Written by Andrew Cesanek and David Rodríguez
As we begin a new year, it is appropriate to reflect on The Fatima Center’s immediate purpose – to widely make known the ever-increasing urgency of the Message of Fatima. We are living in “Fatima Time.” Our Lady’s prophecies and Sister Lucia’s dire warnings continue to play out in current events.
Even Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed (in reference to the Third Secret) on May 13, 2010, in Fatima before 500,000 pilgrims: “He deceives himself who thinks that the prophetic mission of Fatima is concluded.”
Pope John Paul II stated the following during a discussion with a select group of German Catholics in Fulda, Germany in November 1980:
“On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this much. If there is a message in which it is said that the oceans will flood entire sections of the earth, that, from one moment to the other, millions of people will perish, there is no longer any point in really wanting to publish this secret message…
“We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ…
“With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.”
Furthermore, Bishop Amaral, the third Bishop of Fatima, in a speech in Vienna, Austria on September 10, 1984, stated the following: “Its content concerns only our faith. To identify the [Third] Secret with catastrophic announcements or with a nuclear holocaust is to deform the meaning of the message. The loss of faith of a continent is worse than the annihilation of a nation; and it is true that faith is continually diminishing in Europe.”
Then, in a public interview in 1995, adding a crucial bit of evidence, Bishop Amaral stated: “Before I asserted in Vienna [in 1984] that the Third Secret concerned only our Faith and the loss of faith I had consulted Sister Lucia and first obtained her approval.”
It Is Urgent that Russia Be Consecrated
After March 25, 2022, many Catholics thought the proper consecration of Russia might have been accomplished – it has not. The events of the past several months have continued to clearly show to every person of faith that God is still awaiting the proper Consecration of Russia.
Note: For a more fulsome treatment of the current state of affairs in the Church and the world, we encourage you to hear Christopher Ferrara’s recent speech from the 2023 Rome Life Forum. [Video] [Audio]
War continues to devastate Eastern Europe and now terrible violence has – yet again – erupted in the Middle East. And the attacks within the Church have escalated. The Ancient Roman Rite, with its apostolic origins, is being prohibited by Rome. Unthinkable! – since this is the worship which God Himself has revealed as worthy of Him and man’s proper duty.
Exacerbating matters, just a week before Christmas, the Vatican issued a scandalous document attempting to “bless” the unnatural vice that cries to Heaven for vengeance. This document is evil and littered with practical – or shall we say “pastoral” – heresy. In no way can it be obeyed. Intrinsic evil acts can never be commanded or demand obedience. Under no circumstance can intrinsic evil acts be blessed, or even given the appearance of having the Church’s blessing.
Regrettably, the document makes no mention of the need for conversion and repentance for sin, which is so central to the Gospel (and the message of Advent and Christmas). The document fails to proclaim the truth that God Himself provides us with the grace to live according to the precepts of His Gospel and even to live heroic virtue. This document has scandalized all the faithful. We see bishops opposing bishops.
Note: To learn more about the problems with this document, we encourage you to hear Fr. Michael Rodríguez’s sermon, “New Scandalous Vatican Document” hosted by the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation.
Such blatant evils manifestly demonstrate that Russia has not been properly consecrated. Once that happens, Our Lady will promptly respond by fulfilling Her infallible promises. At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who know Russia is not consecrated, see the signs of the times, read other prophecies, and believe the Consecration of Russia is too late and is therefore no longer relevant. Helping bring about this Consecration is one of The Fatima Center’s primary goals.
How Do We Address These Confused Matters?
First, it should be clearly stated that The Fatima Center’s raison d’être remains the same as always: obedience by all – both Church hierarchy and laity – to Our Lady’s full Message of Fatima. That obedience has most certainly not been accomplished. Russia has not yet been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, nor has it converted to the Catholic Faith. Neither has the Third Secret been revealed.
Second, very few people practice the First Saturday devotion requested by Our Lady. To help ‘turn the tide’ on this matter, The Fatima Center is launching a two-year campaign to earnestly promote the First Saturday devotion all over the world. We recently sent all our supporters a very helpful tri-fold leaflet titled First Saturday in Brief. Please distribute this to everyone you know. (We are currently working on translating this leaflet into numerous other languages.) In addition, we wish to offer Our Lady a spiritual bouquet of 100,000 First Saturdays by the 100th Anniversary of Her request for this devotion, December 10, 2025. We ask you to please sign up and participate in this challenge (at fatima.org/100by100/) and share it with everyone you know.
Third, a very low percentage of Catholics pray the Rosary daily, offer prayer and penance, wear the Brown Scapular faithfully, or have consecrated themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thus, it is of the greatest urgency that we spread the Message of Fatima to everyone we know.[1]
Fourth, if someone is aware of the grave crisis in the Church, then he should also clearly understand why The Fatima Center’s purpose is more pressing now than ever before. All such devotees of Our Lady must be working with a greater urgency. (David Rodríguez addressed this urgency in his talk, “Fatima and the Kingship of Christ,” at The Fatima Center’s 2022 conference in New Hampshire.)
Note: All these issues and more will be addressed at our upcoming 2024 Fatima Conference in Dallas, Texas (February 9-11). We encourage you to get your tickets before the Early Bird special ends on January 9, 2024.
Fifth, and perhaps the least addressed and most misunderstood, is the fact that once Russia is consecrated and converted, The Fatima Center’s purpose will be inestimably more important. Following Our Lady’s prodigious miracles, and the conversion of Russians and hundreds of millions more, there will be countless souls who need to be catechized in the Catholic Faith and taught about devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! The Church in the East will have to be reunited with the West, for there can be no era of peace without unity under the Vicar of Christ. All those who have worked with The Fatima Center for decades will then be well-disposed to be used by God as His instruments to spread the devotions of the Rosary, the Brown Scapular, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Sacred Heart throughout the East.
It Is Never “Too Late”
The Consecration of Russia should have taken place in 1929. Even in 1931, Our Lord already said it was late. God requires prompt obedience, and we should not delay. So, we’ve known for decades that it will happen “late.”
However, it is never “too late” to obey Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia in Tuy, Spain on June 13, 1929, to make Her formal request for the Consecration of Russia. Then in 1931 (at Rianjo, Spain), since the Pope and Catholic bishops still had not obeyed Our Lady, Our Lord told Sister Lucia, “It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.”
Our Lady’s command can’t be “overcome by events,” nor bypassed, nor superseded. This is because God is Almighty, and He is in absolute control of all history. There is nothing that men or demons can do to “throw God’s plan off track.” We strongly exhort all the faithful to never doubt Our Lady’s words or promises. We should read and re-read – ponder, meditate and trust – Our Lady’s words at Fatima instead of reading the alleged prophecies of unconfirmed sources.[2]
Only Our Lady Can Help Us
We must obey Our Lady and encourage everyone we know to do so. And it is urgent that we do so now. The hour is clearly late. Yet the proper Consecration of Russia will never be of little import. Why would Our Lady come from Heaven to formally ask for the Consecration of Russia, knowing that it would be “of little to no import”? She certainly demonstrated by Her prophecies of July 13, 1917 that She knew what the future held for humanity. And God will not allow things to get better without that obedience to Our Lady. Only She can help us now.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
2024 New Year Resolution
Therefore, we urge every Catholic to obey Our Lady’s Message of Fatima. Please pray and do penance for the Pope and our hierarchy, that they will consecrate Russia correctly and reveal the Third Secret in totu. And resolve this new year to [1] live Her Message more faithfully, and [2] tell (at least) ten more souls about Her Message.
Cease offending God and remain in the state of grace. The penance God requests of each of us is that we obey His commandments and fulfill the duties of our state.
Let us raise up to the Queen of Heaven a great Roman Catholic S.O.S.
R – Pray your Rosary every day.
C – Consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and
pray for the Consecration of Russia.
S – Be enrolled in the Brown Scapular and always wear it faithfully.
O – Offer prayers, sacrifices, and penance (especially the duties of your state in life) for the hierarchy and for the conversion of sinners.
S – Practice the First Saturday devotion every month, AND
participate in The Fatima Center’s 100by100 First Saturday Challenge!
ENDNOTES:
[1] A simple but excellent resource to help anyone learn about the “Fatima Basics” is our tri-fold leaflet, Fatima in Brief.
[2] To strengthen your faith in Our Lady’s promises and God’s absolute control over history, we encourage you to read Father Mawdsley’s recent book, Crushing satan’s head, which delves into the authentic fulfillment of God’s inspired and inerrant word.