It seems to me that this article, taken from a sermon given by Fr. Michael Rodriguez, encapsulates, elucidates and expands on the very things which have been said so far in this thread following the EC in the OP. It is very timely, as this is presently the first centenary of the angelic apparitions described herein. There were 3 different prayers the angel taught the children, only one of which is contained below. Perhaps seeing this will give the reader a desire to see the other two prayers.
SourceThe Angel of Fatima and
Reparation at Holy Mass
by Father Michael RodriguezThis year, we are celebrating
the 100th anniversary of
the Apparitions of the
Guardian Angel in 1916, at
Fatima, Portugal.
This is a highly significant
part of God’s revelation at
Fatima, since it prepared the way
for Our Lady’s appearances the
following year.
Today, one-hundred years
later, this Message of the
Guardian Angel of Portugal
assumes an added, providential
dimension: it helps us to
understand and appreciate the
urgency of doing everything that
we can, as Catholics, to work for
the restoration of the Traditional
Latin Mass.
Therefore, in this brief
article, I will review some of
the most important parts of the
Apparitions of the Guardian
Angel in 1916, and relate them
to the necessity of being faithful
to, and working toward, the
restoration of the Mass of the
Ages.
St. Michael – The Guardian
Angel of PortugalThe Angel from Heaven
appeared three times in 1916,
to the three shepherd children
of Fatima—Lucia, Francisco and
Jacinta. He appeared for the first
time in the spring, then a second
time in the summer, and a final
time in the fall.
In his First Appearance, the
Angel revealed himself as the
Guardian Angel of Portugal.
Most likely, this was, in fact, St.
Michael the Archangel. In that
First Appearance, St. Michael
brought a message of capital
importance—to the children of
Fatima, to the world, and to us
Catholics of the 21st century.
What did St. Michael say? He,
whose name means, “Who is
like God?,” brought a simple
message centered on God. He
taught the little shepherds to
pray in adoration and reparation
to Almighty God:
“My God, I believe, I adore,
I hope and I love Thee! I ask
pardon of Thee for those
who do not believe, do not
adore, do not hope and do
not love Thee.”This was the “Prayer from
Heaven,” which the Angel of the
Lord brought to the shepherd
children of Fatima for our times:
to believe in God, to adore God,
and to make reparation for so
many poor souls who reject God.
From this time on, continuing
through to the end of their days
in this valley of tears, Lucia,
Francisco, and Jacinta remained
faithful to this prayer, often
praying it on their knees or in
humble prostration.
I exhort you to think and
reflect at length on the profound
meaning of this prayer. It is not
insignificant that this prayer of
faith, adoration, and reparation
was chosen by God for our
times. This prayer addresses
the fundamental problem in
our world and Church today.
The grave and horrific sin of
our times is the rejection of
God: men and nations have
set aside God’s holy law, His
Commandments and the social
order which God has graciously
ordained.
Thirteen years prior to
the Apparitions of the Guardian
Angel, our Holy Father, Pope St.
Pius X, wrote the following in
his inaugural Encyclical Letter,
E Supremi, “We were terrified
beyond all else by the disastrous
state of human society today. For
who can fail to see that society is
at the present time, more than
in any past age, suffering from a
terrible and deep-rooted malady
which, developing every day and
eating into its inmost being, is
dragging it to destruction? You
understand, venerable Brethren,
what this disease is—apostasy
from God.” Think about this . . .
the rejection of God. Consider
the implications. Once God is
rejected, what is there left? There
are millions upon millions of
souls, including countless
so-called Catholics, who, even
though they may give lip service
to belief in “God,” in actual fact
(i.e. by the lives they lead), they
do not demonstrate belief in the
one true God, and do not adore,
hope, and love God. Heaven
itself attested to this terrible
reality at Fatima, Portugal, in
1916, through the content of
this prayer of reparation which
the Guardian Angel brought for
our times.
The Prayer of Reparation Is
Connected to the Holy Sacrifice
of the MassThis Heaven-sent Prayer
of Reparation is very much
connected with the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass—the place where,
and the means by which we offer
God true belief, adoration, hope,
and love. The Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass is the most perfect
sacrifice of adoration and praise
to God, wherein we are united to
Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary. At
Holy Mass, in, with, and through
Christ, we offer God our faith,
adoration, hope, and love—
“My
God I believe, I adore, I hope
and I love Thee!” It is without
question a spiritual tragedy of epic
proportions that vast numbers of
Catholics no longer understand
what the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass truly is, and this is due, in
large part, to the unholy changes
made to the Mass in the period
following the Second Vatican
Council.
The Sacrifice of the Mass is
the actualization, across time
and space, of Our Savior’s
Sacrifice on Calvary, and this is
the only sacrifice that expresses
true belief in God. It is the only
sacrifice that offers true and
complete adoration to God (i.e.
“adoration of the Father in spirit
and in truth,” Jn 4:23), and
expresses perfect hope and love
for God. True belief, adoration,
hope, and love for God are
magnificently expressed in the
Traditional Latin Mass; however,
this is not the case regarding the
Novus Ordo Missæ (the New Mass
of Pope Paul VI). Therefore,
we must now pray fervently
in reparation for all the lack of
faith, adoration, hope, and love
that takes place in countless New
Masses, due to the un-Catholic
changes that were made to the
Mass and unjustly imposed on
the faithful.
In order to truly believe,
adore, hope, and love God—as
Catholics—it is of paramount
importance that we do our
best to recover and restore the
Traditional Latin Mass, which is
truly theocentric, i.e. centered on
God. How can one truly believe,
adore, hope, and love God at Holy
Mass, if one’s entire being, body
and soul, is not directed to, and
focused on God? Furthermore,
how can even sincere Catholics
truly believe, adore, hope, and
love God at Holy Mass, if the
prayers of the Rite itself have
been deformed, and as such,
no longer express the perennial
faith, adoration, hope, and love
of the Roman Catholic liturgy?
It is woefully unfortunate, but
true, that the New Mass, the
one with which most Catholics
are familiar, is not theocentric,
but rather quite the opposite,
i.e. anthropocentric, centered
on man and the “community.”
In sum, serious reparation must
be offered to Heaven for the
sin of attempting to radically
change the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass which, by its very nature,
only admits of organic (very
gradual and limited) growth.
Providentially, in anticipation
of the Apparitions of the Holy
Mother of God at Fatima, the
Guardian Angel of Portugal
provided us poor sinners with a
prayer which ought and must! be
used to make due and necessary
reparation.
“
Pray, Pray, Pray Very Much”
The Second Appearance of
St. Michael, the Guardian Angel
of Portugal, took place in the
Summer of 1916. I will highlight
two brief phrases spoken by the
Angel in preparation for the
coming of the Queen of Heaven.
He told the children, “Pray, pray
very much,” and “Offer prayers
and sacrifices constantly to the
Most High.”
Once again, consider and
reflect upon the manifold
significance of these angelic
commands. To pray very much
and offer prayers and sacrifices
constantly to the Most High is
not simply something we do
ourselves. Obviously, the Angel
was urging the young children to
do this, but what is of greatest
importance is that it is Our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ Who
carries this out on our behalf!
Above all, we are called to unite
ourselves to Him. How do we do
this? Through the Mass!
At the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, Jesus Himself is the
One Who prays for us, and
offers sacrifice—the sacrifice
of His life!, His Precious Body
and Blood!—constantly to the
Most High for our well-being
and salvation. The Traditional
Latin Mass helps us in many
ways to understand that Jesus
Himself is the principal Priest at
the altar. The Traditional Latin
Mass directs and elevates our
minds and hearts to this mystery.
Once we believe this, we are
able to offer perfect “prayers
and sacrifices constantly to
the Most High” by uniting our
prayers and sacrifices to those
of our Divine High Priest. This
is what it means to participate
at Mass!
Finally, let us be diligent in
fulfilling the Angel’s command
to “Pray, pray very much,” by
praying the Rosary faithfully and
devoutly every day.
The Angel of Fatima Teaches
Us What To Do TodayIn conclusion, the Third
Appearance of St. Michael the
Archangel, took place in the
Autumn of 1916. This was the
culmination of his appearances
to the three children of Fatima.
Sister Lucia describes the
extraordinary scene which took
place:
“We beheld the angel
holding a chalice in his
left hand with the Host
suspended above it, from
which some drops of blood
fell into the chalice. Leaving
the Host and chalice
suspended in the air, the
Angel lay prostrate on the
ground beside us and made
us repeat a beautiful prayer
asking reparation to the
Most Blessed Trinity for all of
the sacrileges, outrages and
indifferences by which Our
Lord is offended, specifically
in His Eucharistic Presence
and His Precious Body and
Blood.”
[In 1924, about 8 years later, Pope Pius XI composed the prayer "Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus," found today in the Fr. Lasance Missal and online from various websites. This prayer contains practically word for word the very prayer the Angel taught the 3 children at his third appearance in 1916. Curiously, or one might say ironically, the Act of Reparation prayer is one we can use to make reparation for the nefarious and disreputable recent words of Pope Francis, described on another thread here on CI.]
I urge all of you—please do
your absolute best to remember
this appearance well, the
culminating appearance of the
Guardian Angel. It is a vital
part of Our Lady’s Message at
Fatima, and it teaches us what
we must do today in order to
be truly faithful to God, Holy
Mother Church, and, of course,
Our Lady.
I think this appearance of
the Angel presents us with one
of the most stunning and vivid
pictures of what takes place
during the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass, and highlights what
must be recovered for the sake of
the restoration of the Catholic
religion and the conversion of the
world. In this scene, the Angel,
notwithstanding his remarkable
purity and holiness,
is nevertheless
prostrate on the
ground, adoring
the Real Presence of
his Lord, God, and
King—the Body,
Blood, Soul, and
Divinity of Jesus
Christ. The Angel
and the children
l i e p r o s t r a t e
i n p r o f o u n d
and prolonged
adoration, praying,
adoring, praying
more, and making
reparation. The
shepherd children
of Fatima continued
t h i s p r a c t i c e
faithfully, and
would spend hours
lying prostrate in
prayer, adoration,
and reparation. My
friends, this is what
should take place at
the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass, this is the Catholic
Faith!
The Angel of Fatima’s adoration
of our Eucharistic Lord is
a window into the marvelous
reality of the angelic presence
at the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. Fr. Martin von Cochem
explains it thus, “Besides the
Angels guardian, thousands of
celestial spirits from the higher
choirs of Angels assist at Mass,
reverently worshipping their
Lord and God in this sublime
mystery. It was revealed to St.
Mechtilde that three thousand
Angels from the Seventh Choir,
the Thrones, are ever in devout
attendance, around every
tabernacle where the Blessed
Sacrament is reserved.” (The
Incredible Catholic Mass, p.
346, 1997 TAN edition) How
can anyone go to Mass and not
adore the Lord and King of
the universe (Who becomes
truly present!) for prolonged
periods? This is why there are
lengthy periods of silence,
adoration, and kneeling in the
Traditional Latin Mass! This
is why we must do everything
in our power to restore and be
faithful to the Mass of the Ages.
Given the absolute necessity of
reverence, silence, adoration,
and kneeling during Holy Mass,
it is shocking to see that those in
positions of authority within the
Church have done the opposite,
by protestantizing the Mass,
placing an exaggerated focus on
“the word,” “the community,”
and external activity, and
allowing countless elements of
the profane to contaminate that
which is most sacred. Can we
even fathom the magnitude of
reparation which must now be
made?
Pray, Make Reparation,
Be Faithful to God, to Our Lady,
and Holy Mother ChurchOne of the greatest tragedies
of the post-conciliar Church—
the Catholic Church in the
period after the Second Vatican
Council—is that in so many
Masses there are widespread
sacrileges, outrages and
indifferences that are being
perpetrated against Our Lord
in the Holy Eucharist. How is
it possible that such grave sins
continue to be committed at
Mass? At Mass!!! Where are
the noble souls who are making
reparation for these outrages?
It is of utmost importance
that we take this to heart: the
issue of the Mass, i.e. New Mass
versus Traditional Latin Mass,
is not a question of personal
preference; it is a question
of being faithful to what has
always been the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. Moreover, it is
also a question of fidelity to the
Message of Our Lady of Fatima
and this Third Appearance of the
Guardian Angel of Portugal, by
offering the due reparation to
God (for all the sins committed
against Our Lord in the Holy
Eucharist), which can only be
made through the Traditional
Latin Mass. Finally, it is a
question of fidelity to God and
Holy Mother Church, for the
Catholic Church of the 21st
century desperately needs to
recover these dimensions of
her perennial worship of God,
which were signaled by the
Angel of Fatima: profound
reverence, adoration, prayer,
and reparation. Amen. |
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