The Fatima Center hosted the Fatima for the Next Generation conference in Buffalo, New York, on August 16-18, 2024.
Informative, devotional, and uplifting talks were given by Father Michael Rodríguez, renowned Mariologist Father Karl Stehlin, John-Henry Westen (editor of LifeSiteNews.com), Dr. Andrew Childs, Kevin Roerty, Angelica Filipe, and David Rodríguez. The video and audio recordings of these talks will be posted on our website and social media channels. We encourage you to check the website each week for the latest release, and please share them with others!
The conference was a great opportunity for like-minded people to get together – to grow in and share their love for Our Lady and Her Fatima Message, and to learn more about our wonderful Catholic Faith.
Each day, in addition to attending powerful and moving talks, the attendees were able to assist at the Traditional Latin Mass, avail themselves of Confession and spiritual direction, and pray the Rosary together. Those not already enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel had the opportunity to be invested in the Brown Scapular by Fr. Rodríguez.
We enjoyed each other’s company at social gatherings on both Friday and Saturday evenings. This year, we organized some games to help break the ice. Winners got devotional items, books, t-shirts, and similar prizes. Our scavenger bingo had us all earnestly trying to learn each other’s names and unique biographical facts about one another.
Our trivia game included categories such as Fatima, Catholicism, Canada, USA, and even “Weird but True Facts.” After forming ad hoc teams, we found ourselves racing to be first at the buzzer. This wonderful game challenged our mental capabilities, inspired a friendly competitive spirit, and had us all heartily laughing.
Applying the Fatima Message
This conference also featured a number of brief but powerful spiritual workshops designed to encourage us in the basic building blocks of the spiritual life. These workshops and portions of the conferences focused on the four acts of reparation in the First Saturday devotion, namely: Confession, the Rosary, mental prayer, and St. Louis de Montfort’s method for receiving Holy Communion (which brings to life the saint’s entire spirituality, Ad Iesum per Mariam – “To Jesus through Mary”).
We were made to understand that Our Lady chose these elements because they are the basis of our spiritual lives. The Sacraments of Confession and Holy Eucharist are the staples for regular growth in sanctifying grace. The life of prayer is fostered by silent meditation and vocal prayer, the Rosary being chief among all our devotions.
In fact, even on a daily basis we can offer reparation to console Our Lady based on the principles of the First Saturday devotion. Not everyone can attend daily Mass, but we can all make a Spiritual Communion each day (even several times a day). We don’t confess our sins to a priest every day, but every night we should make an examination of conscience and strive to make an act of perfect contrition. At each of Her apparitions at Fatima, Our Lady asked us to pray the Rosary every day. We can offer Her five decades (just fifteen minutes) out of love.
And the saints teach that those who persevere in daily meditation will not only be saved but advance in sanctity and spiritual perfection. It is simply impossible to remain mired in mortal sin or intentional, habitual, venial sins if one meditates every day. Meditation is simply our intimate conversation with God, and He loves us so much that He longs for us to spend that time with Him every day.
Our Speakers were Inspiring!
Another highlight of the conference was the Q&A session following each day’s talks. Speakers answered questions of all varieties and even spoke about what Fatima means to them. As Fr. Stehlin aptly said: Fatima just keeps on giving. You can learn so much about Fatima, but then there is still so much more for us to learn. Our Lady’s Message has so many deep layers.
We wanted to make sure everyone who attended left knowing there is a solution to the terrible crisis all around us. Yet there is only one solution. It is the one offered to us by God. The one which He sent His most Holy Mother to reveal to us at Fatima. It is Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Fr. Karl Stehlin placed devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary within the context of God’s entire plan of salvation (from Genesis to Apocalypse). He showed how it is based on a sound fundamental Mariology, and he reminded us of three important spiritual elements of this devotion: Conversion – Reparation – Consecration.
Dr. Childs, John Henry Weston, and Kevin Roerty all addressed challenges which young people are facing today in striving to live their Catholic Faith. As the theme of the conference stresses, it is of the utmost importance that we hand on Our Lady’s Message at Fatima to the Next Generation – and all successive generations!
The present crisis will end soon. Mankind will turn back to God. The Pope will consecrate Russia, the world will be granted a period of peace, and the Church and Christian civilization will flourish once again. This happy time will be known as the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We need to instill in our children and grandchildren a great confidence in this promised Triumph of Our Lady so they can live with this sure hope. They need to appreciate how wonderful it is to be Catholic, and to understand that it is authentic Catholicism alone that forms the greatest civilizations!
Those privileged souls who live in that happy era will have much work to do – teaching others the basic catechism, the Rosary, pious devotions, and traditional ascetic practices. The harvest will indeed be great; the world will need ready laborers to help in the recovery and restoration of authentic Catholicism. In those times, heroic efforts will be required to help foster a worldwide devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In a certain sense, we could say that it is in this coming Marian era when The Fatima’s Center work will be more vital than ever!
Spiritual Benefit for Countless Souls
If you were not able to attend the conference, remember that you can still benefit from the excellent talks given there by frequenting our website or following our social media platforms. We plan to post the talks on successive Sundays. The first one has already been published. Find them all here: Video / Audio Only.
Please consider making a donation to support this and similar events. Perhaps Our Lord is calling you to include this apostolate in your regular monthly tithe. Committed and recurring donors are vital to our future planning and ongoing operations. God is never outdone in generosity. We greatly appreciate and rely on your prayerful and financial support!
By God’s grace and Our Lady’s most powerful intercession, we hope to have a conference in May 2025. We hope to see you there!