"HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER" 665 Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides him from the eyes of men (cf. Col 3:3).
This Sunday, we will have arrived at the 101st anniversary of the Fatima apparitions. Devotion to Fatima surely grew during the 100th anniversary last year. When I made my way through some of the latest books about Fatima, something struck me about Our Lady’s message in Fatima. When Our Lady appeared monthly from May to October 1917 she consistently made promises to the three shepherd children, Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia. As Mary spoke those words to the children, she revealed not only to them, but to all of us that she is a woman of her word. In Fatima, Mary not only revealed herself as the Queen of the Rosary but also as the Woman of the Promise, a title not confined to the apparition alone but also to Mary’s very identity.