''MIRACLE OF THE SUN'' IN FATIMA APPARITION ON OCT 13, 1917 REMEMBERED

The “Miracle of the Sun” that occurred during the 6th Apparition of Fatima on Oct. 13, 1917, and was witnessed by over 70,000 people in Portugal, was a manifestation of God’s almighty power and humility to save mankind from eternal damnation.

All Catholic Faithful around the world to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the “Miracle of the Sun” that swirled and danced in a circle in broken clouds, as reported by a Lisbon newspaper in Portugal a day after the historic spectacle happened.

As its consequence, many believed God’s existence through the apparition of the Blessed Mother to the three shepherd children at Fatima.

Church records show that the apparition of the Blessed Mother before the three shepherds--Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco--on Oct. 13, 1917 was her sixth, fulfilling her promise earlier to show to the world that a miracle would happen so mankind would believe in God.

It was during these apparitions that the Blessed Mother also called the world to repent for its sin and pray the Holy Rosary daily. So, on Oct. 13, 1917, or 106 years ago, the “Miracle of the Sun” occurred. The apparition at Fatima was also seen by people living in adjoining areas as far as 25 kilometers away.

“The sun painted the world in different colors, (as it) moved and danced in the sky,” a witness, Ti Marto, the father of Jacinta and Francisco, said.

“The miracle told the world of God’s huge humility. The strange nature of the Miracle of the Sun--a spectacular public miracle that was announced ahead of time--is hard to exaggerate,” said Tom Hoopes, a famous American writer.

“God almost never works that way. God is all-powerful, with all of reality in his grasp. He is the artist of every sunset, the inventor of every wonder of nature and the author of history. He doesn’t need to give a big display to prove himself: The cosmos is big enough, thank you. But sometimes he does anyway,” Hoopes pointed out, adding that “the miracle also makes clear that God is also the ‘hound of heaven,’ the humble God, who will stop at nothing to win our love,” Hoopes wrote.

During the Miracle of the Sun, people who witnessed the spectacle wept.

The spectacle also showed the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as pointed out in the Gospel, such as John, Chapter 2, when Mary asked Jesus to perform his first miracle, changing water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1, the start of God’s redemption of man hangs on a word from Mary. Also in Act, Chapter 1, Mary is there when the Church was formed, and in Revelation, Chapter 12, it tells about the Woman and the dragon, to name a few of these Bible verses.

God made it clear that we can trust Mary, says Hoopes.

Also during the apparition, the throng of people saw the Miracle of Sun, dancing, but the three children saw more;

First Scene: Saint Joseph appeared beside the sun with the Child Jesus and Our Lady of the Rosary. It was the Holy Family. The Virgin was dressed in white with a blue mantle. Saint Joseph was also dressed in white, and the Child Jesus in light red. Saint Joseph blessed the crowd, making the Sign of the Cross three times. The Child Jesus did the same blessing the whole world.

Second scene: This was followed by the vision of Our Lady of Sorrows, without the sword in her breast, and of Our Lord overwhelmed with sorrow on the way to Calvary. Our Lord made the Sign of the Cross to bless the people.Lúcia could only see the upper part of Our Lord’s body.

Third scene: Finally, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth, appeared in a glorious vision with the Child Jesus in her bosom.

The Fatima apparitions continually remind mankind to pray, especially the Rosary and repent for the world to attain a genuine and lasting peace.

During the sixth apparition, the seers first saw a bright light, and then saw the Blessed Mother over the holm oak.

Then Mary told Lucia that she (Blessed Mother) wants a chapel to be built at Fatima and revealed that “I am the Lady of the Rosary” and urged mankind to pray it daily.

Then she also revealed that World War 1 was going to end soon, and it did, as the Blessed Mother said.

Lucia then asked the Blessed Virgin Mary to cure the sick, to which Mary replied: “Some yes, others no. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins.”

She also asked Lucia to tell the world for man to stop offending God.

“Then at the end of the conversation between Our Lady and Lúcia, Our Lady opening her hands, She shone the light issuing from them onto the sun, and as she rose, Lucia Shouted “Look at the sun!” — the clouds opened up, revealing the sun as an immense silver disk. It shone with an intensity never before seen, but was not blinding. This lasted only an instant. Then the immense ball began to “dance.” The sun began to spin rapidly like a gigantic circle of fire. Then it stopped momentarily, only to begin spinning vertiginously again. Its rim became scarlet; whirling, it scattered red flames across the sky. Their light was reflected on the ground, on the trees, on the bushes, and on the very faces and clothing of the people, which took on brilliant hues and changing colors.Her own radiance continued to be cast onto the sun,” After performing this bizarre pattern three times, the globe of fire seemed to tremble, shake, and then plunge in a zigzag toward the terrified crowd.

All this lasted about ten minutes. Finally, the sun zigzagged back to its original place and once again became still and brilliant, shining with its everyday brightness. The cycle of the apparitions had ended.

Many people noticed that their clothes, soaking wet from the rain, had suddenly dried.The miracle of the sun was also seen by numerous witnesses up to twenty-five miles away from the place of the apparition. Lucia said in her memoir.

After the Miracle of the Sun, many unbelievers were converted to the Catholic faith.