OUR COMMENTARY

first scene - the threat of chastisement that hangs over a sinful world.

            “Sister Lucia agrees with the interpretation that the third part of the secret is a prophetic vision, similar to those found in sacred history”, affirms Archbishop Bertone in his report on his conversation with the seer on 27 April 2000.

The prophetic vision of the third part of the Secret can be divided into three distinct scenes which together form a profound and unified whole. In the first scene, as Cardinal Ratzinger observes in his “Theological Commentary”, “The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which looms over the world”.

The angel, Sister Lucia narrates, with a flaming sword “looked as though he would set the world on fire”. Obviously the angel is not about to do so of his own volition. He must have been ordered by God to do this. One concludes, then, that the world is in a spiritual and moral state which deserves chastisement by God in this way. And, it would seem, it will be a total destruction. This is how Cardinal Ratzinger interprets it: “Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword”.

The first point to note then is that humanity has strayed from God and His Church so totally – as we can see daily in the rejection of His doctrine and morals, whether theoretically and/or in practice – that it constitutes a rebellion against God. This rebellion merits a supreme chastisement. It is vital to emphasise this conclusion, since many Catholics – even prominent ones – nowadays think, speak and behave as if the present state of the world was not so bad.

Even so, Our Lady intervenes and obtains mercy from God so the angel does not destroy the world. The flames cast by the angel towards the earth “quench in contact with the radiance coming from Our Lady’s right hand”, describes Sister Lucia. This means that Our Lady has merciful designs for the world: she wants to give it an opportunity to save itself. But for this to be possible, humanity first needs to recognise its sinfulness and do penance. Hence, in the final part of this scene “the angel, pointing with his right hand to the world, says in a loud voice: Penance, Penance, Penance!”

The fact that the angel exclaimed “in a loud voice” and repeated “penance” three times indicates that it is no small penance that is demanded! But great penance, the sort which is done after a profound conversion, which, to repeat, indicates the grave state of forgetfulness of God into which humanity has fallen.

The first scene is therefore perfectly coherent.