Fatima: The Rosary and the Heart of Mary

Abstract

THE THOMIST A SPECULATIVE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY EDITORs: THE DoMINICAN FATHERS OF THE PRoviNCE oF ST. JosEPH Publishers: The Thomist Press, Washington 17, D. C. VoL. XIII OCTOBER, 1950 No.4 FATIMA: THE ROSARY AND THE HEART OF MARY FATIMA is a name of light and hope for all those souls who are striving for the kingdom of God. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, with its tall, white tower rising up over the hill, is as a lighthouse in this turbulent hour of the world. The hours of history sometimes can be very long. This present hour, so tremendous, is still the same which thirty years ago obliged Our Lady, Mother of God and men, miraculously to appear in order to give us a message of salvation. The evils of humanity not only persist but are increased. But she also, invisibly present, persists in her eagerness to help us. Her saving watch-words still retain their full vigor and are awaiting fulfillment. We ourselves wish to help make known and accomplished those things most insistently recommended by her, that. is, the practice of the Rosary and the devotion to her Immaculate Heart. This is the second time that we have attempted this, 453 454 MARCELIANO LLAMERAS for as early as July, 1944, we presented a study concerning the value and relationships of the two devotions in the HispanoPortuguese Assembly, celebrated in Fatima by the Spanish Mariological Society.* In the same place where our heavenly advocate appeared as Our Lady of the Rosary and besought veneration and reparation for her maternal Heart, we attempted to explain, in the light of sacred science, the causes of her requests. Why, we asked, are these devotions petitioned? What titles of excellence, or of efficacy, make them so commendable ? Why is it Our Lady of the Rosary who beseeches devotion to her Heart? Is it perhaps because they constitute one and the same devotion, since it would be unfitting to separate them, or is there a great advantage in uniting them? What natural connection exists between them? Today, we again respond not only on account of the occasion of Our Lady's message, but also because the message itself is conformed to a value and to a permanent connection between the Rosary and her Heart, which merit a more attentive study. The Rosary is a means of perennial efficacy for transfusing into our souls the evangelical spirit. For it is not only consubstantial with the Gospel, but it is a gospel in action: a popular evangelical program of faith, morals, and Christian piety. It is, at the same time, a constant revelation of the Heart of Christ and of the Heart of His divine Mother. For the Rosary unceasingly proposes for the loving commemoration of souls the great accomplishments of Their love, which are the mysteries of the redemption. Without a doubt this is the divine reason for Fatima, for Our Lady knows very well the theology of her Rosary and of her Heart. Thus, by way of serving her maternal intentions, we wish to reflect upon her the little that our limitations will permit. To this end we shall recall first the history of the Rosarian and Cordimarian revelations of Fatima. Then we shall consider the value or efficacy of both devotions and their mutual * This study was published in Estudios Marianos, IV, Madrid, 1945, pp. 341-410, under the title: " La Devocion a! Immaculado Corazon de Maria y el Santisimo Rosario." It has been especially adapted by the author for publication in English. FATIMA: THE ROSARY AND THE HEART OF MARY 455 connection or dependence, with the consequences which derive from all this. I. THE RosARY AND THE HEART oF MARY IN THE APPARITIONS OF FATIMA We shall begin our study by recalling the Rosarian-Cordimarian message of Fatima which was delivered during the apparitions and was contained in the recommendations of the heavenly visitor and in the conduct and testimony of the children. The message itself, as understood by its best interpreters , will be the final proof of our doctrine concerning the compenetration of the two devotions. Being desirous of historical authenticity we shall limit ourselves...