A commenter recently corrected us regarding the “Most Holy Trinity” Prayer taught by the Angel of Fatima.
The commenter stated:
“This is the correct version of the Prayer of the Angel:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the same Son Jesus Christ, present in *all* the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the *outrages, sacrileges,* and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg *of Thee* the conversion of poor sinners.
* words that were omitted or reversed in the version originally posted”
I wish I was possessed of the confidence of that commenter! I have dozens of books on Fatima and there are many variations in that prayer. On the page which the commenter cited, I had inadvertently omitted the phrase, “of Thee”, leaving the last sentence to read “I beg the forgiveness of poor sinners.” So, I corrected that mistake in the one instance in which it appeared.
Three Versions
There are several variations on the Angel’s Prayer. Here are three examples from authoritative sources. I have others.
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the same Son Jesus Christ, present in the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the sacrileges, outrages, and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of sinners.”
That is the version published in the booklet, “The True Story of Fatima” by Father John de Marchi, published by the Fatima Center. It is found on page 7 and again in “The Seven Fatima Prayers” on page 96. You’ll notice that the order of the reparations, that is “sacrilges, outrages and indifferences” is the same as we have used consistently here. Father Gruner was the Director at the time this booklet was published.
Next, from Frere Michel de la Sainte Trinite. The Whole Truth about Fatima – Vol I :
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the sacrileges, outrages and indifference by which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” (Kindle Locations 1172-1174).
And lastly, this source:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the sacrileges, outrages and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. Through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” (Father Karl Stehlin, “Fatima, a spiritual light for our times”, Kolbe Publications)
All of those sources had the same sequence: sacrilege, outrage and indifference. There is a reason for this, which we will discuss later. But for now, let’s consider the problematic “all”. It did not appear in the first version cited and I chose to leave it out of the Prayer until the commenter corrected me. I then noted that other sources included it and so I reluctantly add it; however, I do not believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is present in “all” the tabernacles any longer. I doubt the efficacy of the sacraments of many of these apostates. But I will concede the point to Father Karl Stehlin who is surely the best judge.
There are other differences in the versions of the prayer, but I will limit the discussion to the criticism offered by the commenter.
Our Choice
The essential point I’d like to make is that I had several versions of the prayer and in the end, provided my readers with what seemed to be the “best” version. Yes, that was my arbitrary choice. The version we now have is:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the same Son Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the sacrileges, outrages and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of thee the conversion of poor sinners.”
Cause (Sacrilege) Comes Before Effect (Outrage)
Regarding the sequence, “sacrileges, outrages and indifferences”, it seems to me that the sacrilege committed against Our Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in His most Blessed Sacrament is the great sin that is here addressed. That sin of sacrilege initiates the outrage but in time, the acuteness of the sacrilege dulls and the outrage fades as grace ebbs from the Church; and what results is simply the indifference that is the opposite of the fervor of love which Our Lord so longs for. Today His love is met with indifference. His suffering is of no concern. Monstrous evil has become banal.
I hope this helps explain the Prayer in the form we use it, and suggest that if anyone is still concerned about it – no other readers have expressed a concern – you discuss with a priest that you trust and take his advice on which prayer to say.
So that this post will not be a complete waste, we offer the following repost:
In 2000, the Vatican advised Catholics that Fatima’s message was relegated to the past. However, at Fatima on May 13, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed that, “we would be mistaken to think that the prophetic mission of Fatima is complete“. And yet, the misinformation campaign from the Vatican continues to bear fruit in the widespread apathy to the true penitential message of Fatima. Any faithful Catholic who has been paying attention to the unfolding crisis of the faith under Pope Francis, can clearly see that the current papacy is not in any way obedient to the message of the Mother of God at Fatima and the Church does not seem to be able to pull out of this self-destructive mode without Divine assistance. Perhaps it is wise to revisit the message of the Angel of Fatima
Continue reading “Another Look at the Angel’s Prayer”