Question: If you could give a non-believer one book, video, etc. in order to convince them of the truth of Fatima and why they need to heed Our Lady's warnings today, what would it be? Thanks!

Well, that is a difficult question to answer.





One would first have to discern whether the individual in question assents to the teachings of Holy Mother Church regarding Our Lady's dignities and prerogatives: they would particularly have to believe that Our Lady is the Mediatress of all graces won for us by her Divine Son and and that she holds the extraordinary office of spiritual Mother and Co-Redemptress in the redemption of the human race; consequently, Our Lady has an indispensable role in the cultivation of the interior life of the individual Catholic and a necessary role in the tranquility and peace of communities, states and nations.

The belief in the message of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima presupposes the assent to all these teachings of Holy Mother Church, especially as set forth popularly by Sts. Alphonsus and Louis-Marie de Montfort.

The message of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima is nothing more the celestially inspired epitome of the teaching of the Gospels, the Sacred Scriptures, the tradition of the Apostles and Fathers, the doctrines of the Councils and Roman Pontiffs of Holy Mother Church, being a practical summa of the teachings of St. Alphonsus and St. Louis-Marie regarding the indispensable role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the economy of salvation. Fatima is but a grand echo of those immortal words that Mary Most Holy spoke (the only public pronouncement of hers recorded by the Evangelists): "Whatsoever He (that is, Our Lord Jesus) shall say to you, do ye" (S. Joann. cap. ii., 5).

How greatly to be praised is the ineffable and unfathomable loving-kindness and charity wherewith the Lord God Almighty predestined the Blessed Mary to be the ever-Virgin Mother of the Word Incarnate, and consequentially elected her to a plenitude of glory and grace superior to that of all other created or creatable persons, whether Angelic or human: so as to make us cry forth in rapt adoration with St. Paul, "O depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God: how incomprehensible are His judgments, and His ways unsearchable!" (Rom. cap. xi. 33).

Whensoever we have recourse to Our Lady, she in turn leads us to Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of the Eternal Father and the only Son her perpetual and integral virginity. Just as St. Elizabeth praised her faith, and the Blessed Virgin in turn began intoning her beautiful Canticle Magnificat, so whensoever we praise Mary, we are rendering a more excellent praise to Him Who chose her to be His Mother.





For what reason is there that can explain why St. Luke recorded the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her aged kinswoman, St. Elizabeth, if not to commemorate how the Incarnate Son of the Eternal Father decreed and inaugurated her office as Mediatress of the graces in the sanctification of souls? For it was thus, and in such a manner only, that Our Lord chose to sanctify and consecrate the unborn St. John as His Precursor. And in this mystery do we find revealed the inestimable and ineffable works of grace that Our Lord deigned to operate in Mary, with Mary, and through Mary.

As Rev. Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Langrange, O.P., writes regarding this mystery of the Visitation, “Mary, who was to give birth to the Savior, brought grace to Elizabeth and to the unborn precursor. Mary herself had been redeemed in an absolutely exceptional manner by the future merits of her Son and she concurred in the redemption of us all. From the moment of her immaculate conception she had been redeemed by a sovereign redemption, being preserved from original sin instead of being healed of it. It was fitting that a perfect Redeemer should accomplish a sovereign and preservative redemption in at least one soul, and in that soul more closely associated with Him than any other in the work of man’s salvation. Truly, what Jesus merited for us in justice, Mary has merited for us with Him and in Him and by Him through the merit of congruity. In this sense it has pleased our Lord that no one should be saved except in consideration of the merits of His Mother. In the same sense it has pleased Him to sanctify the precursor by Mary’s words” (The Love of God and the Cross of Jesus, “The Mysteries of the Rosary”).

Before the great Dominican theologian, St. Alphonsus in his celebrated work, The Glories of Mary, wrote, “And now, if all these first-fruits of Redemption passed through Mary as the channel through which grace was communicated to the Baptist, the Holy Ghost to Elizabeth, the gift of prophecy to Zachary and so many other blessings to the whole house, the first graces that to our knowledge the Eternal Word had granted on earth after the Incarnation, it is quite correct to believe that thenceforward God made Mary the universal channel, as she is called by St. Bernard, through which all the other graces that our Lord is pleased to dispense to us should pass” (Part II, discourse V).





Again, for what other reason is there that can explain why St. Luke recorded the presence of Mary Most Holy at Pentecost amongst the Apostles than the fact that Our Lord chose to associate His Blessed Mother in the work of the edification of the His Church?

The Apostles were united in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she (so to speak) drew down upon them from her Divine Son the Lord Holy Ghost in the plenitude of all His gifts and graces. This was why she was there with them. She is the Immaculate Conception, she was already the ineffable tabernacle and most pure Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Just as the Blessed Virgin went to St. Elizabeth, that she and the Precursor St. John the Baptist would obtain the grace of the Holy Ghost and the glad tidings of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, so Mary Most Holy accompanied the Apostles for the same purpose, for she was constituted as supreme Arbitress and Mediatress of the graces won by the Passion of Our Lord, according to the command given her at the foot of the Cross, “Woman, behold thy son” (S. Joann. cap. xix. 26). This was the fulfillment of the ancient oracle of the Old Testament, wherein it is said to Most Holy Mary, “Inhabit in Jacob, and inherit in Israel, and take root in Mine elect” (Ecclus. cap. xxiv. 13).

"Souls are falling into Hell like leaves off of trees because of the sins of impurity."

Here's something that needs to be remembered in our modern-day world that glorifies sex and violence. And yes that includes myself as well for I have sinned against God with lust in my heart.

"Souls are falling into Hell like leaves off of trees because of the sins of impurity."

Here's something that needs to be remembered in our modern-day world that glorifies sex and violence. And yes that includes myself as well for I have sinned against God with lust in my heart.

I've heard examples like this. Fr. Gruner said he was having a lot of trouble getting
through to politicians regarding the pro-abortion laws and pro-ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖ "marriage"
laws, then one day he came up with an idea. He wrote them letters telling them
that if they do not promote pro-life legislation and honor the law of God, they are
going to go to hell. He said that got their attention.

It was the vision of hell that clinched the focus of the world's Catholics, it seems
to me, more than the miracle of the sun. For the 70,000 witnesses who were there,
certainly the latter had a most powerful effect, but keep in mind that they were
mulling about and talking to each other, and not a small part of what they had to
say was recollections of the description of the previous visions and the effects
they had had on the shepherd children, such as that they were to never waver in
their devotion and in their daily penances.

Remember also, it was not as though these pilgrims were told the whole story up
to that point. The story of how the Message of Fatima was made known over the
years and the decades is instructive in itself. It might be well worth keeping these
things in mind in deciding how best to introduce someone who is new to the whole
thing.

What the children saw and heard is one thing, and what the local witnesses saw
and heard is something else. The visions and words of Our Lady as they took
place in time are one thing and public awareness of those facts is another thing.
We should be careful not to get these things confused. In those days, news traveled
rather slowly. It's hard for us to comprehend this today, when we have the Internet
and cell phones. My mother was born during these visions but her family did not
become aware that they had taken place until my mother was a teenager. Even
then, the story came in bits and pieces. The great miracle on October 13th is an
attention-getter, but all by itself it hardly makes much sense, and to today's mind,
the first thing a newcomer thinks is that perhaps 70,000 eye-witnessed had some
kind of collective illusion, for it's impossible to imagine that the sun could lose its
place in the sky and actually "fall towards earth." It is inconsistent with the "laws"
of gravity and planetary motion. Remember these are people who have been
led to believe that the Bible is not historically true, and so, when the sun and
moon "stood still" in the sky for the time of one whole day as a certain battle
raged on earth, modern man says, "it must have been some kind of collective
illusion at the time."

We live in the age of subjectivism, and reality is thought to be entirely "in the
mind," forgetting that objective reality has its own, independent existence. This
is why the vision of hell holds such power in the face of modern thinking, because
then the objective reality of hell can cross over from its state of being "out of
mind" to becoming "center stage" in our perception. This gives modern man a
whole new way of perceiving reality, a way he is not accustomed to, and a way
that can only be for his edification and benefit. The vision of hell demands our
attention, while the story of the Miracle of the sun gets immediately tucked away
into that special category of "things I don't need to think about because they are
not real to me."

I believe we should not promote the habit of putting the Message of Fatima into
the doldrums of modern man's subjectivism for it is a "deep well of unknowing,"
out of which there is no escape: a kind of temporal "hell of its own making," out
of which ideas and clear thinking cannot emerge.

For the three children were not wont to explain everything as it took place. They
were not looking for attention. Lucia was severely punished because adults in the
village, especially her own mother, thought she was making up stories. It wasn't
until years later that she recounted many of the missing details, and it was not
until 1942, under direct order from her superior that she finally put the famous
Third Secret down to written record, under obedience. She had been burdened
with that text for 25 years by then, the only person in the world to know of its
contents, after her two cousins had died.

So, some of the Message of Fatima has been made public rather gradually over
time. And even today, 95 years after the fact, we still do not have the words of
Our Lady in the Third Secret! The enemies of the Church know Her words, and are
dead set against making them public knowledge.

Would one have to believe that Our Lady is the [Mediatrix] of all graces won for us by her Divine Son, etc., just to begin to see that the events that took place at Fatima on October 13, 1917, cannot be explained by natural occurrences?

It seems to me that subjective recognition of the truth of objective reality is at
the foundation of clear thinking, in general, and that believing the truth of Our Lady
as Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix is at the foundation of the one, true Church
outside of which there is no salvation, in particular. Both of these things might be
too much for a "non-believer" to deal with all at once. He needs a halfway point
of reference, a guiding star, a point of safe return, that can help him have the
confidence to set foot into that vast beyond where he has no experience in his
erstwhile thinking and daily awareness.

Because that's basically what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that a non-believer, more specifically a non-Catholic, is not immediately going to put down because it uses too much 'flowery' religious language.

With all due respect, it is more than "flowery language" that is the problem. It is
the bent of the modern mind that is the problem. Modern man can't cope with the
"flowery language" because of his subjectivism, which is his comfort zone. And he
is not going to easily step out of that manner of perception without some serious
help, without some grave cause, without some overwhelming incentive. The
thought of GOING TO HELL is just such an incentive. The thought of a bunch of
ancient peasants gawking at a free light show in the sky is not such an incentive.

It needs to start off with the basic facts about Fatima, together with docuмentary evidence proving the events as miraculous. Then it can get into the message of Fatima, what it means and why it's important for us to follow.

This is a great question! Something a non-believer would find convincing: I think it
would be impressive for them to consider the reality of the danger that hell is to
each one of us. Hell is a show stopper.

The vision of hell and its description are most powerful. They occurred on July 13th,
1917, at the third appearance of Our Lady, and after the children had been
prepared by the Angel of Portugal for about 18 months previous, by that time.

Recall that the two girls said later that if the Lady had not already told them that
they would go to heaven, this vision of Hell would have caused them to die of
fright. Therefore, the knowledge that we have the possibility to be saved, provided
that we cooperate with God's grace, is the thing that must be communicated at
least in seed form, before the vision of Hell is explained in all its detail.

When approaching someone who may already have a lot of erroneous indoctrination
in their past, we should be sensitive to that, and give them what they need to hear,
which seems to me to be the danger of hell, basically, but in its proper context.

...Question: If you could give a non-believer one book, video, etc. in order to convince them of the truth of Fatima and why they need to heed Our Lady's warnings today, what would it be? Thanks!

I have seen a wide variety of books on Fatima. The most impressive have always
been the very old ones. I found one at a church rummage sale some months ago
that is very good. I'm sure it's out of print. It is a pamphlet form, paperback,
stapled binding, about 35 pages. I'll go see if I can find it. I would recommend the
various special Fatima editions that the Fatima Crusader (the Fatima Center) has
put out over the years. Some of them are so popular they keep running out of
stock on them. The cover pages are no thicker than the body on those, so they
tend to wear out quickly. If you have a person who might like to carry it around, I
suggest you use simple, clear package tape and lay down one continuous layer of
it on the cover. It takes about 10 minutes, and the result will hold up for many
years.

One key point to look for in such a book is that you should avoid any book that
says that the Consecration of Russia "has been done" or "has been accepted by
heaven," or such things. A typical example of that is any of the Fatima Family
Apostolate publications, or Immaculate Heart Messenger from Fr. Robert J. Fox
(RIP), who spread such errors far and wide. Our Lady promised "the conversion of
Russia" and a consequent "period of peace," neither one of which has occurred, so
therefore, the Consecration has not been done as Our Lady had requested that it
should be.

This is a very holy activity, and you may well find your efforts are blessed through
Our Lady's intercession along the way.

Of course, it doesn't go into the imposter Sr. Lucia, the real reasons behind 9/11, etc., but perhaps it's just as well. It might be too much for someone to absorb all at once.

"The Secret of the Rosary" by Saint Louis de Montfort is one of the BEST books ever written.

All Catholics should read it.

It could make you into a Saint.

lefebvre fan, believe it or not I think you're doing a commendable work by introducing non-Catholics to the Mother of God.  Catholics, & especially trads, shouldn't be spending time arguing amongst themselves - a most useless exercise, but they need to be about the Father's business too, by getting out there reaching non-Catholics.  That's our job.

I'm sure I'm the last person you want to seek advice from, but I do have a few words of advice that may help you reach non-Catholics.

First, do not try to talk about Fatima right away.  They're not prepared for that.  You need to 'plow the soil' first.  You must start where they are, & not hit them over the head with what you are.  Non-Catholics generally only accept the Bible so start with that. Do your homework & find all the references you can regarding Mary in the Bible.  When you start talking to them ask them questions to see where they are regarding her.  Listen to them & let them talk.  If there's a particular passage that they mention, then talk about that.  After you have found out where they stand & answered any questions or very gently 'set them straight' if they are off the mark, you can go to the wedding at Cana & show them that Christ performed His first miracle at the behest of His Mother.  This is a powerful lesson so don't short-change it.  Spend time on this.  This is your bridge to how Mary helps us now - in this day & age.  Many non-Catholics accuse us of worshipping Mary so this should help them to understand our relationship with her.  She is our Mother too & is in Heaven next to her Son.
You posted that you have found a good book to use so I will leave you to continue with that.  I hope you meet LOTS of non-Catholics!

Well, a brief description of the Miracle of the Sun from the book, "The Many Faces of Mary" here

"The estimate is that anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 people came to Fatima that day.

There was a great contrast in attitude between the Pilgrims to the shrine and the local people of Aljustrel, in particular Lucia’s mother,  who didn’t share the faith of the thousands that Our Lady would keep her promise.

There were newspaper reporters from all over Portugal.  They were here to see the children fall flat on their faces.  They wanted to be able to write about the hoax of Fatima firsthand.  They believed that would be the greatest news story of all.  What they were given was a much greater story, one that would continue to be told for the next 70 years, and then some.

At that instant, Lucia pointed to the east, and exclaimed: "Look, she's coming now"

Everybody went down on their knees.  The now familiar flash of lightning streaked through the sky.  The little cloud moved slowly towards the holmoak tree. She was here.

The Lady spoke first to Lucia, telling her to continue saying the Rosary every day for the end of the war, and to have a chapel built in this place.  But she was really here this time for the people.  This was her greatest opportunity.

At a given point, Our Lady raised her hand in the direction of the sun.  The brilliant light emanating from her hand shot up into the sky.  As if the clouds were the curtains of a great stage, they parted, revealing the brilliant sun.

Lucia shouted “Look at the sun”

It turned from a blinding gold to a dull silver.  It began to dance in the sky.  It twirled uncertainly on its axis.  Then it began to descend on the people.

It grew bigger and bigger as it came down on them.

Streaks of varied colors shot out like sparks from a wheel, covering the people, causing changes of color on their faces and clothes.

Reds, yellows, blues, greens hurled down onto the little Cova.

There were reports of open confessions, shouted at the top of the lungs of the sinners.

And then it stopped.

A command was given from Heaven; the sun moved slowly back, up into the sky.  It returned to its proper place in the atmosphere, and at once turned from dull to brilliant.  The pilgrims could not look directly into it again.  A great hush took place on earth.  The 70,000 were stunned.  They had been saved, but they weren’t quite certain about it yet.  Then they began to look around them.  Their clothes, soaking wet moments before, were completely dry.

The mud which had caked on them, was gone.  They were clean.

Then from various parts of the assemblage, voices rang out,  “I can walk! I can see!" The blind opened their eyes; the lame threw down their crutches.

Others went down on their knees in tears of reconciliation.  Mass miracles, cures and conversions took place in a period of minutes.

Our Lady, as usual, had kept her promise, and more.  The number of conversions due to this miracle, called the miracle of the sun, is beyond comprehension."

For those wandering through life in the stupor of "agnosticism", I think it is a good reason. Remember that the Fathers of the Vatican Council under Pope Pius IX taught us that miracles and prophecies are most certain signs, demonstrating as they do the infinite power and total foreknowledge of God, and therefore serve as very great and powerful motives of credibility of the divinely revealed truths of the Christian religion.

On a technicality, the devil is incapable of miracles strictly so called, though the bounds of his natural power are great.

About Our Lady in sacred Scripture, if for some reason with Protestants or even lukewarm Catholics you take that approach, I think is a good video on the Blessed Virgin Mary in Scripture. The parallels mentioned are those which the holy Fathers of the Church, illumined by sanctity and wisdom from above in their own exegesis of Scripture, have pointed out, and I know most Protestants would be completely oblivious to it.