Fatima

One of the great tragedies that resulted from the Protestant revolution in the 16th century was the splitting of Christianity not just between Protetstant and Catholic, but into two cultures. today all Christians share certain key cultural aspects, such as the celebration of Easter, and vary on others, such as the celebration of Lent (which is actually becoming more popular among Protestants). We share teh same moral code devoted to family service and charity, but there are some disagreements on certain details.

Another sad result of the culture clash is that we no longer share a history. I recently came across an astounding bit of history so recent that some witnesses may still be alive, taken as a matter of fact, not faith, by most Catholics but never even heard of by most Protestants - the visions of "Our Lady of Fatima."

Of course, therein lies the silence. One of the biggest cultural differences between Catholics and Protestants is the treatment of Mary. Most Protestants see reports of Mary sightings as laughable hogwash, but so does the Catholic Church. In general, all reports of "miracles" are investigated with a skepticism bordering cynicism. And it is this very cynicism that makes "approved" sightings of Mary that much more spectacular. Rather than encouraging mass hysteria, the Catholic Church has only approved 15 of 265 supposed Mary sightings as being considered legitimate, and many of these approved only after years or centuries of investigation.

In 1916 and 1917, three Portuguese children claimed to see visions of angel and Mary on a hillside. The angel taught them to pray. When Mary appeared, she toled them she would return on the 13th of the month for six months. When word of the visions (spread by the excitable youngest child) got out, the children were told to be silent by their parents, their priest, and by the local authorities (the Portuguese government severely restricted the role of the church at the time). But even upon threat of torture or death, the children would not recant.

Each month they returned to the hillside where they saw "the Lady." A large crowd began to gather. Some claimed to see lights when the lady was present. Many said the sun dimmed or a cloud appeared.

The lady told the children that she would bring them all to heaven - the youngest two very soon. She also showed them three visions, called secrets: a vision of Hell, a prophesy that World War I would end and be followed by an even more terrible war, and a vision of persecutions of Christians. In addition, she predicted that Russia would soon become a threat to the entire world.

So far I am sure most people are not impressed. Visions may be imaginations. Prophecy may be lucky or only as authentic as any other non-religious prophecy (like Nostradamus). But what happened nexte is what makes me consider these events remarkable. It made many people believe the children who had not before. Now, remember the year was 1917 - a far cry from ancient Israel or the Dark Ages where superstition was compounded by a lack of scientific knowledge. Nor was the story passed down orally for years before finally being recorded.

On October 13, 1917, the children reported that there would be a miracle, so that those who could not see "the Lady" would believe. The hillside was crowded with somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 people. As they looked on, the sun dimmed so they could see it without hurting their eyes. Then it began to spin and change colors - all colors of the rainbow. Most astonishing of all, it turned bright red and rushed towards the earth. After the display, the clothes of the people which had been soaked with rain, were left completely dry. Of all the thousands there that day, no one has ever contracdicted this story, and hundreds or thousands were personally interviewed about what they saw.

Scientists have offered explanations, but are mostly baffled. Some say the crowd's eyes were playing tricks on them from staring at the sun. Others compare it to events in China, but the conditions and location would not fit a mirage of sorts. All explanations lack something. Further, a miracle can easily have a scientific explanation, but it may be the timing or results that make it miraculous (an environmental phenomenon that just happened to occur that day).

Personally, I see power displayed on a scale only God could pull off - commanding the sun or, perhaps, giving each of the thousands of attendees the same vision. Either way, the scale is grand. Imagine if instead, all the attendees had died of...something. That would be in our history books it would be so huge. And yet, for a large group of people, these events are unknown. Most Protestants can't decide what to make of the events becuase they don't even know they happened.

One final note. Even to Protestants the Pope is an important figure who can't be ignored. Many Protestants sneer at the concept of a pope. And yet, especially under John Paul II, the pope is as important as any world leader. Although I cannot speak for all Protestants, I think we all applaud him when he stands up for the Christian faith and morals. The issues he addresses are those we all face to some extent. We judge him if he says something we consider preposterous.

And so now I see that Catholics and Protestants are united on the subject. While Protestants decided which papal declarations and actions are legitimate, Catholics try to influence the pope. For over 50 years, Catholics around the globe have been begging the popes to perform an act of consecration of Russia which was requested by the Lady of Fatima. This simple request went mostly unheeded until 1984. Subsequently, Communism fell in 1989. Am I saying the pope miraculously cused this - not necessarily.

I guess what I'm stunned by is the deeper meaning and pain that the Cold War must have had to devout Catholics, who have been praying for Russia for decades. A large piece of our history was, for some, a spiritual battle that Protestants don't even know about.

Call it what you will, the spiritual culture of Catholics, with their stories of saints and miracles, their devotions and holy dyas, is rich and deept and connected to all Christians' heritage. It is a shame that Protestants have to miss out on it.