It was on a Sunday (just like today) on May 13, 1917 that the apparitions of a beautiful lady dressed in white to three children in Fatima, Portugal were first noted. She would be appearing in the following months; then on October 13 of that year, the miracle of the “dancing sun,” which she promised as a proof of her presence and the importance of her message, was witnessed by tens of thousands. All who were there, believers and atheists, simple country folks, and sophisticated visitors from the cities, would testify to the phenomenon. The leading anti-clerical, secular press in Portugal at that time, the Diario de Noticias, could not but admit the reality of a “solar miracle.” Its headline read “The ‘Miracle’ of Fatima. More than 50,000 people gather at the place of the apparitions.”

Most Catholics today are familiar with the story of Our Lady of Fatima and the three children, Lucia, 10 years old at that time, and her cousins Francisco, eight, and Jacinta, seven. Many churches now, just like in the Philippines, are dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. The place of Fatima itself is one of the major Marian shrines in Europe, together with Lourdes, frequented by pilgrims from all over the world. Not a few Filipinos with means have included a visit to Fatima in their itine-rary of a European tour.

Why must we recall this story again? Isn’t it just a wonderful story for pious people? The significance of Fatima is as relevant as ever! It is a reading of the “signs of the times” – by Our Lady herself! The kernel of her message is that all humanity is in need of conversion. This is a reflection of the Gospel message itself, “Turn away from sin!”

The message of Fatima is clear and simple. Everyone can grasp it: there is no excuse from anyone not to understand the basic message. This may be the reason why children were chosen to be the interlocutors of Our Lady. It is now up to each one of us to live the message: conversion in our personal life, penance and prayer! In its social dimension, it means removing sinful social structures and transforming society according to Gospel values!

There is an urgency of the message! We will all perish unless we “turn away from sin,” the Gospel has always warned us. Let us not easily dismiss the Fatima message as a pious opinion. We read the “signs of our times,” and we realize that we live in a fragile and sinful world. Remember the earthquake and tsunami in Japan! All the wealth, science, and technology of our world could not save us. Consider secularism and the culture of death (contraception, abortion, divorce, euthanasia, same sex marriage) enveloping nations. Man has made himself a god! These societies will soon die out. Look at the greed of people today, reflected in social injustice, the poverty of millions of people, the destruction of the environment and corrupt institutions. And war? It’s at our doorsteps. Some countries, in fact, are itching for an opportunity to try out their latest weapons. The specter of a nuclear war is in the horizon!

Let’s hope we’re not too late to turn the tide. Let’s hope we can still develop a culture of life among people, peace and a God-centered world. We start with our own personal conversion. We appeal then to all men and women of good will. We must heed the call of the Gospel to conversion, echoed at Fatima on this day, May the 13th!