Pope Francis To Consecrate World To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary

Tomorrow is the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima.  That Mass would be celebrated were tomorrow not Sunday.  The Holy Father will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I think it very good and pleasing to both Our Lord and Our Lady that this consecration is occurring.  However, one thing needs to be crystal clear.

What will happen tomorrow is not the fulfillment of Our Lady of Fatima's request, as relayed by the three children.  Our Lady of Fatima was very clear and specific.  There are two facets to her request for consecration that are, in some circles, deliberately obfuscated.  They are:

1. The request of Our Lady that Russia, by name, be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart
2. This consecration must be done in union with bishops of the world

Neither requirement has been met.  Many fault the various pontiffs for not mentioning Russia.  I myself was one of that number.  I'm beginning to believe though, that the stumbling block lies with the second facet.  If any of us has been paying attention to church affairs, we know that some bishops have been downright cantankerous regarding matters of fealty to the Holy Father and of Catholic spirituality.  Think "Bernardin, Weakland, Gumbleton", etc.  I think you get the picture.  Getting the current collection of bishops to unite in this consecration would be akin to herding cats - although I think the cats would be more reasonable to be frank.

This is pure conjecture on my part, but could it be that the pontiffs have demurred from mentioning Russia because they couldn't get the bishops to unite with them without causing a major ruckus?  Perhaps they didn't mention Russia as Our Lady requested to signal that they found it impossible to comply.

All this should do is cause each and every one of us to fulfill Our Lady of Fatima's request to the church at large: daily Rosary, scapular usage, First Saturday devotions.  These times demand it, if nothing else.