Our Lady of Fatima, Ora Pro Nobis

"...Jesus wishes to use you to make me better known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart."
Lucia was suddenly sad. "Must I stay here all alone?"

"No, my child", the Lady replied gently. "And would that make you suffer? Do not be disheartened. My Immaculate Heart will never abandon you, but will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."

As she said these words, the Lady again opened her hands on the three children and communicated to them the same immense light that had overwhelmed them a month earlier. Francisco and Jacinta seemed to be in that part of the light which rose towards Heaven and Lucia in the rays which spread over the world. In the palm of the Lady's right hand, the children could see a Heart, ringed with thorns which seemed to pierce it. They understood this to be the Immaculate Heart of Mary, grieved by the sins of humanity and seeking reparation.

As the Lady rose into the sky, Lucia stood up and cried, "Look!"

"There she goes!"

Maria Carreira later testified that they heard "a sound like a rocket a long way off." The bystanders could see the little cloud of light drift away into the eastern sky. Then they noticed that the leaves of the holm oak were bent in the direction that the Lady had taken as if her garments had trailed across them. They remained like that for some hours and only gradually regained their normal position.'

From Fatima: The Great Sign by Francis Johnston.

A most compelling read. Why not buy it today! The accounts of the Fatima events are gripping, especially on the Miracle of the Sun.

As Catholic Culture cites and Francis Johnson attests there is a clear link between Our Lady of Fatima and the Holy Eucharist. For it was only years before the apparitions that...

'On 30th December 1905, Pope St Pius X wrote the following prayer in his own hand: "Domina nostra Sanctissimi Sacramenti, ora pro nobis" (Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us). Shortly after, the Holy See granted permission for the celebration of a feast in honour of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament for 13 May.

I find this small fact rather interesting, given the nature of contemporary debate in the Church, which is focused almost entirely on the Eucharist. No?

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is an optional memorial. Well, it would be wouldn't it!? Every option for Our Lady is surely an option worth taking!