As some of you know, until recently I have had the displeasure of being a traditionalist Roman Catholic. I say displeasure because I now realize that there is little to no grace (the only kind that can be there is what leads to Orthodoxy) within that setting. And as I'm sure many of you know a big part of Traditional Catholicism is Our Lady of Fatima, particularly one "prophecy:"
"In the end Russia will be converted and then Russia will convert the world."
It is not uncommon to hear traditional Roman Catholics speak for hours of the conversion of Russia. Now that I've decided to convert to Orthodoxy, I thought I might be able to shed a little light on this.
At the end of the last aparition at Fatima, Our Lady went east according to the acount of Sister Lucia, the only surviving visionary. I also read somewhere, sorry I can't for the life of me remember where), That an Icon of the Holy Theotokos was seen to be suspended above the residence of the Tsar that day (the revolution was days away).
Now, I propose to you that Russia has been converted. Not only in 988 but in the 2oth century as well. The fall of communism in Russia and the subsequent conversion of the people back to their Orthodox Faith was the second conversion of Russia. And now, Russia is converting the world, particularly through ROCA and other allied Traditionalist Orthodox Churches. Yes Our Lady didn't apear at Fatima to tell the children to prosyletize Orthodox, she came to tell them of the Glories and truth of Orthodoxy. This theory would seem to be corraborated by the fact that Sister Lucia allegedly told one uniate visitor that the Orthodox Church would convert the world.
When John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II (at least at first) read the "Third Secret of Fatim" (written out by Sister Lucia and kept under lock and key in the Vatican Archives), it is reported that they "suffered a great fright." John the XXII fainted. Paul VI grew very ill and was bed ridden for several days. Perhaps the Third Secret does not portend of nuclear disaster, but of the spiritual disaster of the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps the Third Secret is the Catholic church's worst night mare, our Lady is Orthodox. This theory would again be corarborated by the fact that John Paul I died mysteriously shortly after having read the secret and it took John Paul II many, many years to realease at least some fakery of the third secret.
Ok just some ramblings from an extremely tired poster.
Joe Zollars