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𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://secure.americaneedsfatima.org/com-donate-yt-2?pkg=WEBYT332&monthly=WEBMDCW141
First Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima
“There are no words to express her beauty!” These are the words used by Sr. Lucia to describe the indescribable appearance of the Woman at Fatima, who was asked to accept any suffering that God may be pleased to send her. But did you ever wonder why three little children said yes to suffering?
Lucia dos Santos, one of the Fatima seers, would never forget the first time she witnessed heaven come to earth. She remembers, “Having gone to play with Jacinta and Francisco on top of the slope at Cova da Iria, we suddenly saw, as it were, a flash of lightning.
“‘We’d better go home,’ I said to my cousin, ‘As thunder may follow lightning.’
“And we started descending the slope; we herded the sheep toward the road. As we got more or less to the middle of the slope, near a large [holm oak] that stood there, we saw another flash of lightning and a few steps further we saw upon the tree a Lady all dressed in white, more brilliant than the Sun, spreading a light clearer and more intense than a crystal full of crystalline water pierced by the rays of the most ardent sun. We stopped, surprised by the apparition. We were so close that we stood inside the light that surrounded Her or that She spread, about a meter and a half away.”
After a few minutes of conversation, the Lady asked the children:
“Do you wish to offer yourselves to God to bear all the sufferings that He may wish to send you, in reparation for the sins with which He is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners?”
“Yes, we do,” the children responded.
Now, I believe we’re often so taken with Our Lady’s appearance on earth that we don’t notice something here that should strike us. It’s the question Our Lady asks the children and their positive response after meeting her for only the first time. The children agreed, without question, to suffer whatever God would send them. If you were asked this when meeting someone for the first time, would you say yes? I have more thoughts on this, but let’s continue with the apparition story.
Lucia remembers Our Lady’s next words as:
“‘Go, then, for you will have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.’
“It was on pronouncing these last words that She opened her hands for the first time, communicating to us a light so intense, like reflections from her hands, that penetrated our chests and the innermost part of our souls, making us see ourselves in God. God was this light, making us see ourselves more clearly than we see ourselves in the best of mirrors.”
It’s fascinating to note that before Our Lady’s appearance, the children had a strong faith but were not particularly strong devotees of the Holy Rosary or great penitents. But after Our Lady’s appearance, they suffered persecution from their families and from the state, even to the point of being imprisoned and threatened with being boiled alive. All this for Our Lady’s Rosary and to keep her secrets. So, what made them do it?
There was something about Our Lady’s indescribable beauty that must have made the children desire to suffer all for the love of God. After all, her appearance was breathtaking, and she communicated the Light of God’s Divine Glory to them. Lucia later told the sculptor, Fr. Thomas McGlynn, that Our Lady appeared to be about 17 years old, her mantle and tunic were made of light, and overall, she was surrounded by light. When asked, “What do you say of her beauty?” Lucia answered, “There are no words to express her beauty.”
So let’s consider, these children were willing to suffer without hesitation. But what are we willing to do for God? The world faces graver evils today than back in 1917. To name a few, the devil is openly worshipped and perversion is openly promoted, even among children. Public offenses of this nature require public reparation.
We must suffer for Him who suffered for us! But like the three little Fatima children, we can’t do this on our own. We need the help of Our Immaculate Mother, who is sinless. We must ask Our Lady to give us a share in the Light of God that she shed upon the seers, so that we too may be willing to suffer whatever God sends our way.
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