| The Blessed Mother appeared to three children in | | | | for us to offer up the suffering that God may send us. |
| Fatima in 1917. Our Lady made three requests one of | | | | We often here to offer up our cross. According to |
| which was penance. As with Lent, a period of | | | | Our Lady sacrifice is required by everyone. One of the |
| penance, it becomes worth the discussion to see how | | | | hopes of Fatima it would seem was that a person |
| Our Lady, Penance and the Rosary all tie together. | | | | would turn problems over to God. |
| When we look at penance and its use in the Gospels it | | | | Additionally, Pope Benedict, when he was still Cardinal |
| was used to turn way from and bring life back to God. | | | | Ratzinger, helped unpack the third mystery of Fatima |
| Thematically as well as the Gospels, the apparitions of | | | | and that basically it was a cry of Penance Penance |
| Our Lady have also spoke of atonement, turning away | | | | and Penance according to the Angel that appeared to |
| from sin and praying the Rosary. And Fatima was a | | | | the children with a flaming sword in his left hand. . |
| striking reminder of that. The Blessed Mother said that | | | | Cardinal Ratzinger contributed a theological |
| men needed to change their lives and ask for | | | | commentary at the end of the Congregation of the |
| forgiveness for his sins. Sr Lucia who was one of the | | | | Doctrine of the Faith in 2000, in part was an attempt to |
| children the Blessed Mother appeared to spoke of | | | | interpret the Secrets of Fatima. He said that we |
| how much she remembered Our Lady stressing not to | | | | needed to accept the urgency of penance conversion |
| offend God anymore and that God was already | | | | and faith are all relative to the sign of the times that |
| extremely offended with the way things were going. | | | | we need to accept these principles. But ultimately |
| Keep in mind this was 1917. | | | | according to Sr Lucia the purpose of the apparitions of |
| It was not only Sr Lucia who spoke on penance but | | | | Fatima was to help people grow in faith and hope. |
| Jacinta the other young girl who was at the apparition | | | | Another commonality of the Rosary and Penance is |
| of Fatima said that if mankind only knew what eternity | | | | that the Rosary is usually prescribed as a penance a |
| was they would change their lives, using the Biblical | | | | person may receive after they go to confession, the |
| definition of penance, turning away from sin. Part of | | | | Sacrament of Reconciliation and receiving absolution. |
| message also was that the Lord liked sacrifice to help | | | | In the end The Rosary is the path to salvation it is a |
| make up for sin and that many of the souls that go to | | | | pray that Our Lady advocates in her messages is |
| hell are go because there is no one to make sacrifices | | | | sacrifice, and penance in conjunction with prayer and |
| for them. So the question is how these sacrifices are | | | | can most poignantly seen in the apparitions of Fatima. |
| defined. The sacrifice the Blessed Mother asked was | | | | |