It may be that you have heard some Catholics speaking about “The
Consecration” that needs to be made by the Pope of Russia to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. But you might not have
any idea where this comes from or why this is so important.
It was in fact our Lady herself at Fatima, who
identified herself there as our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary and our Lady of Mount Carmel and our
Lady of Sorrows in particular, who first appeared to the three shepherd
children (Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco) at Fatima in 1917 and asked for this
consecration to be performed.
On December 10th 1925 our Lady appeared holding her Divine
Son in her arms and asked Lucia (then a nun) to promote the devotion to her
Immaculate Heart that she had requested in 1917. Again, on February 15th, 1926 she received
another visit from the Child Jesus and was asked again to promote this devotion
to His mother. On July 13th 1929, at the
point when Stalin (the greatest Mass murderer of all time) had fully come to
power in Russia, our Lord came to Sister Lucia once again, but this time with a
new message. He told her that it was now
time for the Pope to perform the tasked requested by our Lady in 1917: the
consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
At this time in Russia the Catholic Faith had become illegal
and any who were Catholic were prohibited from partaking in the most basic
necessities of life, and even the solemn day of rest Sunday was abolished from
existence in Russia. Thus Lucia sent
this message to the Holy Father (Pope Pius XI):
The Good God promises to make an end of the persecution in Russia if the Holy Father deigns to make, and orders to be made, by all the Bishops of the Catholic world a solemn and public act of reparation and consecration of Russia to the Most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and if, in return for the end of this persecution His Holiness promises to approve and to recommend the practice of reparatory devotion (the first five Saturdays).
Why Russia? When even
the Eldest Daughter of the Church, France, is today in great need of conversion
from her incredibly wayward path. When
England, once the "Island of the Saints", has been wallowing in the heresy of
Protestantism for nearly 500 years and is now even beginning to succumb to
Islam. And when once glorious Catholic
Spain and Italy have all but lost the faith that made them great. Why Russia?
Why is its conversion so important for the Church and the world?
In fact, that great in-corrupt Benedictine: Dom Prosper
Gueranger, gives us a beautiful and concise answer to this question in his
entry for the Feast of Saint Josephat on his masterpiece: The Liturgical
Year. Writing some 60 or so years before
the apparition of our Lady at Fatima he says:
“Russia becoming Catholic would mean an end to Islamism, and the definitive triumph of the Cross upon the Bosphorus, without any danger to Europe; the Christian empire in the east restored with a glory and a power hitherto unknown; Asia evangelized, not by a few poor isolated priests, but with the help of an authority greater than that of Charlemagne; and lastly, the Slavonic race brought into unity of faith and aspirations, for its own greater glory. This transformation will be the greatest event of the century that shall see its accomplishment; it will change the face of the world.”
So then let us pray that this consecration will be performed
as our Lady and our Lord have requested.
Let us pray that our Holy Father in union with all the Bishops of the
whole world will consecrate Russia to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary so that once again the Church may breath with two
lungs and at full strength be ready to combat the forces of evil which have
become so powerful in these dark days.
