Understanding Prophecies for Our Time

Saint Augustine said that we must pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on us. Thus, in addition to prayer, each of us has an obligation to act. Before one can take the appropriate action, however, one must be informed – about the Faith and about the prophecies God sends to guide us. St. Thomas tells us that God sends prophets to every generation, not to give us new doctrine, but to remind us what we must do to save our souls. The prophets can even serve to remind us what the Church’s leaders may be overlooking or forgetting.

Saint Paul tells us: "Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:19-21). God sends prophets to set a straying world back on the right path, and we must not despise the prophecy that God has sent to us through His prophets.

Our Lady of Fatima gave us prophecies for our time: prophecies that are being fulfilled before our very eyes. For example, Our Lady predicted that if people did not amend their lives, a terrible war would begin during the reign of Pius XI. In addition to warning people to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins, Our Lady offered a marvelous way to prevent the punishment of war: the solemn Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. Yet, neither did people amend their lives, nor was the Consecration done, and World War II and the series of wars that followed it have resulted (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kuwait, etc.). And more wars continue now and into the future – all because we ignore Our Lady of Fatima’s requests.

Some critics, including Father Edouard Dhanis, have argued that Sister Lucy’s prophecy that the "great war" would begin during the reign of Pius XI was incorrect. They make this claim because, as they say, the Second World War "began" with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 – as is widely and erroneously believed – when Pius XII, not Pius XI, was Pope. Pius XI died on February 10, 1939, and Pius XII was installed as Bishop of Rome on March 12, 1939.

Sister Lucy, however, has maintained that World War II, in truth, began during the reign of Pius XI. "The annexation of Austria was the occasion for it," she explained. The invasion of Austria (in March 1938), the annexation of Czechoslovakia, the formation of military alliances and the decision to invade Poland were the beginnings of the war, though war had not yet been officially declared. All of these events occurred during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI.

Furthermore, the "night illumined by an unknown light," which Our Lady said would signal the coming of the "great war", occurred during the night of January 25-26, 1938. On that night a bright red light, likened to the blaze of a gigantic fire, filled the evening sky, and was seen across Europe and even in parts of North America and North Africa. It was determined to be a most extraordinary aurora borealis. Sister Lucy expressed reservations on this, but wrote in her third memoir on August 31, 1941 that no matter what cause the light could be attributed to, "God made use of this to make me understand that His justice was about to strike the guilty nations…"

During the same night that the great sign appeared in the sky, in Moscow’s Lubianka prison a man by the name of Kristian Rakovsky was being interrogated by Josef Stalin’s chief interrogator. During the interrogation Rakovsky revealed Germany’s plan to dominate Europe. He proposed that the Soviet Union join Germany in an invasion of Poland, which would lead to Europe’s retaliation against Germany and not the Soviet Union. According to Rakovsky’s plan, France and England would wear each other out, after which the Soviet Union would turn on Germany and collect the spoils of the war. This fateful interview began at the same time the unknown light in the sky was beginning to fade. It resulted in the Soviet Union’s instigation of and participation in the war, and Rakovsky’s plan was carried out to the great benefit of the Soviet Union. Again, this decisive step toward World War II occurred during the reign of Pope Pius XI.¹

Our Lady also warned that if Russia was not consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart as She requested, Russia would spread its errors throughout the world. Unfortunately, we are still awaiting the proper consecration of Russia, and we are witnessing the dissemination of Russia’s manifold errors, which Our Lady warned would cause "wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated." Of these prophecies, all have come to pass, at least in part, and they continue to afflict us, except the annihilation of nations, which may befall us very soon. Russia’s errors have affected us all, and include the crimes of abortion and pornography, and the rejection of God on all levels – by individuals (who may not all say that there is no God, but nevertheless live as if there is no God), governments (which have decreed that God has no place outside of the private realm or inside religious buildings), and society (in which God’s laws are endlessly violated and even basic morality is treated with contempt). The rejection of God forms the foundation of communism. (For more on this, see "Counting the Cost", The Devil’s Final Battle, Chapter 15.)

The Message of Fatima, said Pope John Paul II, is more urgent and relevant now than ever. Thus we, to whom the Fatima prophecies and requests are directed, are obliged to pay attention to them, to obey them, to reflect on them and to pray for the grace to understand them. If we do this, we will be better able to live our Faith and Our Lady’s Fatima Message.

Notes:

1. For a text of the Rakovsky interview, see Manifold, Deirdre, Towards World Government: New World Order, Firinne Publications, Galway, Ireland, 1993, pp. 26-52.

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