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Home , Catholic Mariology, Hugo Rahner

The True Message of Our Lady at Fatima

outraged and offended by the sins of Heart will be your refuge and the way humanity, and we are lovingly urged that will lead you to God.” If we wish to console Her by making reparation. to go to God, we have a sure way to She showed Her Heart, surrounded by Him through true devotion to the piercing thorns (which represented the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. sins against Her Immaculate Heart), to the children, who understood that When Sister Lucy questioned Our Lord their sacrifices could help to console as to why He would not convert Russia Her. without the solemn public of that nation The children also saw that God is specifically, answered: terribly offended by the sins of humanity, and that He desires each of Because I want My us and all mankind to abandon sin and whole Church to make reparation for their crimes acknowledge that through and sacrifice. Our Lady consecration as a sadly pleaded: “Do not offend triumph of the our God any more, for He is already Immaculate Heart of too much offended!” Mary, so that it may extend its homage The children were also told to pray later on, and put the The general Message of Fatima is not and sacrifice themselves for sinners, devotion to This complicated. Its requests are for in order to save them from hell. The Immaculate Heart prayer, reparation, repentance, and children were briefly shown a vision of beside the devotion sacrifice, and the abandonment of sin. hell, after which Our Lady told them: to My . Before Our Lady appeared to the three “You have seen hell where the souls of shepherd children, Lucy, Francisco and poor sinners go. To save them, God Thus, we see that the conversion of Jacinta, the Angel of Peace visited wishes to establish in the world Russia cannot take place unless and them. The Angel prepared the children devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If until the and bishops consecrate to receive the Blessed Mary, what I say to you is done, many souls specifically Russia, because God has and his instructions are an important will be saved and there will be peace.” reserved this grace — this special aspect of the Message that is often grace — to this special act of honor overlooked. She said that if people did not stop and reparation to the Immaculate offending God, He would punish the Heart of Mary. Jesus does this The Angel demonstrated to the world severely by means of war, because He wants to establish children the fervent, attentive, and famine, persecution of the Church, throughout the world, in the hearts composed manner in which we should and persecution of the Holy Father. To and minds of the faithful, the all pray, and the reverence we should prevent these chastisements, Our importance of devotion to His Mother’s show toward God in prayer. He also Lady offered a remedy: She would Immaculate Heart. explained to them the great return to ask for the Consecration of importance of praying and making Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart is sacrifices in reparation for the the Communion of Reparation on the central to the Fatima Message. God offenses committed against God. He Five First Saturdays. If Her requests determined that the Consecration of told them: “Make of everything you were heeded, there would be peace. If Russia and the Communion of can a sacrifice and offer it to God as not, Russia’s errors would spread Reparation on the First Saturdays be an act of reparation for the sins by throughout the world, causing wars the means of implementing this which He is offended, and in and persecutions against the Church, devotion throughout the world, and supplication, for the conversion of the Holy Father to suffer much, gave this task to His Pope and bishops sinners.” In his third and final martyrdom of the good and the and to individual souls to practice and apparition to the children, the Angel annihilation of various nations. promote this devotion. gave them Holy Communion, and demonstrated the proper way to Our Lady indicated to us the specific In order to move ever closer to Her, receive Our Lord in the Eucharist: all root of all the troubles in the world, and therefore to Her Son, Our Lady three children knelt to receive the one that causes world wars and stressed the importance of praying at Communion; and Lucy was given the such terrible suffering: sin. She then least five decades of the daily. Sacred Host on the tongue and the gave a solution, first to individual She asked us to wear the Brown Angel shared the Blood of the Chalice people, then to the Church’s leaders. . And we must make between Francisco and Jacinta. God asks each one of us to stop sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of offending Him. We must pray, doing our daily duty, in reparation for Our Lady stressed the importance of especially the Rosary. By this frequent the sins committed against Our Lord praying the Rosary in each of Her prayer of the Rosary, we will get the and Our Lady. She also stressed the apparitions, asking the children to graces we need to overcome sin. God necessity of and sacrifices to pray the Rosary every day for peace. wants us to have devotion to the save poor sinners from hell. The Another principal part of the Message and to work Message of Fatima, to individual souls, of Fatima is devotion to Our Lady’s to spread this devotion throughout the is summarized in these things. Immaculate Heart, which is terribly world. Our Lady said, “My Immaculate Maria: Mater Ecclesia

In Roman , Mother of Pope Paul VI pronounced the title at the the Church (in Mater Ecclesiae) is closing of the third phase of the council. a title, officially given to Mary during the A former of Milan, Paul VI by Pope Paul VI. used similar language to that of The title was first used in the 4th century of Milan, calling Mary Model of by Saint Ambrose of Milan, as the Church in light of her faith, love and rediscovered by . complete unity with Christ and because she gave birth to The title "Mother of the Church" was used Christ. by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748[3] and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885.[4] The title was Paul VI made the pronouncement of the also used by Pope John Paul II[5] and is title Mother of the Church during his also found in the Catechism of the Catholic speech upon the closing of the third Church. session of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964: "For the glory Pope John Paul II stated that overall the of the Virgin and our consolation, we title indicates the Blessed Virgin Mary's proclaim Mary the Most Holy Mother of maternity of Christ's faithful, as deriving the Church, that is, the Mother of the from her maternity of Christ in that "Mary whole , both the faithful is present in the Church as the Mother of and the pastors." Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the In Pope John Paul II Redemption, gave to humanity in the referred to Paul VI's "Credo of the person of the Apostle John [cf. John People of God" as a reaffirmation of the 19:27]. Thus, in her new motherhood in statement that Mary is the "mother of the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every the entire Christian people, both faithful one in the Church, and embraces each and and pastors" and wrote that the Credo every one through the Church." "restated this truth in an even more On September 17, 1997, St. Pope John forceful way" St. Ambrose and Hugo Rahner Paul II devoted a Wednesday general Pope Benedict XVI also referred to the audience to the title "Mother of the The Church has traditionally portrayed the Credo of Paul VI and stated that it sums Church" with regard to its application to Blessed Virgin Mary together with the up all of the scriptural texts that relate to the Blessed Virgin Mary. apostles and disciples gathered at that the matter. first , joined in prayer with the The faithful first called upon Mary with the first members of the Church. The title, Pope St. John Paul II title "Mother of God", "Mother of the Mater Ecclesiae is found in the writings of faithful" or "our Mother", to emphasize her Berengaud, bishop of Treves (d. 1125). Following the 1981 assassination attempt personal relationship with each of her on his life, Pope John Paul II ordered the children. Later, because of the greater In the 1895 Adjutricem populi installation of a mosaic of Mary, Mother of attention paid to the mystery of the (Helper of the People) Pope Leo XIII the Church on a building overlooking St. Church and to Mary’s relationship to her, wrote, "She is invoked as Mother of the Peter's Square, partially as tribute to her the Blessed Virgin began more frequently Church and the teacher and Queen of the intercession in saving his life. In 1987, he to be invoked as "Mother of the Church" Apostles". Following the title's usage by repeated this title Mother of the Church in Leo XIII, it was later used many times in his encyclical Redemptoris Mater and at a The title "Mother of the Church" thus the teachings of John XXIII and Paul general audience on September 17, 1997. reflects the deep conviction of the VI,John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Christian faithful, who see in Mary not only With regard to the title "Mother of the the mother of the person of Christ, but The use of the Mater Ecclesiae title to the Church", John Paul used Redemptoris also of the faithful. Virgin Mary goes back to Ambrose of Milan Mater as an opportunity to explain how in the 4th century, but this was not known the Blessed Virgin Mary's maternity of Pope Benedict XVI until its 1944 rediscovery by Hugo Christ's faithful derives from her maternity Pope Benedict XVI addresses the issue, Rahner.Rahner's Mariology, following of Christ, as well as how Mary serves as a why Mariology is related Ambrose, sees Mary in her role within the "type", or model, of the Church as a to , the teaching about the Church. His interpretation, based solely on whole. Church. On first sight, he argues, it may Ambrose and the early Fathers, greatly seem accidental, that the Council moved influenced Vatican II and Pope Paul VI, Mary is present in the Church as the Mariology into ecclesiology. This relation who, quoting Ambrose, declared Mary the Mother of Christ, and at the same time as helps to understand what "Church" really "mother of the Church". that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in is. The theologian Hugo Rahner showed Pope Paul VI the person of the Apostle John. Thus, in that Mariology was originally ecclesiology. her new motherhood in the Spirit, Mary The Church is like Mary. The Mother of the Church, carries embraces each and every one in the The Church is virgin and mother, she is on in heaven her maternal role Church, and embraces each and every one immaculate and carries the burdens of with regard to the members of through the Church. In this sense Mary, history. She suffers and she is assumed Christ, cooperating in the birth Mother of the Church, is also the Church's into heaven. Slowly she learns, that Mary and development of divine life in model. Indeed, as Paul VI hopes and asks, is her mirror, that she is a person in Mary. the souls of the redeemed. the Church must draw "from on the other hand is not an isolated Mother of God the most authentic form of - Pope Paul VI's "Credo of the People of individual, who rests in herself. She is perfect imitation of Christ." God". carrying the mystery of the Church.