|
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - back to “Prayer material”
It was June 13. Around 11 o’clock, the three children went to their heavenly appointment where about fifty people were gathered. They said the Rosary on their knees. All of a sudden, Lucia cried: «I saw the flash of light; now the Lady is going to come». A few moments later, turning to Our Lady, Lucia began the dialogue which only Jacinta heard: »What do you want of me?»
«I want you to come on the 13th of next month, to pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace; only with the rosary will help from Heaven be able to come down to earth! After each mystery of the Rosary say: «O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Bring all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of your mercy». I also want you to learn to read».
Lucia then asked for the healing of a sick person: «If he is converted, he will be healed by the end of the year», the Lady answered.
«I would like to ask you to take us to Heaven», Lucia asked again.
«Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you will remain here a little longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart»
«Am I to stay here alone?» the child asked afraid and saddened. «No, my daughter. Do not lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God».
As she said these words, She opened her hands, and for the second time, she imparted to them that intense light in which the children felt themselves submerged in God. Of the two beams of light which projected from the Virgin’s hands, Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in the part of the light which was rising to Heaven, and Lucia in the part being poured out on the earth. In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart encircled with thorns which pierced it. «We understood that this was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of mankind, for which we must make reparation».
The Lady rose up from the tree and headed toward the east, until she disappeared from the shepherd children’s eyes. All those present noticed that the branches of the tree where Our Lady had landed were also gathered and bent towards that direction, as if the outer corner of the Lady’s mantle had bent them by dragging them. The leaves went back to their original position after several hours.
PEACE AND THE ROSARY
Dear children, you have learnt that the apparitions of Fatima are a message of Peace. The first words spoken by the Angel were: «I am the Angel of Peace», and Our Lady said in this apparition: «Pray the Rosary every day to obtain Peace».
What does the word Peace mean? It means not war, but it also means something greater and more profound. It could be that a nation is not in war with other nations, but this doesn’t mean that there isn’t violence, hatred, injustice and evil in it; these things certainly are not peace. Our Lady and the Angels are the voice of God and when God speaks about Peace, He means Peace of the heart especially: not wanting evil, not hating other people, because this causes violence and war, and not hating God, because this makes man disobey His Commandments and thus sin. Our Lady assures us that a time will come when all men will have this will of Peace, they will love each other like brothers and sisters and they will love God as their Father. But in order for this to happen, we must pray the Rosary: «Pray the Rosary every day to obtain Peace; only with the Rosary can help from Heaven come down to earth…», Our Lady said in this second apparition.
You’re probably wondering, children, how is it that the Rosary has this great and unique power. The answer is simple: when we pray the Rosary there is a fusion between us and Our Lady, and She prays with us and in us. To understand this better, let us go back to the first apparition of Lourdes and reflect on what Bernadette says about her first encounter with the Lady:
«Without thinking of what I was doing, I took the Rosary from my pocket and went on my knees. The Lady nodded in a sign of approval and Herself took into Her hands a Rosary which hung on Her right arm… The Lady left me to pray all alone: She passed the beads of Her rosary between Her fingers but She said nothing; only at the end of each decade did She say “Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit..” with me. When the recitation of the Rosary was finished, the Lady returned inside the rock and the golden cloud disappeared with Her».
In the first encounter, there wasn’t a single word between the girl and Our Lady, only the Rosary: Our Lady uniting Herself to the child’s prayer, passing the beads of Her big Rosary between Her fingers is a more significant gesture than any words can have; it makes us understand that She is present wherever the Rosary is said and that She joins the prayer also, so that our prayer becomes Her prayer. And She obtains from God everything She asks for. For this reason, Lucia of Fatima wrote: «There is no material, spiritual, national or international problem that can’t be resolved with the Holy Rosary».
If this is true for everyone, dear children, it is all the more true for your prayers. Pope Paul VI said to you: «If you pray, the Lord will certainly listen to you. Your innocent voices possess a greater magnetic attraction than the voices of adults» (February 17, 1968).
|
