SUBJECT:   Fatima, miracle at

QUESTION:  Is there any truth to the miracle of Fatima or the statements about it by the pope?

ANSWER:

It is claimed that Mary appeared to children in vision with messages for mankind. While we have no reason to doubt that the children experienced a vision, we do not believe what they saw was really Mary.

The Bible warns that people will witness miracles and supernatural phenomena which will mislead them:

Matthew 24:24

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

2 Thessalonians 2:9

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

Revelation 13:13

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

We also find a biblical example of this kind of false miracle in 1 Samuel 28:7-20. King Saul believed the dead prophet Samuel appeared, giving him a message; but it was really an evil spirit impersonating Samuel!

1 Samuel 28:7-20

7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.

12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:

18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

How do we know that Mary did not actually appear from heaven? Because the Bible reveals that the righteous dead remain in their graves until the resurrection at Christ's return. Mary is still awaiting the resurrection and cannot appear to anyone.  Notice…

1 Corinthians 15:22-23

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

1 Corinthians 15:50-54

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Hebrews 11:39-40

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

REGARDING THE POPE’S VISIT TO FATIMA IN MAY 2000

The following article was taken from the Internet regarding his trip:

HOLY FATHER'S BLOOD MENTIONED IN FATIMA SECRET

At the end of yesterday's beatification Mass at Fatima, John Paul II had another surprise in store. He entrusted Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, with an announcement about the famous "third secret" of Fatima. The Pope did not want to make the announcement, in part because it is a private revelation and in part (and perhaps above all) out of modesty, because it affects him personally. However, during the beatification ceremony homily he implicitly acknowledged with evident signs of emotion, that these revelations have decisively marked his understanding of his pontificate and his vision of the world over the last two decades.

However, the third secret was only partially revealed. To know its full content, the world will have to wait until it is published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, presided by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who are preparing a commentary to facilitate its understanding. This text is expected within a few days.  Nevertheless, during the beatification homily, John Paul II made highly interesting references, which are likely related to it. Above all, he made it clear that the Fatima message is a "call to conversion."

Moreover, the Pontiff confirmed some particular aspects of the three secrets: Jacinta's and Francisco's premature deaths, the 20th century's terrible wars and persecutions, the need to pray to "shorten" the evils against man, and the attack that he himself suffered in 1981 in the Vatican. He also quoted the Apocalypse, when it speaks of the "dragon," which symbolizes evil, and he affirmed that when man "puts God to one side he cannot find happiness but, on the contrary, ends in self-destruction."

The Bishop of Rome's reference to the third secret, which is now partially revealed, was expressed in these words: Fatima "prophesized the tribulations of these times and the Virgin asked for prayers to shorten these evils." He added that because of this "I want to thank God for having saved me from death on May 13, 1981. I also express my appreciation to Blessed Jacinta for the sacrifices and prayers for the Pope whom she saw suffer." (Zenit)

FATIMA TRIP CLUE TO POPE'S SUCCESSOR

The Pope's method of revealing the long-suppressed "Third Secret of Fatima" has signaled that he knows the "curtain is coming down" on his pontificate, and has indicated his possible successor, Vatican sources said yesterday. He chose Cardinal Angelo Sodano to reveal that the secret referred to the 1981 attempt on his life. Cardinal Sodano, 73, a career diplomat and Vatican Secretary of State, is seen as a safe pair of hands acceptable to liberals and conservatives.

At Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square yesterday, the Pope, who turns 80 on Thursday, appeared to have been exhausted by his trip to Fatima. After the ceremony, Cardinal Sodano said that the Pope had directed him to disclose that the three "little shepherds" had seen a "bishop clothed in white falling in a burst of gunfire". When the Pope was shot by a Turkish gunman on May 13, 1981, he knew the prophecy had been fulfilled, the Cardinal said. The Pope later donated the bullet that struck him to the Fatima shrine. On Saturday, in a gesture of thanks for the Virgin Mary's protection, he left what officials said was his most precious possession, a ring given to him at the beginning of his papacy by Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, then the Polish primate. (The London Times)