Fr. Raymond J. de Souza: St. Joseph’s Celestial Appearance at Fatima

LISTEN! From Lepanto to Davos: What Hath Modernism Wrought, by Michael J. Matt
October 15, 2021
The Tragedy of an Opportunity Missed, by David Carlin
October 15, 2021

Part of the near 100,000 people at Cova da Iria that witnessed the event known as "The Miracle of the Sun" on October 13, 1917. (photo: Judah Ruah / O Seculo/Public Domain)

COMMENTARY: Oct. 13 is the day of ‘the Miracle of the Sun.’ It’s also another day to consider St. Joseph’s role in the life of his family, the Scriptures and in the Church.

By Father Raymond J. de Souza, EWTN News, October 13, 2021

Father Raymond J. de Souza is the founding editor of Convivium magazine.

 

Father Raymond J. de SouzaThe Year of St. Joseph has already had its liturgical highpoints — the Feast of the Holy Family last December, the Solemnity of St. Joseph himself in March and the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker in May. Then there are the infancy feasts of Jesus where Joseph is present: Christmas, Epiphany, the Presentation in the Temple. There is even a lesser known feast of the “Holy Espousals” of Joseph and Mary (Jan. 23).

But Oct. 13 is another day to think about St. Joseph. That was the day of the final apparition at Fatima in 1917, the “miracle of the sun” witnessed by some 70,000 people. It was a terrifying vision of the sun veering from its orbit in the sky, spinning and careening in such fashion as that many present thought the end of the world was upon them.

That vision was followed by an image of domestic tranquility, the Holy Family, as if to contrast the disorder of fallen nature with the restoration of nature in Jesus and Mary, together with their guardian, St. Joseph. …