Berserk
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(4) At Fatima, Portugal on May 13, 1917, 3 illiterate young siblings were tending sheep when, frightened by a lightning bolt, they ran down the slope and suddenly saw a dazzling apparition of a woman within the foliage of an oak tree. She assured the children that they would go to heaven, informed them about the spiritual fate of several recenetly deceased Fatima villagers, and warned them that they would suffer much in the coming months. She asked them to return there on the 13th of every month for 6 months and promised that she would reveal her identity on October 13. In her excitement, Jacinta broke her agreement with Lucia and Francesco to keep the vision a secret. Their mother accused them of lying and they were constantly mocked by the skeptical townsfolk.
On July 13, Mary urged Lucia to pray daily for the War to end, promised to heal several of Fatima's sick people if Lucia would fervently pray for them, and promised to perform a miracle for the witnesses on October 13. Mary also imparted several secrets to Lucia.
Political officials eventually had the children abducted, brutally questioned, and threatened with death if they refused to retract their claims. Still, nono of the children would admit they had lied. Their abduction forced them to miss their appointment with the woman on August 13. When the children arrived at the oak tree on Sept. 13, 30.000 people, including an important Catholic official, saw the sun dim at noon so that stars were clearly visible, an orb of light glide towards the tree and then settle in it, and a rain of white flower petals which disappeared before they hit the ground. A photograph of this rain of petals was taken and published. It caused a great sensation and persuaded legions of skeptics.
On October 13, the woman revealed her identity to Lucia as Our lady of the Rosary. She granted the children a series of visions. Lucia then cried out for everyone vto look at the sun. Suddenly most of the 70,000 present saw tke clouds part and a huge bright silver disk (which everyone took to be the sun) float in the sky, gyrate, and throw off colored flames in all directions. The disk then began to plunge towards the earth, creating such intense heat that that the crowd of 70,000 (including countless atheists) began to panic. After about 12 minutes, the disk suddenly stopped and returned to the sky. Oddly, people witnessed the miracle as far away as 24 miles, and yet, at least 2 women present at the sight saw nothing.
Catholics have been particularly impressed by several secrets disclosed to Lucia during her various apparitions. In 1927 Lucia revealed that Mary had informed her in 1917 that Francesco and Jacinta would soon die and join her in Heaven. The two children died of influenza in 1919-1920. Lucia then disclosed more secrets revealed to her by Mary in 1917:
:The War [WW1] is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famines, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."
This amounts to a prediction of the imminent end of World War 1 and the start of World War II. Shortly before the Nazi invasion of Austria, an unprecedented spectacular display of aurora borealis could be seen all over Europe. Many Catholics also see Mary's next disclosure as a prediction of the rise, dominance, and fall of Russian Communism:
"to prevent this, I [Mary] shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church...Various nations will be annihilated. In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."
Don
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