Issued: 07/16/22

   PLEASE NOTE:  All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.  The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [later Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God, lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Only Highest God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from God the Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christian will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   Deceptions at Fátima

   The parish of Fátima lies in central west Portugal; it was granted city status on 12 July 1997.  Because it sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,168 above sea level, it is at much higher altitude than adjacent parishes. In the mid 18^th century in Ortiga, now a quarter of Fátima parish, “Mary” appeared to a young, mute shepherdess who started speaking in response to “Mary” asking for one of her sheep.  This led to a sanctuary honoring “Mary” in 1758, which prompted Pius VII in 1801 to grant visiting rights to all pilgrims.

  The first Fátima apparition took place on 13 May 1917.  The seers were three shepherd children guarding their families’ flocks in the Cova da Iria.  In 1916 they alleged to have been visited three times by an angel identifying himself as the Guardian Angel of Portugal.¹  This ranking is a rarity in Scripture; in Daniel 10:13, the speaking Yahweh of hosts (10:16-17) refers to Michael as “one of the chief princes,” which coupled with Hebrews 1:14 and Revelation 22:9 suggest that no one angel except Yahweh of hosts/Jesus has been entrusted with territorial domains—an attribution readily conferred upon “Mary” by devotees the world over.

   By 13 May “Mary” had sorted out Heaven’s dress code, appearing clad in white and shining brightly as if clothed with the sun.  She was holding a rosary and levitating just above a small holm-oak tree.  To cut introductions short, “Mary” said she had come from Heaven; and rather than the back-to-back 1858 gigs as at Lourdes [i.e., 11 in February, 5 in March, 1 in April, and 1 in July], she told the children to return on the 13^th day of each month for the next six months.  Since the apparitions occurred at the height of World War I, the children were instructed to pray the rosary to obtain the end of the war; thus conscripting the rosary as peace broker upstaging God’s role in human affairs (Isaiah 45:7).

Miracle of the Sun

   Let us cut to the chase and move to the so-called Miracle of the Sun on 13 October 1917.  By then news of the apparition had gone viral, prompting an estimated 70,000 pilgrims to be on hand despite inclement weather and non-stop rain.  Fátima’s climate is characterized by warm, dry summers; and because of its altitude, heavy precipitation during late autumn and winter, so we must wonder whether climate was a factor in “Mary’s” six-month engagement at this venue.  Genesis 8:1-3 tells us that the God for Whom all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) sent a wind that evaporated Floodwaters in 150 days; “Mary’s” solar Pac-Man at Fátima managed to completely dry off the clothes of rain-soaked attendees—and surrounding terrain—in a matter of minutes.

    Needless to say, when viewed from other places on the planet, the Sun stayed in its place; thus Fátima’s “solar” roller coaster served no other purpose than to display “Mary’s” power to crowds at their highest number, thus ensuring greater word-of-mouth publicity.  Where Marian apparitions are concerned, the norm has been to upstage the doings of Father and Son:  at Guadalupe, an image upstaging unseen Father and Son;² at La Salette un-Scriptural “mother of mankind” upstaging Scriptural “father of faith”; at Lourdes Catholic dogma upstaging Christian orthodoxy; and at Fátima Sun frenzy upstaging Yahweh’s stopping of Earth’s rotation (Joshua 10:13).

Foothold on yet another high place

   During the fourth apparition [August 1917], “Mary” requested that local funds be used to help the construction of a chapel in her honor; in October that request became a command:  She, the Lady of the Rosary, wanted a chapel to be built on the spot, ³ where the rosary had to be prayed every day [it is to this day].  In 1919 the so-called Chapel of the Apparitions was built, today the heart of the Fatima complex which includes two basilicas, luxurious hotels [upgrading Jesus’ lack of accommodations (Matthew 8:20)], lots of convents and some medical facilities.  Fátima is a hub for religious tourism, visited by six to eight million pilgrims per year.   Bye-bye Jesus’ quaint notion that Mammon and God could not be equally taken care of (Luke 16:13).

Three-in-One Secrets

   World War I did end on 11 November 1918; so either “Mary” made good on the promise of rosary as peace-broker, or Fátima was scheduled ahead of that blessed event to create the impression of cause and effect.  The notion of Fátima as a place for peace pilgrimages gained traction during World War II, for “Mary” had given three secrets to the children: 1) a vision of a hell that does not exist according to the Bible but is part of Catholic dogma; 2) the prediction of a worse world war during the pontificate of Pius XI (1922-1939), to be heralded by an unprecedented light display in the sky; and 3) the much-written-about scoop, made public in 2000, concerning hard times for reigning pope, Christian persecutions, and visions of a ruined city in flames.

   “Mary’s” penchant for secrecy goes against God’s and Jesus’ norms of telling it like it is and sounding off warnings while they may do some good, the objective being to correct human transgressions before comeuppance becomes due (Ezekiel 3:18-21; Matthew 10:27).  Any secrets, especially told to children incapable of ascertaining their import, do not make sense; yet both at La Salette and at Fátima, the seers were told things they kept under wraps.

   On the other hand, that MO would serve a purpose if the objective were to generate controversy; for whereas God and Jesus favor the “every-faithful-on-the-same-page” approach, Satan relies on a plethora of opinions  to sow confusion and division, the winning formula that undermines human endeavors (Mark 3:24-25).  Though in the fashion of the Old Testament God accepts responsibility for whatever befalls men (Job 9:12; Isaiah 14:27, 43:13, 45:7; Daniel 4:35), one wonders if the spontaneous creation of world languages in Genesis 11:1-9 was Satan’s improvisation to scuttle the Tower of Babel project.  In support of this notion, Scripture intimately links Satan with Babel:  He is called the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:1-20); his church sitting on seven hills is called Babylon (1Peter 5:13; Revelation 2:13, 17:5,9,15); it is in Babylon where Yahweh will exorcise the demonic powers Satan uses to deceive men (Jeremiah 51:44; Revelation 16:13-14); and Babylon is the city that has become living quarters for his demonic staff (Revelation 18:1-24).  For Peter, Babylon was Rome (1Peter 5:13).

   Passing on Secret #1, which may be a case of back-scratching between vectors of disinformation, “Mary” may be on the money regarding Secret #3, which does sound like the comeuppance either of Rome or Vatican City.⁴  One leans towards the latter, since among her inventory Scripture counts “the souls of men” (Revelation 18:13) as goods bartered during her nefarious, historical shenanigans.  There is good cause for the lament surrounding her downfall, “because in one hour so much riches were made desolate”! (Revelation 18:17):  the gold, art, architecture, and the accumulated wisdom of ages past stored in her legendary library.  Consequently, “Mary” may have borrowed from Scripture to establish her prophetic bona fides.

   As to be expected, there is an unending controversy as to whether Secret #3 was revealed in toto or in part; give men something to argue about and they will do the “Athenian thing” (Acts 17:21).  We have no wish to become mired in the ongoing discussion; but just for the sake of confirming how far the rank and file will go to remain loyal to entities lying to them, [a phenomenon much in evidence in contemporary politics], do research on papal comments regarding “Mary’s” loving relationship with popes; putting everything in the hands of the “mother of God”; praying the rosary to hold evil at bay; and firmly believing the eventual triumph of “Mary’s” Immaculate Heart, for the glory of the Trinity, over godless Communism [at Fátima “Mary” promised to convert Russia if consecrated to her Immaculate Heart].  Confronted with this hodgepodge of erroneous dogmas, one is at a loss whether to fear more Satan’s power to deceive men, or God’s power to blind them to the truth for refusing to come to their senses (Mark 4:12; 2Thessalonians 2:11-12).

   Secret #2 was bundled with the obligatory celestial display signaling a worse world war taking place during the pontificate of Pius XI (1922-1939).  On 25 January 1938, an unusually intense aurora borealis was visible from northern countries down to Bermuda; in Canada, shortwave radio transmissions were shut down for 12 hours.  Marian devotees were quick to point out that Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, so the aurora sign was according to schedule; naysayers counter-argued that WWII had started when Japan had invaded China in 1937, thus the aurora fireworks was late and irrelevant.

   If there is anything we do know about heavenly signs coming from Father and Son, it is that they conform to specific timetables regarding earthshaking—literally and figuratively—world events; as for example, the disappearance of the cosmos prior to Jesus’ second coming and the appearance of Jesus’ rainbow on a jet-black emptiness (Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 10:1-7, 12:6-8).  Whether “Mary” was spinning prophetic imagery related to celestial goings-on cannot be determined; but we have been told to ignore signs, however prodigious and astonishing, that set the unenlightened a-quaking (Jeremiah 10:2).

The Maculate Heartlessness

   What Marian devotees blithely dismiss is the unmitigated sadism “Mary” practiced on siblings Francisco and Jacinta, who were asked to give their lunches to the poor, not to drink water on hot days, and to mortify their flesh.  “Mary’s” rationale was that their penance would add weight to their prayers for converting sinners, despite the fact that as far as God is concerned, everyone is responsible for his/her own actions and not anybody else’s messiah (Jeremiah 31:29-30; Galatians 6:5).  Only Jesus was saddled with the sins of men, and only through his crucifixion were men’s sins remitted, for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Isaiah 53:3-6,12; Hebrews 9:22; 1John 1:7).  The real Mary may have cried rivers at the foot of Jesus’ cross, but, according to God’s playbook, her deep and understandable grief did nothing for sinners.

   Francisco contracted the Spanish Flu; and in his weakened physical state died on 4 April 1919.  On the verge of death Francisco bemoaned the fact that he wanted to suffer more for “our lady” but could not; even though his “lady” had left him out of the loop, preferring instead to chat with Lucia and Jacinta, who then told Francisco what had transpired.  Jacinta followed on 20 February 1920.  Mercifully both children were liberated from the claws of their merciless taskmaster; though in the interim they toed the propaganda that Jesus wanted the veneration of “Mary’s” Immaculate Heart; that he granted graces through petitions made to her; and that God had placed the prospect of peace in her hands—mind you, the God Who had said there would be no peace for any flesh (Jeremiah 12:12), and the Son who denied having come to bring peace to the present world (Matthew 10:34-35).

Useful Tools:  As in Portugal…

    “Mary’s” chips were on Lúcia dos Santos, the third and oldest seer, who lived to the ripe old age of 98, dying on 13 February 2005.  It had always been thought that “Mary’s” original message was one mix of good and bad news; but it was not until her third memoir in 1941 that Lúcia revealed the message consisted of three parts.  Why Lúcia waited until then to drop this bomb, if the Fátima revelations were so vital to world peace and the conversion of sinners, is a moot point.⁵

   On 13 July 1917 “Mary” had told Lúcia that there would be a future visitation requesting a 5-pronged series of monthly devotions come to be known as the Five First Saturdays, which took place on 10 December 1925.  If a Saturday was missed, the devotion went back to square one and had to be done all over again.  There were no credits for time observed or mitigating allowances for Saturdays missed.  No one was off the hook.

   On 29 May 1930, “Mary” appeared to Lúcia accompanied by “Child Jesus,” who on this occasion was “mom’s” spokesperson and advocate.  Why the adult Jesus did not appear instead is cause enough to smell a rat, but Lúcia, already “in the bag,” was not puzzled by it.  “Child Jesus” pleaded [a spin on Jesus as heavenly advocate?↔Isaiah 51:22; 1John 2:1] for compassion on his “holy mother’s” heart, which men transfixed with thorns “at every moment” by belittling her, so that reparations were called for—the equivalent of tort in human law.  Devotees were to confess their sins, receive communion, recite five decades (50 Hail Mary’s to 5 Lord’s Prayers), and meditate with “Mary” for fifteen minutes on the mysteries of the rosary, all aimed at removing thorns from her Immaculate Heart.  Please notice the neglect of the Most High God in all this:  In life Jesus directed all worship to the Father; at Fátima, his “Child” avatar focused exclusively on “Mary.” 

   This was reparation by proxy, since devotees, though not guilty of “thorny” blasphemies, were asked to serve time for the aspersions cast on “Mary” by her detractors.  These consisted of 1) blasphemies doubting “Mary’s” Immaculate Conception [Catholic dogma, not Scriptural orthodoxy]; 2) blasphemies questioning her perpetual virginity [contradicted by Matthew 1:25];⁶ 3) blasphemies by failing to credit her as the mother of mankind [Eve was (Genesis 3:20)];⁷ 4) blasphemous attempts at teaching children indifference, disrespect, and even hate for her; and 5) blasphemous suggestions that her images were pagan idolatry redux [forbidden by God Himself in Exodus 20:4-5 under pain of death].  “Child Jesus” petitioned Lúcia, through “endless” prayers and sacrifices, to move him to mercy regarding the fate of recalcitrant souls—which cast Lúcia in the role of proxy-mediatrix of graces, without whose intercession “Child Jesus” threatened to remain flint-hearted [an extrapolation from Ezekiel 3:9?].

   As we can see legitimate Scripture was being preempted to encourage apostate behaviors—mind you, not forced upon men, for while Satan may be the deceiver, sin is a human choice freely and personally made (Genesis 4:7; Jeremiah 44:25; Romans 6:16).  Thus Satan engineered the very scenario that Yahweh of hosts, through Moses, was outlining in Deuteronomy 30:11-20:  You have been given explicit instructions as to what to believe or not, in whom to believe or not, so that blessings are predicated on obedience to Yahweh the Most High and curses on human preferences.  It is true that for the longest time Roman Catholicism discouraged translation and propagation of the Bible in the vernacular; but in the Babel Christianity became not long after Jesus’ ascension, there were always speakers of truth just as Jesus had been one among the religious elite of his time.  People always the choice to opt for safety in numbers, or, as Paul put it, to decamp—opt out— “bearing the abuse he bore” (Hebrews 13:13).

…so in France…

   The First Five Saturdays ritual had its precedent in the First Friday monthly-devotion promulgated by another seer in 1673, a recently minted-nun (1672) by the name of Margaret Mary Alacoque.  According to her, Margaret Mary received private revelations beginning 27 December 1673 and ending 18 months later.  On the first one “Jesus” was in a touchy-feely mood, allowing Margaret Mary to repose her head on his bosom [a spin on John 13:23-25?]; whereupon the bounties of his goodness tsunami-ed over her, cherry-topped with his assurance that he had chosen her to do his work.

   This “Jesus” sounds suspiciously different from his Biblical counterpart, for the latter apparently kept women at arm’s length (John 4:27); did not conscript women as Apostles; and forbade Mary Magdalene to touch him post-resurrection while Thomas was allowed to (John 20:17,27).  Let us not be silly enough to think Jesus was a misogynist anymore than Paul was:  Heaven’s MO from Genesis to Revelation is to single out males to do God’s work, as Levite males were singled out for the priesthood, and males conscripted to battle for the Promised Land.  The Patriarchs were all male; the Prophets were all male [Deborah does not count:  She self-nominated for the post (Judges 5:7)]; when Judas was nixed, the vote was left to God and a man was chosen (Acts 1:26); and poor Paul assumed the unpopular task of telling women what was expected of them—on the basis of Scripture (1Corinthians 14:33-35; 1Timothy 2:11-14).  If anybody deserves devotional reparations after all the blasphemy heaped on him, it is he.

   As Lúcia would do later, Margaret Mary was nominated as secular ambassador.  In 1689 “Jesus” commissioned her to petition French King Louis XIV to consecrate France to his Sacred Heart so that all the enemies of the Roman Church would be vanquished—questionable  loyalty to a institution whose reason for being Jesus had dissolved in word (Luke 16:18; John 16:13; 1John 2:27) and with his crucifixion (Hebrews 5:1-10, 7:18-28, 8:1-4, 9:24-26, 10:19-20).  Because Louis XIV and his successors Louis XV and Louis XVI did not follow through with “Jesus’” request [the Age of Reason preempting faith was in full swing], payola was in order:  The French Revolution did away with the monarchy in 1789 and Louis XVI was beheaded.

   Margaret Mary was instrumental in promoting the present form of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  In 1688 a chapel was built at Paray-le-Monial honoring the Sacred Heart.⁸  The eponymous basilica that stands there today is one of the most visited religious sites in France.  Margaret Mary’s incorrupt body, [a spin on Psalms 16:10?)], rests on an altar in the Chapel of Apparitions.  Physical incorruption is not unusual in Catholic sites, though unheard of in Scripture, where immanent, eternal life is in bones to be covered with immortal flesh at Jesus’ second coming (2Kings 13:21; Ezekiel 37:4-10; 1Corinthians 15:51-54).  God is into souls living and asleep:  He is a God of the living (Matthew 22:32, 27:52).  Dead paraphernalia is Satan’s “thing” (Isaiah 14:16-17,20; Hebrews 2:14).

   Margaret Mary died on 17 October 1690.

…back to Portugal…

   On 29 August 1931 “Jesus” told Lucia that failure to consecrate Russia to “Mary’s” heart, as he had commanded, would allow Russia to spread her errors throughout out the world; consequently, many heads would roll and the pope would have much to answer for.  “Jesus” referenced the king of France, who had ignored Margaret Mary’s ultimatums—though in that case France’s consecration was to his Sacred Heart, not “Mary’s” Immaculate one.  On 13 June 1917 [second apparition], “Mary” had voiced the proviso that if Russia were consecrated to her heart, along with First Saturdays reparations, Russia would be converted and there would be peace.  The Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917, the same month the last Fátima apparition took place.  The peace “Mary” was talking about was not WWI:  She emphatically stated that it would end [it did in 1919].  She was referring to WWII, a world war worse than the first one.⁹

   In 1941 Lúcia published her third book of memoirs.  By 29 August 1949, Russia emerged as a political contender when it detonated its first atomic bomb [20 kilotons], thanks to nuclear secrets passed to the Soviets by a German-born scientist who had helped the United States build its first atomic weapons.  By 1955, three years after the American detonation of the first hydrogen bomb [10.4 megatons], Russia exploded its own version and clinched its superpower status.

  Having dragged their feet on the consecration bit, popes started anteing up.  In 1938 several Portuguese bishops had written Pius XI [he died in 1939] to consecrate Russia, not on Lúcia’s say so but on Alexandrina da Costa’s, an uneducated seamstress born in Balazar, a rural Portuguese parish.  Alexandrina had passed on “Jesus’ and Mary’s” request to her father confessor, who urged the bishops to petition Rome.  Letters were written and unheeded until 1941, when after careful vetting of Alexandrina’s saintly bona fides, Pius XII performed the rite on 31 October 1942—too late, it seems, because Russia was on her way to deploy the godlessness and bloodshed “Mary” had warned of at Fátima.  Pius XII followed up that gig with a second consecration of all Russian peoples to “Mary’s” Immaculate Heart in 1952.

  Not to be outdone, papal consecrations of the whole of humanity to the Immaculate Heart were attempted over the ensuing years:  By Paul VI in 1964; and John Paul II in 1981 and 1982.  The latter had been shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981; as he lay grievously wounded, he pleaded for “Mary’s” help and later attributed his survival to her protection.  The day of his attempted assassination was May 13, the anniversary of the first Fátima apparition; a second attempt took place on 12 May 1982 in Portugal, one day before the anniversary of his ordeal at St. Peter’s.  In Daniel 5:5-6, 25-27, King Belshazzar had been outed as failing to pay due worship to God; after two failed assassination attempts, John Paul II saw the writing on the wall:  He was being targeted for failing to provide the worship his lady expected.

   Try and try again.  In 1984 John Paul II consulted Lúcia as to whether his new Plan B met “Mary’s” requirements.  Plan B consisted of consecrating Russia in communion and in coordination with all Catholic bishops globally, something that had not been done previously.  After the 1984 rite was performed, Lucia gave it her imprimatur:  It had been performed the way “Mary” had wanted it to be.  Unrelated or not, the Soviet Empire began to crack with the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989.  John Paul II appended the Fátima narrative with his interpretation, on 26 June 2000, that his assassination attempt fulfilled the prophecy of papal ordeals—leaving out the apocalyptic bits about Christian persecutions and the destroyed, burning city.

   Ever the consummate diplomats, no pope made explicit references to “Mary’s” assessment of Russia as propagator of errors, wars, and Christian persecutions.  History shows that in order for their church to survive, popes favor Darwinian adaptations by bending in whatever direction political winds blow.  Francis, the current pope, followed John Paul II’s gig with a consecration of his own on 25 March 2022 at St. Peter’s Basilica.  A letter was sent to bishops worldwide, on a voluntary basis, to join Francis’ affair in real-time; Catholic communities and all the faithful far and wide were invited as well.  Francis pushed the envelope a bit further by consecrating church, humanity, and “especially Russia and Ukraine,” to the Immaculate Heart of the “mother of God and our mother.”

   In a bit of all-inclusive finesse, Francis referred to “Mary” as the “Earth of Heaven.”  Some Catholics went ballistic over this new nomenclature.  But there was method to his “badness”:  The title was taken from some Byzantine-Slavic monastic hymn poeticizing the union of heaven and earth [Uranus and Gaia, anyone?] as symbolized by Mary’s assumption into heaven.  As history amply shows, if you want any deal to resonate, parts of opposing factions must be scrambled together to make the final result palatable to everyone.

   By differentiating between Russia and Ukraine, Francis was inserting his political two-bits into the current conflict where the very issue is independence from an aggressor both godless and blood-shedding—the embodiment of evil “Mary” is gung-ho to trump.  “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.”  Amen to that, not in terms of Catholic conversion, but in the cessation of killings and human suffering in Ukraine.

   Knowing Satan, Russia’s conversion is very possible, for it would account for the identity of the second superpower alluded to in Revelation 13:11-17.  Time will tell.  But what better way to prove “Mary’s” mettle than by bringing about what she promised to do.

   Let us hope that the period of peace does not turn out to be the one prophesied by Paul:  “For when they are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape” (1Thessalonians 5:3).

…and more maculate heartlessness.

   If anybody thinks little Francisco had it bad, his two-year ordeal was a weekend at a health spa compared to Alexandrina’s horror story.

   As a child Alexandrina made carpets out of field flowers as offerings to the Lady of Sorrows.   Her chapel was on a hill where before the 18^th century, there had stood an ancient chapel venerating some “lord of the hill.”  Once she bled from her head, which she claimed was caused by a crown of thorns.  You guess whose.

   At 14 Alexandrina jumped out of a window trying to escape three men bent on raping her.  She barely survived after breaking her spine in the fall.  From 14 to 19 years of age Alexandrina dragged herself to church, asking “the blessed mother” for a cure.  “Mary” ignored her.  A statue of Fátima on a little altar by Alexandrina’s bed would have to do.

   From 1925 on Alexandrina became bed-ridden for the next 30 years.  After 1938, she and Lúcia became frequent pen-pals.  From 1942 until her death 13 years later, Alexandrina’s weight plummeted to 73 lbs; supposedly she ate nothing during all that time except the communion wafer.  “Jesus” spoke to her not to commiserate with or cure her; but to cheer-lead her with the request that although she would rarely know consolation, he wanted a smile on her lips while her heart brimmed with suffering.  We will comment on this sadism in the next section.

   The similarities between Francisco and Alexandrina are 1) that they believed their suffering served some spiritual purpose, ¹⁰ so they had to bite the bullet uncomplainingly; and 2) their ordeals would motivate others to greater devotion of their heavenly inquisitors.  Francisco, Jacinta and Alexandrina have chapels in their honor, visited by devotees inspired by their examples—replete with effigies of themselves and “Mary” fire-walling the graces of the God Who despises idolatry in every shape or form and turns a deaf ear to idolatrous petitioners.

   In 1935 the exhumation of Jacinta’s body revealed her face to be incorrupt; but Francisco had decomposed.  Maybe he ranked less preservation-status; after all, “Mary” had spoken directly to Jacinta at Fátima but never to Francisco.  Jacinta’s leg up was short-lived:  During a second exhumation in 1951, she had begun going the way of all flesh.

   Incorrupt or not, self-mortified for sinners or not, Pius XI refused canonizing the siblings on grounds that they did not understand the “heroic virtue” of suffering, let alone the facts that “Mary” had chosen them and not him¹¹ for tȇte-à-tȇtes, and that the children “heroically” endured self-inflicted suffering.  It was not until 1979 that the idea started to get traction; in 1989 John Paul II declared them “venerable” on grounds that some children could be spiritual prodigies.  Though Jesus had been such a prodigy at age 12 (Luke 2:42-49), the “belle dame sans merci” had all petitioners in thrall:  “Mary” was center-stage in their deliberations, though in the Gospels her “heroic virtue” had been limited to giving birth to Jesus.

  On 13 May 2000, the siblings were declared “blessed.”  And finally on 13 May 2017, one hundred years after “Mary’s” choice of conscripting Francisco and Jacinta as spokespersons to her popes, the hierarchy saw fit to exalt her wards.

   It would seem that in Vatican thinking “Mary” may be queen of heaven, mother of mankind, and mediatrix of graces; but on earth males call the shots and have the last word.

¹ If we take our cues from the written record, whatever good or bad will come to men is preceded by angelic communications; to wit,

   Biblically:  the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 18:17—by the Angel God, Yahweh of hosts]; news of Jesus’ conception [Luke 1:26-35—by the Angel Gabriel]; news of Jesus’ birth and its location (Matthew 2:2-12; Luke 2:8—by unnamed angels); and the entire Book of Revelation to John by an unnamed angel (Revelation 1:1, 22:8-9).

   Historically: the Koran’s revelation to Muhammad ostensibly by the same Gabriel who told Mary that Jesus was the Messiah but was now changing his tune; and the Book of Mormon revealed to Joseph Smith by the angel Moroni.

   While the last two are the reason for Galatians 1:8-10, all revelations true or false made to men are allowed by the Most High in control of everything­—including Satan himself.  This is in keeping with His MO according to Amos 3:7 and 4:13:  “The Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals His secret to his servants the prophets,” by this means ultimately conveying His plans to men (1Peter 1:10-12).

² Whereas the Father has chosen never to be seen by mortal eyes (John 5:37; 1John 1:18; 1Timothy 1:17, 6:16), His Son, Yahweh of hosts, has physically interacted with men (Genesis 18:17-33, 32:23-30; Joshua 5:14-15; Judges 13:9-18; Hosea 12:4).  However, after his ascension to Heaven and empowerment as world ruler (Matthew 28:28; Revelation 1:5), Jesus, though communicating with the Apostles, was never seen by any of them (Acts 9:5-10, 10:14-17; 2Corinthians 12:9; 2Peter 1:14).

   In point of fact, God will be seen in His Kingdom (Job 19:26-27; Revelation 22:4) and Jesus will be seen in his true form by the redeemed when they become immortal flesh like him (Psalms 17:15; 1 John 3:2).

   Like the misinterpreted John 10:30, John 4:24 does not mean that God is formless:  Jesus himself told us that “angels in heaven always see the face of my Father” (Matthew 18:10).  If Yahweh of hosts was created in the Invisible God’s image (Colossians 1:15); and Yahweh of hosts as Creator (John 1:3,10; Colossians 1:16) made Adam in his and God’s image (Genesis 1:26), then God the Father must have human-like features, a semblance proven by Daniel 7:9 and by Jesus’ resemblance to Father in Revelation 1:14-15.  In this context invisibility means God’s decision to remain unseen; thus the command to worship God spiritually means to worship Him sight unseen (Hebrews 11:6).

   Now, what the Holy Spirit may be is another matter:  Though part of the divine Dyad, He is never depicted as having any semblance of form.  We may attempt a poor comparison by equating human body and soul to Most High God and Holy Spirit; but whereas human flesh and soul are at war, Most High and Holy Spirit are essentially One Mind at work, though acting in distinct ways (John 16:13; Romans 8:26-27).

³ Over the years pilgrims denuded the holm-oak tree branch by branch, so a statue of “Mary” was moved from chapel to a pedestal placed where the original tree stood.  The statue has been encased in a bulletproof box glass, perhaps providing a model for post-1981 pope mobiles.

⁴ A notion pooh-poohed by Vatican spokesmen.

⁵ Lúcia has been compared to one Mélanie Calvat, who in 1846 at La Salette was given secrets by “Mary” that she wrote down twenty years later.

⁶ As has been the case in defense of homosexuality (Genesis 19:5; Judges 19:22), the argument has been made that “knowing” in the Bible need not necessarily mean sexual intercourse.  If “knowing” means “become socially acquainted with,” as is claimed, Genesis 19:7-8 puts that assertion to rest:  Lot clearly calls the request “evil” and offers two virgin daughters [shameful fatherly behavior] “to be known” in ways that have nothing with social norms.  In that respect, as members of the community, Sodomite neighbors knew who Lot’s daughters were.

   In Judges the same scenario repeats itself:  The lechers want to “know” the Levite priest in ways which his host, the old, unnamed man declares “vile.”  As suitable substitutes for lecherous “knowing,” he offers his own virgin daughter or the priest’s concubine, who is “known” from night until dawn to the point of exhaustion; whereupon she crawls back to her master’s lodgings and is found dead by morning (Judges 19:22-28).

   Joseph was betrothed to Mary, so socially he knew her.  When Matthew 1:25 says Joseph did not know Mary until after Jesus’ birth, the implication is inescapable clear:  From this and subsequent “knowings” came Jesus’ brothers (Luke 8:20; Galatians 1:19).  Since the original Apostles were spiritual brothers of Jesus, Paul’s differentiation between them and James again reinforces the idea that James was Jesus’ kinfolk.

⁷ The English word “Eve” is not the Hebrew name for Adam’s wife, anymore than Mary and Jesus are the latter’s Hebrew names [Myriam and Yeshua, respectively].

   For linguists among readers, Eve’s Hebrew name was “chava,” with root connections to verbs meaning “to live” and words conveying the idea of “life.”  Hence her description as mother to “all the living,” rendered in Hebrew as כָּל־חָי (kol chai). 

⁸ The near-by Benedictine priory was built on the site where an ancient temple dedicated to the “mother of God” stood.

⁹ Estimated death toll:  70-85 million, about 3% of the world’s population in 1940.  In contrast, WWI casualties were estimated around 40 million.

¹⁰ At his death the bleeding marks of ropes with which Francisco had tormented his flesh were revealed.  At her canonization, his sister Jacinta was characterized as having an “insatiable hunger” for self-immolation.  Both siblings were brainwashed into believing their suffering aided the conversion of sinners.

   In 1944 Alexandrina followed suit by offering her suffering to save souls and to sanctify the young.

¹¹ He would have been 60 years of age the time of the Fátima apparitions, an authority in the nitty-gritty of “heroic virtues,” and thus better equipped to do full credit to his lady’s mission.