We are already in the final phase of preparation for the great Gathering in Fatima 2018. Even if those who will attend the event are not numerous in comparison to the total number of Teams members in our Movement, it is desirable that all Team members feel involved in the spiritual preparation for this event that is of interest to them all (or that ought to be interest). The Teams and couples who will attend will be the representatives of all Team members. With the help of a few short reflections, I would like help you understand what Fatima represents for those faithful to Our Lady, whose Apparitions from May to October 1917, were recognised by the Church. The testimony of holiness of the Seers, including Jacinta and Francisco, is the strongest sign of the authenticity and truth of what happened at Fatima.
The events at Fatima hinge on three events:
1/ the angelic cycle with the Angel’s Apparition in 1916 that prepared the Pastoureaux for Our Lady’s Apparitions;
2/ the Marial cycle, with six Apparitions of Our Lady every 13th of the month, from May to October 1917 (except in August, when the apparition took place on the 19th);
3/ a third cycle, at Pontevedra and Tui, in Spain, between 1925 and 1929, with Our Lady’s Apparitions to Lucia, when she was already a nun in the Institute of the Sisters of St. Dorothy.
In my next notes, I will explain each of the cycles a little bit more. But, for now, you already have an idea about the temporal and spatial background of the Fatima events.
Father José Jacinto Ferreira de Farias, scj
Spiritual Counsellor to the ERI
