Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament

Adoracja z Niepokalanowa

This day 109 years ago an important event took place in the midst of World War 1.  It is said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima in southern Portugal.

It is not required of Catholics to believe in apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints.  However, many do and at some point most have been touched along the way by memories, pilgrimages and readings.  The image of the ‘Lourdes Grotto’ has marked the Irish countryside from inner city park corners to a field near where I live.

In 1917 three young children say they witnessed a series of apparitions in which Our Lady imparted various warnings and important spiritual messages. The context was set by the time when a vicious world war enveloped Europe and more would be presaged.

At the centre of these apparitions and other similar ones across the world (at least those that have been approved as worthy of belief by the church) is the message of prayer, penance, conversion, reparation and trust in God.  Many miracles and life-transforming experiences have been reported. I have no reason to doubt the sincerity and validity of these witnesses. Nobody is required to believe or go there but it can help.

Crucially, in one of the messages Our Lady told the children:

“Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.”

The next time we face a difficult or annoying chore or unexpected email or visit we might consider this advice:

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

The little things matter along with the big. And even today, as Ireland has come closer than ever to an all out assault on human life in the womb we may join our prayers especially from before 8.30pm when the vote will be taken on the second state of the ‘Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026’.

Where does the Eucharist enter in at Fatima?

Even before the 1917 apparitions, the children reported a vision of an ‘Angel of Peace’ who visited them on three  occasions the previous year. 

On one occasion, the three children saw the angel prostrate before a host and chalice that hung in the air. Worshiping the Eucharist, the angel prayed:

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You 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 indifference by which He is offended. And, through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of sinners.”

While some question the theological basis of this prayer I think that it offers a very simple and practical formula for all of us – lay and ordained – to lift our minds and hearts to God especially but not exclusively in the presence of the reserved Blessed Sacrament.

Just as Mary said yes to God in the incarnation she continues to lead us to Jesus present in the sacrament of the Eucharist so that we may become broken bread for a troubled world.

Just two additional facts to be mindful of today:

1. There is an interesting connection between the name Fatima and the world of Islam.  Muslims honour Mary as the virginal mother of the prophet Jesus.  Mary is a bridge to bring the children of Abraham together. (see ‘Nothing ever happens out of heaven except with a finesse of all details).
2. “The Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is on May 13 because it is the day St. Peter Julian Eymard, that great saint of the Eucharist, founded the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament and told his novices to pray: ‘Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’” [see here]