Francisco and Jacinta
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One
Today is the Feast of St. Francisco and Jacinta of Fatima.
From 1916-1917 the Guardian Angel of Portugal and Mary, the Mother of God appeared to three children in Fatima Portugal: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. They were 10, 9, and 7 years old. The apparitions culminated with the miracle of the Sun, witnessed by more than 70,000 and reported in the secular newspapers the next day.
What was Mary’s message? People have forgotten God and have turned away from him. Anyone who rejects God, by their own free choice, and perseveres in this until death, turns away forever and this is hell.
Mary is the Mother of All People and she has come from Heaven to Earth on a rescue mission to save her children from rejecting God and going to hell. She wants to lead everyone to Heaven.
She asks for our help in this rescue mission, primarily by doing two things: to pray the Rosary every day and to offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Little Francisco and Jacinta took this seriously and helped save many souls. They both died of the Spanish Flu shortly after these events and were canonized saints in 2017.
Two
On June 13, 1917, Mary said to the children: My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God.
Then she opened her hands. In one hand she held her Immaculate Heart from which flowed a great light which is God. This light penetrated the hearts of the children and flowed out upon the whole world.
Francisco said, “I loved seeing the Angel, but I loved still more seeing Our Lady. What I loved most of all was to see Jesus in that Light from Our Lady which penetrated our hearts.”
Mary gave a light to the children that somehow penetrated and opened their hearts to see Jesus. That is what Mary does for us as Our Spiritual Mother. She works on us to open our hearts to receive the light and life of God, to know his will and do it.
Three
Francisco said, “What I loved most of all was to see Jesus in that Light from Our Lady which penetrated our hearts.”
Mary disposed or opened the hearts of the children to receive the Light of Jesus.
Many people have the wrong idea about Mary. They think she is some kind of go-between, that if we go to Mary, she can get from God what we can’t. This is not accurate.
It is true that Mary does intercede for us. She prays for us like she interceded with Jesus on behalf of the bride and groom at Cana. But then she turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” She disposed them to know and do the will of God.
So, Mary’s role is two-fold. She prays to God for us. But her most important work is to open our soul to receive Jesus.
Jesus always wants to give his life to us. But we have trouble receiving. The Catechism says the mission of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus to us and dispose us to welcome or receive Jesus in our souls. The Holy Spirit carries out this mission through Mary. So, the Holy Spirit and Mary want to come into our souls and help us receive Jesus and be conformed to Him.
We invite the Holy Spirit and Mary into our soul by consecrating ourselves to her. We say, “Mary, come into my soul, help me receive Jesus, help me know and do His will.”
It’s why I like this prayer of St. Ildephonsus, 603-677, Spain, “I beg you, holy Virgin, that I may have Jesus from the Holy Spirit, by whom you brought Jesus forth. May my soul receive Jesus through the Holy Spirit by whom your flesh conceived Jesus…May I love Jesus in the Holy Spirit in whom you adore Jesus as Lord and gaze upon Him as your Son.” (Marialis Cultus 25)
Four
August 19, 1917, Mary said to Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.”
Little Jacinta was only eight years old when she heard this, but it made a lasting impression.
Lucia relates this story, “Shortly before Jacinta died, she sent for me to come and see her at once. I ran over. ‘Our Lady came to see us,’ Jacinta said. ‘She told us she would come and take Francisco to heaven very soon. She asked me if I still wanted to convert more sinners. I said I did. She told me I would be going to a hospital where I would suffer a great deal; and that I am to suffer for the conversion of sinners, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for love of Jesus. She said my mother would take me to the hospital, and then I would have to stay all alone!” After this, she was very thoughtful for a while, and then added…Maybe, the hospital is a big dark house, where you can’t see, and I’ll be there suffering all alone! But never mind! I’ll suffer for the love of Our Lord, to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father.’”
Five
In all of her approved apparitions, Mary comes on a Rescue Mission.
She asks for our help in two ways: First, by praying the Rosary every day and second, by offering sacrifices and suffering to help Jesus save souls.
Sts. Francisco and Jacinta took this seriously and did it. Let us make the firm resolution to do the same.
We can make voluntary sacrifices by fasting from our screens, eating and drinking less, and giving up little things for the conversion of sinners. More importantly, we can accept those things we did not choose, do not like, and cannot change.
My big problem is that I forget to offer things up.
But, if you are consecrated to Mary, then you have given everything to her – your life, your prayer, all your good works, all your suffering and death. When you consecrate yourself to Mary, she becomes the investment broker for all your spiritual treasures. The treasures of prayer, work, and suffering. All the spiritual merit, all the spiritual wealth you get from praying, working, and suffering, when we consecrate ourselves to Mary we give these to Her and we say, “Please use these in a way that will help get the most people to heaven.”
Our Lady receives our spiritual investment and she applies it where She sees best.
You don’t need to make your spiritual investment decisions for them to be made wisely when you have consecrated yourself to Mary and she is doing it for you.