On Mary's Apparitions

from Mark Shea in this timely and useful Lenten piece.  Excerpts:

...if God goes to all the trouble of sending the Blessed Virgin to warn us of something, the smart money is on listening to the Blessed Virgin, not on ignoring her. So, for instance, as the history of the 20th century has borne out in an ocean of blood, it would have been a good idea to listen to Our Lady of Fatima and her warnings of the rise of Communism and the Second World War. As with all private revelations, what she called us to was, in essence, being better Catholics by praying more (especially the Rosary), offering sacrifice, (you know, like we do in Lent anyway), seeking the salvation of sinners and frequenting the sacraments while living out the virtues and works of mercy. It wasn’t a backbreaking request. But ignoring it turns out to have been a very bad idea...