Angela de Fatima Coelho - Inside the Light: Understanding the Message of Fatima

Inside the Light

INSIDE
THE LIGHT

Understanding the Message of Fatima

Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho

TAN Books
Gastonia, North Carolina

Inside the Light: Understanding the Message of Fatima 2020 Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho

All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the BibleSecond Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Caroline Green

Cover image 2020 Aliana de Santa Maria

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020940003

ISBN: 978-1-5051-1607-6
Kindle ISBN: 978-1-5051-1608-3
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-5051-1609-0

Published in the United States by
TAN Books
PO Box 269
Gastonia, NC 28053
www.TANBooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Contents

W hen a family friend invited me to a Fatima retreat being given by Sister Angela Coelho on the campus of Belmont Abbey College in March of 2019, hopeful that her talks could be turned into the book you presently hold, I had a certain expectation of who might await me.

Since she was a sister of the Aliana de Santa Maria, who live in Portugal and help to spread the Fatima message, and since she had worked on the cause for canonization of the three shepherd children, I immediately pictured a soft- spoken, elderly, and reserved womanrather like a three- dimensional version of an image from a stained glass window.

She quickly put all my preconceptions to flight when, not ten minutes into her first talk, she was talking about the NBA! God certainly loves to surprise us.

The first thing you notice about Sister Angela is her vibrancy. She is not elderly at all, but even if she were, she would have more energy than a kindergartener on the playground. Her winsome personality makes it seem as though she is walking several feet off the air, and she takes delight in sweeping you along for the ride, no matter if you are prepared for it or not. Perhaps you know people like this, whose happiness is so contagious you can feel it burning in your heart. This energy she exuded despite being jetlagged and giving talks that lasted several hours across multiple days.

And yes, she did talk about going to her first NBA game. That had happened the night before, a dream from long ago finally realized (she grew up watching games in Portugal with her brother). This was a small detail from her presentations, but it stuck with me as a young man who loves sports. It made me realize holiness is not hidden in the clouds. Its nearby. Among us. Within reach. Its possible to like basketball and be holy. Who knew?

Another quality that stands out is Sister Angelas humour. She had everyone rolling with laughter, people of all ages, races, and nationalities, lay and religious alike. She knows how to tell a good story, is self-deprecating without a hint of false pride, and has a charming Portuguese accent that makes admirable and charming attempts at English expressions, often without success.

Oh yeah, one more thing shes also a doctor. Yes, you read that right. A religious sister and a doctor. How many people can tend to the health of your body and your soul all in one check-up?

Youll soon come to learn Sister Angelas story, how it has been woven up with Fatima since she was a little girl, and how she walked this path to both medical school and her religious vows, the latter of which led her to overseeing the canonization process of the shepherd children. But for now, my own personal interaction with her can give you a glimpse into who she is.

When I eventually got to spend some time with her, she immediately said she knew who I was because she had been praying for my youngest child. At first, I was dumbfounded as to why she would be doing this. Then it came back to me. My two-month-old had experienced a scary episode of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) some months prior, and a family friend had asked Sister Angela to pray for her. I was nearly moved to tears that she, who probably received dozens, if not hundreds, of prayer requests a day, would pray for a young child whom she had never met on the other side of the world, not to mention remembering to ask about her months later.

Later that day, the conference held a Mass, which my wife and children attended. After the celebration, we asked for a picture with her, which she graciously agreed to. But she said it would be better to take it outside, so she grabbed two of my daughters hands and ushered them out of the church, talking to them and making them smile. This may seem a small thing, but if you knew how shy my children were, you would know it was no small thing at all. They hesitated not for a second to receive her hand and walk with her, leaving mommy and daddy behind. Children can sense goodness.

We took our picture and then my family departed, leaving me some time to discuss this book with Sister. We agreed it would not be an easy process, her attempting to write a book in English and me trying to help herall with the Atlantic between usbut we both felt it was worth the effort. Her lifes work is to spread the message of Fatima, and this was a great opportunity to do it.

I will not go into detail about the content of her talks, for that is the purpose of this book, but some brief prefatory comments about Fatima could serve us well.

Most would acknowledge that the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima have long fascinated Catholics and non-Catholics alike. These apparitions are of great importance for many individually and spiritually, but the words of Our Lady at Fatima are also a message for our time and to our world. She spoke not only about the necessity for personal holiness but also about the role each individual can play in changing history by helping to change our culture, our world, and the Church. As such, the apparitions at Fatima have a claim on everyones interest, since the message communicated there is both personal and universal.

There are elements in these accounts that appeal to a wide variety of readers. For those interested in religion, the Fatima message offers a treasure trove of theological, prophetic, mystical, and devotional insights. The spiritual riches to be gleaned on the Rosary, reparation for sins, the Eucharist, the Trinity, and Gods love for humanity are enough to last more than several lifetimes.

But there is also much to interest those who are not primarily students of theology. There is the fascinating, repeated miraculous presence of the Mother of God. There is the initial appearance of an angel, and subsequently, of Jesus and St. Joseph. And there is Our Ladys expression of her loving care for Gods children and her assurance of Gods love for each of us.

The Fatima story also features Our Ladys prophecies, a startling vision of hell, warnings about the geopolitical disasters that would ensue if humans did not turn back to God, and the amazing miracle of the sunwitnessed by as many as seventy thousand people. As if this were not enough, there is also the famous three-part secret revealed by the Virgin Mary at Fatima that would have significant consequences for the Church and the world. We will embark on these storylines and more shortly.

We will also soon meet the three main characters of this story, the three young, illiterate shepherd children who lived in an out-of-the-way village in Portugal a hundred years ago, when World War I was tearing Europe apart. Two of these childrenFrancisco and Jacintawould become the youngest non-martyred saints in Church history, not simply because they saw the Virgin Mary but because they lived the message she delivered to them back in 1917 so fully and so perfectly.