MICHIGAN CITY – “Pray the Rosary every day,” urged Father David Kime to the nearly 70 people who attended his talk on Our Lady of Fatima. It was the message the Blessed Mother spoke to the three young children in Fatima back in 1917.
The Oct. 18 talk by Father Kime was part of the Queen of All Saints Tapped-In series held each Wednesday during the month of October at Gelsosomo’s Pizzeria in Michigan City.
Sean Martin, director of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Family Life for the Diocese of Gary, kicked off the series with his talk, Intro to Mary. Father Roque Meraz, associate pastor at St. Paul in Valparaiso, followed with insight into Our Lady of Guadalupe. Bishop Robert J. McClory wrapped up the month with his talk on Our Lady of Lourdes.
Father Kime shared how he developed a devotion to the Blessed Mother, particularly Our Lady of Fatima, when he was 8 years old. He recalled a traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima arriving at the family home nearly the same time his older sister was struggling with health issues. The family committed to fervent prayer, including the Rosary, for his sister who was freed of her symptoms.
Our Lady appeared to three young children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, in the small Portuguese town beginning May 13, 1917. She would make monthly appearances on the thirteenth of each month through October 1917.
“Fatima is one of the most important apparitions in the history of apparitions. There are so many mysteries of faith, religion, and spirituality wrapped up in this apparition of Our Lady,” said Father Kime. “Mary loves us so much that she comes to earth to tell us about the mysteries of heaven and call us back to conversion – to see how much we are loved so that we can begin again.”
During her apparitions with the children, the Blessed Mother shared three secrets. The first was a glimpse into hell. The Blessed Mother told the children to save souls from going to hell, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
The second secret is the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, and the “Communion of reparation” on the First Saturdays for world peace. If people followed her message World War I would end, otherwise if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out, World War II.
“Guess what, people didn’t listen,” Father Kime said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the full flowering of what it will be like to experience the reign of the Immaculate Heart of Mary because the Russian government is still causing problems.”
The third secret contained a vision of a pope who was shot. Father Kime detailed the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II, who miraculously survived the attack. Another large part of this third vision is penance, calling the world to come back to God.
Father Kime explained that the secrets were not prophecies but secrets that visionaries had and were not allowed to reveal until the time was proper. “We should look at this as God wants to protect us. Not that if we don't follow her secrets God will punish us, but if we do them, He’ll protect us. He wants to bless us. He wants to protect us, but we don’t have enough faith.”
Another point made during the Blessed Mother’s apparition was to share the message of the Five First Saturdays. Her request is for the faithful to go to confession, receive the Eucharist, say five decades of the Rosary and meditate for 15 minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary. The devotion centers on the urgent need for mankind to offer reparation and expiation for the many injuries that the Immaculate Heart of Mary suffers from the hands of both impious and indifferent people.
Much like Father Kime, Bishop McClory shared the impact Our Lady of Lourdes had on his life. In the fall of 2019, he led a pilgrimage to Lourdes. “It was very moving. It renewed the sense of the Blessed Mother in my life,” said the bishop during his Oct. 25 talk.
Nearly one month later, he received word he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Gary. To keep with the Marian connection, he chose Feb. 11 (Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes) as his ordination.
Bishop McClory admitted he wasn’t aware of how meaningful it would be until about five weeks later, which would be the beginning of the COVID pandemic and ultimately shut down the world. “Of all the things Jesus could have given me as a gift, Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us, and Jesus, I trust in you. I’m amazed at the number of people who continue since then. Those two prayers got our diocese through the time of COVID,” said Bishop McClory.
He noted Our Lady of Lourdes is the Patroness of the Sick.
The Blessed Mother appeared to a young 14-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, as she gathered firewood near a cave on Feb. 11, 1858. It was the first of 18 apparitions which would end that July. Bernadette was given a message for people to pray and offer penance for the conversion of sinners
Bernadette was also asked to dig in the ground and drink from the spring she found there. Initially muddy, the water became increasingly clean eventually given to medical patients of all kinds, many who reported miracles. Pilgrims can drink the water or bath in the stream in the area where the young Bernadette uncovered the spring.
The grotto still has a Blessed Mother statue where Mary appeared.
The Lourdes Medical Bureau was established to investigate any claims of miracles from Lourdes. Only 70 over the 7,500 (0.009%) cases have been confirmed as a miracle.
Lourdes has an estimated 4-6 million pilgrims visit annually.
“It was a beautiful, beautiful experience. It’s like the whole world fades away. You’re in this place where you can go to the grotto and pray. You can light a candle and participate in candlelight processions. The love, the care, the compassion, conversion of hearts, the healing. Lourdes is really an amazing place,” said Bishop McClory, speaking of his experience at Lourdes.
The series can be viewed on the QAS Tapped In YouTube page at youtube.com/@tappedinqueenofallsaints3505
Caption: Father David Kime, pastor of Queen of All Saints, talks about Our Lady of Fatima during the QAS Tapped-In series on October 18. The four week series featured talks on the Blessed Mother. The event was held at Gelsossomo's Pizzaria. (Bob Wellinski photo)