joy of nine9

 painting by_mysamsara

Why has he chosen October 13?

October 13 was the final day of our Lady’s apparitions to the three children of Fatima, a day on which the extraordinary “Miracle of the Sun” took place with 70,000 witnesses.  As you may recall, Mary revealed to the three children that one of the reasons she came was to request “the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, promising its conversion through this means and the hindering of the propagation of its errors.”  At the time, no one could understand why she would make such a request.  She made it in 1917.  Sadly, it was not fulfilled until 1984, by Pope John Paul II.  A short five years later, after nearly 70 years of Russia spreading its communistic errors to many parts of the world, that propagation finally ceased.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

mount angel abbey

by Cameron Smith

by Charles Bosseron Chambers

The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was sculpted in 1947 by Jose Thedim, based on the description of Sr. Lucia,

According to the Portuguese shrine’s website, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima will leave for Rome on the morning of Oct. 12 and return on the afternoon of Oct. 13. The statue normally resides in the shrine’s Little Chapel of Apparitions.

The two-day observance includes an Oct. 12 pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter and moments of prayer and meditation. On Oct. 13, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. She warned of violent trials in the twentieth century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She urged prayer and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary by Stephen B. Whatley on Flickr – Photo Sharing By Stephen B. Whatley

The Feast Day of The Immaculate Heart of Mary was commemorated on June 12, 2010. On that special day, I created a new painting with deep prayer.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary symbolises the joys, sorrows and love for God and the Son Jesus by the Mother of God.

Traditionally, in artistic images, Mary has been portrayed presenting her heart circled by roses, symbolising love; and white roses at that, to signify the purity of that love.

As with all my Christian paintings, I felt compelled, drawn by my faith to celebrate the beauty and tenderness of the love and sorrow of this Divine Mother.

Earlier I had been reading about the miraculous visions of the Mother of God who first appeared to six teenagers in 1981; and for several years thereafter in Medugorje, a small town in Bosnia, Herzecovina. Mary’s message was that she was the Queen of Peace for which she encouraged prayer.

She was said to be about twenty years of age, with dark hair, blue eyes and of olive complexion with reddish cheeks – and her voice was said to be musical. Bearing this in mind and passing my eye over various interpretations, I ultimately let prayer dictate the path of this new tribute.

Copyright 2010 Stephen B. Whatley