May – Call to Action

Call to action in response to the apparations in 1916 and 1917

Prayer, trust, sacraments, sacrifice, daily rosary

278px-Po-map_fatima
  1. Every day, read and learn a few pages about:

  2. Learn the prayers that the Angel taught the children in 1916, as he prepared them for Our Lady’s apparitions in 1917 (and as he prepares us now to follow God’s commands through Our Lady). These prayers include:

  • "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for all those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You."

  • "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He, Himself is offended. And I draw upon the infinite merits of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that You might convert poor sinners."

  • "Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee. My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament."
  1. Pray one of these prayers whenever you can – even if only:
    • once a day.
    • as you simply walk somewhere:
      • up or down a flight of steps.
      • through a parking lot.
      • during daily exercise.
    • while on a walk or jog.
    • during brief mental downtimes throughout the day.

  2. Remember what the Angel of Peace said to the three children (and to us):
    "The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."

  3. Ask God to help you to return to prayer when:
    • you’ve grown weary (just as the three children did)
    • you’re discouraged in prayer.

  4. Offer sacrifices for sinners, including for yourself and your family. These sacrifices can include:
    • praying some form of the Morning Offering and then acting upon it “simply” by doing your daily duties to the best of your ability and in good will.
    • offering unavoidable frustrations and sufferings to God, even as you might try to find (and pray for) ways to end these frustrations and sufferings.
    • remembering to offer to God the sufferings of others – especially those who are incapacitated in some way due to illness or accidents. This offering pleases God even when you (or others) pray for guidance to find ways to end their sufferings.

  5. Pray (daily, if possible) that, through Our Lady, God will give you all forms of help, including His comfort, needed in times of suffering and frustration.

  6. Thoroughly examine your conscience routinely, and then:
    • seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently (monthly, if possible).
    • confess all mortal sins to be assured that you worthily receive Holy Communion.
  7. Reverently receive Holy Communion at each Mass you attend. Consider receiving the Eucharist on the tongue (and kneeling, if possible) as:
    • the Angel gave the Eucharist to the three children at Fatima.
    • Bishop Robert Morlino (Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin; †2018, RIP) had:
      • instructed the children in his diocese to do as they prepare for First Holy Communion.
      • encouraged all in his diocese to do.

  8. Pray the daily rosary as Our Lady requested, and perhaps:
    • start with only one decade, if needed.
    • consider other approaches to accomplish this request, because...
Albrecht Dürer - Study of an Apostle's Hands (Praying Hands) - WGA07062
Rosary 2006-01-16
We won’t have world peace without the daily rosary, but I know what you’re thinking: “I have NO time to sit and pray a daily rosary.” This is a sad commentary on life today, but probably true for many people. Ideally, we would pray all five decades of a rosary in one time block, but that isn’t always possible, so consider these suggestions to "scatter" your rosary decades throughout the day, if needed, (sort of like scattering roses for Our Lady through the path of your day).
  • Keep a rosary in your car, and:
    • listen to a recording of the rosary (e.g. podcast, etc.) and pray a decade or more while driving or riding.
    • pray a decade or two even in the silence of your car.
  • Use just your fingers and pray the rosary while:
    • waiting for someone.
    • standing in line.
    • doing odd jobs that require no other concentration.
  • Keep “mental beads” (if that approach can work for you), and pray even while taking a shower or otherwise preparing for your day or for bedtime.
  • Start with only one decade per day, if needed, and Our Lady will help you to respond with even greater success until you pray all five decades daily.
Our Lady of Fatima, please pray for us and for the success of our abilities to honor the centenary of your apparitions for our time and in every year to come.

Our Lady of Fatima, please pray with us that others will be inspired to learn more and act as God has requested through you at Fatima.