As he made his way to the balcony on Saint Peter's Square after his election as pope, everyone could see his devotion to Mary by looking at the new pontiff's stole. The new Pope, John Paul II, was letting everyone know how Marian his spirituality was. During the late 1960s and until Pope John Paul II's election in 1978, the Blessed Mother was not in the forefront of many Catholics' faith lives. Activism was in and the pure and lowly Blessed Mother was seemingly on the outs for some. Fortunately, Pope John Paul II's appearance on the balcony of Saint Peter's began to rekindle the hope that Mary would once again receive her rightful place in the Church.
In my book, The Tide Is Turning Toward Catholicism, I note that many have come into the Church as a result of the Blessed Mother. Her life is an inspiration to many converts who felt the only time they heard her name mentioned in Evangelical circles was at Christmas. During the 1980s, and with some help from Pope John Paul II, she would receive lots of attention in the Catholic Church and beyond.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt by Mehmet Ali Agca. The date was May 13, the 64th anniversary of the start of the many apparitions at Fatima. The Holy Father believed it was because of Mary's intercession that his life was spared. On May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II arrived in Fatima and placed the bullet, which almost killed him, in the crown of Mary's statue that adorned the vast Portuguese site. Some weeks after the failed attempt on the Holy Father's life, another miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary was said to have started in Medjugorje, which was at that time in Yugoslavia. While the Church has not yet ruled on the validity of Medjugorje, it became the focal point for many parish prayer groups as well as drawing many groups to travel to Medjugorje. During this period, countless Marian centers opened up across the US and the world. Once again, the Blessed Mother was back in the spotlight.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II released the Third Secret of Fatima on the May anniversary of the beginning of the Apparition. For years, rumors had circulated that the third secret contained dire warnings of impending doom. However, when it was released, many, including the Holy Father, felt that the Third Secret of Fatima foretold the attempt of John Paul's life in 1981. In his mind, Pope John Paul II began to piece together the attempt on his life with the third secret. For many historical observers of the 20th Century, the Apparitions of Fatima began to make political sense with the collapse of Communism starting in 1989. Its rise and fall was predicted by the three peasant children of Fatima. In the early 20th century, the thinking of many political observers was that, if Communism were to take hold, it would do so among the industrialized nations of the west like the United Kingdom, Germany or even the United States, not Russia. These children had little formal education and yet they spoke of the improbable coming of these events. Most reasonable observers concluded they had to be telling the truth and the role of Mary had to be understood and believed by Christians.
Some fundamentalists and Evangelicals have a hard time with the role of Mary. Some, like popular Evangelical television personality John Ankerburg, state that it is Satan who is deceiving Catholics with Marian apparitions. However, the evidence is to the contrary. If, as a result, people are repenting and returning to God, how could Satan be against Satan (Matthew 12:25-26)? Jesus gave this answer some 20 centuries ago and it still applies today.
During the last three decades, we have seen the fruits of Our Lady bringing more and more souls to her Son. Countless converts cite her as one of the reasons they entered the Church. Millions have seen the wisdom of the angel's words in Luke 1:26-28. In addition, because of the apologetics movement established by converts like Dr. Scott Hahn, many have begun to truly grasp the scriptural passages surrounding Mary.
Dr. Hahn and others have pointed out the significance of Luke 1:28, "Hail, full of grace the Lord is with you." One has to understand that an angel was addressing a human being with these words. Where else has that happened in Scripture? However, it is the Greek meaning of the word this is so significant. Kecharitomene (Full of Grace ) is rarely used in Greek and nowhere else in the Bible. It is an exclamation of great significance. In Revelation 12, Mary is the woman clothed in the sun who will bear the Son of God. She will fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 that the woman will crush the serpent's head. Because she bore the Messiah, Satan's hold on us would be crushed. Because of all of this, many began to speak of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant. There are some interesting parallels in Scripture. When we look at 2 Samuel chapter 6, we see the wonderful return of the Ark of the Covenant. It had been taken by the Philistines but returned, and it remained for three months in the Judean hill country. David's exclamation on seeing it is echoed by the words that Elizabeth said when she saw Mary in the Judean hill country. The Ark of the Covenant rested in the Judean hill country for three months, so did Mary. There are no coincidences in Scripture.
We need to rejoice in God's grace in giving us Mary. To thank her for saying yes to God and bearing our Redeemer, we need to inform all of our Christian brothers and sisters of her tremendous role in bringing about our salvation.
