Triumph Of Mary's Immaculate Heart

"In the End My Immaculate Heart will Triumph". Most of us know, or should know, the one who stated those words. On October 13, 1917, The Blessed Virgin Mary uttered those words to three seers, Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at her appearance in Fatima, Portugal. Those appearances had gone on for five months, and culminated in the "Miracle of the Sun", witnessed by 70,000 people, and witnessed from afar by many more throughout Europe.

Personally, I hang on those words. When one looks at the state of the world as we inhabit it today, well, a promise that it will all turn out OK is something we all want to hear. Turn on the TV and bad guys in the middle east are chopping off heads indiscriminately. Accidents in aviation and other mass transit venues kill many more. One looks around, and sees good people suffering from illnesses, families losing children, and children losing parents. More bad guys run around hitting folks over their heads to steal money and other worldly possessions. Nations on the brink of war. Fighting and arguing over stupid stuff (and, not so stupid stuff) is rampant. Pick up the daily newspaper or turn on the news and you hear a constant drumbeat of local tragedy. Yeah, I get that things don’t look good.

Lotsa talk about the end times. I understand that, too. You hear it everyday, and it is all over the internet, TV, and other media outlets. Some folks believe in a "rapture", (I don’t, I don’t believe it’s Scripturally sound), others are counting down the days and hours. However, this is nothing new. During the American Civil War, theologians had it figured out that we were in the end times. They even interpreted Revelation to verify it. During World War 1 it reached another zenith, as it seemed the entire civilized world was involved in a brutal, merciless world war. Lots of things seemed to line up. Again in World War 2, and again with the growth of Communism. In other words, smart and educated men and women have believed this during quite a few periods of history.

Personally, I do believe by the seeming increasing activity by Our Lady on this earth, and her messages that it is going to be sooner rather than later. But, I really don’t know. I received a degree in Theology at the age of 47, and one of the exercises was having a panel of theologians of several different Christian disciplines discuss the Book of Revelation. These were all intelligent, well educated folks, but spent more time arguing among each other than actually discussing their feelings. So, I came to the conclusion that Jesus has better stuff for us to be doing than trying to guess what He’s up to. He is going to do what He’s going to do when He is going to do it, and trying to stay ahead of Him is worthless and a waste of time. We are much better off praying the Rosary, hanging around with His mother, and asking for prayers and guidance for our friends, family, and ourselves. When St. John Bosco was asked while playing football what his response would be if he found out he had an hour to live, he stated that he would "kick for points". In other words, he would live his life in such a way that it would not be a problem.

Now, I’m going to say something I teach my kids at my parish all the time.....if you count on your own strength to know and be able to do God’s will, you will fail. Guarantee it. You have got to pray, and pray often. The evangelical crowd speaks about being ‘born again’, and ‘saved’....but it’s more than that. Once you realize that Christ died and rose for YOU , that is when it starts, not ends. From that point on you make the choice to ‘pick up your cross’ daily, every day, every hour. You choose to have the Holy Spirit guide you each day. Head to Mass often. Take advantage of the Sacraments. The Church is like a big toolbox, in it He has provided us with everything we need to stay close to Him. The best way to do this, is the stay close to His Mother. Stay close to His Mother and you will stay close to Him. Guarantee it.

Simply put, the world ends for each one of us when we pass from this life. At that time, the truth of the ‘end times’ comes to pass for each one of us, individually. No one gets out of it....no one avoids it. End of Story.

Our Lady is still around, and is still a very, very, pronounced presence in today’s world, and in our lives. Christ still comes to us through Her, as he did in the beginning. Rather than worrying about things we cannot change or control, we should take her words at face value. "In the End, My Immaculate Heart will Triumph". Not that complicated. Count on it.