Daily prayer
to St. Jude

O kindSaint-Jude, our faithful intercessor to Jesus, receive the following special intentions : to present them to the Almighty Lord, Root of all good. Above all, grant us an increase of our faith in His love. May each day find us closer in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. KindSaint-Jude, you who has revived hope in our hearts, you whose model merits and life bring us the divine blessings and graces, be our advocate, and lead us to Jesus and Mary. With you, blessed apostle, we give thanks and praise God with all our heart for His innumerable kindnesses. Amen.

The Monthly Note

May 2006

Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima

by Fr. Émery Désilets, OP

At the time of the sixth apparition to the shepherds of Fatima, «the beautiful Lady, as shiny as the sun » revealed her name : « I am Our Lady of the Rosary and I want a chapel to be built here in my honour». This was on October 13th 1917, during World War I.

We have all heard of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions in Fatima. Let us briefly recall the events. On May 13th 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared for the first time to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in a little Glen called Cova da Iria ( Cove of Peace), located at about a mile from the town of Fatima. «Do not be afraid, she said, I will not hurt you. I came to ask to return to this place six months in a row, on the 13th day of each month, at this same hour. Later, I will reveal to you who I am and what I want…I ask of you to recite the Rosary everyday for peace and for the conversion of sinners». In the following apparitions, she emphasises the need to do penance and to convert.

These apparitions wonderfully illustrate the words of Jesus: «… for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will » (Mt 11, 25-26) and those of the Apostle Paul: «God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong » (1Cor.1, 27).

Our Lady of Fatima’s message of penance confirms the teaching of the of the Forerunner from the desert: « Repent!... Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance » (Mt 3, 1-8). It is an extension of Jesus’ preaching at the beginning of His ministry: « Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand » (Mt 4, 17).

Mary’s voice at Fatima makes the Popes’ teachings on the Rosary a reality, particularly Pope Leon XIII’s, called the pope of the Rosary. To help us make ours this teaching, I invite you to say the following prayer: Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, you who has condescended to appear to three little modest shepherds, revealing them the treasures of grace contained in the reciting of the Rosary, imprint in us the love that we must for this devotion. Help us that by meditating the mysteries of our redemption, we may know how to use its precious fruits and thereby obtain the graces we beseech: peace in the world and the conversion of sinners. Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, pray for us.

Émery Désilets, o.p., Director

« if you do not repent, you will all perish » (Lk 13, 5)