THE MIRACLE OF THE SUN

    Depending on your time zone, this weekend marks the 100th Anniversary of the celebrated Miracle of the Sun which occurred at Fatima, Portugal. The event occurred during a series of visions that three shepherd children had in a grotto in which the Virgin Mary appeared and spoke of many things that would effect the world. 

     On this day in October, 1917, a crowd of between 100,000 and 250,000 had converged on the grotto where the children had promised a great event would be seen. It was lightly raining that morning. The Left-Wing Portugese government had been trying to suppress the visions, including once putting the children in jail. A film crew and photographers were present. Communist and Atheist agitators were among the crowd; disputing with and ridiculing the populace as superstitious fools. One of the children then announced that Our Lady requested that the people put away their umbrellas---which most did in spite of the continuing drizzle. 

       When the visions ended, Mary typically left in a ball of light. But this time, the light shot upwards at great speed, parting the clouds. The rain stop and the children called: "Look at the sun!"  At that point, witnesses saw the sun change to a darker hue---making it visible to the naked eye without pain. Then the sun began to bounce. It suddenly stopped and then begin to spin, like a pinwheel, sending off all colors in the hue of its light. It then spun the opposite direction. 

        Then the sun stopped again and began descending towards earth. The resulting heat dried the ground; and nearly everyone was on their knees or their faces. The event was seen for 20 miles, and in some places, the Army was called in to restore order. 

        Much has been said and written about Fatima; but there is a very simple lesson in the events of that day. In October, 1917; the world was at war, a global pandemic and Communist revolutions were breaking out everywhere. In some of the villages around Fatima, there were riots among those believing that the world was ending.

         But the world did not end; and therein lies the point. God showed that He end the world easily, at any time He chose, yet He chose not to. Whatever Man and the Devil could do, it was God alone Who is in control of the Earth and the faith of little children---literally, in the case---was our protection against the world's evils. For the child visionaries were not afraid. They knew that God was their Friend and nothing truly evil could happen even as it appeared that the sun itself was falling. 

        To our mind, that is the most important lesson from the Miracle of the Sun. Mankind may bring evil upon itself; the Devil may sow seeds of Chaos and destruction, but God holds the Ultimate Power and those who trust Him will never be harmed---even death leads to Eternal Life. When the Miracle of the Sun ended, everything was normal again: even the rain had gone away. And so it is and will be as long as Man walks on the Earth with God. Evil endures for a night but Joy comes in the morning, to quote the Psalmist. All of the evils facing the world in 1917---the Imperialists, the Bolsheviks, the plagues--- are gone today, but Faith lives on. And it always will.