For whatever reason, the date Friday the 13th is being termed as unlucky in the mild sense and eerie in the extreme sense.
We may recall a horror movie series that has the title “Friday the 13th” that has plenty of blood and gore in it.
Although it may be seen as just some kind of superstition, some people are not taking any chances about it.
No one would consider getting married on a Friday the 13th. It is estimated that businesses, especially airlines suffer from severe losses on Friday the 13th.
And even if the Friday is taken out of the term, the number 13 does not go well with people and places.
There is this fear of the number 13, so much so that many high-rise buildings, hotels and hospitals skip the 13th floor and many airports do not have gates numbered 13. And having 13 people at the dinner table is considered bad luck.
The day Friday and the number 13 may be deemed as superstition and it has several origins. And surprisingly one of the origins is linked with Christianity.
The speculation was that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th one to be seated at the Last Supper, and Jesus was killed on a Friday due to Judas and his evil doings.
Whatever we may think of Friday the 13th, it is impossible for a whole year to pass without a single Friday the 13th.
And for this year, Friday the 13th happens to fall in this month, the month of May.
Whatever the world may think or say about it, and whatever we may think or say about it, we need to remember what happened on May the 13th in the year 1917.
On that day in 1917, something astonishing happened in an obscure village in Portugal called Fatima.
There, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared for the first time to 3 shepherd children; Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, and she continued to make her appearances to them on the 13th of each month, with her last appearance on October the 13th.
Appearing to the children, the Blessed Virgin told them that She had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child living in that time.
Coming at a time when civilization was torn by WW I and bloody violence, Mary promised that Heaven would grant peace to the world if Her requests for prayer, reparation and consecration were heard and obeyed.
Our Lady of Fatima, as she is called, explained to the children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would further punish the world for its disobedience to His Will by means of war, hunger and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father and the Catholic faithful.
Mary also prophesied that Russia would be God's chosen "instrument of chastisement," spreading the "errors" of atheism and materialism across the earth, starting wars, annihilating nations and persecuting the faithful everywhere.
Certainly it was a terrifying fire-and-brimstone kind of message. In a way, it forced the Church and the world to look up to heaven for the answer to the turmoil and distress the world was facing.
Today’s gospel opened with this line: Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and He said a long prayer to His Father.
He too was in turmoil and distress as suffering, pain and death was waiting for Him.
But even in His turmoil and distress, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and prayed for His disciples that they will be united as one so that the world will may believe that God sent Jesus to pour out His love on the world.
Yes, Jesus prayed for His disciples that they will be united as one in their own turmoil and distress so that they can show the world how much God loves the world.
To raise up the eyes to heaven in the midst of turmoil and distress is to be have faith in God and to keep on loving so that the world can be saved.
In the 1st reading, Stephen raised his eyes to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God’s right hand, even though he was facing mortal danger.
Yes, we are called to raise our eyes to heaven in the midst of the turmoil and distress of our lives and the turmoil and distress of the world.
The message of Our Lady of Fatima tells us to do that through prayer and penance.
It has been almost a hundred years since Mary had appeared at Fatima. And how have we heeded her message and her call to prayer and penance?
In the turmoil and distress of our lives and as we see the world in turmoil and distress, will we raise our eyes to heaven in prayer and to pray as one?
This coming Friday, the 13th of May, is the 99th anniversary of the first appearance of Mary at Fatima. Her message then is still relevant now and maybe even more relevant for our time.
On that day, Friday the 13th, we will gather at Mary’s shrine and raise our eyes to heaven and pray the Rosary for peace in the world. It was at Fatima that Mary urged to children to pray the Rosary for peace in the world.
So we will gather to pray the Rosary for peace in the world, for peace and unity in the Church, and for peace and unity in our families.
For some, the combination of Friday and the number 13 may seem to be unlucky and fearful. But with Mary, we will raise our eyes to heaven and turn it into a day of joy and blessings.