The vision described above is far from clear. Lucia pointed out that she had received the vision, but not its interpretation, which belonged not to the visionary but to the Church. We are fortunate that Pope Benedict, when still Cardinal Ratzinger, made a careful study of the text and was able to provide a convincing explanation. In his opinion the message was symbolic and related less to the future than to the past, in particular to the 20th Century. It was not about apocalyptic revelations forecasting the end of the world, as many had feared. ‘The image seen by the three children is in no way a film review of a future in which nothing can be changed.’ Quite the opposite. ‘Rather, the vision speaks of dangers and how we might be saved from them.’ To consider each of the pictures described, the Angel with the flaming sword represents the threat of judgement looming over the world. Man himself with his inventions, such as nuclear armaments, has forged the flaming sword. The vision then shows the power which stands opposed to the forces of destruction – the splendour of the Mother of God whose radiance extinguishes the flames. This is followed by an urgent, thrice-repeated call for Penance, the key word of the Third Secret. The background to the vision is also symbolic: a steep mountain, a great city in ruins and finally a large rough-hewn cross. The mountain and city symbolise human history as a difficult climb to the summit and a place of man-made destruction. On the mountain stands the Cross, transforming destruction into salvation. ‘It stands as a sign of history’s misery, but also as a promise for history.’ The ‘Bishop dressed in white’ clearly represents the Pope. John Paul II believed it symbolized the assassination attempt on his life exactly 64 years to the day after the first Apparition at Fatima. In that sense it represented a prophecy. As he declared at Fatima in May, 1984, “It was a Mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path and in his throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death.” Cardinal Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI, however, interpreted the ‘Bishop dressed in white’ as a combination of different Popes, from Pius X to John Paul II, all sharing the sufferings of the century while striving to climb the path leading to the Cross. In the concluding part, where angels gather up the blood of the martyrs from beneath the arms of the Cross and give life to the souls making their way to God, we are invited to consider their death becoming one with that of Christ. As from Christ’s death the Church was born, so the death of the witnesses is fruitful for its future life. Thus the events depicted in the third part of the Secret can be seen as relating to the past. What remains is an exhortation to prayer and a summons to penance and conversion. Another key expression of the Secret as a whole: ‘My Immaculate Heart will triumph’. If Our Lady of the Rosary could foresee her eventual triumph, she would equally have known in 1917 that the Third Secret would not be published till the end of the Century. Could it be that she deliberately kept us waiting in order to make a bigger impact? That is one ‘secret’ we shall never uncover. I found this article on the site: mystics of the church Here's the URL: http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/03/third-secret-of-fatima-explained.html I also thought that this interpretation was given by our Pope Emetrius Benedict.
The 3rd secret is also a prophecy of a future Pope being assassinated - the image symbolizes Calvary - so I wonder if the Pope died in Jerusalem thus fulfilling the Third Secret.
She would never keep us waiting for a bigger impact. What mother would do that? And certainly not this perfect mother. God has always has to wait for man to turn to Him, to accept what He is saying. Mother Mary has been going tirelessly around the world calling all her children (she is mother to all, not just catholics) back to God to be prepared for all the above events. If she could transform all our hearts in a heartbeat she absolutely would, as would any mother saving her child from danger or bad choices. But alas, we have our free well. The greatest and most terrible of gifts. Like a patient mother, she waits, never giving up on us, and never tiring of encouraging us to do good. The time is ripe. More people are ready to listen to God, but not enough, not yet, unfortunately, until many of the tribulations have taken place, before the warning..
Remember, it was us who caused the world to fall and nature to fall, not God. It has been proven that many cancers have been caused by weapons of war. Many Countries became unstable (earthquakes etc) as a result of war. The Earth cries out to God because of all the blood of innocent lives that it is carrying.
Yes he will do, and the Jewish people will be so amazed by this that many of them will convert and so The Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish Church will become one.
