Our Lady of Fatima; Mass of The Immaculate Heart of Mary

By a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf

By a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf

By a letter published and dated 4/5/2017, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf

By a letter published and dated of today, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei granted to all priests of the Latin Rite (secular or religious) the possibility of celebrating on the centenary of the first main apparition (May 13, 2017) the Mass of Our Lady of Fatima -- it is a Votive Mass of the II Class, using the exact same texts and prayers of the Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 22nd in the Traditional Calendar). - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/ecclesia-dei-letter-mass-of-our-lady-of.html#sthash.BhbB3P3D.dpuf

THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
Fatima owes its present popularity in the Church very largely to the interest and encouragement of Pope Pius XII. Although the bishops of Portugal had authorized the cultus of Our Lady of Fatima in 1930, and Pius XI made an implicit reference to the "extra-ordinary benefits with which the Blessed Virgin recently favored" Portugal, it was Pius XII among the Popes who first explicitly referred to Fatima in a formal papal document. Pleading for more vocations to the missions, he wrote in 1940, "Let the faithful, when reciting the Rosary so strongly recommended by Our Lady of Fatima, not omit to address an invocation to the Blessed Virgin in favor of missionary vocations" (L’Osservatore, June 29, 1940). This was so significant that the Portuguese Hierarchy in 1942 were able to say, "We are happy to see the Supreme Authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ evoke thus the testimony of Fatima, and proclaim Urbi et orbi the name of Our Lady of Fatima in an Apostolic Letter addressed to the Portuguese Bishops, but published for the whole world" (Da Cruz, Fatima, 1949, 99).

On October 31, 1942, the Holy Father associated himself with the closing celebrations of the Jubilee of Fatima, by consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as Our Lady of Fatima had requested. And in the same year he extended the Office and Mass of the Immaculate Heart to the Universal Church, appointing the 22nd of August as the feast day. More recently Pope Pius XII sent, for the second time, an official delegate to Fatima, to represent, as he said, "Our own person at the shrine of the Virgin of Fatima, to act in Our own name, and to preside with Our authority" (A.A.S., 43, 781). Cardinal Tedeschini, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, was the papal legate who assisted at the Fatima celebration on October 13, 1951, when more than a million pilgrims came to the Portuguese shrine.

In his own radio message to the pilgrims, the Holy Father emphasized one practical aspect of the message of Fatima which deserves to be better known: the Family Rosary. "The Virgin Mother's insistence on the recitation of the family Rosary," he said, "was meant to teach us that the secret of peace in family life lies in imitating the virtues of the Holy Family" (A.A.S., 43, 801). via Fr. Hardon S.J. 

DOUBLE, SECOND CLASS / WHITE

The apparitions of Mary at Fatima in 1917 were not the first supernatural events reported there – two years before Mary appeared to the three shepherd children – Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto – they saw a strange sight while praying the rosary in the field, according to the memoirs of Sister Lucia, who had become a Carmelite nun.

“We had hardly begun when, there before our eyes, we saw a figure poised in the air above the trees; it looked like a statue made of snow, rendered almost transparent by the rays of the sun,” she wrote, describing what they saw in 1915.

The next year, Francisco and Jacinta received permission to tend their family’s flocks and Lucia decided to join her cousins in a field owned by their families. It was 1916 when the mysterious figure appeared again, this time approaching close enough “to distinguish its features.”

“Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me,” Sister Lucia recalled the angel saying.

The three told no one about the angel’s visit and received no more heavenly visits until May 13, 1917. While the children tended their sheep and played, they were startled by two flashes of lightning.

As they made their way down a slope, the children saw a “lady all dressed in white” standing on a small tree. It was the first of six apparitions of Mary, who gave a particular message or revelation each time:

– May 13, 1917. When asked by the children who she was and where she came from, the lady said she was “from heaven” and that she would reveal her identity later. She asked the children to come back to the Cova da Iria on the 13th day of the month for the next six months, and she asked them to pray the rosary every day “in order to obtain peace for the world” and the end of World War I.

– June 13, 1917. The lady said she would take Francisco and Jacinta to heaven soon while Lucia would remain on earth for “some time longer” to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart.

– July 13, 1917. The lady said she would reveal her identity in October and “perform a miracle for all to see and believe.” After telling the children to make sacrifices for sinners, she revealed three secrets; two of the secrets were not shared publicly until 1941 and the third secret, written down by Sister Lucia and sent to the Vatican, was not released until 2000.

INTROIT Heb. 4:16 
Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.
Ps. 44:2. My heart overflows with good tidings; I sing my song to the king.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
Almighty and Eternal God, You prepared a worthy dwelling place for the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May all of us who devoutly celebrate the feast of her Immaculate Heart be blessed to live according to the wishes of Your own Heart. Through our Lord . . .


LESSON Eccli. 24:23-31 [Sirach]
As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

GRADUAL Ps. 12:6; 44:18
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, who has given me all good; I will sing to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
V. They shall remember your name in every generation. Therefore peoples shall praise you forever.

Alleluia, alleluia! V. Luke 1:46
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 19:25-27
At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son." After that, he saith to the disciple: "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Luke 1:47, 49
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

SECRET
We offer this perfect Lamb to your majesty, O Lord, and pray that our hearts may be kindled by that divine fire which so wondrously inflamed the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord . . .


COMMUNION ANTIPHON John 19:26-27
Jesus said to His Mother, "Woman, behold, thy son." Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, thy mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

POSTCOMMUNION
We have been refreshed by Your Divine Gifts, O Lord. Free us from present dangers and bestow upon us the joys of eternal life through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose Immaculate Heart we honor in this feast. Through our Lord . . .