Is 13 really that unlucky? Or actually ‘Holy’ for it belongs to Mama Mary?
‘Friday the 13th’ day. The ‘unlucky’ truth is that, most of us are conditioned to think of this day is the unluckiest day for it falls under the ‘unluckiest’ number: 13.
The number ’13’ is oftenly associated to badlucks. Several buildings either don’t have a 13th floor or 13th room. Some people even go the distance of not traveling on the 13th day or hosting important events on this day because of the fear that something will go wrong. However, the belief that the number 13 is bad luck or an unlucky number is essentially a superstition. And as Catholics, we should never engage ourselves in believing such.
There’s more ‘Holy’ events to the number ’13’ that we need to consider. Aside from the traditional 13 Tuesdays Novena to St. Anthony of Padua, there are other holy events that actually belong to Mama Mary, specifically, to her title as the ‘Our Lady of Fatima.’
It’s not a trivial matter that she appeared on May 13. May is the month dedicated to Our Lady, but furthermore she appeared at Fatima on the thirteenth of every month for six months and confided three secrets in the children as well as asking them to make known her requests, that we were to offer a daily rosary and make reparation for our sins.
The Miracle of the Sun also occurred on October 13, which is the month dedicated to the rosary. Our Lady entrusted the rosary to St. Dominic in the 13th Century. During the descent of the Holy Spirit, Our Lady was the thirteenth person in the room. Also, ‘m’ is the 13th letter in the English alphabet. This might be coincidence, or it may owe to England’s Catholic days, when the letter ‘m’ for Mary was placed at number 13 in the series of letters because it honoured Our Lady, the thirteenth witness to the descent of the Holy Spirit.
St John Paul II credited Our Lady with the miracle that saved his life – after he was shot three times by Mehmet Ali Agca on May 13 1981.
Miraculously surviving the gun blast, the Polish Pope later placed the bullet into Our Lady’s crown at the shrine in Fatima on May 13 1982. St John Paul II could have chosen another day, but he decided on May 13 because it is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
It would appear that Our Lady has a method of marking her presence on our earthly calendars. It’s a system that uses a certain number and one day a month. If so, the number is 13, and the day is the thirteenth of every month. There’s nothing to worry about unlucky 13, because this number is actually Holy, and it belongs to Mama Mary.