The first apparition of Our Lady - May 13, 1917

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Now, children, listen to what happened when the three shepherd children, prepared by the Angel, began to see the Virgin Mary.

It was a beautiful sunny day on that May 13, 1917. Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, after lunch and after the Rosary, were playing and building a little house made of stones. Suddenly, around noon, they heard a sound of thunder, and they saw a bright flash, «a lightning», they said later on. Thinking it was a thunderstorm, they ran to gather their flock in order to go back home, when a second «lightning» stopped them: they saw a little white cloud over a small holm oak tree and, above it, a Lady of indescribable beauty, clothed in white, «brighter than the sun». The children stood there amazed, and also afraid of the unexpected apparition; but the Lady reassured them: «Do not be afraid, I won’t hurt you».

Her smile, a bit saddened, perhaps because of their little trust in Her, and the most tender voice of the Lady removed every fear. Lucia got confident and, with a curiosity typical of children who want to know everything and who always ask «why», began to ask a series of questions:
«Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you want of us?»
«I am from Heaven. I have come to ask you to come here for six months in succession, on the 13th day at this same hour. Then I will tell you who I am and what I want».
«Will I go to Heaven?» Lucia asked.
«Yes, you will», the Lady reassured.
«What about Jacinta?» «She will too» «And Francisco?» «He will too, but first he will have to say many Rosaries».

Lucia then remembered two girls of the town who had recently died: «Is Maria do Rosario das Neves in Heaven?» she asked.
«Yes, she’s in Heaven.» «And what about Amelia?» «She’s still in Purgatory».

With maternal patience and lenience the Lady answered the girl’s questions. Then she, in turn, asked the children a question: «Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, ready to accept all the sufferings He wishes to send you, in reparation for the sins with which He is offended, and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners?»

This is the most serious and challenging question that one could ask a human being. The children were invited to offer themselves to God, in an unconditional act of love, willing to accept any suffering for the salvation of humanity. After a moment of hesitation, Lucia answered as the spokesman for all three and readily agreed: «Yes, we do!» «Fine, the Lady continued, you will have to suffer much, but God’s grace will be your comfort».

«As she pronounced these words, Lucia commented, She opened her hands and we were bathed in a heavenly light that appeared to come directly from her hands. The light’s reality cut into our hearts and our souls. That light was God». For a few moments, the children remained immersed in that sea of light which the Virgin Mary had given them; then the Lady added: «Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war».

 «After that, she began to rise slowly in the direction of the east – Lucia continues -until she disappeared in the immense distance».

THE NEW ANNUNCIATION. THE CONSECRATION.

In this first apparition, the Virgin Mary asked the children to give themselves completely to God, just as she did. At the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel invited Mary to consecrate herself to God, that is, to give herself to Him, in order to let Love be born into the world. She said «Yes», the Holy Spirit pierced Her, clothing her with Light and Jesus was born in her womb.

At Fatima our Mother in Heaven invited the children to consecrate themselves, that is, to give themselves to God. They answered «Yes» too, like Mary, and were pierced and clothed with the Light of the Holy Spirit which radiated from Her. Thus Jesus was born in their hearts. But who is Jesus? Jesus is Love, Goodness and Peace. And the three shepherd children, from then on, were a source of Love, Light and Peace for all men, thus beginning to prepare the Era of Peace for the whole world.
At this point you may wonder: can a «Yes» uttered by a few children obtain so much? Indeed it’s true and Our Lady, to prove it, promised to save Portugal from World War II thanks to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta’s «Yes». And she kept her promise.

Now I ask you, my young readers: did Our Lady want to address her invitation only to the three shepherd children of Fatima or to all the children in the world? To all the children of the world, of course!

Now let’s make another observation: if with three children who gave themselves to Her, Our Lady saved an entire nation from war, won’t She save the whole world with the «Yes» of thousands of children? Today Our Lady is calling each one of you so that you may help Her save the world. She makes the same request as she did with the three shepherd children: «Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, ready to accept all the sufferings He wishes to send you, in reparation for the sins with which He is offended, and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners?», and she waits for your generous response: «Yes, we do!». Think of how sad she was when she asked Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta if they wanted to help Her by offering themselves to Her and how, instead, she lit up with a wonderful smile when Lucia answered: «Yes, we do!», delighted that she finally found someone to love Her with all their heart.

If you want to help Her too, like the three shepherd children, if you want to allow Her to continue the miracle of the Annunciation in you, if you want to bring back a smile onto our Mother in Heaven’s face, which is so saddened by humanity’s sins, say your Yes to Her too: «Mother I give you my heart and will for eternity, save humanity».

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