Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima

Blessed Fulton Sheen predicted that the fulfillment of the message of Fatima would be the conversion of Muslims to Christ through Our Lady

Sheen's analysis is laid out in his book 'The World's First Love' in which he writes 'Islam is the only great post-Christian religion of the
world'

He also points out that 'The Christian European West barely escaped destruction
at the hands of the Moslems. At one point they were stopped
near Tours and at another point, later on in time, outside
the gates of Vienna'

Sheen also observes:
'If Islam is a heresy, as Hilaire Belloc believes it to be,
it is the only heresy that has never declined'

He takes a very realistic view of the church's engagement with Islam by writing: 'The missionary effort of the Church toward this group has
been, at least on the surface, a failure, for the Moslems are so
far almost unconvertible'

Sheen then makes a prediction which has since come to pass in the 21st century: 'Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of
Islam may return and, with it, the menace that it may shake
off a West which has ceased to be Christian, and affirm itself
as a great anti-Christian world power'

Sheen then compares the Bible and Koran's depictions of Our Lady and discusses Mary as a possibility for evangelising Muslims

He then writes: 'I believe that the Blessed Virgin
chose to be known as "Our Lady of Fatima" as a pledge and a
sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that
they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her
Divine Son, too'

Sheen reflects on the centuries in which Portugal lived under Isalmic rule, drawing historical connections to Our Lady's appearance at Fatima with the end of Islamic occupation of Portugal and also to the daughter of Mohammad:
'Evidence to support these
these views is found in the historical
fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. At the
time when they were finally driven out, the last Moslem chief
had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic
boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but even embraced the faith.
The young husband was so much in love with her that he
changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus,
the very place where Our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a his-
torical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed'

The missionary potential of Our Lady to Muslims is seen by Sheen:
'In any apologetic endeavor, it is always best to start
with that which people already accept. Because the Moslems
have a devotion to Mary, our missionaries should be satisfied
merely to expand and to develop that devotion, with the full
realization that Our Blessed Lady will carry the Moslems the
rest of the way to her Divine Son'

He finishes by observing: 'The Moslems should be prepared to acknowledge that, if
Fatima must give way in honor to the Blessed Mother, it is
because she is different from all the other mothers of the world
and that without Christ she would be nothing'

Our Lady of Fatima pray for us and for the conversion of the Muslim people 🙏