Our Lady of Fatima promised many benefits for obedience to Her requests. For the individual, the devotions encouraged at Fatima, including the Rosary and Brown Scapular, have particular promises attached to them. There are many promises attached to the recitation of the Rosary (see “15 Promises for Praying the Most Holy Rosary“), and Our Lady has said that the Brown Scapular is a “sign of salvation, a protection from danger and a pledge of peace” (see “ The Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel” and “Sister Lucy and the Brown Scapular “). Families that pray the Rosary together will gain immeasurable graces for the individual members, and the strength for the family to stay together and grow in the love of God.
There are many examples of individuals, cities and countries being delivered from danger and evil due to the intercession of Our Lady, effected by the action taken by one or more people. If we are devoted to Our Lady, live our faith and work to promote it, Our Heavenly Mother will surely aid us, for as Sister Lucy has said, She “will protect Her dear ones.”
Seville
The protection rendered to the Spanish city of Seville during the Spanish Civil War is an example of the benefits of taking action at the local level. The Bishop of Seville consecrated his city to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and as a result Seville miraculously suffered no casualties from the war, in which one-tenth of the population of Spain was killed. Seville was the only city that was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart, and the only city that, as a result, was granted such a grace.
Lepanto
In the Sixteenth Century the Turks were overrunning all of Europe and seemed to be on the verge of wiping out Christianity. When all seemed lost, Pope St. Pius V organized a Rosary Crusade. He asked Catholics everywhere to pray the Rosary to ask Our Lady to deliver them from the imminent disaster. When the day of the great battle arrived, the Christian soldiers literally went into battle with swords in one hand and Rosaries in the other. Thus on October 7, 1571, one of the greatest military upsets in all history took place at Lepanto. The little Christian fleet, greatly outnumbered, defeated the mighty Turkish Armada and Christianity was saved – through the power of the Rosary. The Holy Father subsequently instituted October 7 as the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary.
Hiroshima
The rectory of the Assumption of Our Lady Church in Hiroshima, Japan was left standing on August 6, 1945, after the atomic bomb killed 200,000 people and decimated the city. The church next door to the rectory was completely demolished by the atomic blast. There was nothing left standing on the street outside. There was, in fact, no street outside – it too had been completely destroyed. Only the rectory stood amidst the surrounding rubble and four Catholic priests inside survived the blast, and were miraculously preserved from any effects of the radiation. It was because, as one of the survivors stated, the priests were praying the Rosary every day and living the Message of Fatima.
Portugal
The country of Portugal was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary three times, and each consecration effected a singular grace for that country: first, it was spared from the ravages of the Spanish Civil War; then the Second World War; and finally, from the threat of Communist takeover. (See “ The Consecrations of Portugal (1931, 1938) and Their Benefits“.)
Austria
Austria, also, was spared from Communist occupation due to the action of its citizens: after ten years of occupation, in 1955 the Russian armies withdrew from that country, without one person being killed or even one shot fired. This was due to the fact that 10% of the country’s population prayed the Rosary every day for the deliverance of their country. It is the only time that the militant atheistic forces of Marxism have ever peacefully left a country in which they held power.
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Our Lady has proven time and again that She will aid and defend those who are devoted to Her. Thus, with all of us taking action and doing our part, we will help to bring about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the promised consecration of Russia, and the subsequent period of peace for ourselves, our families, and our cities and countries.