Details

This is a picture of the sculptor working on a statue of Mary appearing in Fatima, Portugal. This statue was made according to the instructions of Lucia, who was there.  

However, what most people associate with this apparition is this statue:

Out of all the stories that surround this apparition, I found it odd that there's no attention given for the necklace, Mary is wearing.  

And there are BIG differences between the two statues.  Which one is accurate?  One has a crown.  One has the hands folded in prayer.  One has her heart on the outside.  One has a rosary.  And the one that interests me, one is wearing a necklace.  

You would think, vendors would be selling copies of that necklace.  Wouldn't we all want to wear the necklace Mary wore?

No one seems to know what it was.  It looks like a "new age" crystal, but of course, Mary isn't "new age."  Lately, I've been reading everything available to me, about what Lucia said about Mary.  Finally, I found in the book, Vision of Fatima, by Thomas Glynn, OP, that one cannot possibly describe accurately a vision that appeared three times, accurately.

In an interview to get more details for the statue, Fr. McGlynn asked Sr. Lucia about Our Lady’s appearance, beauty, and age. What was telling was that Sr. Lucia smiled and politely answered the questions (she always appeared to be about seventeen, never smiled but was pleasant, and her beauty was beyond telling) but also was unafraid to remark that these were foolish inquiries. There’s a humility in sharing what you know and also understanding that you cannot possibly fathom all that you have seen. Sr. Lucia shined with this humility.

 Regarding, the necklace that so concerns me:   Sr. Lucia insisted Our Lady's hands be positioned just so, the tunic fall exactly the way she remembered, the star placed on the proper spot on the tunic, and the ball of light around her neck reaching almost to her waist. She would make corrections as Fr. Tom worked, and at times would even take one of the tools and make changes to his model.

That's it.  The necklace held a ball of light and what we see is the artist's depiction.

Like Lucia was trying to say.  You can't describe the awesomeness.  

Sr. Lucia thought it was foolish to try to recount exactly how Our Lady looked

Marian Day

October 13 is a special day.  On this day Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to three little children in Fatima, Portugal.  This year, Pope Francis is going to consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on October 13.  

A notable aspect of this event will be the participation of 10 Marian Shrines around the world during the recitation of the Rosary. They include the Marian Shrines of Aparecida, Brazil; Lujan, Argentina; Lourdes, France; Czestochowa, Poland; Banneux, Belgium; Nazareth, Israel; Nairobi, Kenya; Akita, Japan; Vailankanny, India; and Washington, D.C.

It is actually a two day event.  On the thirteenth, itself, the pope will consecrate the world to Mary.  Pope Pius XII was the first to consecrate.  He consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I remember as a child praying for the conversion of Russia.  And look.  It worked.  Let us now pray for the conversion of the world.

The one thing that irks me is the statue of Fatima, itself.  The media calls it the original statue from Fatima.  It's not the original.  It's the statue that the Bishop of Leira had made to travel the world. It's not the original vision of Mary at Fatima.  It's not Mary that the three children saw.  It's not the Mary that Sister Lucia supervised the sculpting.  See my blog post about the original statue.  http://theonetruefaith-faith.blogspot.com/2010/07/statue-of-our-lady-of-fatima.html

If people just think for a minute.  Do you really think Mary would wear a showy, glamorous, oversized crown like that statue portrays?

Besides, the visionaries talk about Mary's heart worn on the outside of her clothing.  Immaculate heart--heart, get it?

Why is the Pope venerating a Holywood "knock-off" statue as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, when there's no heart exposed on this statue?

The statue the Pope is venerating is the International Traveling Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.  It travels the world spreading devotion to Mary.  It is recognized world-wide as Our Lady of Fatima.

I don't understand why the true statue couldn't be used.  It's the authentic vision, as the three children saw it.

I guess people prefer "gaudy bling."                                                               

The Blessed Mother's Chakra Energy

Looking at the differences between the authentic Fatima Statue and the "Hollywood" traveling one, I noticed something interesting. Our Blessed Mother is gathering the "good energy" from heaven, in one hand, and sending the "bad energy" back into the earth.

What??? It's part of Tai Chi, and Yoga, and Prana, etc. IOW, it's a common stance to receive the good and get rid of the bad. I'm talking about energy, or chakra.

I'm not saying what this means. But it's interesting.

Other differences between the statue that Sr. Lucia directed and the showy one,directed by the Bishop of Fatima are:

One is simple----- one is dressed for a "Hollywood" gala
One is veiled----- one wears a humongous crown
One's dress is simple----- one has a lot of "bling"
One's heart is outside----- one doesn't depict a heart
One's hands are in chakra position----- one's hands are folded in prayer

One thing to keep in mind. It's ONLY a statue. Catholics don't worship statues. Catholics honor Mary. Whichever statue turns you on, then let it give you inspiration to venerate the Mother of God.

The Statue of Our Lady of Fatima

You know that beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima with an over sized golden crown.  That's not authentic.  There was no golden humongous jeweled filled crown.  Our Lady was dressed very simply.

Sister Lucy said  "that there were only two garments visible, a simple tunic and a long veil or mantle. The tunic had no collar and no cuffs. Nor was there a cincture or a sash around the waist, although the tunic was drawn in at the waist. The sleeves were not wide, and the mantle and the tunic were a wave of light. When Tom (the sculptor, Fr. Tom McGlynn, O.P.) asked her how one distinguished between the mantle and the tunic, she said,"There were two waves of light, one on top of the other." When Tom asked her if there was a line of gold on the mantle, she explained "It was like a ray of sunlight all around the mantle." She further explained that this ray around the mantle was like a thin thread. The mantle ... was a thing all made of light and very light, but it fell straight down. The clothing was all white. The cord was a more intense and yellow light....The light of Our Lady was white and the star was yellow."

The story of the Father Thomas McGlynn, O.P. making the statue is in an out of print book, Vision of Fatima, by Thomas McGlynn, O.P., Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1948.  It tells the story of Father McGlynn visiting with Sister Lucy and sculpting the statue under her direction.  I remember that one time, Sister became annoyed at the number of times she had to explain, so with her fingers, she took the top of the clay veil and pulled and flattened it.  That's a big "NO, NO!" to a sculptor.  But what could Father do?  He left her finger print on the veil.  That's the picture with Sister and the statue.

I use to own this book, but I lent it to a friar friend and he died.  I have no idea where the book is now.  I hope it's in the nursing home's library, and not in somebody's yard sale.  This book is where I learned that McGlynn's statue is the authentic apparition.  The one that travels around is much fancier.  That's the traveling Pilgrim Statue.  McGlynn's statue is the white marble statue in the niche above the entrance to the Basilica. I usually can pick it out because there's no crown and Mary's heart is outside her clothing surrounded by thorns.


Here is a picture of Father Thomas McGlynn, O.P., next to his statue.  






And here is the authentic statue, made according to Sister Lucy's directions, in front of the Basilica.


O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all
souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy.