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Witnesses of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, October 13, 1917.

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Fr. Clovis speaking at 2018 Rome Life Forum

ROME, May 17, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Miracles from Our Lady in the last 100 years that alter the cosmic natural order — such as Fatima's miracle of the sun in 1917 — are a warning that man has gravely violated the “spiritual and moral order,” stated a Catholic priest at a talk given today in Rome. 

“Throughout Scripture, the cosmic order of nature and the course of the heavenly bodies are seen as essential for the ongoing welfare of the world’s existence.  When men violate the spiritual and moral order, which ought to regulate the course of their lives, the cosmic order is disturbed,” said Father Linus Clovis in a lecture delivered at the 2018 Rome Life Forum at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum). 

“That is, God shows — through the disruption of the orderly movements of heavenly bodies — that mankind is being judged. He alters the fixed patterns of the celestial bodies to indicate judgment on those who alter moral patterns, especially through idolatry, which is essential to replace the Creator with a creature.  In the modern world, the new idol is self, where each is a law unto himself,” he added.

In his talk, Fr. Clovis explored the apparitions of Our Lady of Revelation at Tre Fontane and the well-known apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. At Tre Fontane, Our Lady converted staunchly anti-Catholic man Bruno Cornacchiola who had once plotted to kill the pope and subsequently worked dozens of unexplainable miracles at that site.

Through cosmic miracles at Tre Fontane and Fatima, Father Clovis argues, Our Lady is warning that not only mankind but many Catholics, even in the highest positions of authority, have abandoned morality and risk eternal punishment for it.

“According to Cornelius a Lapide’s Scripture commentary 'Sun, moon and stars are dimmed when leaders of the Church or world depart from justice and holiness to embrace depravity and wickedness.'  In light of this, the repeated solar phenomenon in a Roman shrine strongly suggests that religious, rather than secular, leaders have departed from justice and holiness.  In fact, Our Lady had told Bruno 'many of my Son’s priests have lost the dignity of the order, no longer live in honesty, in love, no longer catechise souls … they have no faith and do not believe,” he said.

Clovis described in his talk how Our Lady uses cosmic phenomena to convert the most hardened hearts back to her Son.

LifeSiteNews is pleased to provide Father Clovis' talk in full below.

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Our Lady of Revelation at Tre Fontane

1. Between May and October, 1917 Our Lady appeared six times to three children Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Fatima, Portugal.  At each visit, She asked the children to pray the Rosary and to make sacrifices for sinners. In the July apparition, she entrusted the children with three secrets and promised to work a miracle in October so that all would believe.  She warned that if people did not stop offending God, He would use Russia to punish the world “by means of war, hunger, and, persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father”. She told the children that “to prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart” and promised that, by this single public act, Russia would be converted and peace would be given to the world.

2. True to Her word, Our Lady, appearing to Sister Lucia on June 13, 1929 at Tuy, Spain, announced, “The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the Bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means.”  The consecration of Russia was not to prevent the establishment of a Communist government, for that had already occurred in 1917 but, rather, to prevent Russia from spreading her errors – godlessness, in particular – throughout the world.

3. In October, Our Lady worked the promised miracle, which was witnessed by over 70,000 people, including “some of the most illustrious men of letters, in the arts and the sciences, and almost all were unbelievers coming out of curiosity, led by the prediction of the seers. Even the Minister of Education of the Masonic government was there.”

4. The events, meticulously documented from the beginning, include eyewitness testimony of Avelino de Almeida, the Editor in Chief of O Seculo, a liberal, anti-clerical, and Masonic daily in Lisbon, who wrote of “a unique spectacle, [an] unbelievable spectacle for anyone who did not witness it. From the road … one could see the immense multitude turn towards the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It resembles a dull silver disc, and it is possible to look at it without the least discomfort.” Dr. Garrett, a professor of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Coimbra, however, testified, “I …saw it [the sun] as a disc with a clean cut rim, luminous and shining, but which did not hurt the eyes. I do not agree with the comparison … of a dull silver disc. It was a clearer, richer, brighter colour, having something of the lustre of a pearl … I felt it to be a living body … It looked like a glazed wheel made of mother of pearl … It was a remarkable fact that one could fix one’s eyes on this brazier of light and heat without any pain in the eyes or blinding of the retina.”

5. De Almeida says concerning this “dance”: “The sun trembled, the sun made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws — the sun ‘danced’ according to the typical expression of the people. It shook and trembled; it seemed like a wheel of fire.”  Dr. Garrett adds, “The sun’s disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body for it spun round upon itself, it made a whirl.” Also, “It spun like a firewheel, taking on all the colours of the rainbow … It looked like a ball of snow, revolving upon itself.” According to Ti Marto, Jacinta and Francisco’s father, “At a certain moment the sun seemed to stop and then began to move and dance … However, the sun stops, only to begin its strange dance all over again after a brief interruption, whirling upon itself, giving the impression of approaching or receding…. Then suddenly, one heard a clamour, a cry of anguish breaking from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The sensation during these moments was terrible.”

6. The importance of the Fatima message is established by this unprecedented solar miracle foretold three months previously and witnessed by over 70,000 people.

7. Bruno Cornacchiola was born in 1913, four years prior to Our Lady’s apparitions in Fatima.  His family was impoverished, his parents lukewarm Catholics, his upbringing brutal, his religious formation poor, and he a non-practising Catholic.

8. In 1936 he married Iolanda Lo Gatto and, a few months later, left to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Falling under the influence of a German Protestant, he conceived such an intense hatred for Catholicism that he vowed to kill the Pope, even buying a dagger especially for this purpose.  When, in 1939, he returned to Rome and to his wife, who remained a practicing Catholic, in addition to physically abusing her, he debarred her from bringing the children to church and from keeping religious objects in the house. He subsequently joined the Adventist church and badgered Iolanda to join him.  She agreed on condition, that he first make the Nine First Fridays devotion and that, if afterwards, he was still determined to become a Protestant, she would join him. Iolanda trusted that God would somehow convert her husband but, at the end of the nine months, he joined the Adventists and she reluctantly followed suit.

9. Some thirty years after Our Lady’s apparitions to three children at Fatima, on Easter Saturday, April 12, 1947, the 34-year-old Bruno went with his three children – Isola, aged 10, Carlo, 7 and Gianfranco, 4, – to a eucalyptus park, at Tre Fontane, near the shrine of St. Paul’s martyrdom. There, in a park, known for immorality, where the remains of an aborted child were found, Bruno pored over his Bible while his children played in the shade of the eucalyptus trees.  He was preparing a rant against Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven for delivery the next day. When the children lost their ball, they interrupted him and, putting aside his Bible and his notes, he joined in the search for the ball. It was at the entrance to a dark cave, however, that Bruno found his youngest child, Gianfranco, kneeling, hands folded in prayer, his eyes fixed on a certain point of the cave and, as if addressing a living person, repeating “Beautiful lady! Beautiful lady!”  Bruno became dumbfounded when Isola and Carlo fell to their knees, transfixed, also repeating “Beautiful lady!”

10. Suddenly and momentarily blinded by an intense light, Bruno, regaining his sight, saw a woman of indescribable celestial beauty. Her head was suffused by a halo of brilliant golden light. She was wearing a radiant white dress gathered together by a rose-colored sash with a striking green mantle. At her bare feet lay a smashed crucifix on a black cloth. Her face, though at times clouded by sadness, carried an expression of motherly kindness. In her right hand she held a small gray book, resting on her breast. Her hands were crossed over her chest but she unfolded them, pointed to the broken crucifix, and rejoined them.

11. The Lady identified herself, firstly as “I am the one that is of the Divine Trinity”, that is, the daughter of the Eternal Father, spouse of the Holy Spirit and mother of the Divine Son.  And secondly “I am the Virgin of Revelation,” which related to Bruno's study of the Apocalypse. Then, addressing Bruno she said, “You persecute me – stop it now! Enter into the true fold, God's Kingdom on earth. The Nine First Fridays of the Sacred Heart have saved you.”  After revealing to Bruno the sad condition of his soul, he immediately understood that the only means of salvation was through the Catholic Church. The Virgin then said, “Pray much and recite the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers and of all Christians” before promising that “In this place of sin I shall perform wonderful miracles for the conversion of unbelievers.”

12. The dirt from the park, known for immorality, has proven miraculous, as Our Lady promised. Like the miraculous waters at Lourdes, it continues to work wonders for the welfare of both body and soul. It is indisputable that the many bodily cures and conversions occurring at the park are through the intercession of the Virgin of Revelation.

13. As news of the apparition spread, however, Bruno’s friends and associates thought him crazy, an attention seeker, or an exploiter of a spiritual experience.  This caused him much suffering. After police questioning and, along with his children, psychiatric examinations, the apparition was quickly approved since Pope Pius XII had foreknowledge of Our Lady’s visit.

14. On 12 April 1937, ten years before the apparition to Bruno Cornacchiola, Luigina Sinapi had arranged a pilgrimage to the Abbey at Tre Fontane for her parish group.  Whilst walking through the eucalyptus woods, she found the remains of an aborted child, which she reverently buried. Quite unexpectedly, the Virgin appeared to her and said, “I will return to this place because I need the assistance of a man who persecutes the Church and wants to kill the Pope.  Go to St. Peter’s and you will meet a lady dressed in black, who will take you to her brother who is a Cardinal. You will transmit what I have just told you to him and, in addition, tell him that he will soon become the new Pope”. Luigina went to St. Peter’s Basilica and met the woman, Elisabeth Pacelli, exactly as Our Lady had foretold.  Elisabeth introduced Luigina to her brother, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, and delivered the Virgin’s message. He listened with a certain detachment and then responded, “if there are roses, they will bloom”. Within two years, on 2 March 1939, Cardinal Pacelli ascended the papal throne as Pope Pius XII. Bruno would meet Pius XII on December 9, 1949.  At that meeting, Bruno presented the dagger on which he had written “Death to the Pope” and, with which he had planned to kill him.

15. On April 12, 1980, the 33rd anniversary of Our Lady’s visit, 3,000 people, including some 25 priests, gathered at Tre Fontane for Mass and to hear Bruno’s recount of the first apparition.  Suddenly, strange images appeared in the sky above the Grotto, which interrupted the Mass. According to the Franciscan Friars’ report, “The sun seemed to move through the sky towards the Grotto and began to approach the earth. It could be seen with absolute ease, as a ball of fire rotating wildly, without hurting the eyes. Seemingly larger than normal, there appeared within its corona brilliant and diverse colours but mainly red, pink and black.”

16. It was also described as incandescent magma, moving rapidly as if boiling, and forming diverse figurations, which eyewitnesses identified as: a cross; an “M”; a heart surrounded with stars, or dripping with blood; Christ’s monogram “IHS”; hands joined in prayer; the Virgin of Revelation; etc. Some also saw the solar crown divide into three circles of various colours and reconnect.  Others noted that despite the obstruction of numerous trees, the sun bounced in clear sight with warm vivid light, almost like fire and illuminated the chapel, the trees, and the faces and the clothing of the people. The phenomenon lasted about thirty minutes and the Mass resumed with a visibly emotional congregation. Many lapsed Catholics subsequently returned to the Faith and, after extensive research, a medical centre confirmed that some cures were miraculous and beyond any medical or scientific explanation.

17. On the anniversary date, April 12, the solar phenomenon reoccurred in 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 with people looking directly at the sun without damaging their eyes. An interesting difference between the solar miracles of 1980 and 1982 is that the testimonies of the former were given by laypeople, whereas the clergy testified to the latter.  Incidentally, Our Lady had a fourfold message for priests: they were to have a deeper conviction for the revealed truths of the Faith, greater obedience to the Teaching Authority of the Church, a vigilant prudence in interacting with laypeople, and a pure and dignified lifestyle. The 1986 phenomenon was filmed and broadcast over Italian television. The repeated solar miracles on the anniversary date authenticate Our Lady’s message to Bruno as the October 1917 “dance of the sun” was a heavenly confirmation of the Fatima message. In fact, Bruno recorded in his diary on June 1948 that “the Virgin made me understand the message of Fatima continues at Tre Fontane.”

18. The Tre Fontane apparition, as with other Marian apparitions, is highly symbolic and more so due to its repetition in the 1980s.  The three colours red, pink and black, are imbued with scriptural and liturgical symbolism. Red is a sign of God’s love and also symbolises the shedding of blood; hence, liturgically it is used at Pentecost, at votive Masses of the Lord’s Passion and of the Holy Spirit and for martyrs.  Pink, or rose, is the colour signifying joy and, being used on Gaudete Sunday, reminds us to prepare for the Lord’s imminent arrival. Black symbolises mourning, death, and judgment and is the colour for All Souls’ Day and for Requiems. Scripturally, black is associated with the threatening presence of God, with the divine judgement on sin and evil, and with the Day of the Lord, which the prophet Joel (2:2) described as “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness”.

19. The appearance of various configurations, such as the IHS, the Cross, the hearts, the M, etc symbolise the importance of the corresponding devotions as well as a warning against ignoring, or worse, despising them, especially as Our Lady told Bruno “Do not forget the Rosary, which cooperates much with your salvation.  The Hail Marys said with love are golden arrows to reach the Heart of Jesus”. Her appearance within the solar crown reveals her as the Virgin of Revelation who gives warning of the spiritual dangers we currently face.

20. The sun illuminating the people’s faces and clothing recalls the same phenomenon at Fatima and, as Our Lady explained to St Catherine Laboure at Rue du Bac, a symbol of the graces and virtues obtained through Her intercession.  Conversely, that the people were not reflecting that light with lives of faith and charity is symbolised by their being able to look at the sun with ease. According to Cornelius a Lapide’s Scripture commentary, “Sun, moon and stars are dimmed when leaders of the Church or world depart from justice and holiness to embrace depravity and wickedness.”  In light of this, the repeated solar phenomenon in a Roman shrine strongly suggests that religious, rather than secular, leaders have departed from justice and holiness. In fact, Our Lady had told Bruno “many of my Son’s priests have lost the dignity of the order, no longer live in honesty, in love, no longer catechise souls … they have no faith and do not believe.”

21. In regard to the people, the dimming of the heavenly bodies in the Old Testament signified that the people, having violated their covenant relationship with God, are being judged.  Where the dimming occurs indicated the precise covenant obligation that was collectively violated. Prostitutes used the cave at Tre Fontane until the first apparition and this was alluded to by Our Lady when she said she would work miracles with the sinful soil.  Tre Fontane symbolises sins against the marriage covenant: prostitution, contraception, adultery, perversions, and abortion. Further, since Bruno was composing his rant against the Virgin there, it also symbolises heresy and blasphemy. By the 1980s, when the solar miracle recommenced, these sins were widespread throughout much of the Church and the world.  St. Vincent Ferrer would regard the repetition of the miracle as a warning “Heaven puts a warning in the sky when a great and heavy affliction is about to come upon the world so people may either avert the punishment through their prayers and penances or may prepare themselves to suffer affliction.”

22. Throughout Scripture, the cosmic order of nature and the course of the heavenly bodies are seen as essential for the ongoing welfare of the world’s existence.  When men violate the spiritual and moral order, which ought to regulate the course of their lives, the cosmic order is disturbed. That is, God shows, through the disruption of the orderly movements of heavenly bodies, that mankind is being judged.  He alters the fixed patterns of the celestial bodies to indicate judgment on those who alter moral patterns, especially through idolatry, which is essential to replace the Creator with a creature. In the modern world, the new idol is self, where each is a law unto himself.

23. Whilst the celestial sign caused wonder, Tre Fontane’s greater miracle was Bruno Cornacchiola himself.  This man, a Communist, a spy, a vociferous enemy of the church, a blaspheming heretic, an adulterer and wife-beater, a potential papal assassin, who deliberately and wholeheartedly subscribed to the errors of Russia and lived a vicious lifestyle, was saved through the Nine First Fridays devotion.  That Our Lady can convert someone from the depths of sin and depravity to the heights of Catholic fervour and charity, and in an instant, is a sign and a promise of what she could and would do with a whole nation of people dominated by those same errors and vicious lifestyle, if only mankind and the Pope would heed Her request.  It was a sign that, even at the height of the Cold War, Russia could have become a fervent and flame-bearing Catholic nation ready to spread the Gospel throughout the world, had the Church hierarchy obediently complied with Heaven’s request as did Bruno to his wife’s request.

24. Whilst Fatima and Tre Fontane are classified as private revelation, the solar miracles are public historical events serving as light for the current perilous times.  A Jewish commentary on the story of Noah states “the generation of the Flood was not wiped out until they wrote marriage documents for the union of a man with a man or to an animal.”  Our Lord compared the days of the Son of man with Noah’s days and Bruno was told” You have the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. They did not repent, or do penance, or pray and you know what justice was done to them.”

25. Today, few know the Truth; many have their own truth.  With priests and bishops not only opposing God’s moral law and blatantly denying divine justice, but also, ignoring Fatima with its easily verifiable historical events, backed up by great crowds of eyewitnesses, Our Lady found it necessary to come to Rome that we might believe, repent, consecrate ourselves and, living the Gospel message today, fulfil the salvific designs of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.