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Understanding
Prophecies for Our Time
Saint Augustine said that we
must pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything
depends on us. Thus, in addition to prayer, each of us has an obligation to
act. Before one can take the appropriate action, however, one must be informed
– about the Faith and about the prophecies God sends to guide us. St.
Thomas tells us that God sends prophets to every generation, not to give us new
doctrine, but to remind us what we must do to save our souls. The prophets can
even serve to remind us what the Church’s leaders may be overlooking or
forgetting.
Saint Paul tells us:
"Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things; hold
fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:19-21). God sends prophets to set a
straying world back on the right path, and we must not despise the prophecy
that God has sent to us through His prophets.
Our Lady of Fatima gave us
prophecies for our time: prophecies that are being fulfilled before our very
eyes. For example, Our Lady predicted that if people did not amend their lives,
a terrible war would begin during the reign of Pius XI. In addition to warning
people to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins, Our Lady offered a
marvelous way to prevent the punishment of war: the solemn Consecration of
Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. Yet, neither did people amend their lives, nor
was the Consecration done, and World War II and the series of wars that
followed it have resulted (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kuwait, etc.). And more wars
continue now and into the future – all because we ignore Our Lady of
Fatima’s requests.
Some critics, including Father
Edouard Dhanis, have argued that Sister Lucy’s prophecy that the "great
war" would begin during the reign of Pius XI was incorrect. They make this
claim because, as they say, the Second World War "began" with the German
invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 – as is widely and erroneously
believed – when Pius XII, not Pius XI, was Pope. Pius XI died on February
10, 1939, and Pius XII was installed as Bishop of Rome on March 12, 1939.
Sister Lucy, however, has
maintained that World War II, in truth, began during the reign of Pius XI. "The
annexation of Austria was the occasion for it," she explained. The invasion of
Austria (in March 1938), the annexation of Czechoslovakia, the formation of
military alliances and the decision to invade Poland were the beginnings of the
war, though war had not yet been officially declared. All of these events
occurred during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI.
Furthermore, the "night
illumined by an unknown light," which Our Lady said would signal the coming of
the "great war", occurred during the night of January 25-26, 1938. On that
night a bright red light, likened to the blaze of a gigantic fire, filled the
evening sky, and was seen across Europe and even in parts of North America and
North Africa. It was determined to be a most extraordinary aurora borealis.
Sister Lucy expressed reservations on this, but wrote in her third memoir on
August 31, 1941 that no matter what cause the light could be attributed to,
"God made use of this to make me understand that His justice was about to
strike the guilty nations…"
During the same night that the
great sign appeared in the sky, in Moscow’s Lubianka prison a man by the
name of Kristian Rakovsky was being interrogated by Josef Stalin’s chief
interrogator. During the interrogation Rakovsky revealed Germany’s plan to
dominate Europe. He proposed that the Soviet Union join Germany in an invasion
of Poland, which would lead to Europe’s retaliation against Germany and
not the Soviet Union. According to Rakovsky’s plan, France and England
would wear each other out, after which the Soviet Union would turn on Germany
and collect the spoils of the war. This fateful interview began at the same
time the unknown light in the sky was beginning to fade. It resulted in the
Soviet Union’s instigation of and participation in the war, and
Rakovsky’s plan was carried out to the great benefit of the Soviet Union.
Again, this decisive step toward World War II occurred during the reign of Pope
Pius XI.1
Our Lady also warned that if
Russia was not consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart as She requested, Russia
would spread its errors throughout the world. Unfortunately, we are still
awaiting the proper consecration of Russia, and we are witnessing the
dissemination of Russia’s manifold errors, which Our Lady warned would
cause "wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the
Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated." Of
these prophecies, all have come to pass, at least in part, and they continue to
afflict us, except the annihilation of nations, which may befall us very soon.
Russia’s errors have affected us all, and include the crimes of abortion
and pornography, and the rejection of God on all levels – by individuals
(who may not all say that there is no God, but nevertheless live
as if there is no God), governments (which have decreed that God has no place
outside of the private realm or inside religious buildings), and society (in
which God’s laws are endlessly violated and even basic morality is treated
with contempt). The rejection of God forms the foundation of communism. (For
more on this, see "Counting
the Cost", The Devil’s Final Battle, Chapter 15.)
The Message of Fatima, said
Pope John Paul II, is more urgent and relevant now than ever. Thus we, to whom
the Fatima prophecies and requests are directed, are obliged to pay attention
to them, to obey them, to reflect on them and to pray for the grace to
understand them. If we do this, we will be better able to live our Faith and
Our Lady’s Fatima Message.
Notes:
1. For a text of the Rakovsky interview, see Manifold,
Deirdre, Towards World Government: New World Order, Firinne
Publications, Galway, Ireland, 1993, pp. 26-52.
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