Despite such promises of Divine Providence in the message of Fatima, following the last requests of Our Lady there is a terrible prophecy of the consequences should her requests be refused.

we can pay attention to her words:

“They did not want to heed my request! Like the King of France they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its errors throughout the world provoking wars and persecutions of the Church: the Holy Father will have much to suffer.”

“Make it known to my ministers that if they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of my request, they will follow him into misfortune. It will never be too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.”

The prophecy shows clearly different epochs or stages of development: first the refusal, then repentance, and the finally the fulfillment of her requests.

Due to the negligence and delays of the hierarchy, the catastrophes she predicted will begin to unfold: Communism will spread across the world with brutality and war in its wake; the Church will be immersed in her own catastrophes, involving especially the Holy Father and his ministers, who will suffer the same punishment as the King of France.

Twice Our Lord refers to the misfortunes of the King of France. He alludes to the apparition received by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Paray-Le-Monial, France, on June 17, 1689, in which she was told by Our Lord: “Make it known to the eldest son of My Sacred Heart, that just as his temporal birth was obtained by devotion to the merits of My Holy Infancy, in the same way he will obtain his birth into grace and eternal glory by the consecration which he himself will make to My Adorable Heart, which wishes to triumph over his own, and through his efforts, triumph over the great ones of the earth as well. It wishes to reign in his palace, to be painted on his standards and engraved on his arms to make them victorious over his enemies, bringing these haughty and proud people to their knees before him to make him triumphant over all the enemies of Holy Church.”

In a letter of August 28, 1689, St. Margaret Mary spoke again in greater detail of the immense graces the King would receive if he answered the requests of the Sacred Heart. The Jesuits had been specially chosen to teach devotion to the Sacred Heart and to convey the desires of the Sacred Heart to the King. Insofar as the Jesuits would fulfill this mission, they would be enriched with graces and blessings in return. It was also implied that if, on the contrary, they did not comply, they would be chastised. The King of France himself, King Louis XIV, refused to accept the words of the Sacred Heart, and consequently his power declined. After his death, France underwent revolution from within and without, beginning with the false philosophers of the Enlightenment and the establishment and spread of Freemasonry throughout the 18th century. Then, on June 17, 1789—exactly one century after the request of the Sacred Heart—the French revolution broke out. King Louis XVI was imprisoned and beheaded only three years later.

We can now better understand this terrible prophecy of Our Lord to Sr. Lucia: the sovereign pontiffs will draw down misfortune on themselves and on all of Christendom by their lack of docility to heaven’s voice, just as happened to the Kings of France two centuries ago. As we approach the centennial of the apparitions of Fatima, we might also ask if the postlude to the apparitions will unfold more swiftly 100 years later.

We cannot know how these things will be fulfilled, but we do know that “it will be late, but not too late.” If we have recourse to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the worst can be avoided. When her requests will be fulfilled and how much devastation must fall upon us or how many will be saved from its terror will depend on our recourse to Jesus and Mary! This should fill our hearts with zeal and courageous motivation to be apostles of Fatima with all our hearts and all our strength!

Taken from book of Fr. Karl Stehlin “Fatima —A spiritual light for our time” Vol. III “the Great Secret of Fatima”

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