Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Conference on May 6^th 1994 (*)

Sister Lucia wrote these words to describe the amazing sight she and her two companions saw at Fatima on that eventful day in May, 1917:

“We saw a Lady dressed all in white, more brilliant than the sun, shedding a light that was clearer and more intense than that of a crystal glass filled with pure water and struck by the fiery rays of the sun. Her face — indescribably beautiful — was neither sad nor happy, but serious, with an air of mild reproach. Her hands, joined together as if in prayer, were resting on her breast and pointing upward. A rosary hung from her right hand. Her clothes seemed to be made of light. The tunic was white. The veil, white and edged with gold, covered the head of the Virgin and descended to her feet. Neither her hair nor her ears could be seen...”

As Sister Lucia recounts, when Our Lady appears, everything is white, everything is clean and everything is pure. She is, after all, the Virgin of virgins; entirely pure.

The hymn Ave Maris Stella reminds us that Mary became “The happy gate of Heaven,” while remaining a virgin. That is to say, it was through her that Christ, Our Lord, came into the world without her surrendering anything of her virginity. Always entirely pure, she attracts us by her purity.

Also, we learn the proper way to evangelise through the example of Our Lady. When she appeared, she attracted us to the beauty of purity. Let us never make the mistake of adopting dubious customs as far as purity goes, so that people will accept us. No! To invite people to be pure, we must show them the beauty of purity. Impurity seeks darkness to hide its evil deeds but purity loves daylight and thrives in the open air.

At Fatima, Our Lady spoke to an impure world using all the symbols of purity. She was dressed in white and bathed in light. This reminds us of when Our Lord spoke of the wild lilies of the fields, ‘Amen I say to you, not even Solamon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these!” (Matt. 6:29)

Likewise, no one in all his or her glory was ever dressed as Our Lady was: in light. 

(*) Translated and published by “Australian Needs Fatima”, June 2013, page 5. Without revision’s Author.