Bishop Sanborn on Fatima Prayer

[Kephapaulos]

https://youtu.be/57dUrYBs964?si=9bMRad2CAiZwKLBp

Bishop Sanborn discusses starting at about the 12:30 timestamp for a few minutes the Fatima Prayer and says should not be prayed in the Rosary, save for an approval of a version given by a Spanish bishop in a particular diocese.

[KreKre]

I'm not sure I agree with His Excellency on this. Rosary is a personal devotion, so I am under the impression that one can pray it however one likes, as long as the essence of it is not changed (which is meditating on the 15 Mysteries accompanied by prayers to the Blessed Virgin). The Rosary is not a part of liturgy.

The Fatima prayer was given to us by the Blessed Virgin herself. It is clearly free of error. Even though she choose not to reveal it to St. Dominic (probably with a good reason), now that she has, how can we ignore it?

Now, in regards to indulgences, there is no indulgence associated with the Fatima prayer, so that is clear. But does that invalidate the rest of the Rosary? I don't think so, as it does not change the essence of the Rosary.

I know many traditionalists will disagree with me, but I don't think the so-called "Mysteries of Light" are wrong either. Yes, they are a novelty, they are not part of the Rosary given to us by the Blessed Virgin, so they cannot be on par with other Mysteries of the Rosary (also, they break symbolism of 150 psalms, so they cannot be a substitute for the Divine Office for laity). Therefore, I don't think they should replace the Joyful mysteries on Thursday, like they do in most NO churches, but I am not generally opposed to them as I see nothing intrinsically heretical in them. If one prays them as part of a private devotion, I don't think that is necessarily wrong. There is no indulgence associated with them, of course.

The question I have is: can anyone, even a bishop, order you not to pray? I know His Excellency is not doing that, but assuming he or someone else would say: "You are absolutely forbidden to say the Fatima prayer!". Do we have a duty to disobey such an order? Assuming, of course, that the prayer in question is not contrary to Catholic faith, like the Fatima prayer.


Now, if you pray the Rosary in Latin, there is a problem with the Fatima prayer, as there is no official Latin text for it. The original Portugese words said by the Blessed Virgin, according to sister Lucia are:

O meu Jesus, perdoai-nos e livrai-nos do fogo do inferno, levai as alminhas todas para o Ceu, principalmente aquelas que mais precisarem.

The SSPX uses the following Latin version:

Nostris, O Jesu, débitis indúlge; érue nos ab ígnibus inférni, cælíque portas univérsis pande, míseris præsértim.

While not a literal translation, I think it captures the essence of the original very well. It has a very nice poetic flow, it is very idiomatic, and sounds very dignified, as Latin should. It's the same style as liturgical Latin prayers. It literally says: "open the gates of Heaven to everyone, especially the wicked", which at first seemed to me as questionable doctrinally, but the SSPX approves it.

The following variant is common (as far as Latin is common) in the Novus Ordo, and it is the closest to the "approved version" as it was prayed by Benedict XVI:

Dómine Iesu, dimítte nobis débita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferióri, perduc in cælum omnes ánimas, præsértim eas, quæ misericórdiæ tuæ máxime indigent.

I think it is a decent literal translation of the original, except perhaps the word "inferiori", which is a bit unusual, I think "inférni", as in another version, would have been a better choice. It also adds the words "misericórdiæ tuæ" ("of Thy mercy") which are not in the original. It borrows some words from the Lord's Prayer, which is good, but it throws you off when you pray it, if your mind slips a bit. (More than once, I said: "Dómine Iesu, dimitte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus... oops" ) It also lacks the nice poetic flow of the other version: it's rather long-winded, while Latin poetry typically tends to be brief and to the point, avoiding long auxiliary phrases like "præsértim eas, quæ misericórdiæ tuæ máxime indigent", like the following Latin version, which is very close to the original Portugese:

O Jésu mi, ignósce nóbis, líbera nos ab ígne inférni, ad caélum tráhe ómnes ánimas, præsértim máxime indigéntes.

I quite like this one. It's not as poetic as the first version, it lacks that idiomatic, high-flown liturgical style, but it is good Latin, it's short and to the point and has a nice poetic flow.