Today is the third anniversary of the death of Sister Lucia, the last surviving Fatima visionary. I believe in the Fatima visions, and I believe that Our Lady of Fatima played a big role in my destiny. I've been to Fatima on pilgrimage. I named my daughter, born on the date of the final Fatima apparition, after Sr. Lucia. Call me crazy, but this is what I believe.
As you may know the famous Third Secret of Fatima was finally revealed in the year 2000. Much to the disappointment of apocalypticists, it had to do with the assassination attempt against John Paul II and the martyrdom of the Church in the 20th century, according to the Vatican's interpretation. A forthcoming book -- actually the English version of one that was published in Italy last year -- called "The Last Secret of Fatima" positions itself as the final word on the matter. It is a book-length (a short book length!) interview with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, who played a big role in the process of revealing the Third Secret, including interviewing Sr. Lucia prior to publication. Cdl. Bertone says the Vatican isn't holding anything else back, and people who think so are nuts.
I read a review copy last night, and found something interesting. One thing the so-called Fatimists -- those who believe the Vatican is still hiding something about Fatima -- say to bolster their claim that the Vatican hasn't consecrated Russia to the Virgin, as the Virgin requested at Fatima, is that her prophecy for Russia hasn't been fulfilled. She said at Fatima that if the consecration was performed, "Russia would be converted, and a period of peace would be granted to the world." Well, the consecration wasn't performed until March 25, 1984, but it was done in a way that didn't satisfy the Fatimists (this, even though Sr. Lucia, the visionary, reported that it was satisfactory). Fatimists cite the fact that Russia has failed to convert to Catholicism as a sign that the Vatican did something wrong, or is lying about what happened.
Even as a Catholic, that never struck me as persuasive. I always figured that the prophecy must refer to the fall of Soviet communism, and the revival of Christianity in Russia. In 1985, almost exactly one year after the consecration, Gorbachev came to power. Miraculously, six years later the Soviet flag was no longer flying over the Kremlin; the Soviet Union ceased to exist on Christmas Day, 1991. And indeed, after decades of Cold War, a period of relative peace was granted to the world -- 10 years of it, in fact, ending on 9/11/2001. And Orthodox Christianity is arising again in what Lenin intended to be its graveyard.
Well, it turns out that the Vatican Secretary of State more or less believes this too. From the book, here's Cardinal Bertone:
I want to make it clear that Lucia didn't conceive of the consecration of Russia as a strategy for capturing this great Christian country for Catholicism. That wasn't the intention of the consecration, which was actually meant to help Russia return to its Christian heritage, to recover its identity as a nation devoted to Our Lady. Remember the Communist revolution had betrayed and violated Russia's Christian identity, using the might of the state to transform the country into a model of atheism....Once communism fell apart, the piety of the Russian people, which is saturated with devotion to Mary, re-emerged from the catacombs. There was no need to channel it toward Catholicism, and the Slavic pope wisely respected the Russian people's independence. Devotion to Mary was the force that kept the faith of the Russian Orthodox community alive even in the dark years of Communist oppression. So much so, in fact, that when the Soviet Union crumbled it was the youth who poured into the streets, proudly displaying the icons that they had once been forced to keep hidden in their closets or cellars.
Cardinal Bertone says later in the interview:
Pope Benedict also wants us to take concrete steps to improve relations with our brothers in the Orthodox Church. Catholics and Orthodox can't keep appearing before the world so deeply divided.
Amen!
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The way I view it, the church as the universal Body of Christ transcends time and space.
This is commonly asserted, but where is the scriptural witness for that?
I don't believe it makes sense to ask if someone is "Christian enough."
Of course it doesn't; it was a rhetorical device, and I think that was plain enough. The point was to note that there is no small number of Protestants for whom even the assertion that Chrysostom etc. were Christian is problematic because it's clear that their practice was significantly removed from what modern-day Protestantism looks like, and looks quite "Catholic".
To me it's very black and white: either you believe in Christ, and are thus a Christian, or you are not.
That's not untrue, but I'd argue it's not the whole truth, either. Is the witness of the NT a Christianity lived outside of community?
Of course, upon becoming a Christian, you enter into a life-long process of sanctification, maturity, and conformation to the image of Christ.
You'll get no argument from me on this.
I'm in the church even if their modern-day followers reject me,
This is an assumption on your part. They haven't rejected you.
There's no such thing as me being "Christian enough" to meet some sort of ancient standard.
Then Christianity changed between then and now? Scripture itself is a witness to a faith "once delivered to the saints" (Jude), which (to refer to verses previously cited) was then handed down ("traditioned") by word and epistle to faithful men who themselves handed it down; this either happened or it didn't. Scripture also tells us that Jesus said that the gates of hades would not prevail against His church, and that the Holy Spirit would lead the church into all truth. Again, this is either true or it isn't. The saints are themselves a witness to it having, in fact, happened, and that faith "once delivered" still being around today -- so where is it? Since 1 Tim 3:15 tells us that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, that would appear to be a question of paramount importance.
I don't believe that any Christian will be judged by their example.
At the very least, they are "so great a cloud of witnesses... [that we are to] run with perseverance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).
I agree with the apostle Paul: "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord."
You get no argument from me on this, either, but we nonetheless have to reconcile that with John 20:22. Whichever way you choose to do that, you're using a hermeneutic because you must, and the text has hardly interpreted itself.
That does not require me to submit to councils from ages past, or place myself into some "historical" church.
This assumes that age somehow leads to irrelevance; if this were the case, the NT would be more, not less, irrelevant than the Ecumenical Councils. It also assumes that the church of history, if it existed today, would be little better than a Christian museum, rather than a living faith.
It requires me only to focus on Him, and be faithful to stay where He leads me.
Again, no argument. However, this assumes that all of these things we are discussing are somehow extraneous to Christ, a position with which the "catholic tradition" would strongly disagree -- rather, we believe that they point to Christ. When we ascribe to Mary the title "Theotokos," it's the "Theo" that's of central importance; if it was not God that she carried in her womb, then we've got a serious misunderstanding of what the Incarnation means and hence our own salvation. It is a Christological issue through and through, in other words. The saints also point to Christ by their example -- they are saints because they have become Christlike, "little Christs" (which is what "Christian" means in the first place), "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). To say that looking to their example leads to self-condemnation, in all frankness, strikes me as a distortion of the point at best.
Richard
One addendum that may or may not be illuminating:
http://dangreeson.tumblr.com/post/25623914
Richard
Does Cardinal Bertone's book address the mysterious "etc." at the end of the second secret given by Our Lady of Fatima?
In all the accounts I have read, Our Lady says, "In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc."
For decades it was specuated that the Third Secret came at that "etc." spot. But in the official commentaries by the Vatican, that phrase is entirely ignored.
What words are included in that "etc", I wonder.
Granted, Sr. Lucia said that Pope John Paul II's consecration was valid, and that there was a time of peace, what of the current situation? Communism is now not only returning like wildfire to Russia but is spreading worldwide, including the United States. The world seems to be in such dire straits, and Putin's managed to get his missiles pointed straight at us. Not to mention our Churches and Christians here in America ARE being attacked by homosexuals and drag queens. Could this be because people did not dedicate themselves to the Five First Saturdays Devotion?? She did explicitly say that both the consecration and this devotion were required...
Just some thoughts. The world is certainly looking very bleak. More than ever the center Right in the United States must stand strong together as an example to our country and the world.
Iam not afraid to die as long as iam doing good - i will also love those who do wrong and understand them - there will be conversion if we do penance and spread the devotion of rosary to young men and women of the world -joel gonzales from philippines , 09102993930
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