""""[vc_column_text]The Rosary — as spiritual weapon against evil — has a very long and precious history. In twelfth and thirteenth century France, a group of heretics known as the Albigensians was destroying the minds of the Catholic laity with its erroneous ideas. The Albigensians’ teachings encouraged suicide, many times by self-induced starvation, … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Sixth Apparition — October 13, 1917 As on the other occasions, the seers first saw a bright light, and then they saw Our Lady over the holm oak. Lúcia: What does Your Grace wish of me? Our Lady: I wish to tell you … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Fifth Apparition — September 13, 1917 A crowd estimated at twenty thousand observed atmospheric phenomena similar to those of the previous apparitions: the sudden cooling of the air, a dimming of the sun to the point where the stars could be seen, and … Read more
In times past, people considered names to be symbolic of the person. This was so true that for a long time people even gave great importance to initials, a kind of symbol of the name, which in turn is a symbol of the person. Thus, a name was considered to be a … Read more
Many days passed before God finally completed the masterpiece of His creation. For nine months, the soul of Mary had given form to her virginal body, and the hour of her happy birth approached. As the suffocating Palestinian summer neared its end, the mellowing sun poured abundant torrents of golden light on … Read more
“Sub Tuum Praesidium” (Latin for “Under thy protection”; Greek: Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν) is the oldest extant hymn yet discovered to the Theotokos (Mother of God). The earliest text discovered so far of this hymn was written in Greek on Egyptian papyrus and dates to approximately 250 AD. It is used … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Fourth Apparition — August 19, 1917 On August 13, the day the fourth apparition was to take place, the seers could not go to Cova da Iria, as they had been abducted by the mayor of Vila Nova de Ourém, who wanted to … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Third Apparition — July 13, 1917 Mr. Marto, father of Jacinta and Francisco, says that when the third apparition began, a little grayish cloud hovered over the holm oak, the sunlight diminished, and a cool breeze blew over the mountain range, even though … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The Second Apparition — June 13, 1917 Preceding the second apparition, the seers once again saw a great brilliance, which they called lightning, but which was really the glare of the approaching light. Some of the approximately fifty spectators who had come to the … Read more
The Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima The First Apparition — May 13, 1917 The three seers were playing at the Cova da Iria when they saw two flashes like lightning, after which they saw the Mother of God appear above the holm oak. She was, according to the description of … Read more