Today commemorates the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917, where she revealed important messages to the three shepherd children. This event is marked by the Miracle of the Sun, witnessed by thousands. The Lord put on my heart this morning to reflect upon our Lady.
The Archangel Gabriel came to our lady as she prayed, bowing before her, saying, ‘Hail, Full of Grace. The Lord is with you.”
This statement is huge. “Full of Grace” is incredible – I read St. Ignatius and others wrote that if you took all the grace given to all the saints of all time, it wouldn’t measure up to what was given our Lady in her Immaculate Conception. And, that all comes from the second, often overlooked statement of the Archangel, “the Lord is with you.”
God promised His presence – “to be with” – Abram, Isaac, Moses, Jeremiah…the Bible is strewn with examples of God’s promise to be with His people. Genesis 26:24, Genesis 28:15, Exodus 3:11-12, Deuteronomy 31:23, Judges 6:11-17, Jeremiah 1:6-8 and more.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” – Psalm 23:4
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
Through our Lady, and her example, we see that with God with us, there is nothing to fear nor that we can’t do – even the apparently impossible.
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13
God IS with us – always. We need to give our fiat as did our Lady. Mary shows the way by leading us in her “how is this possible?”/because God is with me approach to life and faith.
The whole promise of my book, “I Knew His Voice” is about this promise of God to be with us always.
“May your heart be full of joy. I, the Lord, am with you, do not be afraid of anything” – Divine Mercy in My Soul # 1133
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20