Fatima was once considered as a simple and small village in the central region of Portugal. There was nothing too distinct about the development of Fatima until a series of very unusual occurrences began to throw a spotlight on the region. The recorded versions of these events are simple and clear cut, the instructions which were given were also well defined and plain. As with everything else in this world, the natures of the events became starkly serious once the political and other resulting implications are realized.
To put things into context, there had been a revolution a few years earlier which broke the constitutional monarchy and formed The First Republic. The Government of The First Republic had one overarching goal and this was to break the influence and hold of the Catholic Church in Portugal. The Government of the day had a staunchly atheistic view and they were willing to take overwhelming steps to defend their new republic. Something as radical, unbelievable and faith affirming as what occurred at Fatima would threaten the very bedrock of their right to rule.
The appearance of the Virgin Mary at Fatima and the revelations that were given to the three children were eventually validated and recorded as official miracles by the Church. Even with the early passing of two of the original three recipients of the visions, their sacrifice and devotion to spreading the Word of God are to be remembered and commemorated. There were times in the life of the children when they were imprisoned, interrogated and attempts at coercing confessions were all done to dissuade them from completing their divine task.
On this the 100th celebration of The Virgin Mary’s appearance at Fatima, let all believers celebrate and remember using whatever gifts are available. If creating Christian art or composing songs for the day are the only methods of celebration, submit these items to the congregation and allow the praises to go up so that God’s continued blessing can come down.
Rana Tarakji is an entrepreneur and a contributing writer at Stylerail, a lifestyle blog as well as Sataco, an electro mechanical company in Lebanon.
Calvin Yang is a friendly, outgoing person. He loves to explore the world and help people learn about it too! He recently went on a trip to Europe where he visited many different countries and cultures. One of his favorite places was Istanbul because it has so much history.
