Fatima: Heaven’s answer to a world in crisis

only a portion of it has been preached or explained. Thus, for example, one would expect a flyer published at the Sanctuary in Fatima to contain the pith of the message. However, one such flyer from the Sanctuary states that:

“The Message of Fatima pleads with sinners to stop offending God, to seek pardon for their sins and to amend their lives, as did the prodigal son of the Gospel; it asks the just to pray much and to make sacrifices for sinners so they may not suffer eternal damnation in hell. All are asked by Our Lady to recite Her Rosary every day, to have devotion to Her Immaculate Heart and to receive Holy Communion in Reparation to Her Immaculate Heart on the first Saturday of the month. If people do not do these things, Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. Many will be martyred, the Holy Father will suffer greatly and several nations will be annihilated … Our Blessed Mother’s own words assure us of peace and happiness for the entire world, if people do what She requested of them, when She appeared at Fatima in 1917.”

While all of the above is true, the flyer is nonetheless deceptive because it omits mentioning the great prophecy of how God will bring about the conversion of Russia and restore peace to the world; much more to outline the means by which this peace, as revealed by Our Lady during the 13 July 1917 apparition as part of the “third secret”, will be accomplished.

THE NUCLEUS OF THE FATIMA MESSAGE The essence of the Fatima message is found in the “secret” which Our Lady confided to the children in three parts. On 13 July 1917, she said:

“You saw hell where the souls of poor sinners go. In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I ask, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end.”

After warning of the consequences of ignoring Her message, Our Lady promised to return to “ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If people attend to my request, Russia will be converted, and the world will have peace”. In addition to Her mandate, the Blessed Virgin also stated that “[i]n Portugal, the dogmas of the faith will always be kept and then …” (At this point, the third part of the secret, commonly called “The Third Secret”, begins.)

On 10 December 1925, Our Lady appeared with the Child Jesus to Lucia and requested the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays saying,

“ … announce in my name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes, while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me”.

FROM MINIATURE ALTARPIECE THE FIFTEEN MYSTERIES AND THE VIRGIN OF THE ROSARY (C.1515). NETHERLANDISH PAINTER (POSSIBLY GOSWIJN VAN DER WEYDEN). METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. “Despite the good intentions and the consecrations performed by Popes Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II, Heaven’s explicit request for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has not been carried out. ”

Four years later, on 13 June 1929, Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia at Tuy, Spain, along with a vision of the Most Holy Trinity. She told Lucia: “The moment has come in which God asks of the Holy Father to make, and to order, that in union with him, and at the same time, all the Bishops of the world, make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart”, promising to convert Russia as a result of this act.

Two years later, in August 1931, Our Lord Himself appeared to Lucia with a warning to the Church’s hierarchy regarding their failure to perform the consecration of Russia which He, Himself, had commanded through the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1929:

“Make it known to my ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of my command, they will follow him into misfortune.”

Our Lord here was referring to the execution of Louis XVI by the soldiers of the French Revolution, following the century-long failure of the French kings to heed his request for the consecration of France to His Sacred Heart. Thus, Our Lord warns the hierarchy that they would suffer a similar fate as that of the French king. This fate was captured in the vision that was published in L’Osservatore Romano, 2000. Although the explanatory words of the Virgin were lacking, the vision was that of a bishop in white, other bishops, priests, religious and lay people being executed outside a devastated city.

CONSEQUENCES OF DISREGARDING THE FATIMA MESSAGE In the July apparition, Our Lady clearly and unequivocally spelt out the consequences of disregarding Her mandate. If Russia is not consecrated, “she will spread her errors throughout the world causing wars and persecution of the Church…”

THE SITUATION IN RUSSIA At the time of Our Lady’s appearance in 1929, the Russian revolution was over and Communism was firmly established, with Stalin in power pursuing a war against religion in Russia. Christmas and Easter were replaced with New Year’s Day and May Day respectively, Sunday was abolished and a six-day week was operative in what was now officially known as the USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), only state marriages were recognized, and divorce and abortion were legalized. According to Bella Dodd, Stalin had laid and was already implementing plans to infiltrate the Catholic Church. In the aftermath of the Second World War, unbelievable concessions were made to Communist Russia as the Iron Curtain was drawn across many Catholic countries in Europe. The Soviets took full advantage of the situation and, by the 1960’s, the Communist influence extended over much of Africa and South America and stretched across the Middle East through to South East Asia.

Although Our Lady’s request was only partially fulfilled, She, nevertheless, obtained significant tokens by which the popes would be encouraged to proceed to full compliance.

On 31 October 1942 and on 8 December 1942 Pope Pius XII consecrated the world, but not Russia explicitly, to the Immaculate Heart. This resulted in World War II being shortened. In his Apostolic Letter, Sacro Vergente Anno of 7 July 1952, Pope Pius XII consecrated Russia but without the participation of the bishops. Pope Paul VI on the last day of the Third Session of Vatican II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – but there was no mention of Russia. Additionally, the bishops looked on but they did not join in the act of consecration. On 7 June 1981, Pope John Paul II consecrated the world, but not Russia explicitly, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and repeated this act of consecration at Fatima on 13 May 1982. While John Paul’s consecration

of the world to the Immaculate Heart on 25 March 1984 was in union with the world’s bishops, it failed to make Russia the specific object of the consecration. However, this consecration seems to have contributed to the fall of the Iron Curtain five years later. Pope John Paul’s last attempt was an entrustment of the world to Mary, in the presence of 1,500 bishops but, again, without any mention of Russia.

Thus, despite the good intentions and the consecrations performed by Popes Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II, Heaven’s explicit request for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has not been carried out.

THE SITUATION IN THE WEST In his 1961 Apostolic Constitution, Humanae Salutis, Pope John XXIII wrote of the “rise and growth of a clergy better equipped in learning and virtue, of laity more conscious of its responsibilities…” and of living in one “of the most glorious periods of the Church’s history …which is so vibrant with vitality”. He then pursued plans to summon the Second Vatican Council which he said would be a “new Pentecost” for our times.

By 1984, the West had already adopted and embraced Russia’s errors by living in what can only be described as a state of practical atheism. This practical atheism manifested itself in the form of hedonistic materialism, family breakdown, divorce, widespread contraception, and the legal sanctioning of the sins that cry to heaven for vengeance, namely abortion and sodomy. These manifestations of atheism are poignantly described in St. Paul’s censure, of “having a form of godliness but denying its power”. (2 Tim. 3:5) Even more devastating, was the degree to which some church leaders actively and knowingly contributed to the aforementioned evils. Almost overnight, the news of the sex abuse scandals, the revelations of financial malfeasance and the consequences of theological dissent overwhelmed the Church. In the words of Paul VI, the smoke of Satan had certainly entered the Temple of God and what was gradually becoming visible was “the apostasy at the top”, which had been spoken of by those who had read the Third Secret. The “Pachamama” incident alone would have been sufficient provocation, one would have thought, for heaven to call the world to repentance by means of this global pandemic, COVID-19.

THE SITUATION IN THE CHURCH Writing in the February 1958 edition of Catolicismo, Brazilian Catholic thinker, Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, prophetically asked:

“Could one not say that the enemy is stronger than ever, and that the age the Illuminati of days gone by dreamed of is upon us? Are we not indeed in an age of stark and total scientific naturalism that is dominated by materialistic technology? Are we not in the age of a ferociously egalitarian universal republic that has somewhat philanthropic and humanitarian inspiration and from which will be swept all remnants of supernatural religion? Is it not, in fact, communism? Is it not also here that lies the danger by which Western society, supposedly anti-communist, will slip towards the realization of this ‘ideal’?

“Yes. And this danger is closer than is usually imagined. However, no one pays attention to a fact of primordial importance: as the world is modelled according to this sinister design, a profound, and immense, and indescribable uneasiness is overwhelming it. Sometimes this uneasiness is unconscious and, even when conscious, is still vague and ill-defined. In any case, no one contests its existence. One would say that humanity is being violently forced into a mould that is not according to its nature and against which all the fibers of its existence writhes and resists.”

For the great majority of the world’s population, the origin, cause and purpose of the Wuhan pandemic is uncertain and widely disputed. However, it is certain that the fear generated is sufficient for the uninformed populace to unthinkingly agree to any proposal that seems to offer a plausible relief from this strange pandemic, which originated in Communist China. As such, people are willing to embrace measures that infringe, limit or even suspend or withdraw their civil and human rights.

The Wuhan virus has undoubtedly affected the whole world and provoked apocalyptic scenarios from which Catholics, and especially those who are poorly catechized, will hardly be immune. Yet, for Catholics who are serious and informed about their faith, this is a grace-filled opportunity. The closure of our churches, even for private prayer and adoration, the cessation of access to all sacraments and the token of Easter virtually celebrated, is a wake-up call showing how easily life in the catacombs may return. While virtual Masses and Spiritual Communions have offered some solace to practicing Catholics, it has also given them an insight of how our house-bound elderly live out their faith.

Reflecting on the text “[f]or the time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17), Archbishop Fulton Sheen explained that before the hand of God strikes the world, it always descends upon the Church first. Likewise, St. John Eudes warned that a sign that God is angry with His people is when He allows them to fall into the hands of evil pastors:

“The most evident mark of God's anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clergy who are priests more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than charity and affection of devoted shepherds ... When God permits such things, it is a very positive proof that He is thoroughly angry with His people, and is

THE HOLY MASS LIVE-STREAMED FROM FSSP WARRINGTON ON THE OCTAVE DAY OF EASTER, DURING THE LOCKDOWN IN APRIL 2020. visiting His most dreadful anger upon them. That is why He cries unceasingly to Christians, ‘Return O ye revolting children ... and I will give you pastors according to My own heart’. (Jer. 3:14,15) Thus, irregularities in the lives of priests constitute a scourge upon the people in consequence of sin.”

What is wrong with the Church? The answer to that question is found in a mirror. I am what is wrong with the Church. You are what is wrong with the Church. We are what is wrong in the Church. We fail to take God’s call to holiness seriously. According to the polls, the lifestyle of Catholics is indistinguishable from that of the worldlings. In regard to the moral law, Catholics and worldlings hold the same view, if not the practice, of contraception, of divorce, of abortion, of homosexual activity and of gender ideology. Worse of all, is the fact that the Church’s constant and authentic teaching and beliefs on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, on the sacraments, on the Marian dogmas, and on moral issues are either rejected by or unknown to even practicing Catholics. The sense of the “sacred”, which has always been the hallmark of Catholic worship, is lost. It is no longer possible to spend quiet time in prayer after Mass. The current behaviour of church goers coupled with their noise level that follows the recessional hymn matches that which one would expect at a sports event. Christ, if He is still present in the sanctuary, is no longer the focus of worship. The Wuhan pandemic, with the imposed isolation and seizure of our religious liberties, should induce us into self-reflection, which, hopefully, would impel us into lighting candles rather than cursing the darkness.

Up until this moment, it is pretty evident that, generally speaking, God is, in reality, a low priority in the lives of people, in our own lives and in that of our family. This reality was generated by a multitude of factors which include, spiritual sloth, time wasting, addiction to technical gadgets, toleration of habitual sin, silence in the face of sin, error and evil, lack of true devotion, and compromises with the world and lack of modesty as evidenced, not only on the High Street but, also, by the casual way many Catholic dress for Mass. This is further compounded by the corybantic pursuit of money, of material possessions, of worldly honour and social recognition.

REFORMING OUR LIVES In 1916, the children of Fatima were visited on three occasions by an angel who identified himself in his first apparition as the Angel of Portugal and asked them to pray.

In his second apparition, the angel indicated the necessity of sacrifices:

“Pray, pray very much, the hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on us. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.”

“How?” asked Lucia.

“Make a sacrifice of everything you do and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversation of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country.”

In the third apparition, the angel emphasized the importance of sacrifice when he taught the children the prayer:

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly and I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of thee the conversion of poor sinners.”

When Our Lady appeared to the children in July 1917, She reinforced what the angel had told them:

“Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

When asked, in 1946, what Our Lady meant by sacrifices, Sister Lucia replied:

“By sacrifice, Our Lady meant the faithful fulfilment of one’s daily duty … the rosary is important because we must pray it if we are to fulfil our daily duty … the five First Saturdays Devotion is also

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. WELLCOME COLLECTION, LONDON.

important because if people make them, they will purge themselves of sin once a month, and renew their purpose to fulfil their daily duty.”

She later added,

“all that God wishes in the way of mortification is the simple, dutiful performance of one’s everyday tasks, and the acceptance of their difficulty and tedium … many people imagine that penitence means the practice of great austerities and, as they have neither the strength, nor the generosity to undertake such austerities, they are discouraged and fall into a life of indifference and sin.”

Our Lord said to me “the sacrifice that each one can make is to do his duty and to obey My law. That is a form of penance I now demand.”

There are many sacrifices we can offer to God: our weariness, humiliations, disappointments, frustrations, tensions, misunderstandings, the weather when it is not to our liking. All of these, no matter how small, can be turned to our advantage by offering them to God while praying the sacrifice prayer that Our Lady taught, remembering that it is not so much the size

“There are many sacrifices we can offer to God: our weariness, humiliations, disappointments, frustrations, tensions, misunderstandings. All of these, no matter how small, can be turned to our advantage by offering them to God while praying the sacrifice prayer that Our Lady taught, remembering that it is not so much the size of the offering which counts, but the readiness with which it is given.”

of the offering which counts, but the readiness with which it is given.

CONCLUSION The onus of ridding the world of this pandemic rests entirely on us. The Scriptures are replete with examples from which lessons can be learnt. Nineveh repented and was spared from destruction, while Sodom and Gomorrah remained in their sin and were destroyed. The prophet Daniel, recognizing the misfortune of the Babylonian Captivity was the consequence of sin, lamented the fact there was no longer any place to make “offerings, sacrifices and oblation” to God and, instead, begged him to accept humble and contrite hearts. Likewise David, recognizing the enormity of his sin and, there was no sacrifice that could erase it, begged God to accept a humble and contrite heart. Therefore, in order to alleviate the burden imposed by the Wuhan pandemic, we ought first to turn to God with a humble and contrite heart.

At Fatima Our Lady gave us the prescription for reforming our lives thus:

• Stop offending God; • Cultivate a spirit of sacrifice and mortification; • Diligently work and duly pray; • Pray the Rosary daily; • Observe the First Saturday devotions; • Consecrate oneself to the Immaculate Heart of

Mary; • Wear and live the spirit of the Brown Scapular.

When God sees the efforts of His people to turn away from their sin, He is always eager to relent and welcome home the prodigal. Our sincere repentance and genuine efforts to change will draw from His merciful Heart the blessing of having “shepherds after His own heart”. (Jer. 3:15) These shepherds will in turn be willing and ready to consecrate Russia in fulfilment of the request made at Fatima. Russia will be converted and God will bless us with an era of peace.

If the Lord willed this pandemic to get our attention, it is certainly time to turn from our iniquities, to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”, (Mt. 6:33) lest we fall into pits of regret.

We are living in a terrible hour of chastisement which may, yet, become one of great mercy if we look to Mary, Star of the Sea, to guide us through the tempest. For nearly 200 years, She has shown much compassion for sinful humanity, obtaining for us stupendous miracles, beginning at Rue du Bac with the Miraculous Medal through to the Dance of the Sun at Fatima. Her motherly compassion is inexhaustible and she assures us that the consecration of Russia will be done, that Russia will be converted, that Her Immaculate Heart will triumph and that we will be blessed with an era of peace.

Fr. Linus Clovis acquired his PhD in Mathematics from the University of London, following which he started studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was ordained by Pope John Paul II in 1983. Fr. Clovis went on to study canon law in Rome. He was the principal of St. Mary’s College, St. Lucia until 2005. Fr. Clovis has now dedicated his life to promoting the Gospel of Life and is currently the Director of the Secretariat for Family and Life in St. Lucia as well as the Spiritual Director and Chairman of Family Life International and of The Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights (CARIFAM).

CO-REDEMPTION AND MARIAN CONSECRATION

in the light of the Fatima message

by FR. SERAFINO M. LANZETTA

The following talk was given on 20 May 2020 at the online Rome Life Forum on the theme “Coronavirus in the light of Fatima: a tragedy and a source of hope”.

THE FATIMA MESSAGE: A CALL TO HUMAN CO-REDEMPTION WITH THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY The Fatima message in its entirety is a call to cooperate with Our Lady for the salvation of mankind. This cooperation, that technically can be expressed as “co-redemption”, plays a central role in the whole message, being present since the first apparition of the White Lady on 13 May 1917, during which She asked the three little shepherds if they were ready to offer themselves to God and to bear all sufferings He would send them as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners. The children answered that they were ready. Our Lady, in accepting already the oblation of their will, says that they would have much to suffer, but the grace of God would be their comfort. In the July apparition, Our Lady taught the little shepherds to add a little prayer to accompany the offering of sacrifices to God:

“O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

There is also a co-redemptive character of the union of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus that shines forth already in the second prayer that the Angel of Peace taught the three shepherds in 1916, so as to prepare the coming of the Lady dressed in white. This prayer is about the adoration of the Most Holy Trinity and the offering of Christ’s precious Body and Blood in reparation for all Eucharistic sacrileges. The prayer ends this way: “And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” Why this reference to Our Lady’s merits, given that the infinite merits of the Heart of Christ are more than sufficient for our salvation? This is a point that Sr. Lucia herself makes in a book authored by her in 1998, “Calls” from the message of Fatima. In it, the seer explains that in the Fatima message the mystery of Our Lady’s Co-redemption is so prominent to be second only to the mystery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but both inwardly connected. Let us quote only a passage from Sr. Lucia’s explication of the reason why the Angel mentioned the merits of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In it, there is a clear attestation of the fact that only the Heart of Mary is the worthy “place” and the “tabernacle” that keeps the treasure of our salvation:

“God began the work of our redemption in the Heart of Mary, given that it was through her ‘fiat’ that the redemption began to come about: ‘And Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’ (Lk. 1:38) ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ (Jn. 1:14) Thus, in the closest union possible between two human beings, Christ began, with Mary, the work of our salvation. Christ’s heart-beats are those of the heart of Mary, the prayer of Christ is the prayer of Mary, the joys of Christ are the joys of Mary; it was from Mary that Christ received the Body and Blood that are to be poured out and offered for the salvation of the world. Hence, Mary made one with Christ, is the Co-redemptrix of the human race. With Christ in her womb, with Jesus Christ in her arms, with Christ at Nazareth and in his public life; with Christ, she climbed the hill of Calvary, she suffered and agonised with Him, receiving into her Immaculate Heart the last sufferings of Christ, his last words, his last agony and the last drops of his Blood, in order to offer them to the Father.”1

WHAT IS CO-REDEMPTION? Now we turn to the soteriological mystery of Marian Co-redemption. What is it about and where does it stand out?

Our Lady cooperated actively with Christ in carrying out the Redemption of mankind. Her maternal contribution, though subordinate to the one of Christ, was, by the will of God, deemed not only opportune but also necessary in relation to us. As the first Eve had an influential role in the ruin of mankind, so the New Eve, Mary, with Her obedient Fiat to God’s plan of salvation, caused in Christ and with Him the restoration of humankind.

The co-redemptive union of Mary with Her Son is made manifest from the Annunciation, when the virginal conception of the divine Word took place, up to Calvary, passing through all the mysteries of Christ’s life, in particular, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple – the dawn of salvation, and the nuptials at Cana, when the “hour” to give us the true wine of salvation is officially inaugurated. But especially on Calvary, at the moment of Jesus’ death, that salvific union is perfectly consummated: Our Lady at the foot of the Cross offered up Her Son to God and with Her Son offered Herself. One sacrifice, one salvific love unto the end, offered on two altars: the body of Christ and the heart of Mary.

On Calvary, Mary is the Woman whose hour has come to be delivered, and this is why she suffers the birth pangs of our regenerations (cf. John 16:21, in relation to the Woman of the Apocalypse 12:2, who cries while giving birth, whose symbolism is fully revealed in the Woman of Calvary, John 19:25-27).2 As the true Mother of the living, Our Lady really gives birth to us. On Calvary She generates once again Christ for us as a bloody Redeemer; in Him and for Him She generates us to supernatural life. Her con-

DETAIL OF ALLEGORY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. GRÉGOIRE HURET (1606-1670). METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK.

“On Calvary, Mary is the Woman whose hour has come to be delivered, and this is why she suffers the birth pangs of our regenerations. As the true Mother of the living, Our Lady really gives birth to us. On Calvary She generates once again Christ for us as a bloody Redeemer; in Him and for Him She generates us to supernatural life.”

tribution is made possible by Christ and is offered only in Christ, so as to prepare the cooperation of each one of us in our own salvation. Therefore, as Redemption is the “price” that Christ paid for us (1Pt. 1:18-19), His Blood as of the Lamb of God, so Co-redemption too is a “price” that Mary paid for us: Her maternal sacrifice together with her merits offered up for our salvation. As Immaculate Conception, She was redeemed in a singular manner to become the Co-redeemer in Christ. Her response to God, Her maternal Yes, said on behalf of each one of us, was indeed a gift of grace and raised by grace. It was grace as well that enabled Mary to freely consent to take part personally and actively in the work of our salvation; however, a part that She took with full sacrificial awareness and love for us.

The ordinary magisterium of the Church for more than one hundred years has reiterated the doctrine of the active participation of Our Lady in our Redemption. From Leo XIII to Benedict XVI, the teaching of the Church – even when avoiding the technical word “co-redemption/ co-redemptrix” – is clear about the personal and direct contribution of Mary to the work of Redemption.3 In particular, John Paul II has treated this subject extensively.4

One might say that Vatican II does not use the term “coredemptrix” in the document on the Church, Lumen gentium, whose final chapter is entirely dedicated to Our Lady (while it enshrines the title “mediatrix”, see no. 62). This choice would be sufficient to abandon not only the word but also the theology that this word brings about. However, there is an official response from the Theological Commission of Vatican II explaining the reason to avoid the terminology. Though thoroughly true and present in the previous teaching of the popes, some expressions, such as co-redemptrix, were omitted for an ecumenical reason, being not easily understood by Protestants.5 With the programmatic discourse of John XXIII, Vatican II opted from the outset for a pastoral and ecumenical approach to the doctrine of faith. Since man’s cooperation with God in the process of justification is one of the main issues with Luther and Protestantism in general – hence denying that faith works through charity and its works (see Gal. 5:6) – the Fathers at the last Council decided not to upset the hope of a new dialogue with the world of the Protestant reform.

But interestingly enough, while Vatican II avoided the technical terminology in reference to the unique cooperation of Our Lady in our Redemption, it did not avoid teaching the doctrine as such, qualified as ‘singular cooperation’ of Mary, the one who is the “generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord” (Lumen gentium no. 61). The same paragraph of the Conciliar document also states:

“In this singular way, she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.”

Moreover, the teaching of Vatican II on this subject is even richer, as the discourse goes on to describe the perfect union that the Mother kept with Her Son up to the supreme offering of Calvary. In a way that ‘reiterates’ the previous teaching of the popes, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church teaches thus:

“After this manner the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth. Finally, she was given by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross as a mother to His disciple with these words: ‘Woman, behold thy son’.” (Lumen gentium, no. 58)

Here we should consider the union of Mary’s heart with Jesus in the offering of the one sacrifice for salvation, and above all the consent that Our Lady gave to the immolation of Her divine Son, so as to contribute personally to the offering of Him, to the salvation of all. This, for instance, reiterates what Leo XIII, in the encyclical Iucunda semper (8 September 1894), had already taught. Successively, Benedict XV, in the encyclical Inter sodalicia (22 May 1918), would almost literally anticipate the text of Lumen gentium, when he says:

“Mary suffered and, as it were, nearly died with her suffering Son; for the salvation of mankind she renounced her mother’s rights and, as far as it depended on her, offered her Son to placate divine justice; so we may well say that she with Christ redeemed mankind.”6

The same tenor of the Mariological discourse is present in Pius IX’s encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (8 May 1928); in Pius XII’s encyclical Mystici Corporis (29 June 1943) and in Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Marialis cultus (2 February 1974, no. 20).

This soteriological doctrine shows that there is also a “priestly offering” of Mary at Calvary that can be certainly ascribed to the unique share of Mary in the priesthood of Christ; certainly not as an ordained minister, but in a unique and exclusive manner, as the New Eve and the sorrowful Bride of Christ, literally one flesh with Him. Caro Christi caro Mariae – the flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary. Therefore, there is also a unique maternal priesthood of Mary to take into consideration in a theological approach to Mary’s participation in our salvation, laid out and summed up by her being Coredemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces.7 As a priest is essentially a mediator between God and man (see Heb. 5:1-5), so and uniquely is Mary, the Mother Mediatrix of all the graces that she contributed to winning for us on Calvary. We owe to Mary what we are – children of God, and what we can be by God’s grace – holy men and women.

THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS (C.1435). ROGIER VAN DER WEYDEN. MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID.

OUR LADY OF MERCY (C.1472), FRESCO. DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO. CHIESA DI OGNISSANTI, FLORENCE.

CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY In order to be truly effective in our human response and to take part in Her Co-redemptive role in saving mankind, the White Lady of Fatima asked for the consecration of Russia, and later of all nations and of each single soul to Her Immaculate Heart. This consecration is understandable in the context of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as the refuge of salvation, and in the framework of its theology. In the June apparition, Our Lady said to Lucia that Her Heart will be the refuge and the secure way leading the little shepherd to God. In the July apparition, after the vision of hell, where many souls go because no one is ready to pray and sacrifice oneself for them, Our Lady says that she will come again to ask for the consecration of Russia and of the whole world to Her Immaculate Heart (as She did in 1929) and for the practice of the Five First Saturdays of the month (requested in 1925).

This was to prevent Russia from spreading the errors of materialism and atheism around the world. Unfortunately, the consecration was delayed and then not made precisely according to Our Lady’s request. This lack of promptness caused de facto an increase of that Marxist ideology, which has thrived even amidst the ruins of collapsed Communist states. Marxism, after 1989, would be transformed into a worldwide petition for an equal society, shaping a new man, made in the likeness of man with his instincts and desires, without even gender-based difference. This is our world today. And when ideologies like this are embraced even within the Church by some of the clergy, it shows the very apex of the crisis of faith in which we are engulfed – a creeping apostasy.

But consecration to Our Lady is still necessary and efficacious in its salvific effects on humanity and on each human being. However, it is good that we pay attention to the word “consecration”. In fact, we are nowadays challenged by a choice: should we opt for “consecration” or should we instead choose something less problematic, the easier devotional path of “entrustment”? In order to respond accurately to this, at times unfolding as a sort of Mariological dilemma, we should now move to the next point.

WHAT IS MARIAN CONSECRATION? To set oneself apart for God and analogically (by way of participation from God to Mary) for Our Lady. The question that immediately arises is this: can we consecrate ourselves to a human creature? Yes, we definitely can, because Our Lady is the Immaculate Mother of God who uniquely shares in the mystery of the hypostatic union, i.e., the union of the divine nature with the human one in the only divine Person of Christ.

The theological foundation of Marian consecration essentially is the spiritual maternity of Our Lady, whose theological core, once again, is Marian co-redemption: “Woman behold your Son”, and “Son behold your Mother”. (John 19:26-27) Mary is indeed our dear mother since She contributed – as said above – actively to generate us to the new life of the children of God. Our eternal life is a gift from Christ through Mary, obtained by the Blood of Christ and the tears of Mary.

Consecration derives from “being made sacred”, set apart, for God and for Our Blessed Mother. But in order to be sacred, namely to belong exclusively to God, one has to be offered up to Him: he has to be

It is opportune to also outline a brief historical excursus about the swap of “consecration” for “entrustment”. For this we have to go back to the years that just preceded the beginning of Vatican II. The word “consecration” begins to present some doubts regarding its correct application to Our Lady only from the ’60s,8 and above all with the revision of the “General Principles” of the Marian Congregations, in which “consecration” was avoided and substituted instead with “permanent commitment”, since “to consecrate oneself” would express an act of adoration and would, therefore, be rendered only to God. The analogy between Jesus and Mary rooted ultimately in Our Lady’s divine Motherhood, and in Her sharing in the order of the hypostatic union, was ignored. In the Marian Congregation, such an act had to be directed to Christ by the hands of Mary as a confirmation of one’s baptismal consecration. Two Jesuit theologians,

“Consecration derives from ‘being made sacred’, set apart, for God and for Our Blessed Mother. But in order to be sacred, namely to belong exclusively to God, one has to be offered up to Him: he has to be sacrificed. Sacrifice, from ‘sacrum facere’ (to make something sacred), is the very root of being made sacred or consecrated.”

sacrificed. Sacrifice, from sacrum facere (to make something sacred), is the very root of being made sacred or consecrated. Perhaps this is the spiritual reason why people and some of the clergy prefer entrustment to consecration. They might wish to choose an easier commitment and to avoid the theology of sacrifice, something that has been sinking into oblivion and makes no more sense, favouring rather a mere pastoral and existential approach to faith. It is not only a matter of a linguistic choice. From a clear coredemptive theology of Our Lady’s contribution to our salvation derives the word “consecration” to Mary; instead, from a shallow consideration of Mary in our salvation, from a minimalist approach to Marian soteriology, derives the wish to opt for entrustment or for its synonyms, such as dedication, affiliation, welcoming, etc. in particular, distinguished themselves in objecting to the Marian consecration as something theologically inaccurate, to be understood only in a metaphorical way: Fr. Juan Alfaro and Fr. Karl Rahner.9 Along this line, we find also the work of a renewed and influential Mariologist, R. Laurentin, with his book of 1991, Retour a Dieu avec Marie. De la sècularisation à la consecration. For the fact that God alone is the One who consecrates, Laurentin concludes that there is no consecration if not that made to God, excluding, in the strict sense, a consecration to Our Lady. This was to cause the choice of a new and more biblical vocabulary to slowly develop.

Thus, the way was paved for the word “entrustment”, proposed by the Rector Major of the Salesians in 1984, and later adopted officially also by

John Paul II in his Marian encyclical Redemptoris Mater (1987). More recently, the word “welcome” has been preferred by the Italian Mariologist Stefano De Fiores,10 because of its biblical and therefore more ecumenical connotation. This progressive movement of distancing, in a certain sense, from the term “consecration” becomes, however, rather worrying when it is said that today “it is opportune, or rather, necessary, to use an alternative language, immediately comprehensible in today’s cultures”.11

Our Lady of Fatima asked for “consecration” and not for its substitutes, as, after all, manifested organically by a long development of the doctrine of Marian consecration, from St. John Damascene (†749), the first to write a formula of consecration to Mary with the word anatithemi – to offer oneself as being made sacred) up to John Paul II, who, in the same circumstances, opted for this word exclusively.12

ONE’S RESPONSE TODAY What does all this imply on a practical level? Being saved by the sacrificial love of Jesus and Mary, we should always acknowledge this by taking Our Lady into our lives. We should consecrate ourselves to Her. This is the only response a loving child can have for his mother. If consecration leads us to consider carefully that Mary is truly Co-redemptrix, that She had a singular maternal role in our supernatural regeneration, conversely, our consecration to Mary lets us live in full the mystery of Marian Co-redemption, as asked by Our Lady of Fatima. In this way, we can truly respond to Our Lady’s request to offer sacrifices so that many souls might be saved from an easy fall into eternal perdition. This appeal is urgent and for today, for the life within the Church in order to give life to a decadent world. Hell is not closed or empty, as sin is not absent only because forgotten or ignored and supposedly cured by a “mercy-alone” theological approach.

There could be a special grace that might bring to fulfilment all our desires to see Our Lady more loved and Her requests heeded, showering us with many other celestial graces: the proclamation of the 5th Marian Dogma, about the soteriological and personal contribution of Our Lady to our salvation. This possible new dogma would, in fact, weld together Co-redemption and consecration as the identity of a Christian in this world, his being and his operation. This would be propitious to officially gather that special Marian army needed in the latter times, marked by a special presence of Our Mother and Queen. No doubt, this would also prepare the triumph of the Immaculate Heart so dear to each one of us. Let us work together for this.

Fr. Serafino M. Lanzetta is currently resident in the diocese of Portsmouth (UK), where he is priest-in-charge at St. Mary’s, Gosport. In 2004 he gained a license in Theology at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome and in 2006 a doctorate in Theology at the same University. In 2014 Fr. Lanzetta gained the habilitation in Theology with a specialization in Ecclesiology at the Theology Faculty of Lugano (Switzerland). His published works include his post-doctoral habilitation, Vatican II, a Pastoral Council: Hermeneutics of Council Teaching (Gracewing, 2016).

ENDNOTES:

1. Sister Lucia, Call from the Message of Fatima (Coimbra: 2000), p.137. 2. On Our Lady’s maternal and coredemptive “birth pangs”, in the light of the Jewish understanding of the “Birth Pangs of the Messiah”, see B. Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish roots of Mary. Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah (New York: Image, 2018), p.132-148. 3. See B.A. Calkins, The Mystery of Mary the Coredemptrix in the Papal Magisterium, in Mark I. Miravalle (ed.), Mary Co-redemptrix: Doctrinal Issues Today (Goleata, CA: Queenship Publishing Company, 2002) p.25-92. 4. Idem., Pope John Paul II’s Ordinary Magisterium on Marian Coredemption: Consistent

Teaching and More Recent Perspectives, in Mary at the Foot of the Cross, vol. II: Acts of the Second International Symposium on Marian Coredemption (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate, 2002) p.1-36. 5. See Schemata Constitutionum et Decretorum de quibus disceptabitur in Concilii sessionibus. Series secunda. De Ecclesia et de B. Maria Virgine, Typis Poliglottis Vaticanis, 10 November 1962, p.100. 6. In AAS 10 (1918) 181-182. 7. On this subject I wrote my doctoral thesis in theology: Il sacerdozio di Maria nella teologica cattolica del XX secolo. Analisi storico-teologica (Frigento, AV: Casa Mariana Editrice, 2006). 8. To have a general overview see S. De Fiores, La problematica della consacrazione mariana, in E. Peretto (edited by), La spiritualità mariana: legittimità, natura, articolazione (Rome: Marianum, 1994) p.357-361. 9. Cf. La Civiltà Cattolica, 119/3 (1968) 70. At the origin of this revision, the “Chronicle” of Civiltà Cattolica indicates on the one side the institution of the World Federation of the Marian Congregations (1953) and on the other the Second Vatican Council, along with the work of two Jesuit theologians (cf. Ivi, pp. 69-70): K. Rahner, La consacrazione a Maria nella Congregazione Mariana (Rome: Stella matutina, 1964) e J. Alfaro, Il cristocentrismo della consacrazione a Maria nella C.M. (Rome: Stella matutina, 1962). 10. Cf. S. De Fiores, p.365. 11. Ivi., p.367. De Fiores himself has an evolution in his thought: starting from a sincere defence of the term “consecration” (cf. his article Riflessioni teologiche sulla consacrazione a Maria, in Id., Maria presenza viva del popolo di Dio, Monfortane, Rome 1980, pp. 365-380), he develops a different preference, as “welcome” or “authentic Marian spirituality” (in the afore-quoted article, until the recent dictionary Maria. Nuovissimo Dizionario, vol. 1 (Bologna: Dehoniane, 2006) 395. 12. See A.B. Calkins, Totus Tuus. Pope Saint John Paul II’s Program of Marian Consecration and Entrustment (New Bedford, MA: Academy of the Immaculate 2017) p.19-73.

THE JUDGEMENT OF IN HISTORYGod

by PROF. ROBERTO DE MATTEI

The following talk was given on 21 May 2020 at the online Rome Life Forum on the theme “Coronavirus in the light of Fatima: a tragedy and a source of hope”.

Terra infecta est ab habitatoribus suis, propter hoc maledictio vastabit terram. – Isaiah 24:6

In the era of the coronavirus, everyone is talking about all sorts of things, but there are certain topics that remain forbidden, above all in the Catholic world. The primary forbidden topic is that of judgement and divine retribution in history. The fact of this censure is a good reason for us to consider the argument.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS JUSTICE We begin not in the Old Testament, where there are numerous references to divine chastisements, but with the very words of Our Lord himself who says to us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt. 6:31-33)

These words of the Gospel are a programme of life for each of us and they remind us of one of the beatitudes: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Mt. 5:6)

The sense of justice is one of the first moral senses of our reason: philosophers define it as the inclination of the will to give to each one his due. The yearning for justice is in the heart of every person. We do not seek only what is true, good, and beautiful, but also what is just. Everyone loves justice and detests injustice. And because the world is full of injustices, and human justice as it is administered by legal courts is always imperfect, we aspire to a perfect justice – a justice that does not exist on earth and may be found only in God.

The most celebrated trial in history, the trial of Our Lord Jesus Christ, sanctioned the most egregious injustice of all time. But God is infinitely just, because he infallibly gives each person his own justice. The beauty of the universe consists in its order, and that order is the kingdom of justice, because order means putting each thing in its place and justice means giving to each his own: unicuique suum, as is established by Roman law.

THE INFINITE JUSTICE OF GOD The infinite justice of God has its supreme manifestation in two different judgements that await man at the end of his life: the particular judgement, to which every soul is subject at the moment of death, and the universal judgement, to which all men will be subject in body and soul, after the end of the world.

This is the faith of the Church: every human being will appear before God at the end of his life to receive either reward or punishment from the Lord and Supreme Judge. For this reason, Sirach says: Memor est judicii mei, sic enim erit et tuum – Remember my judgement if you also want to learn to judge well. (Eccl. 38)

Father Garrigou-Lagrange explains that in the particular judgement the soul understands spiritually that it is being judged by God, and in that divine light his conscience pronounces the same divine judgement. “This happens in the first instant in which the soul is separated from the body, for which reason it is true to say that if a person is dead, then that person is also judged. The sentence is definitive and the execution of the sentence is immediate.”1

“The Message of Fatima opens with the terrifying vision of hell and reminds us that our life on earth is very serious, because it places before us a dramatic choice: heaven or hell, eternal happiness or eternal damnation. According to how we choose, we will be judged at the moment of our death, and the sentence, once it is pronounced, will be unappealable.”

The judgement of God is different from that of men. There is the famous case of Raymond Diocres, the esteemed professor of the Sorbonne, who died in 1082. A multitude of people attended his funeral at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, including his student Saint Bruno of Cologne. During the ceremony, a disturbing thing happened which was examined in all of its particulars by the Bollandist scholars.

The body of Diocres was laid out in the middle of the central nave of the church, covered only by a simple veil, as was the customary practice at that time. The funeral rites began and proceeded to the point where the priest said the words of the rite: “Answer me: how many iniquities and sins do you have...?” Just then a sepulchral voice spoke from under the funeral veil: “By the just judgement of God I have been accused!”

The funeral cloth was immediately taken off the body, but the dead man lay there cold and motionless. The funeral rite, which had been unexpectedly interrupted, was immediately recommenced amid the uproar of the entire congregation. The question was repeated, and the dead man cried out with a voice even louder than before: “By the just judgement of God I have been judged!”

The terror of those in attendance reached its peak. Some doctors approached the body and confirmed that he was really dead. Amid the general fright and bewilderment, the ecclesiastical authorities decided to postpone the funeral until the following day.

The next day the funeral ceremony was repeated, but this time when they reached the same question in the rite: “Answer me: how many iniquities and sins do you have...? The body sat up under the funeral veil and cried aloud: “By the just judgement of God I have been condemned to hell for ever!”2

Faced with this terrible testimony, the funeral was stopped. It was decided that the body should not be buried in the common cemetery. On the coffin of the damned man the words were written that he will speak at the moment of the resurrection: Justo Dei judicio accusatus sum; Justo Dei judicio judicatus sum: Justo Dei judicio condemnatus sum. The accusation, the condemnation, the sentence – this is what will await the reprobate on the day of the Universal Judgement.

For this reason, Saint Augustine says in The City of God: “all those who necessarily will die ought not to worry so much about how they will die as about the place where they will be forced to go after death.”3 And this place, we should add, is either heaven or hell.

The Message of Fatima opens with the terrifying vision of hell and reminds us that our life on earth is very serious, because it places before us a dramatic choice: heaven or hell, eternal happiness or eternal damnation. According to how we choose, we will be judged at the moment of our death, and the sentence, once it is pronounced, will be unappealable.

THE UNIVERSAL JUDGEMENT But there is a second judgement that awaits us after death: the universal judgement.

The existence of a universal judgement that will follow the particular judgement is an article of faith. Saint Augustine synthesizes the teaching of the Church in these words: “No one can place in doubt or deny that Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures proclaim, will pronounce the final judgement.”4 It will be the Last Judgement, which no one can escape.

In the hour of the Universal Judgement, Jesus Christ, the Man-God, will appear in the heavens, preceded by the Cross and surrounded by hosts of Angels and Saints (Mt. 24:30-31), seated on a throne of majesty. (Mt. 25:30) The role of Judge has been given to him by his Father, as Jesus himself reveals to us in the Gospel: “By myself I can do nothing; I judge according to what I hear, and my judgement is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of Him who sent me. (Jn. 5:30)

But why is a universal judgement necessary, since God judges every soul immediately after death and the universal judgement will simply confirm the sentence already given in the particular judgement? Isn’t one judgement enough?

Saint Thomas responds:

“Every man is a person in himself and is at the same time a part of the entire human race; therefore he ought to have a double judgement: one that is particular, after his death, when he will receive according to what he did in life, although not entirely, because he will receive not as regards the body but as regards the soul; but there must also be another judgement in accord with the fact that we are part of the human race: the universal judgement of the entire human race through the separation of the good from the wicked.”5

The Angelic Doctor explains, in another passage, that although the temporal life of man ends with death, it is prolonged in a certain way in the future, because he continues to live in the memory of men, beginning with his children. Furthermore, the life of man continues in the effects of his works. For example, Saint Thomas says:

“As a result of the imposture of Arius and other impostors, unbelief will teem until the end of the world; and likewise up to this same point faith will expand thanks to the preaching of the Apostles.”6

The judgement of God thus does not conclude with death but extends to the end of time, because the good influence of the saints and the evil influence of the reprobate extends until the end of time. Saint Benedict, Saint Francis, and Saint Dominic will merit to be repaid for all the good that their work continued to do until the end of the world, while Luther, Voltaire, and Marx will be punished for all the evil that their works have brought about until the end of the world. For this reason, there must be a final judgement, in which everything concerning each man in any way

THE LAST JUDGEMENT (C.1430) FROM CRUCIFIXION AND LAST JUDGEMENT DIPTYCH. JAN VAN EYCK. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK.

whatsoever will be perfectly and clearly judged. While in the particular judgement each person will judged above all as regards the rightness of intention with which he has worked, in the universal judgement his works will be judged objectively, above all for the effects that they have had on society.

After the immediate judgement before God at the moment of death, it is necessary that there be a public judgement not only before God but also before all men, all the angels, all the saints, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, because, as the Gospel says: “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed; nothing secret that will not be known.” (Lk. 12:2) It is right that those who have gained Heaven thanks to sufferings and persecutions will be glorified, while the many wicked and perverse people who have led a happy life in the eyes of men will be publicly dishonored. Father Schmaus says that the final judgement will reveal the truth or falsehood of the cultural, scientific, and artistic works of men: the truth or falsehood of the philosophical guidelines, political institutions, and the religious and moral forces that have moved history; the significance of the various sects and heresies, of wars and revolutions.7 The bodies of Arius, Luther, Robespierre and Marx are already dust, but on the day of judgement their books, statues and names will have to be publicly execrated.

We add that each man is born and lives within a nation, and his action contributes to transform the nations and peoples in which he lives for good or evil, and these peoples and nations will be judged in their culture, institutions, and laws. For this reason the Gospel says that when the Son of Man comes in his glory “all the nations will be assembled before him. And He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”. (Mt. 25:31-46)

Thus the judgement will not be pronounced only over individual men and individual angels. Nations are also called to fulfill the designs of Divine Providence and therefore must conform themselves to the divine will that rules and governs the universe. At the universal judgement it will be revealed if and how much each people has fulfilled the task assigned to them by God.8 Monsignor Antonio Piolanti writes:

“Reasons of wisdom keep secrets over the course of time, but, in the end, time will have to pour out its treasure before the eyes of the universal assembly. All the masks will fall and the happy Phariseeisms will bear the mark of an indelible infamy.”9

The judgement will extend to all of human history, which will be publicly unveiled to the greater glory of God. It will be the triumph of Divine Providence that over the course of history guides the destinies of men and nations in an invisible and impenetrable way.

In the presence of this unappealable sentence, everyone gathered in the valley of Jehosaphat will proclaim the great word: Iustus es Domine, et rectum iudicium tuum – You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right. (Ps. 118:137)

The particular judgement and the universal judgement are the two supreme moments in which the judgement of God is manifested over men and nations. This divine judgement is followed by a reward or a punishment. For individual people, the reward or punishment may apply either during their earthly life or in eternity, but for nations, which do not have an eternal life, the reward or punishment can be applied only within the course of history. And because the universal judgement brings history to a close, in that moment Jesus Christ will not condemn the various nations to eternal punishment, but rather he will open the eyes of all humanity that has been gathered together to see how each nation has been rewarded or punished throughout the course of history according to its virtues or its sins.

It is important to understand that, both for individual men as well as for nations, the universal judgement is the culminating moment of divine judgement, but God does not limit himself to judging only in that hour: we may say that he judges from the moment of the creation of the universe. At the beginning of the history of the universe, there is a judgement – the judgement made by God against Lucifer and the rebellious angels – just as at the beginning of creation of man there is a judgement made against Adam and Eve. From that time on until the end of time, the judgement of God does not cease to apply to “The judgement of God does not conclude with death but extends to the end of time, because the good influence of the saints and the evil influence of the reprobate extends until the end of time.”

his creatures, because Divine Providence sustains the entire created universe in being and directs it toward its end. All the movements of the physical world, the moral world, and the supernatural world are willed by God, excluding sin, which is caused by the free creature alone.

Jesus says that all the hairs of our head have been counted. (Lk. 12:8) Even more so is it true that every one of our actions, even the smallest, is judged by God. But God is not only infinitely just, he is also infinitely merciful,10 and there is no divine judgement that is devoid of mercy, just as there is no expression of divine mercy that is without the most profound justice. Perhaps the most beautiful example of this embrace of justice and mercy is given to us in the great gift of the Sacrament of Penance. In this sacrament, in which the sinner is judged and absolved, the priest, who acts in persona Christi, exercises the judicial power of the Church but also exercises the maternal mercy of God, absolving us of our sins. The justice of God intervenes to reestablish order by means of the penance that the fault merits, and Divine Mercy

CHRIST THE JUDGE (1447), FRESCO. FRA ANGELICO. CAPPELLA DI SAN BRIZIO, ORVIETO. manifests itself by means of the forgiveness of our sins by which God frees from eternal punishments.

THE CHASTISEMENT OF THE NATIONS What applies to men also applies to nations. God is not absent from history; he is also always present in it with his immensity, and there is not a point or moment of created time in which he does not manifest his divine justice and mercy over all peoples. All the misfortunes that strike the nations over the course of their history have a significance. Their causes sometimes elude us, but it is certain that the origin of every evil permitted by God lies in the sin of man. Saint Prosper of Aquitaine, a student of Saint Augustine, says that “often the causes of the divine operation remain hidden and only the effects are seen.”11 One thing is certain: whatever the secondary causes may be, God is always the first cause: everything depends on Him. At this point we should ask ourselves in what way God judges and punishes the behavior of various peoples and nations in history. The response of Sacred Scripture, of theologians, and saints is univocal. Tria sunt flagella quibus dominus castigat: war, plague, and famine. With these three scourges, Saint Bernardine of Siena explains,12 God punishes the three principal vices of men – pride, luxury, and avarice: pride, when the soul rebels against God (Rev. 12:7-9), luxury when the body rebels against the soul (Gen. 6:5-7), avarice when created things rebel against man. (Ps. 96:3) War is the punishment for the pride of the peoples, epidemics are the punishment for their luxury, and famine is the punishment for their avarice.

THE SIGNS BY WHICH WE CAN KNOW THAT THE JUDGEMENTS OF GOD ARE NEAR In his Sermons, Saint Bernardine analyses Psalm 118, which says: Tempus faciendi dissipaverunt legem tuam: “It is time for the Lord to act, for they have dispelled your Law”. (Ps. 118:26) In this expression of the Psalmist, Saint Bernardine distinguishes three moments.