Fatima and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Part One...I'll be posting tidbits of this over the next week for your reflection.

A revisiting of the Third Secret and what Pope Benedict XVI wrote about it at the time...From a Commentary by then Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) on the Third Secret of Fatima:

And now they are told why they have been exposed to this moment: “in order to save souls”—to show the way to salvation. The words of the First Letter of Peter come to mind: “As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1:9). To reach this goal, the way indicated —surprisingly for people from the Anglo-Saxon and German cultural world—is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A brief comment may suffice to explain this. In biblical language, the “heart” indicates the centre of human life, the point where reason, will, temperament and sensitivity converge, where the person finds his unity and his interior orientation. According to Matthew 5:8, the “immaculate heart” is a heart which, with God's grace, has come to perfect interior unity and therefore “sees God”. To be “devoted” to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means therefore to embrace this attitude of heart, which makes the fiat—“your will be done”—the defining centre of one's whole life. It might be objected that we should not place a human being between ourselves and Christ. But then we remember that Paul did not hesitate to say to his communities: “imitate me” (1 Cor 4:16; Phil 3:17; 1 Th 1:6; 2 Th 3:7, 9). In the Apostle they could see concretely what it meant to follow Christ. But from whom might we better learn in every age than from the Mother of the Lord?

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Bishop to Send Copies of DeCoding DaVinci to Parishes

From the Fort Wayne New Sentinel:

Bishop John D’Arcy, of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, says he has no plans to read “The Da Vinci Code” nor see the movie. “This book is really anti-Catholic,” he said, adding that truth found in Christian doctrine will prevail over falsehoods. “There have always been aspects of the (American) culture that are in opposition to church teaching. I don’t think the church has anything to fear from it.”

However, he said copies of De-Coding Da Vinci: The Facts Behind the Fiction of The Da Vinci Code by Amy Welborn, will be distributed to all 84 parishes in the diocese. Welborn, a Catholic, has a master’s degree in church history from the Vanderbilt University Divinity School and taught nine years in Catholic schools.

D’Arcy also said rather than bashing Dan Brown or boycotting the film, the Catholic Church should view this as an opportunity to teach others.

“The history of the early church and the history of the Bible have been mined for centuries,” he said.

Of course to any parishes out there looking for a resource that deals with the movies let me call your attention to Amy's Mysteries of the DaVinci Code which is sold in bulk by Our Sunday Visitor and is in question and answer format.

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In India: Ban These Films!

One is well known to you, the other may not be.

From Asia News Italy:

Indian Catholics protesting against two films, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Tickle my funny bone”, have scored their first victory. The films are held to be “offensive to the community’s religious sentiments. Meanwhile, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil today joined his voice to the chorus of condemnation.

Yesterday, the KBC, distributors of the second film, tendered an apology and said it will not use posters showing censored portions of the film. The Central Board of Film Certification has postponed release of the film, which was scheduled to take place yesterday, and censured parts of the film.

“Tickle My Funny Bone”, directed by Yogendra Konkar, is about a Catholic nun – depicted as a seducer – who has an affair with a married man. Vinayak Azad, head of the Central Board of Film Certification for Maharashtra state, assured Christian representatives that no vulgar scenes will be kept in the film and no symbols of the Christian Church, like churches, rosaries and crosses will be screened.

Before the cinema release of the censored film, a premier of “Tickle my funny bone” will be screened for Christians, so they may ascertain that the film does not include any offensive images.

Anniversary of Assasination Attempt on Pope John Paul

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima...
First...not anymore....
From this blog:

This took us right over the spot on St. Peter's Square where there is a red pophry rock marking the spot where Pope John Paul II was shot. Jeff Kirby had told us about it, but we hadn't been able to find it on any of the previous days, now we were stooped on the ground looking at it (the original stone had drops of blood and was removed, while this stone was put in its place as a marker). When we arose, there was Greg Burke and the Fox News crew getting ready to film a spot about the Italian Parliament's proclamation blaming the Soviet Union for the attach on the late Pontiff's life. "How did you know about that?" Greg asked us. "Thanks to Jeff Kirby."

A new plaque marks the spot:



The story of the day's commemoration from Asia News Italy:

A marble slab bearing the inscription of the coat of arms of John Paul II, and the date, in Roman figures, of the assassination attempt against him – XIII-V-MCMLXXXI – was placed yesterday in St Peter’s square, on the spot where Pope Wojtyla was felled by a bullet fired by Alì Agca 25 years ago. Many events are marked on this day, on which the Church recalls not only the assassination attempt against John Paul II but also the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, whose “maternal hand”, according to the then pontiff, diverted the deadly path of the bullet.

Yesterday, for the third time, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima arrived in Rome; today it will the focus of a procession organized to mark the anniversary of that tragic event. Tonight, it was placed in the private chapel of Benedict XVI.

Around 20,000 pilgrims are expected to turn up for the prayer event. The cortege from Castel Sant’Angelo will be led to the Basilica of St Peter by Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai, India. A pause to recite two prayers – one composed by John Paul II and the other by his then secretary, today a cardinal, Stanislaw Dziwisz – will take place at the place where the assassination attempt took place.

In the afternoon, Cardinal Camillo Ruini will celebrate Mass in the Basilica. At the end, in the square, below the windows of the pope, a fireworks display will be held.