The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Homily for the 106th Anniversary of Last Apparition in Fatima, 13 October 2023
Isaiah 61:9-11 ><}}}}*> Galatians 4:4-7 ><}}}}*> Luke 11:27-28
Today – October 13, 2023 – is the 106th anniversary of the last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal when the “Miracle of the Sun” happened, witnessed by about 70,000 people. It was her sixth apparition to the three young children at Cova da Iria that started in May 13, 1917.
Except for the month of August when authorities jailed the three children on August 13 on their way to Cova da Iria to force them to recant their earlier statements of the apparition, the Blessed Mother appeared to them on August 19 at the nearby Valinhos where she repeated her calls for prayers and sacrifices as well as the request for them to come every 13th day until the coming October when she reveals herself after a great miracle.
What is significant with the 13th day of each month that Mary appeared in Fatima from May to October 1917 that we have continued with this 13th Day Devotion?
From Pinterest.com.
The Blessed Mother never explained to the three children, now St. Francisco and his sister St. Jacinta Marto and their cousin Sr. Lucia dos Santos why she appeared to them every 13th day of each month.
According to later interviews with Sr. Lucia who became a Carmelite sister and the last to die of the three children in 2005, she believed as the fruit of her prayers that the number 13 signified the Blessed Trinity. Sr. Lucia explained that number “13” illustrates to us that there is one (“1”) God in three (“3”) Persons (she was recently declared Venerable by Pope Francis to pave the way for her sainthood).
Here we find anew in the Fatima apparitions the consistency of truths found in our Church teachings and doctrines, specifically, the Blessed Trinity, that there is One God in Three Persons. Saints have also tried to explain the Blessed Trinity in simple analogies like the number 13 reflection of the Venerable Sr. Lucia.
In a 2022 article by Catholic author Joseph Pronechen that appeared in Soul magazine (see, https://www.bluearmy.com/the-significance-of-fatimas-13th-day/), he presented how the number “13” has many biblical foundations to be chosen by the Blessed Mother in Fatima as date of her apparitions. Foremost of this is found in the Old Testament Book of Esther.
Esther was among the Jewish exiles living in Persia after the Babylonian captivity. She was said to be so lovely and beautiful that the Persian king, Ahasuerus chose her to be his Queen among his many wives. Her uncle named Mordecai was the King’s most trusted adviser too that earned the jealousy among Persians in the royal court. Both Mordecai and Queen Esther remained faithful to God despite their royal positions. Esther then discovered a plot by some of the King’s men to exterminate all the Jews in Persia, especially her uncle Mordecai. It was at this instance that she prayed so hard to God for her to be able to warn her King of his men’s evil plot against the Jews even it could have cost her own life.
By the grace of God, Esther was able to muster all the strength and courage to speak to King Ahasuerus to foil the evil plot of his men set on “the 13th day of the twelfth month of Adar” (Esther 3:7).
The Persian king truly loved Queen Esther and ordered the arrest and execution of his aide (Haman) to prevent the murder of so many Jews. Queen Esther thus saved her fellow Jews on the 13th day of the Jewish month of Adar! And because of her intervention, King Ahasuerus ordered Jews in his kingdom to freely worship their God with assurance of protection from enemies.
Like Queen Esther, the Blessed Virgin Mary is also our Queen being the Mother of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. Every August 22 we celebrate her Queenship and in the Glorious Mysteries, we meditate her being Queen of heaven and earth.
Most of all, like Queen Esther, the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima intervened on October 13, 1917 to save the world from the ongoing WWI that began in 1914 and ended the following year in 1918. Sad to say, the world was plunged anew into the darkness of WWII that was more deadlier in 1939-1945 as predicted by our Lady at Fatima if the world would not heed calls for repentance and conversion of sinners. In recent history we have witnessed how our Queen Mother Mary saved St. John Paul II on May 13, 1981 – her feast day as our Lady of Fatima – from a deadly assassination attempt at St. Peter Square in the Vatican. Again, the world is in the darkness of deadly wars right in the Holy Land and in Ukraine by Russia whom the Virgin Mary had specifically mentioned in her October 13, 1917 apparition at Fatima.
When are we going to follow her maternal instructions of repentance and conversion, something which she merely repeated from similar calls by Prophets in the Old Testament and by her Son Jesus Christ in the gospels?
If we truly consider Mary is our Queen, why can’t we obey her and follow her instructions more than 100 years ago?
See how in today’s gospel Jesus underscored the importance of listening and following his words as main component of being part of his family. Mary was the first to listen and act on his word at the Annunciation and until now, she does the same thing so we may be saved from the wraths of evil caused by man’s inhumanity to one another.
Page from Ilustração Portuguesa, 29 October 1917, showing the people looking at the Sun during the Fátima apparitions attributed to the Virgin Mary. From en.wikipedia.org.
Going back to the Sacred Scriptures, we find more bases of the significance of number “13” used by the Blessed Mother at Fatima in 1917. In the Book of Acts, we find that when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the 12 Apostles (Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot) were with “Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14). Here we find 12 (Apostles) + 1 (Mary) = 13!
In the gospel accounts, we know Jesus Christ’s choice of 12 apostles was from the “12 tribes of Israel” or 12 sons of Jacob who was also called by God as “Israel”. Again, 12 + 1 = 13.
According to an interview by Pronechen of a Jewish rabbi, the meaning of number 13 in Hebrew is “bonding of many into one”. Every time we pray the Apostle’s Creed, we profess our faith not only in God in Three Persons but also to the Catholic Church that bonds us into Christ’s body who was born of the Virgin Mary. In Fatima on October 13, 1917, our Lady called on us to be one in God through Jesus in prayers, fasting and sacrifices, and commitment to live as true Christians.
Most of all, Pronechen explained that according to the Jewish rabbi he had interviewed, every letter in the Hebrew language has a numeric value. The word “love” which is ahava in Hebrew is connected with God with a numeric value of 13. Now, consider that when the Virgin Mary first appeared at Fatima on May 13, 1917, it was the original feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Here we find another intimate link in our Lady of Fatima’s insistence in celebrating Mass and receiving Jesus in the Holy Communion often because the Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love.
How wonderful to meditate that our Blessed Mother Mary appeared in Fatima 106 years ago today with that singular message and expression of God’s love for us all!
When are we going to listen to her call for us to truly live in the love of God expressed by Jesus Christ on the Cross? Amen. Have a blessed weekend everyone!
From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.
What significance might there be to the way ‘13’ is connected with Fatima? When our Blessed Mother appeared at Fatima, each time happened on the 13th day of the month, with the exception of August. That month, she appeared on the 15th, the feast of the Assumption, because the children had been kidnapped and jailed in Ourem, preventing their going to the Cova at the expected time.
Of course, heaven doesn’t do things without a purpose, and there are major connections to the number 13 that weave into the Fatima story and can enrich its significance and meaning.
Certain numbers have great significance and symbolism for the Jewish people and for us. There were mystical meanings and sacredness attached to particular numbers in the Old Testament, which carried into the New Testament and by the Church Fathers: Three persons in the Holy Trinity; God rested on the seventh day; twelve tribes of Israel; twelve apostles. This clearly and definitely has nothing at all to do with superstition.
Another connection, the Fathers of the Church regard Esther of the Old Testament as a prototype of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Esther was among the Jewish exiles to Persia. Her uncle Mordecai cared for her and was at the same time a diligent servant of Persia’s king. When King Ahasuerus needed to appoint a queen from all the possible women, once he saw her, he “loved Esther more than all the other women; of all the virgins she won his favor and devotion, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen.” He didn’t know she was Jewish.
Esther became aware of an evil plot by Haman, a trusted official of the king’s court, who was jealous of Mordecai and his position. To solidify his power, he wrote and finalized a decree that all the Jews in the kingdom — men, women and children — were to be wiped out with the sword, to be carried out on the 13th day of the Jewish month of Adar.
Esther was asked to intercede with the king. She did so even though it could have cost her life, because she appeared before him without asking the permission necessary to see him. She walked right in with her request.
She revealed to the king that Haman had ordered the annihilation of the Jews under the king’s name and used his seal to order it be done on the 13th of Adar, and that she herself was a Jewess. King Ahasuerus loved her dearly, was outraged by the villainy, put Haman to death and gave the orders to save the Jews. On the 13th day, when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, the Jews instead gained power over their foes, through the intercession of Queen Esther.
Esther saved her people
Like Esther, Our Lady came to Fatima to save her people from evil by showing them the right path to follow. The name Esther is from the Hebrew meaning “star.” And “happiness.” Sister Lucia told Dominican Father Thomas McGlynn that Our Lady always had a star on her tunic. The star was yellow.
Esther was a queen. Our Lady is an infinitely greater queen, whom we celebrate on the feast of the Queenship of Mary, Aug. 22, and in the Glorious mysteries of the Rosary. Our Lady directed us to pray the Rosary at every apparition. Which brings up another 13.
It was in the 13th century that Our Lady gave St. Dominic the Rosary. Also in the 13th century, she gave St. Simon Stock the Brown Scapular. On Oct. 13 at Fatima, Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, silently teaching us about the scapular. Lucia later affirmed, “the Scapular and the Rosary are inseparable. The scapular is a sign of consecration to Our Lady.”
The Holy Eucharist
The Fatima message directs us to Jesus, especially in the Holy Eucharist. Mary first appeared on May 13, the original feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. During that apparition, the children experienced the light of God coming from Mary’s open hands; they fell to their knees and prayed, “O Most Holy Trinity, I adore you! My God, my God, I love you in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
Mary is intimately linked with the Holy Trinity as was shown to Sister Lucia during the “Last Vision” in Tuy, Spain, on June 13, 1929. Lucia received insights into the mysteries of the Trinity and Mary’s connection. At Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended, Our Lady was with the apostles and together they comprised 13 people in the room.
Not only were there the 12 apostles with Mary, but looking back, there were 12 tribes of Israel — and here’s how 13 comes in. One rabbi expert pointed out the 12 tribes from the 12 sons of Jacob, who became Israel, “are bonded into their father Israel [Jacob]. Israel is the 13th. The meaning of the number 13 is thebonding of many into one.”
The rabbi also noted that in Hebrew every letter has a numeric value, and the Hebrew word ahava (which means love, as in the New Testament) is connected with God and has a numerical value of 13.
At Fatima, Mary came in love to bond us all in the love of God, by following her directives, which ultimately came from God — who St. John tells us is Love (1Jn 4:8) — into the one family of God headed for heaven.
Joseph Pronechen is a regular contributor to the National Catholic Register. He wrote this for the Spring 2022 issue of Soul Magazine.
Victoria (hasta 1829 llamada Matanza o La Matanza) es una localidad del departamento Victoria (del cual es cabecera), en la provincia de Entre Ríos, Argentina. El municipio comprende la localidad del mismo nombre, la de Charigüé y áreas rurales e insulares, y se distribuye entre los distritos Corrales, Isla del Pillo y Laguna del Pescado.
Se encuentra a 60 km de Rosario, provincia de Santa Fe, comunicada con esta mediante la ruta nacional 174 que cruza el puente Rosario-Victoria y un complejo de 12 puentes más pequeños. Esta vía de comunicación concesionada se habilitó en 2003, se denomina en su conjunto conexión vial Rosario-Victoria, sobre el río Paraná, y permite la conexión más directa entre Chile y Brasil (ruta eje del Mercosur).
Cuenta con un monasterio, la Abadía Benedictina del Niño Dios, fundada por monjes benedictinos llegados de Belloc (Francia) en 1899. La misma se encuentra sobre la ruta provincial n.º 11 y es de gran importancia en la ciudad, no solo como lugar histórico sino también como fuente económica de impacto turístico, ya que la orden benedictina que habita la abadía produce su propia línea de productos comestibles como quesos, dulces, miel, licores y cerveza, atrayendo al turismo por su singular producción.
Abadía Benedictina del Niño Dios.
Además en esta ciudad se encuentra el parque acuático termal Victoria del Agua.
En 1750 una expedición militar española al mando del teniente de gobernador de la ciudad de Santa Fe, Francisco Antonio de Vera y Mujica, mató una gran cantidad de indígenas en este lugar, por lo que desde entonces fue conocido como Cerro de la Matanza. Nombre que es mencionado por el obispo Sebastián Malvar y Pinto en documentos de 1779.
En 1806 los vecinos solicitaron la edificación de un oratorio y en 1808 encargaron a Joaquín Salvador Ezpeleta su tramitación.
Los abajo firmantes, vecinos y moradores de los Partidos de La Matanza y Pajonal y de Laguna, Chilcas y Manantiales y Ceibas hemos convenido y convenimos en que se levante y se edifique a nuestra costa una Capilla u Oratorio enfrente del Puerto de La Matanza a una distancia de un cuarto de legua (...) hemos creído oportuno conferir todas nuestras facultades y poder especial bastante cual de dicho se requiere y es necesario para más valer a Don Salvador Joaquín de Ezpeleta nuestro convecino (...)
Poder otorgado por los vecinos a Ezpeleta para gestionar la fundación del Oratorio.
En 1808 fue nombrado por el cabildo de Santa Fe el primer juez pedáneo del pago de La Matanza, Juan Bentura Zapata.4
El 13 de mayo de 1810 se creó en La Matanza un oratorio dedicado a Nuestra Señora de Aránzazu, a petición de Ezpeleta, por lo que suele ser considerado como el fundador de la ciudad.
En torno del oratorio surgió espontáneamente un poblado. En 1820 Francisco Ramírez nombró al primer comandante militar del pueblo, José Albarenque y Antunes, junto con un receptor de rentas, Ramón Pereyra. Se creó además la primera escuela.
En 1822 la provincia fue dividida en departamentos, quedando La Matanza dentro del Departamento Subalterno N.º 3 del 1.º Departamento Principal del Paraná. Albarenque y Antunes asumió como primer alcalde mayor de hermandad de La Matanza, dependiente del alcalde mayor de Nogoyá.
El 26 de agosto de 1826 una ley del Congreso provincial, sancionada a propuesta de Justo José de Urquiza, elevó el pueblo al rango de villa. En 1829 el gobernador de Entre Ríos, Juan León Sola, cambió el nombre Matanza por el de Victoria.
Sr. D. Vicente del Castillo, Ministro General.
Paraná, 31 de octubre de 1829. El Exmo. Sr. Gobernador y Capitán General de la Provincia en fecha 24 del que finaliza desde la Matanza dice al que suscribe lo siguiente: «El Gobierno en su última visita á los Pueblos de la Provincia al cumplir el bienio de su mando, ha tenido á bien ordenar que en lo sucesivo se titule esta villa con el nombre de Victoria. Y se avisa al Sr. Delegado para los efectos consiguientes». Lo que pone en conocimiento del Sr. Ministro de Hacienda para su inteligencia y conocimiento. El infrascrito tiene el honor de saludar á Ud.con las mayores consideraciones de su distinguido aprecio.
Pedro Barrenechea.
Comunicación avisando el cambio de nombre de la villa.
En abril de 1840 Victoria fue invadida y parcialmente saqueada por las fuerzas unitarias de Juan Lavalle, luego de un alzamiento unitario en la villa.
Mediante el Reglamento de Administración de Justicia del 13 de abril de 1849 fue creado el Departamento de la Victoria:
5 ° Departamento de la Victoria. Su territorio desde el arroyo del Dol, Paraná abajo, hasta la barra de Nogoyá, comprendiendo la villa y suburbios y los distritos: Rincón de Nogoyá, Laguna del Pescado, Corrales, Quebrachito, Pajonal, Rincón del Dol (...) 4° Victoria. Un Juez de Paz, cuatro Alcaldes de Cuartel en la Villa, seis Alcaldes de distrito en la Campaña.
José María Gamas fue el primer juez de paz de Victoria en 1850. En 1851 fue declarada ciudad.5 El 1 de enero de 1873 fue instalada la municipalidad, asumiendo Luis Espíndola como primer intendente (presidente municipal).6
El 10 de abril de 1910 comienza el dictado de clases en la Escuela Normal Superior "Osvaldo Magnasco", marcando un hito educativo en la ciudad.
El 13 de noviembre de 1824 el gobierno provincial promulgó un decreto estableciendo el ejido del pueblo de La Matanza:7
1) Quedan designadas por ahora diez cuadras de terreno medidas desde la Plaza hacia los cuatro vientos principales en la Villa de la Matanza para la población. 2) Queda prohibido todo establecimiento de estancia dentro de los límites indicados.
El ejido original de la ciudad de Victoria fue ampliado mediante la ley n.º 5984 sancionada y promulgada por la intervención militar el 6 de junio de 1977, apoyándose en la ruta provincial n.º 11, la abadía del Niño Dios, el riacho Victoria y el arroyo del Ceibo.8 Una vez restablecido el orden democrático, este decreto-ley fue ratificado por la ley n.º 7499 promulgada el 29 de diciembre de 1984.9
El ejido de 108 km² fue ampliado con las islas de las secciones insulares, unos 3760 km², mediante la ley provincial n.º 8855 sancionada el 30 de agosto de 1994 y promulgada el 14 de septiembre de 1994. El ejido pasó a ser el más extenso de la provincia de Entre Ríos.10 Esta ley implícitamente abrogó el decreto 3191/1984 MGJE del gobernador Sergio Montiel de fecha 30 de agosto de 1984, que creó el centro rural de población de Paraje Charigüé, para el que nunca fue designada una junta de gobierno.11
Artículo 1°.- Amplíase el Ejido Municipal de la Ciudad de Victoria, abarcando la zona de islas del Departamento homónimo; siendo el nuevo límite el determinado por el Riacho Careaga, Arroyo Careaga, Arroyo Timbo Blanco, Arroyo Ñacurutú, Riacho Cintura Canal de Uranga, Riacho Victoria hasta el Ejido actual, continuando por el Riacho Victoria, Laguna del Pescado, Arroyo de las Piedras, Arroyo Manso, Riacho Victoria, Arroyo Nogoyá, Río Paraná Pavón, Río Paraná hasta la línea del Canal de Navegación.
Como consecuencia de la construcción del puente Rosario-Victoria inaugurado en 2003 y sucesivos dragados, la línea de navegación del río Paraná que corría por el canal Destilería junto a la costa entrerriana se modificó y pasó a correr cerca de la costa santafesina frente a las localidades de Capitán Bermúdez y Granadero Baigorria. El grupo de islas formado por la isla de los Mástiles y por la isla La Carlota (hoy unidas), e islotes adyacentes,12 empadronadas como dominio fiscal por la provincia de Santa Fe en 1994,13 fue ocupado por la Policía de Entre Ríos e incorporado como parte del ejido municipal de Victoria.14 La provincia de Santa Fe sostiene el reclamo sobre esas islas y sobre otras que se formaron frente al puerto de Rosario15 (isla Ingeniero Sabino Corsi Norte, Ingeniero Sabino Corsi Sur y General Juan Pistarini)1617 y que también fueron incorporadas al ejido de Victoria.
Una nueva ampliación del ejido municipal de Victoria tuvo lugar al promulgarse el 10 de diciembre de 2008 la ley n.º 9876 para incluir la zona del complejo balneario termal Victoria de Agua.18
Artículo 1°.- Amplíase el ejido Municipal de la ciudad de Victoria, desde el Vértice del límite del ejido actual conformado por la poligonal Este y el Arroyo El Ceibo, continuando por éste hasta su intersección con línea divisoria, por ésta, al rumbo S. 36º 16′ O. de 2.299,60 metros, lindando con plano de mensura Nº 17.223 hasta intersección con la Ruta Provincial Nº 11, desde ésta, continuando por línea divisoria mediante rectas al rumbo S. 10º 00′ O. de 2.555,20 metros, lindando con planos de mensura Nº 17.037, Nº 17.038 y Nº 4.377 y rumbo S. 64° 36′ O. de 4.337,80 metros, lindando con plano de mensura Nº 3.334 hasta su intersección con el Riacho Victoria, actual límite del ejido.
Tema anterior
From Pinterest.com.
Page from Ilustração Portuguesa, 29 October 1917, showing the people looking at the Sun during the Fátima apparitions attributed to the Virgin Mary. From en.wikipedia.org.
From cbcpnews.net, 13 May 2022, at the Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City.
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