(1917) On May 13, 1917, Mary appeared for the first time to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, bringing a message of personal conversion and asking for us to pray the Rosary, pray for the conversion of sinners, and pray for the conversion of Russia.

Prayer (Step 11), penance (Step 9), and conversion (our whole recovery program) sum up the message of the six apparitions of Mary in Fatima. We are reminded to rely wholly on a power greater than ourselves—God—to do what we cannot.

“The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: ‘In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Theological Commentary to the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima, June 26, 2000).

Reflection by Brad Farmer