There is another aspect of the great Marian apparitions which has great current importance and which was indicated in the Seminar; the ecumenical thrust of the Motherhood of Mary in the world of Christians today. Fatima has always had ecumenical overtones. Our Lady promised the conversion of Russia if her requests were followed, and surely it is legitimate to interpret this to mean not only the conversion of Communists to Christianity but to the One Church, and joined with it the the movement of our separated Orthodox brothers toward unity with us. Symbolic of this ecumenical spirit is the Byzantine Chapel which dominates the Blue Army Headquarters in Fatima, and the Eastern Rite Liturgy carried out constantly within the Chapel. Fatima always has looked toward unity. But in its wide aspects this unity is not only with the Eastern separated brethren, but with those of our West too.

    Perhaps one of the strongest bonds between us and our Orthodox brethren is our common love for the Mother of God, who is the Mother of the One Church and of all men. The love and respect for this Mother permeats the Byzantine liturgy which requires regularly four secret and six out-loud invocations of our Lady. "Theotokos," Mother of God is the pass word for the Eastern Orthodox. Out of the East came the two greatest Marian feasts, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. We have a precious, lasting bond with the Orthodox in our common love for Mary, and nothing could harm our ecumenical approach to the East more than a false downgrading of Our Lady in the mistaken assumption that it would remove misunderstanding with the separated Christians of the West.

    It is not only at Fatima that Mary's Motherhood points toward the East; in his analysis of the Miraculous Medal Father Messias suggested that the Medal was an icon rather than a Western representation. Its oval shape is an unusual shape for a Western medal, but in the East the oval is a sign of resurrection, of eternal life - suggested to them by the shape of an egg, a natural symbol for life. The fact that the Medal is entirely symbolic seems to place it much closer to the Eastern art of iconography than to Western realistic art. Surely for our Eastern brethren to think of the Medal as a heaven-given icon would create the strongest of links with the Latin Church. Our Lady indeed gave it in Paris in this concept, but her eyes would have been turned toward the East at the same time. Is it too much to think that the Mother of the Church, prophesying the future, was deliberately creating another bond of unity between East and West? Does not the gift of this Medal from Our Blessed Mother fully justify the orthodox defense of images against the iconoclasts a thousand years ago? Because of what the Eastern church suffered perhaps the Medal as an icon means more to the Orthodox than we can estimate.

    Truly we must always begin with public revelation. But to use authenticated and approved private revelation when it develops public revelation and explains it, when this private revelation has been approved by the magisterium and found its way into the liturgy is but to acknowledge in practice charisms of the living Church; in our case it is Mary exercising her Motherhood through inspired messengers. She is intervening now in human history as she did at Cana of Galilee 2000 years ago.

    In particular, we should pray the Rosary every day. It is asked by the Blessed Mother at Fatima, implied in the Miraculous Medal and Lourdes. It is the prayer above all prayers which shows the oneness of devotion to Mary in public and private revelation. The Rosary is a series of meditations on salvation history recalling the main doctrines of our faith: the Incarnation, Trinity, Redemption, etc. Its constant use provides a basis for appreciating the great seasonal feasts the Nativity, the Resurrection, Pentecost. The Rosary properly used thus fosters both a personal and community union with God.

    The Mother of the Church gives us other guidance: she asked for a penitential approach to the problems of mankind at Lourdes and Fatima. Mary asks a Eucharistic return to God; implicit in the context of the Miraculous Medal, Lourdes and Fatima. The First Saturday Mass and Communion connected with Fatima should be re-examined.

    She asks devotion to her Immaculate Heart, promising peace with this approach to God. We should not be surprised: love of the Immaculate Heart is as implicit in public revelation as is devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mother and Son are always associated.

    We should re-examine also the wearing of the Miraculous Medal and her Scapular held in her hands in the final vision of Fatima and on the Scapular Feast She made her final appearance at Lourdes. Human nature is such that external signs of devotion properly used bring internal grace.

    Of course we must use all human means to achieve peace and unity in this world. But without God's help all human efforts will fail: "Unless the Lord build the house they labor in vain who build it." To get God's aid the certain, unfailing method is to ask His Mother's, our Mother's intercession - on her terms.

    Can we afford to ignore the terms of the Mother of the Church? Can we afford to ignore Her when She comes to speak to us and to offer Her help?

                                                   BACK           CONTINUE