Many are familiar with two kinds of revelation: General revelation revealed in Scripture and Tradition and which ended with Christ and the apostles (also called the “Deposit of Faith”), and private revelation which God occasionally gives to certain individuals. The Deposit of Faith binds all men (what God wills all to believe and do for salvation), while private revelation binds only the person to whom the communication was directed (what God may additionally require of an individual person).

There is a third type of revelation, however, called public prophetic revelation, or public prophecy. It is unique in that God gives it through a prophet after the apostolic age, but intends the message for all of humanity. To deny the existence of public prophetical revelation would mean that God cannot continue to communicate with humanity after the period of general revelation on matters that affect their salvation. That, of course, is not true. Scripture reveals that God will in fact continue to speak to us during the Church age.

God reveals through the prophet Joel: “And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days my spirit, and they shall prophesy.”Such prophesy is not limited to the period of general revelation. Scripture teaches us that prophets existed in the Church after Christ’s ascension into Heaven, which means that prophets can exist in the Church today. Further, St. Paul says in Ephesians 2 that the Church is “Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” He also says, “And God indeed hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors; after that miracles” (1Cor 12:28). Just as the Church is built upon the apostles and their successors (the bishops), the Church is also built upon the prophets of the New Testament. These prophets include Lucia, Jacinta, Francisco and, of course, the Queen of Prophets, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hence, God continues to speak to the Church through His prophets, and when He does, we are obligated to listen and obey.

St. Thomas Aquinas elaborates by teaching that God sends prophets throughout the Church age to guide human actions to further His plan of salvation. So when God intervenes in human history with prophetic revelations, He is telling us what we must do to save our souls. Those who listen and obey will be saved. Those who hear and deliberately disobey will be damned, as Scripture says in Proverbs 28:19, “When prophecy shall fail, the people shall be scattered abroad.” This revelation is confirmed by the Message of Fatima, which is a message of salvation or damnation, depending upon the actions of men (and especially the Pope). In fact, divine revelation (the first type) requires us to obey public prophetic revelation (the third type), because public prophetic revelation echoes and affirms divine revelation. God Himself imposes the obligation.

St. Paul says, “Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1Thess 5:19-20). St. Paul is referring to this third type of revelation, that is, public prophetic revelation. He says that if the prophecy is “proved” to be “good,” then we must “hold fast” to it. The Church has indeed tested the Fatima prophecies, including its accompanying miracles and accurate predictions of future events, and found them to come from God. Every single Pope since Our Lady appeared has affirmed the divine truth of Fatima. On the 90th anniversary of Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI even stated, “The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima…are without a doubt, the most prophetic of all modern apparitions.”

Therefore, the Deposit of Faith and the dogmatic teaching of the Church obligate us to believe and obey approved public prophecy, which includes the Fatima prophecies above all. If we don’t, St. Paul says we “extinguish the spirit,” that is, we resist the Holy Ghost. In light of the Scripture, Lucia even said that despising the Fatima message is a sin against the Holy Ghost, and Jesus revealed that this is the unpardonable sin. This is why Pope John Paul II, on the 65th anniversary of Fatima, declared that “the Message (of Fatima) imposes an obligation on the Church.” Private revelations impose no such obligation.

As I suggested, those who call Fatima a mere “private revelation” are generally people who either do not believe in the Fatima apparitions, or are trying to somehow mitigate the gravity of the Popes’ failures to implement the divine mandates in the Message. This is a common opinion on mainstream Catholic radio and television. As Catholics, these people are embarrassed by the actions, or in this case, the inactions of the Popes, and rightly so. But that is no excuse for obfuscating the truth. Whatever their motivation, to argue that Fatima is a “private revelation” is lunacy at best, and a lie at worst. As Bishop Rudolph Graber said plainly: “A careful distinction should be made between personal revelation and those where the message is declared to be for mankind at large. The former can with equanimity be ignored. But the latter must be taken seriously. And Fatima belongs to this category.”

We can see that the Fatima Message is by its very terms addressed to the entire world, both Catholics and non- Catholics alike, which means it is not a private revelation. We see this universal application in both the spiritual and material chastisements warned of by Our Lady. For example, we see the reality of hell which is the eternal destiny of all men who die without the grace of Jesus Christ. To save them from hell, God wishes to establish throughout the “world” devotion to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart – a devotion which exists only in the Catholic Church, and which demonstrates that only through the Catholic Church can man be saved. As Lucia later explains, Jesus said to her that “I want My whole Church to acknowledge the consecration as a Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that it may extend its cult later on and place the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.” As the Message applies to all men, Our Lady instructs us to pray for our own souls (save “us” from the fires of hell) and “all souls” who “are in most need” (those who are outside the Church or have fallen away through sin). Indeed, the spiritual Message of Fatima is universal. It is nothing less than the Gospel itself, for it concerns the salvation of souls. This is precisely why Pope John Paul II stated that “The Message (of Fatima) is addressed to every human being.”

We also note that Pope Pius XII also received a private revelation of this miracle on four separate days while walking the Vatican Gardens (October 30-31, November 1 and 8, 1950). He wrote: “I have seen the ‘miracle of the sun’, this is the pure truth” (Pius XII Saw ‘Miracle of the Sun’, Zenit, November 4, 2008). It has also been reported (although unverified) that Pope John Paul II, while recovering in Gemelli Hospital in 1981 had a similar revelation of the miracle and was even visited by Our Lady who authenticated the Fatima Message for him. Additionally, The Vatican Insider recently reported a similar solar phenomenon and its connection to Fatima during Pope Benedict XVI’s recent visit to Benin, Africa in November 2011. So, at least Pius XII, and possibly John Paul II and Benedict XVI, received further revelations confirming the authenticity of Fatima and their obligation to consecrate Russia but failed to obey the command.

But there are other unprecedented supernatural events associated with Fatima. We recall the revelation to Lucia at Tuy, Spain on June 13, 1929 when God revealed to Lucia a vision of the Blessed Trinity as He commanded the consecration of Russia. Not since Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, when the Father spoke and the Holy Ghost descended from Heaven as a dove, has God visibly manifested His Trinitarian nature to man. The revelation of the Blessed Trinity at Christ’s baptism was so extraordinary it was recorded in all four Gospels. Now, in 1929, God chooses to reveal It again, this time to a 20th century prophet, with even more mystical meaning, to confirm His request for the papal consecration of Russia (note that Our Lady says “God asks the Holy Father” for the consecration). As if the Miracle of the Sun were not enough to authenticate the Message of Fatima and the absolute necessity of consecrating Russia for world peace and the salvation of many souls, God wished to seal the official request for the consecration with what Frere Michel calls a “Trinitarian Theophany” never before witnessed in the history of the world.

The other extraordinary event associated with the Fatima consecration is known as The Great Sign. Only this spectacle was not witnessed by 70,000 people. Rather, it was seen by millions of people throughout Western Europe. We recall that when Our Lady revealed the request for the consecration of Russia on July 13, 1917, she stated, “The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the reign 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.” The Mother of Mercy not only provided the solution for preventing World War II (the Consecration of Russia), but also provided a sign to warn the world of the forthcoming punishments of that war if the Pope disobeyed Her request. This “great sign” – which Lucia confirmed in her Third Memoir - appeared in the Heavens on January 25, 1938. It was an astonishing phenomenon which Lucia believed was of supernatural origin, which appeared as blood-red fire in the sky, portending of a universal conflagration to inflict mankind for its sins, just as Our Lady predicted As with the Miracle of the Sun, the eye-witness testimony of the Great Sign is extensive and consistent (only in this case, there were millions of witnesses).

As Our Lady warned, the Great Sign signified that World War II was about to begin and result in the greatest bloodshed humanity had ever seen because the Popes have failed to consecrate Russia. Lenin had already murdered twenty million people in his seven-year reign of Communist terror. Now, in the absence of the papal consecration of Russia, Stalin would go on to murder forty-six million more in less than thirty years. Mao Tse- tung and his Chinese Communist Party would also slaughter seventy million people. That is over 150 million people murdered under the regimes of only three men. Fifty million people died in World War II, and Gorbachev and the Kremlin became responsible for many millions more. If Fatima is just a private revelation, how do we explain Our Lady’s accurate prediction of such PUBLIC massacres unlike anything ever witnessed in world history?

Like the Miracle of the Sun, Our Lady predicted the “what and when” of World War II, as well as the name of the future Pope (Pius XI) who would be reigning at the time the war commenced (the historical record shows that World War II officially commenced when Hitler invaded Austria in January 1938, during the reign of Pius XI). Of course, the accurate prediction of future events (as Our Lady did with both the Miracle of the Sun and the Great Sign) is another proof of authentic prophecy, for it communicates divine knowledge that is inaccessible to human beings in the natural order.

We note that Our Lady describes this prophetic celestial event as the “Great Sign.” This is the same terminology St. John the Apostle (to whom Our Lord entrusted Our Lady) used to describe his vision of Mary in the Heavens. In Apocalypse 12:1, St. John says “And a great sign appeared in Heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Note also that the woman – the Blessed Virgin Mary – has dominion over the celestial bodies (she is “clothed” with the sun and has the moon “under her feet”). Clearly, this apocalyptic vision connects “the woman clothed with the sun” to Our Lady of Fatima, who the Fatima visionaries said came to them from the sky, who performed the Miracle of the Sun, and who is the true “Great Sign” in the Heavens according to St. John the Apostle.

In his encyclical Signum Magnum (Latin, “Great Sign”), issued on May 13, 1967 – the 50th anniversary of Fatima – Pope Paul VI made this same connection. After referring to the “great sign” of Apocalypse 12:1 as “the august Mother of God,” he refers to the same “Virgin Mother of God in Fatima” whose anniversary is being celebrated by the Church. Hence, Pope Paul VI teaches that the woman of the Apocalypse is Our Lady of Fatima, by writing an encyclical to commemorate Fatima called the “Great Sign,” and connecting Our Lady of Fatima to the Woman clothed with the sun.

The Pope, of course, owes absolute obedience to God who has commanded him to consecrate Russia. But the Pope also owes obedience to the Mother of God, whose authority to order the consecration of Russia comes from God Himself. Moreover, because Our Lady is Queen of Heaven and Earth and Mother of all Christians, She has royal and maternal authority over all the members of the Body, including the Pope. In fact, the Message of Fatima is an exercise of Our Lady’s authority over the Church. Therefore, She is the Pope’s Superior, and he must obey Her commands lest he “resisteth the ordinance of God.” While only his confessor can judge the Pope’s moral culpability, in the objective moral order, the Pope’s failure to heed Heaven’s command is a mortal sin against charity, for it is “contrary to the love of God and neighbor,” compounded by the countless millions of souls that have been lost as a result.

Not only is the failure to consecrate Russia a grave sin against charity, it is also an objective mortal sin against the theological virtue of faith. Sins against the faith are the gravest of all sins. The great theologian Adolphus Tanquerey confirms the consensus of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church that one who receives a private revelation with clear evidence that it comes from God must believe it with the same theological virtue of faith as he believes public revelation (the Deposit of Faith). This common opinion is based on Scripture itself, which provides many examples of God giving private revelations to people which obligated them to believe and respond in divine faith (such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, St. Joseph, etc.). If, for example, Noah refused to obey God’s revelation to build the ark to save his family, Noah would have mortally sinned against the supernatural virtue of faith (not to mention been responsible for the seven other souls that may have been lost due to his disobedience).

This is why St. Paul says in chapter 11 of his epistle to the Hebrews: “By faith Noe, having received an answer concerning those things which as yet were not seen, moved with fear, framed the ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world; and was instituted heir of the justice which is by faith.” He is talking about the theological virtue of faith. St. Paul also praises Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and others for responding to private revelations “by faith” (a phrase St. Paul repeatedly uses in this chapter to describe their responses to these revelations). This is also why, for example, we read in Luke’s Gospel that God struck Zachariah dumb and unable to speak. Zachariah sinned against the faith by failing to believe God’s private revelation through the angel concerning the conception and mission of his son St. John the Baptist (see Lk 1:11- 20). While many other examples could be provided, it suffices to say that a person is bound to believe as a matter of supernatural faith a revelation he knows comes from God, as Scripture itself reveals. Further, because the nature of God’s supernatural revelation (whether public or private) is always serious (it pertains to salvation), failing to act upon that revelation is always grave matter in the objective moral order.

As we have seen, Fatima is not a mere “private” revelation. Rather, Fatima is a public prophecy which impacts the Church and the entire world. The Church has affirmed that the Fatima revelations have come from Heaven and are meant for every individual. Hence, if a private revelation binds the individual recipient to act as directed under pain of mortal sin, how much more does a public prophecy, divinely ratified by the greatest celestial miracle of all time, bind the Pope to act as directed under pain of mortal sin, especially when he is the Vicar of Christ whose actions will affect not only himself, but the entire Church and millions, perhaps even billions of souls? We can only shudder at the enormity of what’s at stake. Indeed, the Popes’ failures to consecrate Russia as Our Lady has commanded constitutes an objective moral evil and a mortal sin against divine faith (leaving the question of culpability, to God), especially when these same Popes have publicly proclaimed that Fatima and the command to consecrate Russia comes from God Himself.

To our critics who will say this book brings scandal to the Church, we must remember that we are judging facts, not Popes; we are judging decisions, not persons (whoever would say we are personally judging the Pope would be guilty of slander). While the evidence may – and should – cause scandal, we refer our critics to the counsel of Pope St. Gregory the Great: “It is better that scandal arise than that the truth be hidden”; and, Pope St. Felix III: “Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend truth is to suppress it.” Jesus says, “the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). While documenting the Popes’ failures to obey a simple request from Heaven may cause scandal among the faithful, the charge is as true as it is grave, and “We ought to obey God, rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

We also refer our critics to the law of the Church. Canon law not only gives us the right, but even imposes upon us the duty, according to our knowledge and competence, to manifest our views to the sacred Pastors on matters which concern the good of the Church. This right includes making our views known to the Christian faithful, as this book does (can. 212 §2-3). The Church’s law further recognizes that lay people are bound by the obligation to strive so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world (can. 225 §1). We have taken that duty seriously. Fatima concerns the good of the Church and humanity. Fatima is the divine message of salvation for our time. Fatima imposes an obligation on us all. Yet, the most critical component of the Message – the Consecration of Russia – has been ignored. For too long. As the saying goes, the Popes have fiddled while Rome burns. And as the Church of Rome goes, so goes the world.

But allow me to end this presentation with hope. After our Fatima Challenge conference in 2010, during which time Fr. Gruner, Christopher Ferrara and I had the opportunity to cross-examine Giuseppe De Carli (Cardinal Bertone’s co-author and spokesman) and solicit more evidence for our position, the Pope, several days later, completely reversed the Vatican’s position which had said that Fatima is a thing of the past. The Pope confirmed that the prophecy of the Third Secret continues to unfold, that it relates to the corruption of the Catholic clergy, and if anyone were to believe the prophetic mission of Fatima is over would be deluding himself.

Exhortation to constancy under their crosses. The danger of abusing the graces of the New Testament.

[1] And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us:[2] Looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who having joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now sitteth on the right hand of the throne of God. [3] For think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself; that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds. [4] For you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin: [5] And you have forgotten the consolation, which speaketh to you, as unto children, saying: My son, neglect not the discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art rebuked by him.

[6] For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.[7] Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct? [8] But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. [9] Moreover we have had fathers of our flesh, for instructors, and we reverenced them: shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live? [10] And they indeed for a few days, according to their own pleasure, instructed us: but he, for our profit, that we might receive his sanctification.

[11] Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice.[12] Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, [13] And make straight steps with your feet: that no one, halting, may go out of the way; but rather be healed.[14] Follow peace with all men, and holiness: without which no man shall see God. [15]Looking diligently, lest any man be wanting to the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up do hinder, and by it many be defiled.

[16] Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau; who for one mess, sold his first birthright. [17] For know ye that afterwards, when he desired to inherit the benediction, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, although with tears he had sought it. [18] For you are not come to a mountain that might be touched, and a burning fire, and a whirlwind, and darkness, and storm, [19] And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which they that heard excused themselves, that the word might not be spoken to them: [20] For they did not endure that which was said: And if so much as a beast shall touch the mount, it shall be stoned.

[21] And so terrible was that which was seen, Moses said: I am frighted, and tremble. [22] But you are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, [23] And to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect,[24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel. [25] See that you refuse him not that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke upon the earth, much more shall not we, that turn away from him that speaketh to us from heaven.

Hebrews 12:1-25

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 158
Reading 1 DN 12:1-3
In those days, I Daniel,
heard this word of the Lord:
"At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.
At that time your people shall escape,
everyone who is found written in the book.

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

“But the wise shall shine brightly
like the splendor of the firmament,
and those who lead the many to justice
shall be like the stars forever."
Responsorial Psalm PS 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord!
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord!
Reading 2 HEB 10:11-14, 18
Brothers and sisters:
Every priest stands daily at his ministry,
offering frequently those same sacrifices
that can never take away sins.
But this one offered one sacrifice for sins,
and took his seat forever at the right hand of God;
now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool.
For by one offering
he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated.

Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer offering for sin.
Alleluia LK 21:36
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK 13:24-32
Jesus said to his disciples:
"In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

"And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds'
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

"Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.

"But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

Well, all I can say is pray the rosary daily. Make sacrifices for Our Lady and Our Lord for the offences made against them.

The puzzle for me, ever since the third secret was made public, has been this very point: it doesn't conclude the way we were told it would.