Description
People have been traveling to Fatima, Portugal, since 1917 when the Madonna first appeared to three little children: Lucia Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who were minding a flock of sheep. Each time the Madonna has made an appearance on Earth, she has left a sign— a miraculous occurrence—that became an unending source of blessings, revealing (and continuing to reveal) the presence of the Divine in our lives.
The Miracle of the Sun, also known as the Miracle of Fatima, occurred on October 13th, 1917, in front of an estimated 70,000 people who had traveled to the apparition site because the children had shared that the Holy Mother would provide proof of Her presence. Rain poured down on the crowd on October 13th as they waited in anticipation for something phenomenal to occur. Shortly after noon, the Madonna appeared and identified herself as “the Lady of the Rosary,” requesting that people pray the rosary. As soon as she finished her message to the children, they reported that She turned the palms of her hands upward toward the dark, stormy sky. Suddenly, the sun appeared as a large, spinning disc that danced across the sky, briefly giving the impression that it was headed directly for a collision with the Earth. Then, the sun returned to its normal position. Following this solar event, all the people reported that their soaked clothing was dry, the mud they had been standing in turned to solid, dry land, and some people who had come to Fatima hoping for a miracle on that day reported that they had been healed. Photographers captured the event, and numerous witnesses provided personal accounts of what they saw and experienced on October 13th, 1917.
In addition to the Miracle of the Sun and the six apparitions of the Madonna at Fatima, the apparitions also became renowned because of the prophetic messages given to the three children. The Madonna told them during one apparition that if the world did not turn to prayer, another world war would break out that would be far worse than the current world war (World War I). She even told them when World War II would begin. (Obviously, few took her warning to heart.) The prophecy aspect of the Fatima visions remains one of the most fascinating aspects of this extraordinary event. A third Fatima prophecy, meant to be revealed to the world in 1960, has remained a closely guarded Vatican secret.
Fatima has long been a holy site that I have wanted to visit. It is a bucket-list item for me, as they say. There are holy places all over our world—sacred sites that draw people to them because of the belief that something about that site or area is holy. Fatima is a sacred site for millions of people, and it is for me. Miraculous healings have occurred at Fatima since October 13th, 1917, when the Madonna performed the Miracle of the Sun. The Light and holiness that pour into our world from the many holy sites on Earth are not religious in nature at all. That is, although this apparition occurred to three Catholic children, the grace that Fatima releases into the world is for everyone. The Divine has no religion, and the intention behind the Divine messages is one of universal guidance. Grace pours into the world through the devotion of the countless people who visit the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and through the millions who travel to Mecca to complete the Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage considered the fifth pillar of Islam. Holy portals exist everywhere on our Earth. Fatima is one such holy conduit of grace.
It occurred to me earlier this year that Fatima would be the ideal place to offer a workshop delving into the extraordinary events that happen between our physical world and the sacred domain. Every human being is born with an inherent attraction to the invisible, sacred power that governs our lives. We want to believe that our lives are not meaningless experiences that span a limited amount of time. And that, hopefully, the realm of the sacred is truly another dimension of life that embraces us upon our departure from this life. Apparitions and miracles have always served as proof to so many people that our lives matter to the Divine in ways we cannot comprehend.
Today, it is not easy for people to have the faith and trust in the presence of the Divine that people had one hundred years ago. We live in different times, with high-speed technologies and values that have shifted our priorities in life. We lean in favor of the skeptical mind, trusting the voice of science and reason over one’s mystical wiring and intuitive guidance. And we are suffering greatly because of that. Depression, anxiety, and fear are now the most common reasons that people turn to therapy, unable to find a way to believe in themselves, much less something greater than themselves. Faith crises qualify as an epidemic, although most people are unable to recognize their suffering as rooted in a spiritual crisis of the soul.
I want to use our time together in Fatima to discuss the wonders of the Sacred and our inherent need to experience the graces of the Divine in our lives. Our souls are meant to receive guidance; we are meant to rely upon grace; we need to know that our lives are truly a sacred gift. In this workshop, I will discuss how to recognize if you are experiencing a spiritual crisis and how to examine the choices you are making. And we will spend time on healing and prayers.
I hope you will join me for this deeply personal spiritual experience of being in Fatima together.
Love,
Caroline
