On the centennial of Our Ladyโs final apparition to the Fatima children and the Miracle of the Sun on Oct. 13, hundreds were gathered in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and thousands more gathered in parishes across the archdiocese as Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila consecrated Denver to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The event, which was live-streamed across the world and into participating parishes in the archdiocese, began with a procession and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. After some moments of silence, Father Ryan OโNeill, vocations director at the Archdiocese of Denver, led the congregation in the rosary, followed by an exhortation.
Father OโNeill called attention to the day of Friday, the 13th, which is typically considered a superstitious, unlucky day to some. But instead, the archdiocese was gathered on such a day for sacred blessing.
โWe are here in the darkness on an unlucky day to celebrate a beautiful, holy thing, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima,โ Father OโNeill said. โToday is a very lucky day for us, any by lucky, I mean blessed. In the midst of our fears comes a woman dressed in white.โ
After some time of silent adoration before the Eucharist, Archbishop Aquila also addressed the faithful before the final prayer of consecration, recalling the miracle that occurred 100 years ago to the day.
โOur Lady said, โIn the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph,โโ Archbishop Aquila said. โAnd in that, we see the heart of Mary and her love for Jesus. Her last recorded words were, โDo whatever he tells you.โ She constantly reminds us of her son and her deepest desire is that we be as pure in heart as she is pure of heart.โ
Archbishop Aquila reminded the faithful that Our Lord โpromises to give us a new heart,โ and that Mary wants us to open our hearts to salvation and to Jesus.
He went on to emphasize four themes that will lead us deeper in intimacy with Jesus: The gift of faith, conversion, praying for peace and remembering Our Ladyโs message of hope.
โMary invites us to put our faith in God, to believe in his love for the world and to put our trust and confidence in him,โ Archbishop Aquila said. We also need to pray for our own conversion, as well as the conversion of the whole world, he continued.
โShe also reminds us to pray for peace in the world,โ Archbishop Aquila pointed out. โWe may not be in a World War today, but there are many small wars going on. We see threats of war with North Korea and thereโs that angst โ but how often do we ask the Lord, grant our world peace?
โThe peace the Lord gives is not without suffering or the cross,โ he added. โBut it is strong. It is the peace Mary knew at the foot of the crossโฆso, we are praying for that peace today.โ
Archbishop Aquila concluded by reminding the archdiocese that with Maryโs apparitions always comes a message of hope โ that life has meaning, and that there is eternal life.
Father OโNeill also highlighted three events in Maryโs life that offered us an example of her virtues to imitate: The Annunciation, the wedding feast at Cana, and her love of the cross.
In the Annunciation, Father OโNeill said, โMary receives the gift God wants to give her,โ and that, often, we wish for things other than the great blessing God is trying to give us.
At Cana, Mary exhibited humble confidence. She points out a need and is very confident that Jesus will answer it the way he wants, Father OโNeill said.
โSt. Therese prayed like that,โ Father OโNeill said. โShe said that even if things donโt go the way you want, remember that Jesus loves you so much that if you could see it, you would die of ecstasy. Itโs not about what he gives, itโs about who he is.โ
The third example of her virtue is at the cross.
โIt didnโt feel good, but there was a choice. She chose the cross,โ Father OโNeill said. โEvery cross is a preparation for a greater blessing, a ripening of our soul for greater grace. I want you to see the cross as something really good coming your way.โ
As the archdiocese joined the Archbishop in prayer of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the faithful prayed, โMay every country and every person in the world come to know your maternal love for themโฆthrough your intercession, may every human being encounter you son, Jesus Christ, and become the person he desires them to be.โ ยญยญ
โAs we consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, let us pray for faithโฆ to love Jesus as Mary loved Jesus, and pray for peace and let us pray for hope, rooted in the promise of eternal life,โ Archbishop Aquila concluded. โIt is only by keeping our hearts fixed on Jesus that this will come about.โ