10.21.25 - Passover | Collector | Miracles | Apparitions |

Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics  10/21/25

Every Tuesday, 7PM-8PM. This meeting is a lecture/Q&A format. It is free.

Meetings on Meetup: www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy

Past classes are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Website:  www.CatholicCatacombs.org 

House rules/notes…

1. Our meetings/classes are on ZOOM every Tuesday, 7-8 PM. Sign up for Zoom notifications and to receive meeting reminders at www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy.  Zoom ID: 829 7355 9896  Password: 358319.  

2. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing! 

3. Questions. We encourage questions although we ask that you keep them on topic and brief. You can ask during the meeting, or in the chat box, or if you prefer you can email us through Meetup.com, or Ron directly: ron@hallagan.net. 

4. Recaps. Within a day or two after each meeting, we will post the edited meeting notes of our discussions on our website, www.catholiccatacombs.org. Taylor will notify everyone when this is posted and provide you with a link.

5. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between Christian denominations and religions in general, and we seek to be respectful at all times. Protestants especially are our friends and brothers-in-Christ; in fact, I personally owe much of my return to the faith to them! 

6. No politics.  It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal :). Our goal is to learn, understand, and apply the Bible and our Catholic faith to our everyday lives. 

7. “The Chosen” TV series.  All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen series captures Jesus better than any show I have ever seen. Highly recommended.  

8. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying the rosary, etc. with other Catholics during the week?  Follow fellow member Jason Goldberg at https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/.  

9. Cursillo. Interested in meeting weekly over coffee to discuss how God is involved in your personal and professional life? Join Cursillo (cur-see-yo). Initiation involves a 3-day retreat at Mission Hurst in Arlington. For men’s groups, contact Ron (ron@hallagan.net) and Jennifer Pence (Jennifer.pence@gmail.com) for women’s groups.      

Bible Study Format

Our Bible Study is a combination of Exegesis and Apologetics.

                            Study and interpretation of Scripture         A reasoned defense of the faith 

Each meeting is (roughly) as follows:

15. min   Apologetic Reflection

16. min   Upcoming Gospel Reading

30 min   Weekly topic/theme

1 hour

Week 1:    Gospel Week – we study several Gospel stories, especially the tough ones.     

Week 2:    Bible Week – we are working our way through the Bible. We are studying the Prophets.  

Week 3:    Questions and Survey Topics chosen by Members:       

Fathers of the Church, Heresies, Church Councils    2) Near Death Experiences    3) Jesus prefigured & prophesied in the OT    4) Apparitions and modern miracles   5) What happens to pets after they die. 6) Prison ministry stories  7) Could you review of Plenary and Partial Indulgences again? 

    Week 4:    Apologetics:

1. Gen 1-3 (Creation Story, Adam & Eve, the Fall of Man, The Meaning of the Trees) 

2. Faith and Doubt

3. Deeper meanings of the Mass    

Taylor will send a link to everyone with today’s notes.

The class is recorded if you want to listen to it anytime.

I will ask for volunteer readers…

Upcoming major holy days:   November 1: All Saints Day 

Opening Prayer

Dear Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

Thank you for our lives so that we may continue to build our relationship with You. 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve You, learn from You, and grow closer to You.  

You are the Vine; we are the branches. Your life and Holy Spirit flow through us. 

You are in us. We are in you. We are one. 

And as Jesus taught us to pray… together

Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily Bread;

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

TODAY:  

• Reflection: Passover and Last Supper

• Reading for 30th Sun in Ord. Time, Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18:9-14

• Member Topic:  Miracles and Apparitions 

Quote of the Week – 

“The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the game of love goes on.” - Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy, convert to Catholicism, author of over 80 books on philosophy, theology, and apologetics. 

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less often. – C.S.Lewis

Reflection:  The First and Last Passover Meal

        1st Passover in Exodus          Blood on the Doorposts  The Last Supper

How does the Last Supper/Jesus’ passion fulfill the Exodus Passover? 

– OR said in reverse –  

How does the first Passover lamb in Exodus prefigure Christ’s atoning work at the Last Supper?

Understanding this will help us make sense of the Eucharist and Jesus’ sacrifice. 

The Passover lamb is the primary prefigurement that makes Christ’s redemptive sacrifice intelligible. By examining the rites attached to the lamb – 1) its selection and spotless nature, 2) the sprinkling of its blood on the doorposts, 3) its slaughter at twilight, and 4) the communal feast – we will see a concrete picture of how the “Lamb of God” is meant to bring about our salvation.

1. The spotless, one-year-old lamb prefigures Christ’s sinless humanity.

The Lamb… God’s instructions required a male lamb without blemish, one year old. A one-year-old male lamb is at the peak of its virility and health while still being free from the defects that could appear later in life. The requirement that it be “without blemish” further underscored the perfection of the offering. This ensured that the sacrifice was a pure and innocent victim who could then stand in the place of the guilty. Note the idea of the exchange of guilt and innocence between the lamb and the people.  

Christ… Jesus was also at the peak if his life and “the white lamb without spot” was the perfection of Christ without sin. He, too, is the pure, innocent victim who will stand in the place of the guilty (all of us). 

2. The blood on the wooden doorposts prefigure the power of the blood of Christ on the wooden cross. 

Old Covenant… The Israelites were to sprinkle the lamb’s blood on the lintels and doorposts so that the destroying angel would “pass over” their houses. That night, death “passed over” them. Blood in the OT represented life and the life of the sacrificed animal accrued to the people – temporarily (which is why they had to sacrifice at the Temple daily). 

New Covenant… “This is my blood of the new covenant, which will be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” – Mt. 26:28.  This sacrifice will be the last one and will remain eternally present for us. It is not temporary but is for our eternal life. When we partake in Christ’s sacrifice, we attach ourselves, our sins, to Christ. Death passes over us forever. 

3. The slaughter at twilight prefigures the timing of the Passion of Christ. 

First Passover… The lamb was to be slaughtered at the evening twilight, the time of transition from day to night. The translation of twilight suggest the beginning of the sun going down, which usually began around 3 in the afternoon. 

Christ’s Passover… At three in the afternoon… with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” – Mk 15:34-37. This is when the veil separating the Holy of Holies in the Temple split in two. This was when the veil between humanity and God was torn away and the new Passover (life over death) began.

4. The whole lamb consumed prefigures Christ’s sacrifice at Mass; Jesus’ in his entirety (body, blood, soul, and divinity) is offered up on the altar.  

First Passover… God instructed the Israelites to consume the whole lamb – head, feet, etc. – nothing could be left until morning. That God was sharing the with the Israelites  a sacrifice meant solely for him was strange, but unlike a pagan God who wanted authoritarian servitude, Yahweh wanted communion, friendship; He is sharing the sacrifice entirely with the people. Breaking bread with the people, if you will, which was a sign of unity. 

Last Passover…  John the Baptist said when he encountered Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” – John 1:29. Jesus says at the Last Supper, “This is my body given up for you.” The First Passover prefigures the total self-offering of Christ on the cross where the whole sacrifice of Christ remains ever-present in the Eucharist. Our Eucharistic banquet makes present the one perfect sacrifice of the Lamb. 

Why is Jesus’ physical presence so important? 

If it wasn’t, why did God become human to begin with? If spiritual was all that mattered, then God could have saved us and avoided all this physical stuff. However, he gave us spirit and bodies. It was so important that He came here personally in a human body. The Eucharist at Mass is the same thing happening. It is an ever-present incarnation. It’s simply a miracle at every Mass, that’s all; at least for those who can accept that God is capable of miracles.  

Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18:9-14

Context:  There are two main characters in the parable/story: the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. To appreciate the sensitivities of Jesus’ audience and the toes he was stepping on, let’s review how these two were viewed in those days. 

What does Pharisee mean? 

Pharisees were widely respected and seen as not only scripturally educated but always striving to follow the Mosaic laws. “Pharisee” means “set apart” (from sinful things). Pharisees were not only known for their strict observance of the Law; they developed oral traditions and interpretations to guide their daily lives. The problem that developed over time was that, while they saw themselves as separated for God’s use, this self-perception often led to a sense of superiority and judgmental attitude towards those they considered less observant. 

Doesn’t holy also mean set apart?

Yes, holy also means set apart, but this separation is not a physical isolation from others. It is about setting our thinking and our hearts apart for God, allowing Him to transform us as we learn to love God and neighbor. It is a willingness to not be like everyone else, but dedicated to service and reflecting God’s glory. It is cooperating with His grace. 

Compared to the Pharisees, tax collectors were widely despised. These were Jews who agreed to collect taxes for the Romans, which was the 1st sin. Second, they were known to increase the taxes the Jews owed to enrich themselves!  

So, we have two people – the righteous and unrighteous – who enter the temple to pray. But what a world of difference in their manner of praying!  Is it possible that the manner of praying will show who is truly righteous? 

Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.

"Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'

But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Exegesis = Interpretation/Explanation

How Jesus/God sees things:

First picture the tax collector. He has no special prayer space and is away from the center of attention. He keeps his head bowed so as to avoid the disdainful gaze of the Pharisee. A well-paid member of the Roman bureaucracy, he is dressed neatly but not pretentiously. His cheeks are stained with tears. He has come to the Temple for one reason: he recently realized how corrupt he had become. A little extortion here, a little fuzzy math there, and he had become quite wealthy. 

But his conscience forced him to ask, “at what cost?” He had defrauded people who could barely make ends meet. He had sent men to debtors’ prison with no regard for their families. He sees now where his choices have led him, and he is deeply sorry. Words fail. All he can say is, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” 

Now picture the Pharisee. He is pleased with himself and the perfection of his prayer and no doubt leaves the Temple just as he came: convinced of his own righteousness and despising everyone else. Nothing in him has changed. Yet, he should know that every encounter with God should leave you changed, or else the encounter was only with yourself. 

Ironically, it is the tax collector who leaves feeling a weight has lifted off his shoulders. He wonders, Did God hear really him? It seemed so! With a lighter step and managing a small smile, he heads home. Tomorrow he will apologize to his neighbors and begin returning their money. 

What does it mean to be righteous? 

Righteousness describes someone who acts in a morally good way. Literally, it means to be in “right-standing” with God. 

The Pharisee thought of himself as righteous. Was he?  

No. A person who considers themselves to be righteous is automatically self-righteous. 

What does it mean to be self-righteous?

Someone who considers themselves morally superior to others. The person gives final authority for one’s decisions not to God but to one’s self, although they don’t realize it. They don’t realize it precisely because they believe they are righteous. The ego works that way. If you read what the Pharisee said, he was actually praying to himself.  

What is the biggest differential between righteous and self-righteous?

Humility. A truly righteous person is above all humble. They would never think of themselves as righteous (let alone say it). It’s like a person bragging that he is humble. 

In the Bible, a righteous person is always identified as righteous by God or someone else. 

In today’s secular times, we often hear righteous used in place of self-righteous. Why?

Because self-righteous religious people (like the Pharisee in our story) who consider themselves righteous have given the word a bad name over time. The secular world doesn’t like being told what is right or wrong by religious people to begin with, so the word eventually took on arrogant connotations. However, if you look up righteous, you will still find the original meaning: a morally upstanding person. 

Jesus said the tax collector went home “justified.” What does justified mean?

Made right with God. 

God will sometimes let us fail in life. Why? 

To bring us to a place where he can start with you. He can’t break through all the self-importance and arrogance.  

Apologetic:  How does the Protestant meaning of justification differ from the Catholic meaning? 

Justification for both means to be made right with God. The difference is in how this comes about.   

For Protestants (16th century), "justification" came to mean being declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus Christ, which is a one-time legal act where God forgives sins and imputes (give3s) Christ's righteousness to believers. It is understood as being saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, not by any human works or merit. Many Protestants believe this gift of salvation through faith alone cannot be lost. 

Catholicism has also believes that we are justified by grace through Jesus Christ and faith in Him. It is by our faith and through His grace that sin is wiped away and the door to heaven is opened to us. No amount of “works” can do this. We call this the “initial justification” – it is only the beginning of our relationship with God as we are invited to journey with him throughout our lives. We don’t believe in “salvation by works,” as many Protestants think we do; we can only be saved by Christ’s grace from the cross. But like any relationship, we must cooperate with this grace once we have it to grow closer to Him – which is the meaning of holiness; the process of growing in holiness is what we call “sanctification.” Also, humans still have free will so we can also lose this gift; but thanks to Christ’s gift of forgiveness, we can get it back. 

Modern-day Miracles and Apparitions

In recent times the Church has witnessed several Marian apparitions that have profoundly shaped Catholic devotion and theology, and miracles that the medical commissions declared lasting and beyond scientific explanation. 

These events stand out not only for their extraordinary nature themselves and the rigorous process by which the Church examines and affirms their authenticity as genuine works of God, but for the depth of their messages and sometimes their worldwide impact.

Among the Marian apparitions, three stand out: Our Lady of Lourdes (1858), Our Lady of Fatima (1917), and the ongoing phenomenon of Medjugorje (since 1981). These modern-day apparitions and their associated miracles have been officially recognized by the Church and continue to inspire the faithful. 

1. Our Lady of Lourdes, France (1858) – Bernadette Soubirous received eighteen apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in the grotto of Massabielle; the Church declared the apparitions authentic in 1862 and the site became a major pilgrimage center.  

Our Lady identified herself as the Immaculate Conception and revealed a spring whose waters have since been associated with innumerable physical healings that were reported to the Lourdes medical bureau and examined scientifically; many have been declared inexplicable and recognized as miracles of God’s intervention.

Miracle of the Lourdes Spring – The water that burst from the grotto after the Virgin’s request to Bernadette has been declared by Church authorities to possess no natural curative properties, underscoring its supernatural origin.

The Miracle of the Sun

2. Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal (1917) – The Virgin appeared to three shepherd children, delivering a message of prayer, penance and granted the “dance of the sun” miracle to a massive audience. The apparitions were approved and have shaped the Church’s devotion to the Immaculate Heart.

The “Dance of the Sun” (Oct 13, 1917) – A spectacular celestial phenomenon witnessed by tens of thousands in Fatima, regarded by the Church as a sign confirming the Marian message regarding conversion and peace.

Pope John Paul II highlighted the lasting impact of Fatima’s call to conversion and reparation, linking it to the fall of Communism and ongoing prayers for peace.

Mary gave “Three Secrets,” which included a call for conversion and a prophetic vision of future suffering. According to the Church, these secrets have already shown their fulfillment while the deeper meaning of the message remains a perpetual call to prayer, conversion, and reparation for sins.

1. The warning of a worse war coming after WWI, fulfilled in WWII.  

2. A request (prayers) for the conversion of atheist Russia, fulfilled in the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. 

3. A vision of a “bishop in white” (the Pope), a city in ruins, and the martyrdom of the faithful: A partially symbolic revelation fulfilled in the martyrdom of countless believers around the world, the persecution of the Church, and the personal suffering of Pope John Paul II after surviving his assassination attempt in 1981.  

The Church has emphasizes that the Fatima secrets are not a calendar of events but a call to prayer, penance and conversion. At this time, no new revelations are to be expected from Mary’s apparitions at Fatima.

3. Our Lady of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1981-present) – While the supernatural character of the apparitions remains under Church discernment, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has granted a nihil obstat (no obstacle) for public devotion, noting the positive spiritual fruits of the phenomenon.

Beginning on June 24, 1981, visionaries reported ongoing apparitions and a series of messages that stress a Christ-centered call to prayer, conversion, and peace. The phenomenon has attracted millions of pilgrims.

Many spiritual and physical miracles have been attributed to Medjugorje. These include miraculous healings, unusual visual phenomena like the "miracle of the sun," and reported spiritual and psychological healings. Other reported signs include the scent of roses permeating the air and rosaries turning gold. 

Eucharistic miracles

The Miracle of Mass

The Real Presence Association is currently translating reports of 120 Vatican-approved miracles from Italian into English. The stories of these miracles will be available at www.therealpresence.org.

Faith, of course, should not be based on miracles alone. Several of the recorded miracles are very old, and it is certainly possible for us to dismiss them. There is no doubt, though, that reports of these miracles have strengthened the faith of many in the instructions given by Christ regarding the miracle that takes place at each Mass. The translation of these reports will permit more people to learn of eucharistic miracles and, like others before them, have their faith in Jesus’ teachings strengthened.

There are numerous miraculous events involving the Eucharist, such as bleeding hosts. The Church requires extensive scientific investigation to rule out all natural explanations before deeming an event miraculous.  Three most recent:

Sokolka Eucharistic Miracle (2008): In Poland, a consecrated host was discovered to have a reddish stain resembling a blood clot. A scientific study concluded the substance was cardiac muscle tissue from a living human heart. 

Buenos Aires Eucharistic Miracle (1996):  While he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the future Pope Francis authorized an investigation into a consecrated host that had visibly transformed. Lab tests confirmed the host was human heart tissue and blood.

There are documented claims that the Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires showed the absence of a Y chromosome in its scientific analysis, a finding presented by the faithful as evidence of a biological echo of the Virgin Birth, as it would demonstrate that the flesh was divinely begotten from the mother, Mary. While a complete human genome from male tissue should contain both X and Y chromosomes, the absence of the Y in the Buenos Aires sample suggests only maternal DNA was present, which, according to some interpretations, supports the doctrine that Christ's humanity came entirely from Mary.  

Details of the Buenos Aires Miracle  

• Date: The Buenos Aires miracle occurred in 1996. 

• Events: A consecrated host was placed in water and began to turn into flesh, which was then studied by various scientific teams. 

• Findings: A key finding was the absence of the Y chromosome in the tissue sample. 

• Implications: 

  • Divine Origin: The absence of the Y chromosome, which determines male sex, is interpreted by some as supporting the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. 

  • Biological Echo: It is seen as a "biological echo" of the divine conception, where Christ's humanity was entirely derived from Mary, rather than through human sperm. 

  • Actual Body of Christ: This lack of the Y chromosome, when considered alongside the male identity of Christ and the teaching of transubstantiation, is presented as a significant claim that the Eucharist is not symbolic flesh, but the actual, divinely begotten Body of Christ. 

Bavaria, West Germany (1970):  It happened on a summer night in a tiny town in Bavaria, West Germany, in 1970. Actually, it happened twice.

The pastor serving the town of Stich was sick. He couldn’t offer Mass for the people, so a visiting Swiss priest assisted him and offered Mass at 8 PM on Tuesday, June 9, 1970. However, something unusual happened after the Consecration. The priest noticed a red spot on the corporal next to the chalice, a spot that grew to the size of a coin.

At the elevation of the chalice, another spot appeared in the place where the chalice had stood. The priest ensured that the chalice was not leaking, and after Mass, he examined the corporal and the cloths underneath it. No cause could be found for the appearance of the spots.

The stained cloths were sent to the Polyclinical Institute of the University of Zurich for analysis. The examiners, who had been told nothing of the origin of the stains, concluded that the stains were caused by human blood, and according to the letter written to the priests informing them of the results:

...the director of the clinical laboratory said that in his considered judgment the blood was most certainly that of a man in agony.

Five weeks later, at 8 o’clock in the evening on Tuesday, July 14th, the Swiss priest was scheduled to celebrate another Mass in Stich. He carefully examined the altar stone, the altar cloths, the corporal and the chalice prior to Mass and made sure they were completely clean and undamaged. Shortly after the Consecration, the red spots appeared again on the corporal. The priest invited the congregation to inspect the stains after Mass, and they later testified to what they saw. The cloths were again sent for analysis, this time to the District Hospital of Cercee, and again, the scientists concluded that they were caused by human blood.

The 60s and 70s were a time of tremendous upheaval in the world, and in Germany, the Iron Curtain had divided the country in two since the end of World War II. At such times it is easy for us to sideline our faith and allow the events of the world to take priority in our minds. But on two nights, in an insignificant town in a place far from the newspaper headlines, Our Lord sent a miraculous reminder that—no matter how tumultuous the world becomes—He is the center of everything and His Presence is real.

Other Miracles

Jeanne Fretel's Healing at Lourdes (1948): One of the 70 official miracles attributed to the healing waters of the grotto in Lourdes, France. Suffering from tuberculosis peritonitis, she woke from a coma after receiving Communion and declared herself cured. The cure was recognized as miraculous in 1950.

Jean-Pierre Bely's Healing at Lourdes (1987): A documented case of healing from multiple sclerosis after visiting Lourdes. He was declared officially cured in 2002.

Valeria Valverde's Healing for John Paul I's Beatification (2011): An 11-year-old girl in Buenos Aires suffering from severe brain inflammation was suddenly cured after her mother prayed to the future Pope John Paul I. This cure was formally recognized as a miracle for John Paul I's beatification.

Mikey Schachle's Healing for Michael McGivney's Beatification (2015): Mikey was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of fetal hydrops while in the womb. After his parents prayed for the intercession of the Knights of Columbus founder, Michael McGivney, Mikey was completely cured in utero. The Vatican recognized this as the miracle needed for McGivney's beatification. 

Miracle of Paolina Maria Jaricot (Lyon, France) – A rapid, complete and lasting cure was declared inexplicable by the Medical Commission (19 Sept 2019) and approved as a miracle by theologians (17 Dec 2019) and the Cardinals and Bishops (5 May 2020). – 3 year old declared brain-dead after choking incident. 

Miracle of Stefan Wyszyński (Sedin-Camin, Poland) – The 2012-2013 cure was declared rapid, complete and inexplicable (29 Nov 2018) and received positive judgments from the Theological Consultors (21 Mar 2019) and the Cardinals and Bishops (24 Sep 2019). – terminal thyroid cancer.

Miracle of Elisabetta Czacka (Warsaw-Praga, Poland) – After a diocesan investigation (2013-2018), the Medical Consulta (9 Jan 2020) found the cure rapid, complete, durable and scientifically unexplainable; theologians (26 Mar 2020) and the Cardinals/Bishops (6 Oct 2020) confirmed the miracle. – severe head injuries.

Miracle of Mamerto Esquiù (Tucumán, Argentina) – The 2017-2018 cure was declared rapid, complete, lasting and scientifically inexplicable (21 Nov 2019); theologians (24 Mar 2020) and the Cardinals/Bishops (10 May 2020) recognized it as a true miracle. severe osteomyelitis 

Miracle associated with the beatification of St John Paul II – A Latin-American woman’s aneurysm vanished completely after prayers for John Paul II’s intercession; the Medical Commission (28 Feb 2013) declared it scientifically inexplicable, and it was approved by theologians (10 Apr 2013) and the Cardinals/Bishops (2 Jul 2013).

Miracle of Clemens August Graf von Galen (Atabu, Germany) – The 1998-2001 case of a paralytic ileus was judged “celerem, perfectam, stabilem” and scientifically inexplicable (20 Jan 2004); the Congregation confirmed its validity (30 Nov 2001).

*  “Celerem, perfectam, stabilem” means fast, complete, and lasting. 

How the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ in Fátima helped to end an atheist regime

Oct. 13, 1917, marked the last Marian apparition in Fátima and the day on which thousands of people bore witness to the miracle of the dancing sun — a miracle that shattered the prevalent belief at the time that God was no longer relevant.

Marco Daniel Duarte, a theologian and director of the Fátima Shrine museums, shared with CNA the impact that the miracle of the sun made during those days in Portugal.

If one were to open philosophy books during that period, he or she would likely read something akin to the concept conceived by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who boldly asserted in the late 1800s that “God is dead.”

Also, in 1917 Portugal, the majority of the world was embroiled in war. As World War I raged throughout Europe, Portugal found itself unable to maintain its initial neutrality and joined forces with the Allies. More than 220,000 Portuguese civilians died during the war, thousands due to food shortages and thousands more from the Spanish flu.

A few years before, a revolution had led to the establishment of the First Portuguese Republic in 1910 and a new liberal constitution was drafted under the influence of Freemasonry, which sought to suppress the faith from public life. Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebration of public religious festivals were banned. Between 1911 and 1916, nearly 2,000 priests, monks, and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups.

This was the backdrop against which, in 1917, a lady believed to be the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children — Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, 9 and 7 — in a field in Fátima, Portugal, bringing with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world.

To prove that the apparitions were true, the lady promised the children that during the last of her six appearances, she would provide a sign so people would believe in the apparitions and in her message. What happened on that day — Oct. 13, 1917 — has come to be known as the “Miracle of the Sun,” or “the day the sun danced.”

According to various accounts, a crowd of some 70,000 people — believers and skeptics alike —gathered to see the miracle that was promised: The rainy sky cleared up, the clouds dispersed, and the ground, which had been wet and muddy from the rain, dried up. A transparent veil came over the sun, making it easy to look at, and multicolored lights were strewn across the landscape. The sun then began to spin, twirling in the sky, and at one point appeared to veer toward the earth before jumping back to its place in the sky.

The stunning event was a direct and very convincing contradiction to the atheistic regimes at the time, which is evidenced by the fact that the first newspaper to report on the miracle on a full front page was an anti-Catholic, Masonic newspaper in Lisbon called O Seculo.

The miracle of the sun was understood by the people to be “the seal, the guarantee, that in fact those three children were telling the truth,” Duarte said.

Even today, “Fátima makes people change their perception of God,” since “one of the most important messages of the apparitions is that even if someone has separated from God, God is present in human history and doesn’t abandon humanity.”

• Catholic News Agency, 10/12/17

Closing Prayer: 

“Give Us a Heart” - Mother Teresa

Lord, give us a heart as beautiful, pure, and spotless as yours.

A heart like yours, so full of love and humility.

May we be able to receive Jesus as the Bread of Life,

to love Him as you loved Him,

and to serve Him under the mistreated face of the poor.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. Amen.