the name of the bishop, they gather the family of God as a brotherhood endowed with the spirit of unity and lead it in Christ through the Spirit to God the Father. For the exercise of this ministry, a spiritual power is given them, a power whose purpose is to build up.” (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 6.) The work of the priest is to gather and build up the family of God. He builds the kingdom of Christ by treating everybody with great kindness and by acting towards people according to the demands of Christian doctrine and life: “Be urgent in season and out of season, convince (manghikayat), rebuke (magsaway), and exhort (magpayo), be unfailing in patience and in teaching.” (2 Tim 4:2) His work is to educate people to reach Christian maturity: “Christians must be trained so as not to live only for themselves. Rather, according to the demands of the new law of charity, every man as he has received grace, ought to minister it one to another, and in this way all should carry out their duties in a Christian way in the service of their fellow men.” (PO, 6.)

“Although priests owe service to everybody the poor and the weaker ones have been committed to their care in a special way. It was with these that the Lord himself associated, and the preaching of the Gospel to them is given as a sign of his messianic mission.” (PO, 6.) The Magnificat is fulfilled not through an armed struggle or a class war. It is fulfilled in the exercise of charity, of mercy, and of justice. The inversion of the world order takes place through conversion – the conversion of the Church so that it may be a church for the poor. Pope Francis said: “I want a Church which is poor and for the poor.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 198.) The priest not only leads the community in works of charity for the poor. He must also allow the poor to be evangelizers themselves.  “We need to let ourselves be evangelized by (the poor). The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them at the center of the Church’s pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voices to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them, and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.” (EG, 198.)

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 5: The Incarnation and the Priest

SIMBANG GABI 2017 5

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

DECEMBER 20, 2017

Jesus, I trust in you!

The most awaited moment has at last arrived. It is the fullness of time and at last, God sends his Son into the world to be born of a woman. He sends his Angel Gabriel to a virgin named Mary. The angel acknowledged the Virgin’s blessedness: Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you. And then he proceeded to reveal the Divine plan of her conceiving and bringing forth into the world the Son of the Most High. It was planned even from the beginning of time, yes, even before the fall of man. God intended to send his Son as man in order to give man a share of the Divine Life. It was the plan that Lucifer resisted and rebelled against. He thought that by seducing Adam and Eve to sin, he could prevent this plan from being fulfilled. But the fall of man even gave God greater reason to pursue the plan of the incarnation.

And so the plan was all set, only one thing was still missing and the angel Gabriel was sent to get it: it was the consent of the Woman who was destined to be his Son’s mother. The Son was willing to descend from heaven. The Holy Spirit was willing to make it happen. All that was needed was for the chosen Woman to say “Yes.” And so it happened. Mary said: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.” And the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

God elects. God calls. And yet man must respond, “Yes.” This was the story of Mary. This is the story of every priest and consecrated person. We have seen in the past nights that God elects and calls every priest from the people of God. We heard yesterday that God wills to make men his allies and helpers in his work of sanctification. He chooses his men and calls them to follow him. Through Holy Ordination, the Lord will bestow on them the authority to transform bread and wine into his Body and Blood. In other words, the Incarnation will once again take place upon the altar…if only priests would imitate the Blessed Virgin and consent to his will.

When the Virgin said “yes” to God, the Son’s “yes” to the incarnation is enacted by the Holy Spirit. in like manner, the priest who has said “yes” to God’s call is bestowed the power to bring about the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ on the altar. When the priest repeats the words of the Lord upon the bread and wine, the Holy Spirit overshadows the offerings and transforms them into Christ’s body and blood. In a way, Christ obeys the words of the priest and descends upon the altar. Thus, bread is no longer bread but his body and wine is no longer wine but his blood.

St. John Eudes said: “Do you not envision Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of angels and men, Who was subject to His Mother and to St. Joseph on earth, erat subditus illis (Luke 2, 51), actually subjected to the power of His priests? Does He not obey their commands and their words? Does He not hear their voice when they summon Him to come into their hands at the consecration of the bread and wine in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Have they not power over His Mystical Body, which is the Church, over His Holy Spirit, over His grace and His mysteries? Is it not through priests and their ministry that the Holy Spirit is imparted to the faithful, that the treasures of grace are distributed and that the secrets of the eternal mysteries are made manifest? For that very reason Sacred Scripture attributed to them the function of "dispensers of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4, 1). Above all else, how wonderful is the power of priests over the very Body and Blood of the Saviour! That power not only gives them the right to bring Our Lord down upon the altar whenever they wish or to transport Him from one place to another; it also extends to the point of sacrificing Him every day, and of annihilating Him so far as it is possible to annihilate Him, because sacrifice means the destruction of the object sacrificed. Whoever possesses sacrificial power likewise must have power to destroy what he sacrifices. This is indeed the greatest and most absolute power God Himself can exercise over His creatures, to destroy and annihilate them for His glory.

Thus, God has honored the sovereign Priest, His Divine Son, and all those whom He has called to this holy state of the priesthood.‘’

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Immaculate Conception: Creation, Fall,, Redemption

Jesus, I trust in you!

Before original sin, there was first original holiness and justice. “The first man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in harmony with himself and with creation around him…” (CCC 347) Adam and Eve were constituted in original holiness and justice wherein they shared in the divine life. They lived in Divine intimacy and in doing so, were exempted from suffering and death. Living in the garden was the sign that our first parents enjoyed God’s friendship.

But all was changed when man allowed himself to be seduced by the devil. The serpent disguised as good and pleasurable what is actually fatal. “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in the Creator die in his heart and abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command.” (CCC 397) In that sin, man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirement of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of original holiness, man was destined to be fully ‘divinized’ by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to be ‘like God’, but ‘without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.’ (CCC 398) Because of their first disobedience, Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They became afraid of God of whom they have conceived a distorted image – that of a God jealous of his prerogatives. The control of the soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered, the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relationship henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation became alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject ‘to its bondage to decay…Death makes its entrance into human history. (CCC 400) The personal sin of Adam and Eve affected the human nature that they would now transmit in a fallen state. They will transmit a human nature that is deprived of original holiness and justice. They will transmit a human nature that is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin – an inclination to evil which is called “concupiscence.” (CCC 404-405)

The Immaculate Conception

The response of God to all this is the promise of a Savior. God will send his Son to be born of a Woman who will be established in perpetual enmity with the devil. As Adam is the source of sin, Christ is the source of grace. The bad news of original sin will be reversed by the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of all men, that all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. (CCC 389) Mary, who is destined to be the Mother of the Redeemer, became the first to be redeemed. By God’s decisive act, Mary did not inherit a human nature that is deprived of original holiness and grace. Instead, she is “full of Grace” because from the very beginning of her human existence, she was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord was truly with her. In Mary, we find that paradise lost became paradise regained. God, who is wonderful in creating man, was even more wonderful in restoring him to grace. This wondrous act of God is concretely seen in Mary. In Mary, we behold the glory of the new creation in Christ which far surpassed the beauty of original holiness and justice. All beautiful in the grace of God, Mary rightfully appropriates for herself the song of the prophet Isaiah: “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels.” (Is 61:10) Mary shows us the beauty of creation redeemed and human nature fully divinized by God in glory. Hers is the glory that we aspire for. Thus we turn away from the wickedness of sin and struggle against our concupiscence. Purified by the grace we receive from the sacraments, we hope that one day we shall also regain the paradise we lost. To Mary, we cry for help: “Bend from your throne at the voice of our crying. Look to this earth where your footsteps have trod. Stretch out your arms to us living and dying, Mary Immaculate, Mother of God.”  

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 9 (Fatima Centennial): the Miracle of the Sun

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!

On the last day of the Simbang gabi, we read the Song of Zechariah. His voice restored on the day of the circumcision of John the Baptist, Zechariah sang in praise of God for sending a Savior in fulfillment of his promise to Abraham and the prophets. He also recognized the vocation of his new born son who will go before the Lord to prepare his way. The song of Zechariah is being used as the morning prayer of the Church because of these words: “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Perhaps, the reference to the dawn also makes this song an appropriate reading for the last day of preparation for Christmas. Christ, the Radiant Dawn, is about to break upon us. He is the Sun of Justice who shall shine upon us who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

The Fatima apparitions ended with a great miracle that our Lady promised to perform for all to see. It rained heavily on October 12, 1917 and on the morning of October 13. The much awaited miracle was lampooned by the secular press. Tens of thousands converged on Fatima in spite of the appalling weather conditions. They were all drenched with the rain but still they stayed on to see this promised miracle. At noontime, as Our Lady spoke with the 3 children, everybody present saw the heavy rain ceased and sky cleared. The sun appeared in a way that everybody could look at it directly without their eyes getting hurt. It trembled and began to move to and fro across the sky, throwing out multi-colored lights in all directions. Then, all at once, the sun detached itself from the sky and came plunging down like an enormous fireball on the screaming multitude. Everywhere people were falling into the mud in panic. They were crying out their sins and pleading for divine mercy as they cringed in imminent expectation of the end of the world. At the last moment, the sun halted its plunge and climbed back into the sky to resume its normal position and brightness. As the crowd heaved a sigh of relief, everyone noticed that their clothes and the entire Cove da Iria were completely dry. The solar miracle was only the 3^rd time in history that God had used the sun to perform a miracle – the other 2 occasions being the prolongation of daylight at the prayer of Joshua (Joshua 10), and the sign given to the king of Judah in 714 BC by the prophet Ezekiel in which the shadow of the sundial retraced its path by 10 hours (Kings 4:20). The uniqueness of the solar miracle of Fatima was that its exact time and location were publicly announced months in advance.

Pope Paul VI in 1967 would later on say about the miracle of the sun: “It was eschatological in the sense that it was like a repetition or an annunciation of a scene at the end of time for all humanity assembled together.” Indeed, there could be no greater sign than the miracle of the sun. At Fatima, there were 100,000 eyewitnesses coming from all faiths who at the time of the miracle, were all convinced that the end of the world had come. And afterwards, when they found themselves alive and dry but still quivering with fear, they realized that God had stamped his Mother’s words with a colossal preview of His 2^nd coming.

The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon said in 1977: “While the death of God is proclaimed with arrogant glee, Fatima appears like a great supernatural light. It is God who reveals himself with the impressive majesty of Sinai.” In the time of great incredulity, God used the sun in order to affirm the faith of his faithful that he is alive. In the Gospel, the Lord spoke of signs in the sun, in the moon and the stars that would speak of his coming (Luke 21:25). The solar miracle is definitely that sign in the sun that the Lord referred to. The sign of Fatima, the promise of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is the great promise of the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God. It is a dazzling sign of hope for a tormented and fearful world. It is a wondrous pledge of God’s unwavering love for his wayward children. Although the much of the world has abandoned him, he has not abandoned the world. Instead, through his Mother, the Lord promises to withhold the terrible arm of his Justice and to forgive his rebellious children if a “sufficient number” respond to the invitation of his grace to find refuge in his Mother’s Immaculate Heart. He assures us of final reconciliation and peace.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God’s love is stronger than death.” (CCC, 1040) The miracle of the sun points to that day when God’s goodness will triumph over all evil. Indeed, the Lord Jesus is that Sun of Justice who will burn the arrogant and the evil doer. But he shall heal those who fear him (Malachi 4:1-2) In the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is found the promise of the victory of good over evil, Justice over oppression, peace over violence, humility over arrogance, mercy over sin. Let us do what our Mother asked in Fatima and bring the world closer to that era of peace.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

  

Simbang Gabi 8 (Fatima Centennial): the Immaculate Heart of Mary as our refuge

Jesus I trust in you!

Elizabeth gave birth to St. John the Baptist and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. Perhaps the reason for their joy was that the Lord has put an end to the curse of her sterility through the birth of a son in her old age. Little did they know that the birth of the Baptist did not simply mean the end of her mother’s curse but it also meant the end of the long wait for the promised Redeemer. “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.” The parents’ insistence on the name “John” and the restoration of Zechariah’s voice were the signs to the neighbors and relatives that what they witnessed was no ordinary birth. The signs made them ask: “What will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

“What will this child be?” The prophet Malachi gives us the answer: “Lo, I send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes…to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come to strike the land with doom.”

Many people simply regard the Fatima apparitions as a doomsday message. The warnings about wars, famines, persecutions of the Church, the spread of communism, the martyrdom of the good, and the annihilation of nations have caught the attention of many to the point that people think that Fatima was designed to scare people. To some people, Fatima is a prophecy about the impending doom that is to come.

However, we forget that Our Lady did not come to scare people about a future that they cannot change. When she first appeared to the children she said to them, “Do not be afraid. I will do you no harm…I am from heaven.” Our Lady introduced herself in the very same way the heavenly visitors introduce themselves to people in the bible: “Do not be afraid.” She came as God’s messenger with a proposal to avert what is to come as a consequence of our sins. She came with a message of consolation: “Jesus wishes…to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” She said to Lucia, “Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” (June 13, 1917) As John was sent to prepare the way before the Lord, so also the Lord sent his Mother to prepare for us the way that will lead us to him. That way is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The wars, famine, and persecutions that are God’s punishment for the sins of humankind will afflict both the good and the bad. Evil causes suffering to the good people: “the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer.” And yet, we are to bear these sufferings because they purify us. “He is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord. Then, the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.” Even this evil which causes us suffering does us good. And the Immaculate Heart of Mary is being offered by the Lord to us as our refuge amidst suffering caused by evil. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart, making reparation to her and consecration to her, will be our way back to the Lord.

The Lord does not send to us in our time only the last of the prophets. He sends to us the Queen of the prophets herself. Not only does he open Zechariah’s mouth. He opens to us Mary’s mouth. Through her anguished message at Fatima, Mary calls us back to God. The Lord guides world events slowly towards the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. He guides the world towards that era of peace. Let us consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart. Let the Immaculate Heart of Mary be our refuge in these trying times. Let her be our way back to God.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!   

Simbang Gabi 7 (Fatima Centennial): The True Revolution

Jesus, I trust in you!

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Mary sang about the great things the Lord has done for her and for people. She sang of how the Lord looked upon her lowliness and exalted her by doing great things for her. Thus, she will be called blessed by every generation. But the Holy Spirit also enabled Mary to recognize what God does for the poor and the humble ones: He shows mercy to those who fear him; he shows the strength of his arm to the humble; he lifts up the lowly; he fills the hungry with good things; he comes to the help of Israel his servant. However, while he looks mercifully on the poor, he deals with the proud and the arrogant: he scatters the proud in their conceit; he casts down the mighty from their thrones; he sends the rich away empty. Coming from a 15 year old girl, the song is indeed radical and revolutionary because it upsets the usual paradigm by which the world looks at reality. The world extols the rich, the powerful and the proud while it looks down upon the poor, the hungry and the humble. But God has a different paradigm: he exalts the humble and humbles the proud.

When Our Lady appeared to the children at Fatima, she asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. If her requests were not heeded, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church, the martyrdom of the good, the suffering of the Pope, and the annihilation of many nations. Why Russia and what errors would she spread? At that time, the message was not very clear because Russia was not a powerful nation to deal with. In fact, it was beset at that time with political and social unrest. On February 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was deposed from power and he was replaced by a weak Russian Provisional Government. Because of its involvement in World War I, a national crisis developed in Russia: disorder in industry and transportation intensified and obtaining provisions like food became very difficult. Vladimir Lenin rode on this social unrest and overthrew the provisional government by taking control of the Winter Palace through his Red Guards. He tried to gain public support for the Bolsheviks, pro-communist political party, through the use of the slogan: “Bread, Land, Peace and all Power to the Soviets.” But failing to get that support, he overturned the results of the elections for the Russian Constituent Assembly in November 1917. Using the armed guards, he prevented the meetings of the democratic assembly. This is now known as the October Rising or the Bolshevik revolution. In 1918, the Bolshevik became the Russian communist party and it endeavored to put the tenets of Karl Marx into practice. The error of Communism spread throughout the world. Nations disappeared and these became powerful Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). Communism seems to be in accordance with the revolution spoken of by the Magnificat of Mary: the upsetting of the social and political order, the inversion of power. However, there is that one great difference: Communism is a God-less ideology. It seeks to invert the social order independent of God. God had no place in the communist society. Religion was forbidden. Man separated from God is man dehumanized. If the human dignity is basically founded on the fact that man is the image of God, what would man be if the existence of God was denied?

St. Paul spoke of the doctrine of mutual responsibility and the common destiny of mankind. Because we are members of the Mystical Body of Christ, whatever affects one affects everybody. “If one man suffers anything, all the members suffer with it.” (1 Cor. 12:6). The collective responsibility of individuals applies to nations as well. Our Lady asked us to pray and to make sacrifices for Russia and for the conversion of sinners. Since we are one in Christ in his Mystical Body, we also become saviors of each other in the mystery of the Communion of Saints. We must collaborate in the work of redemption and so “complete what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings on behalf of his body, the Church.” (Col 1:24)

Due to the sacrifices and prayers of the devotees of Our Lady, communism has collapsed (except in China). Russia is beginning to show signs of conversion. Vladimir Putin is now a very strong defender of the Christians who are being persecuted in Syria and in Iraq. (Surprisingly, the US, under the administration of Obama, has given a mediocre response to the plight of the persecuted Christians in the Middle East.) A little more sacrifice, a little more prayer and the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Mary, Russia will be converted and peace will be given to the world. True peace will be found when Christ truly reigns in the world. This is the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us join Mary in the true revolution that would change the world.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!  

Simbang Gabi 6 (Fatima Centennial): Eucharist

Jesus, I trust in you!

Mary went in haste to the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant (John the Baptist) leaped in her womb and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” It was truly a blessed encounter because both Elizabeth and her unborn baby John were sanctified by the Holy Spirit and this brought joy to both of them. What could be the reason for such joy and for such blessing? The reason is the hidden presence of the Lord Jesus who, at that time, was already in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady did not visit on her own accord. Rather, she brought to them Jesus. He is the lover referred to by the first reading: Hark! My lover – here he comes…here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows… Little did the Virgin Mary know that she was the tabernacle in whom God dwelt. Wherever she went, she brought the Lord Jesus with her. From within Mary’s womb, the Lord Jesus blessed and bestowed the Holy Spirit.

When Our Lady appeared to the children at Fatima, she said, “To prevent this (war, famine, persecution of the Church), I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturdays.” Necessary to living the Fatima message is Eucharistic reparation. The Blessed Virgin wants us to receive Holy Communion on the first Saturday of the month in reparation for the sins of mankind. On the third angelic apparition to the children in 1916, the angel prostrated himself before the Blessed Sacrament and after reciting a prayer of reparation “for the countless outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences” committed against the Eucharist, he urged the children to “make reparation and console your God.” After this, the children would spend many hours daily repeating the prayer taught by the angel and Eucharistic reparation became part of their lives.

The 1^st apparition of Our Lady of Fatima occurred on May 13, 1917, the Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. When she opened her hands on the children and communicated to them streams of intense light, the children were overwhelmed and they felt “lost in God” whom they recognized in that light. So, the children prostrated on the ground in adoration and poured out their praise of the Blessed Sacrament.

Our Lady asked that we receive Holy Communion on the 1^st Saturday of every month. The angel in 1916, gave Holy Communion to the children. He said: “Receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation and console your God.” The angel was referring to sacrilegious Communions, the desecration of tabernacles and the violation of the Sacred Hosts which occur with frightening frequency throughout the world today. Besides these heinous crimes against the Blessed Sacrament, there is also the lapse of millions of our fellow Catholics to atone for. So many Catholics no longer receive Holy Communion. We must also make amends for the repeated violation of the 3^rd Commandment: “You shall keep the day of the Lord holy.” On September 19, 1846, Our Lady appeared to 2 children in the village of La Sallete in France. There, she expressed her sorrow: “I gave you six days to work; I kept the seventh for myself, and no one wishes to grant it to me. This is what weighs down the arm of my Son so much.” That was in 1846, 170 years ago and the indifference to the Sunday Mass has worsened since then.       

Even when she was quite ill, little Jacinta would drag herself to daily Mass in the parish church of Fatima. Sometimes, Lucia would restrain her but she would answer: “I’m going for sinners who do not even go to Mass on Sundays.” If a sick little girl could do this, why can’t we?

It is a pity that we fail to understand how much joy the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament could give us. If only we could experience what the children experienced when they were lost in the presence of God. The presence of Christ in the womb of Mary bought joy to both Elizabeth and John the Baptist. It is the same joy that is bestowed on anyone who receives communion or at least draws near the tabernacle. Many people simply do not know what they are missing. Many of us fail to recognize Jesus who is really present Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus is the joy desired by the human heart.

In this Christmas season, let us put the Mass at the center of the holy Day. The Festival is called Christmas…the Mass of Christ. The Mass is the center of Christmas because the Eucharist is the continuation of the Incarnation. Here, Christmas takes place anew: the Word becomes flesh. In this Christmas during the Centennial of Fatima, let us make a firm resolve to receive Communion every 1^st Saturday of the month in reparation for the sins of men. The Lord wants to be consoled by us in this way. Let us give him joy and allow him to give us joy so that our joy may be complete.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 5 (Fatima Centennial): The Immaculate heart of Mary

Jesus, I trust in you!

The appointed time of the Incarnation has come. God sent the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary in bring her the glad tidings that she would conceive and bear the Son of God in her womb. The Father is sending his Son and he has chosen the Virgin to be his mother. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name him Jesus…he will be called holy, the Son of God.” No one has loved the Son more than the Father. And by the annunciation, the Father entrusts to Mary the Son whom he loves the most, his only begotten Son. The Son left his heavenly throne and entrusts himself to the womb of his Mother.

When the Blessed Virgin showed the children a vision of hell, she said to them: “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 and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.

“To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the 1^st Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”

The Blessed Virgin asked not only for the establishment of devotion to her Immaculate Heart but the consecration of Russia to her. When Our Lady asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, she meant that the Church, through the Pope, should offer that nation to her. To consecrate means to entrust to Mary not just individuals but an entire nation. It is significant that the Lord should want this consecration to take place. It was as if he was entrusting the battle against evil to the Blessed Virgin. In the book of Genesis, God said to the serpent: “I will put an enmity between you and the Woman, between your seed and her seed.” It is true that Jesus will save us, his people, from sins. But in his battle against Satan, he wishes to involve his Mother. The triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart is the triumph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Father entrusted Jesus to Mary at the Incarnation. At his crucifixion, Jesus entrusted the Church also to Mary when he said to her: “Woman, behold your son.” 

The Lord Jesus entrusted the spiritual battle to his own mother.

However, the consecration of Russia is not a magic formula that will bring about the desired results. Lucia said, “God will only permit the grace of Collegial Consecration when a sufficient number are complying with the message of Fatima.” This is why in 1967, Pope Paul VI wrote: “We now exhort all the sons of the Church to renew personally their consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of the Church.” (Signum Magnum) This is the reason why we do not leave the consecration of Russia to the hands of the Holy Father alone. We must do our part by individually living out what Our Lady demanded at Fatima: conversion, Penance and Prayer (especially of the Rosary). We have to put our whole selves at the disposal of the Blessed Virgin in the very same way that she placed herself at the disposal of the Lord: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” Every day, we must offer our minds, hearts, and strength to the Blessed Virgin and to ask her to do with us as she pleases. Before a collegial consecration of the world can take place, there should first be world-wide individual acts of consecration. If we do not confess our sins, nor live lives of penitence, nor pray the Rosary every day, the consecration of the world would be void of its meaning. We must entrust ourselves to Mary as God has entrusted the incarnation of his Son to her.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! 

Simbang Gabi 3 (Fatima Centennial): Angelic visitation

Jesus, I trust in you!

The annunciation by an angel to St. Joseph is the first of the series of angelic visitations that we shall encounter during the Simbang Gabi. Angels have played prominent roles in the infancy narratives. Angels will announce the conception of John the Baptist and of our Lord. They will sing on Christmas night and proclaim the Lord’s birth to shepherds. They will warn the magi and St. Joseph of Herod’s evil plans. Angels are bearers of the Good News and that Good News is Jesus.

So the angel revealed in a dream to St. Joseph not only the wonderful plan the Lord had for Mary his wife but also the identity of her son: He is Emmanuel (God with us) who fulfills the prophecy of the Virgin giving birth. He is to be named Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. He is both God and Savior: God who saves people from sins.

The apparitions of Our Lady to the shepherd children of Fatima were preceded by angelic visitations. During springtime of 1916, an angel appeared to the children. He introduced himself to them as the Angel of Peace and he taught them a prayer: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, I love you. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, nor adore, nor hope, nor love you.” Then he said to them, “Pray like that. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.”

During the summer of that same year, a second angelic visitation occurred. The angel introduced himself as the guardian angel of Portugal and he told them: “You must pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer up prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.” He taught the children: “Make everything you do a sacrifice and offer it to God in reparation for the countless sins by which he is offended (nasaktan) and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. In this way, you will bring peace to your country…above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings which the Lord may send you.”

After 3 months, the angel appeared to them a 3^rd time. This time, the Holy Eucharist appeared suspended in mid-air. The angel prostrated in adoration on the ground and led the children in a prayer of reparation: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly. I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, really and truly present in every tabernacle of the world in reparation for the countless outrages (pang aalipusta), sacrileges (kalapastanganan) and indifferences (pagwawalang bahala) by which he is offended.  And through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg you to convert poor sinners.” Then, the angel gave Holy Communion to the children.

As the angel revealed to St. Joseph the identity of the Son of Mary as God the Savior, so also the angel revealed to the children the identity of the Blessed Sacrament, namely, it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to the Lord Jesus. He made the children realize how holy the Blessed Sacrament is for it is God himself present among us. The angel taught them the value of prayer and sacrifice and also the necessity of reparation for sins and prayer for the conversion of sinners.

We should likewise learn these lessons from the angel. As St. Joseph was convinced to welcome Mary and her Son into his home, so also may we learn to welcome Christ into our lives. Welcome Christ by receiving him worthily in Holy Communion. Let us repent and confess our sins and make reparation for them. Let us make up to the Lord for those who do not believe, adore, hope, nor love him.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Simbang Gabi 2 (Fatima Centennial): War and Peace

Jesus, I trust in you!

We will always remember the 2^nd Simbang Gabi as the day of the Genealogy of our Lord, that long list of our Lord’s ancestors from Abraham to St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. We are given a glimpse of Old Testament history which shows us that the Lord was born in time and also to a family. It is the story of God’s promise being carried out to fulfillment. This promise was necessitated our need for redemption from sin. This promise of a Savior transcended even situations that would have erased all possibilities of its fulfillment.

As we look at the genealogy, we find a gap which we now call the “Babylonian exile”. The Jews were carried off into slavery for 70 years from 607 BC to 537 BC. The Holy City itself was taken captive, the Temple destroyed and the citizens were exiled. This was brought about by the sins of the people: idolatry and rebellion against God. It was a time of despair. People thought that God has forgotten his promise of salvation. But the Lord has not forgotten. The exile ended and so history led to the birth of the Messiah. The Christmas proclamation would declare: “the whole world, being at peace…Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea.”

Our Lady’s apparition at Fatima occurred also at a very trying time. It was the World War I. The world has not seen anything like it. Our Lady came with a promise of the end of the war. Soldiers will return home. She said: “Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” (May 13, 1917)   She repeated this request on July 13: “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, for only she can help you…The war is going to end but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.” This worse war took place. The Spanish Civil War took place during the pontificate of Pius XI. It was essentially a war against God in which untold numbers of churches were destroyed, 14 bishops and 7,000 priests and religious were martyred. The number of martyrs produced by the Spanish Civil war was comparable to those of the Roman persecutions. The symbolic “firing squad” of the statue of the Sacred Heart in the geographical center of Spain was the manifestation of the anti-God nature of this war.

World War II began when the Nazis invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This invasion was preceded by the “unknown light”, the Aurora Borealis, which was seen all over the northern hemisphere on the night of January 25-26, 1938.

What Our Lady said is significant: war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father are God’s punishment for the crimes of the world. And as we speak, Syria and Iraq (Babylon) are in war. This only shows that we have not converted. The secular world is losing the sense of sin. Jurists call it “crime” and psychologists label it a “complex”. “The rejection of sin has resulted in the loss of guilt; much of today’s evil is perpetrated without thought to repentance. The philosopher Max Scheller said that while sin multiplies everywhere, the sense of guilt diminishes.” The Bishop of Fatima said in 1975: “In the light of the Fatima message, sin is not a phenomena of the sociological order, but is…an offense against God with necessary social consequences. Perhaps no other century as the century we live in has had a life so sinful. But there is something added to the sins of this century: the man of today, more sinful than those who came before him, has lost the sense of sin. He sins, but laughs and even boasts of his sin…Man of today has arrived at this stage because he has placed a division between himself and God…believing that when God is ignored, everything is possible. The man of this century wishes to realize himself as stronger than God and against God, and comes finally to the point of being man debased, anti-man, because man can only perfectly realize himself in God.” (F. Johnson, 34-35.)

Our way out of this predicament is the way proposed by Mary. Let us repent and convert to the Lord. Let us pray the Rosary to obtain peace because only Mary can help us. She can help us arrive at the era of true peace for it was when the whole world was at peace, it was then that she gave birth to the Savior, the Prince of Peace. Let us pray the Rosary to the Queen of Peace.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!