Extracted from Catholic Herald, Britain
May 14, 2010
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/portugal/index.shtml

By 8am this morning, the square in front of the sanctuary at Fatima was full to its 300,000 person capacity, one hour before the Mass began.

Pope Benedict XVI told the Portuguese faithful gathered at the shrine to cultivate the interior watchfulness of heart in order for God to allow God to be close.He spoke about the miracle that happened at Fatima 93 years ago, when the Virgin Mary appeared to the shepherd children, the Blessed Francisco and Jacinta and the Servant of God Lucia.
He said: "Brothers and sisters, in listening to these innocent and profound mystical confidences of the shepherd children, one might look at them with a touch of envy for what they were able to see, or with the disappointed resignation of someone who was not so fortunate, yet still demands to see. To such persons, the Pope says, as does Jesus: 'Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?'.

"The Scriptures invite us to believe: 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe', but God, who is more deeply present to me than I am to myself – has the power to come to us, particularly through our inner senses, so that the soul can receive the gentle touch of a reality which is beyond the senses and which enables us to reach what is not accessible or visible to the senses.

"For this to happen, we must cultivate an interior watchfulness of the heart which, for most of the time, we do not possess on account of the powerful pressure exerted by outside realities and the images and concerns which fill our soul. Yes! God can come to us, and show himself to the eyes of our heart."

The Holy Father said that Fatima's prophetic vision had not come to an end: We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete.

He said: "Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end… In sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: "'Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?'"



Meeting with the Bishops of Portugal in Fatima the night before Pope Benedict called on the Bishops and Catholics in positions of power and influence to bear witness to Christ.

He said that authentic witnesses to Jesus Christ were most needed in”those human situations where the silence of the faith is most widely and deeply felt: among politicians, intellectuals, communications professionals who profess and who promote a monocultural ideal, with disdain for the religious and contemplative dimension of life..

“In such circles are found some believers who are ashamed of their beliefs and who even give a helping hand to this type of secularism, which builds barriers before Christian inspiration.”

Benedict said that for many people Catholicism no longer acted as the common patrimony of society, that instead it threatened people or was obscured, a situation in which “only with great difficulty can the faith touch the hearts of people by means simple speeches or moral appeals, and even less by a general appeal to Christian values”.

While he said that the ”courageous and integral appeal to principles is essential and indispensable” he stressed that “simply proclaiming the message does not penetrate to the depths of people’s hearts, it does not touch their freedom, it does not change their lives".

“What attracts is, above all, the encounter with believing persons who, through their faith, draw others to the grace of Christ by bearing witness to him.”

The Pope also spoke to social and pastoral workers during his visit.

He said: “I express my deep appreciation for all those social and pastoral initiatives aimed at combating the socio-economic and cultural mechanisms which lead to abortion, and are openly concerned to defend life and to promote the reconciliation and healing of those harmed by the tragedy of abortion. “Initiatives aimed at protecting the essential and primary values of life, beginning at conception, and of the family based on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, help to respond to some of today’s most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good. Such initiatives represent, alongside numerous other forms of commitment, essential elements in the building of the civilization of love.”