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| Our Lady of Fatima and the Seers |
Fatima
Detailed Facts
I thought I knew enough about Fatima.. as much as was
necessary.. I read a few books, watched the various movies about Our Lady’s
apparitions and the three children, then I found this book, I was fortunate enough to find it in the parish library. "The Whole Truth about Fatima, Volume I Science and the Facts" by Fere Michel de la Sainte Trinete of the Little Brothers of the Sacred Heart Published by the International Fatima Crusade, Immaculate Heart Publications. Nothing prepared me to the onslaught of
facts I found in it, Unfortunately, this book is now out of
print because I would LOVE to get my own copy (I really think they should do a reprint!).
Because of the great information I found in it, I searched for it on the internet and found it in an archive online called 'Open Library'.
If you are as keen as I am to learn more about Fatima and the most detailed information, you can read it at:
As I read hungrily absorbing every word. I was
bookmarking pages left and right that had information that I thought was quite
interesting and in my case unknown.
There
are many more details that I have not added to this page, space is limited, I’d have to include the
whole book!
I would encourage you to
read the book yourselves for all the details of the history of the area and the
devotion to Our Lady in centuries before this apparition; information regarding the children themselves, what they were like and the many marvelous signs that Our Lady gave to the people who faithfully came to the site of the apparitions.. many I never heard about before.
I have also
included other information that I have gleaned from research on the internet I
have included them here as well with their web addresses for your perusal which
you will find immediately after the quote from their page.
A Short HISTORY OF the area of FATIMA
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| Alfonso Henriques |
In 711, the Moors invaded the country. It was nearly three centuries before Alfonso VI, King of Castile and Leon called upon the French for help. They were able to free the northern part of the country. In 1139, Alfonso Henriques consolidated the independence of Portugal by his victory over the Moors at Ourica. Portugal was born. This new king chose the Mother of God as Patroness of the country.
At the Monastery of Santa Maria Alcobaca
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| St. Boniface IX |
As coincidence, a few years later on May 13th, by the request
of King John I, Pope Boniface IX (1389-1404) ordered all the Cathedrals in
Portugal to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
In 1654, Portugal
officially consecrated itself to the Immaculate Virgin by John IV, restorer of
national independence.
In centuries past, many other events happened in
Portugal regarding Our Lady they are
too many to state here… check out the book.
Is it any wonder why Our Lady
picked this
country and this place
called Fatima to appear?
THE THREE CHILDREN
THE
SEERS OF FATIMA BEFORE
THE
APPARITIONS
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| The Seers of Fatima left to right - Lucia, Francisco, Jacinta |
LUCY
(LUCIA)
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| Lucia dos Santos, eldest Fatima Seer, 10 years old |
Lucia was the youngest of five daughters and one son, by Lucy’s memoirs she states that all of her family doted on her and gave her much love. She was an intelligent child, her mother taught her the whole catechism before she was 6 years old.
Lucia received the
privilege of receiving Holy Communion at age 6 although the pastor, Father
Pena, was very strict about the age of first communion. He wanted to make her
wait until she was seven even though she knew the Catechism extremely well,
enough so that the priest would have her stand next to him when he was
questioning the other children so that she could give the correct answer if
they could not. ". . . the new
parish priest at Fatima Father Manuel Marques Ferreira, like many priests at
that time, was still tinged with the with the remains of Jansenism. He did not
want to hear about First Holy Communion before the age of ten.
It was by the
intervention of another priest, Father Cruz, who had been called to help with confessions that
got her this privilege after he saw her crying. After questioning her about the
catechism he went to Father Pena and declared that she should be allowed
to receiving her first communion.
Because of his intervention she was allowed to receive Jesus!
It must be noted
her that Father Cruz was recognized for his piety and holiness in Portugal and
was one of the first priests to recognize the truth of the apparitions. (You must read the accounts of Lucy as she
relates her anticipation to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist, how even then it
was a profound importance.) In her memoirs, Lucy said, that receiving the
Eucharist have always had “a great influence in uniting me to God.”
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| Vintage photo of First Holy Communion |
Lucia states,
"After this,
I lost the taste and attraction
for the things
of the world,
and only felt at home
in a solitary place
where, alone,
I could recall
the delights of my First Communion."
JACINTA
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| Jacinta youngest Seer of Fatima |
Above all she had a heart of gold, capable of immense affection. She also had an astonishingly pure heart, completely docile to the baptismal grace, which already guided her thoughts and her childish actions.
She loved to dance and sing. She was very exuberant. . . a marvelous dancer.
The love of truth was so profoundly anchored in her soul that the least little lie scandalized her.
She was out-spoken, “She had her wits about her and she calls a spade a spade” comments Dom Jean-Nesmy
She was out-spoken, “She had her wits about her and she calls a spade a spade” comments Dom Jean-Nesmy
The three children playing a game of forfeits, the rule of the game is that the loser has to do whatever the winner tells him. Lucy relates, “. . . I won, so this time it was I who told her what to do. My brother was sitting at a table writing. I told her to give him a hug and a kiss but she protested. . . Why don’t you tell me to go and kiss Our Lord over there? There was a crucifix hanging on the wall. . . (Lucy said) kneel down and give Him three hugs and three kisses; one for Francisco, one for me and one for yourself.” Jacinta replied, “To Our Lord, yes, I’ll give as many as you like. . . She kissed it and hugged it with such devotion that I have never forgotten.”
“. . .Looking attentively at Our Lord, she asked, ‘Why is Our Lord nailed to a cross like that?’ Lucy relates after she explained to Jacinta the Passion of Our Lord, “In hearing of His sufferings, the little girl was moved and began to cry. Many times later she wold come and ask me to tell the story again. She would weep and grieve, saying ,
I don’t want
Our Lord
to suffer more!”
FRANCISCO
·
Unlike his sister Jacinta, “He was neither capricious nor vivacious. On the contrary, he was quiet and submissive by nature.”
Like his father, he was gentle, humble and patient. Always having a joyful countenance, he was invariably polite and accommodating to all, even at the cost of considerable sacrifices. “If one of the other children insisted on taking away something belonging to him, he said: ‘Let them have it! What do I care?’
He was a robust and lively boy. . . He could be mischievous, he too could become capricious.
Manuel Pedro said, “Once Francisco refused to say his prayers and hid in the out-kitchen. I went out to him and when he say me coming he cried out at once that he would pray! That was before Our Lady appeared. After that he never failed to say them. In fact he and Jacinta would almost force us to say the Rosary. . .”
“He was anything but fearful. He’d go anywhere in the dark alone at night, without the slightest hesitation. . .”
Francisco was a meditative soul. He had little taste for noisy games and the shouts of his companions. . .
His passion was music and song, “He showed no love for dancing, as Jacinta did; he much preferred playing the flute while the others danced. What Francisco enjoyed most, when we were out on the mountain together, was to perch on top of the highest rock, and sing or play his flute. . .”
In the evening, we would wait for Our Lady and the Angels
to light their lamps.” (the Moon and
stars)
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| Francisco Marto, Fatima seer 9 yrs old |
Unlike his sister Jacinta, “He was neither capricious nor vivacious. On the contrary, he was quiet and submissive by nature.”
Like his father, he was gentle, humble and patient. Always having a joyful countenance, he was invariably polite and accommodating to all, even at the cost of considerable sacrifices. “If one of the other children insisted on taking away something belonging to him, he said: ‘Let them have it! What do I care?’
He was a robust and lively boy. . . He could be mischievous, he too could become capricious.
Manuel Pedro said, “Once Francisco refused to say his prayers and hid in the out-kitchen. I went out to him and when he say me coming he cried out at once that he would pray! That was before Our Lady appeared. After that he never failed to say them. In fact he and Jacinta would almost force us to say the Rosary. . .”
“He was anything but fearful. He’d go anywhere in the dark alone at night, without the slightest hesitation. . .”
Francisco was a meditative soul. He had little taste for noisy games and the shouts of his companions. . .
His passion was music and song, “He showed no love for dancing, as Jacinta did; he much preferred playing the flute while the others danced. What Francisco enjoyed most, when we were out on the mountain together, was to perch on top of the highest rock, and sing or play his flute. . .”
His greatest sin stealing a tostao (a very small coin) from
his father to buy a music box that he coveted.
“
“Francisco eagerly counted the stars with us, but nothing
enchanted him so much as the beauty of sunrise or sunset. As long as he could still glimpse one last
ray of the setting sun, he made no attempt to watch for the first lamp to be
lit in the sky.
"No lamp is as beautiful as Our Lord’s’", (the sun)
"he used to remark to Jacinta, who much preferred Our Lady’s lamp because
, as she explained, ‘It doesn’t hurt our eyes.’
Enraptured, he watched the sun’s rays glinting on the window
panes of the homes in the neighboring villages, or glistening in the drops of
water which spangled the trees and furze bushes of the serra, making them shine
like so many stars; in his eyes these were a thousand times more beautiful than
Angel’s lamps.”
“ Sometimes alone, sometimes with his sister and his cousin,
Francisco, perched on top of a rock, loved to repeat often this beautiful
hymn:
I love the flowers of the fields,
I love the sheep on the mountains.
I love the sheep on the mountains.
I am a poor shepherd girl, I always pray to Mary,
In the midst of my flock, I am like the sun at noon.
Together with my lampkins, I learn to skip and jump,
I am the joy of the serra, And the lily of the vale.”
+ + + + + +
In the midst of my flock, I am like the sun at noon.
Together with my lampkins, I learn to skip and jump,
I am the joy of the serra, And the lily of the vale.”
+ + + + + +
Before
Our Lady’s
Appearances
an Angel Comes
The Apparitions of the Angel all began in 1915. . .
Lucy was entrusted with taking care of the family flock. At this time Jacinta would have been 5 years old and Francisco 7 years old, they were not as yet given permission to go with their cousin. Lucy had chosen three companions: Teresa Matias, her sister Maria Rosa and Maria Justino.
“. . . little by little this impression disappeared and I believe that with time I would have completely forgotten it had it not been for the events which followed.”
Three
Angel Apparitions in 1916
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| Lucia, Francisco, Jacinta Seers of Fatima |
“Around this time Francisco and Jacinta sought and obtained permission from their parents to start taking care of their own flock. So I left my good companions, and I joined my cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, instead. To avoid going to the serra with all the other shepherds we arranged to pasture our flocks on properties belonging to my uncle and aunt and my parents.”
The
1st Angel Apparition
"I
am the Angel of Peace"
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| Angel of Peace |
". . . We ate our lunch and said our Rosary. I’m not sure if
it was said in the way I have already described, saying just the words “Hail
Mary” and “Our Father” on each bead, so great was our eagerness to get to our
play! Our prayer finished, we started to
play ‘pebbles’.
We enjoyed the game for a few moments only, when a strong wind began to shake the trees. We looked up startled, to see what was happening, for the day was unusually calm. Then we saw coming torwards us, above the olive trees, the figure I have already spoken about.
Jacinta and Francisco had never seen it before, nor had I ever mentioned it to them. As it drew closer, we were able to distinguish its features. It was a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, whiter than snow, transparent as crystal when the sun shines through it, and of great beauty.”
We enjoyed the game for a few moments only, when a strong wind began to shake the trees. We looked up startled, to see what was happening, for the day was unusually calm. Then we saw coming torwards us, above the olive trees, the figure I have already spoken about.
Jacinta and Francisco had never seen it before, nor had I ever mentioned it to them. As it drew closer, we were able to distinguish its features. It was a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, whiter than snow, transparent as crystal when the sun shines through it, and of great beauty.”
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| Angel teaching the children to pray |
“‘Do not be afraid! I am the Angel
of Peace. Pray with me.’
Kneeling '
on the ground, he bowed down until
his forehead reach the ground. Led
by a supernatural impulse, we did
the
same, and repeated the words
which we heard him say:
‘My God, I believe, I adore,
I hope and I
love You!
I ask pardon of You for those
who do not believe, do not adore,
do not hope and do not love You!’
After repeated these words three times, he rose and said, ‘Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.’” “The supernatural atmosphere which enveloped us, was so intense that for a long time we were scarcely aware of our own existence, remaining in the same posture in which he had left us, and continuing repeating the same prayer. The presence of God made itself so intimately and so intensely that we did not even venture to speak to one another. . . It did not occur to us to speak about this Apparition, nor did we think of recommending that it be kept a secret. The very Apparition itself imposed secrecy. . .”
Francisco did not have the privilege of hearing the words of
the Angel; the others had to repeat them to him. The same is true of all the other
apparitions. He was however favored with
the essential: the heavenly vision and the infused graces which this imparted
to their souls.
Lucy continues, “ . . . from then on, we used to spend long
periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes
we fell exhausted. . .” “the peace and happiness which we felt were great,
but wholly interior, for our souls were completely immersed in God. The physical weakness that came over us was
also great.”
After a few days, however our shepherds recovered along with
their normal state, their customary gaiety as well as their games and
chants. And so they quickly resumed
their lives as young shepherds, doubtless with more piety, but without anything
apparently to distinguish them from the other children . . .
The
2nd Apparition
"I
am the
Guardian
Angel
of Portugal"
“. . . at the height of summer when the heat of the day was so intense that we had to take the sheep home before noon and only let them out again in the early evening. We went to spend the siesta hours in the shade of the trees which surrounded the well. . .”
“Suddenly, we saw the same Angel right beside us. ‘What are you doing? Pray, pray very much!
have designs of mercy on you.
Offer prayers and sacrifices
constantly to
the Most High. . .
Make
of everything you can a sacrifice,
and offer to God as an act of
reparation
reparation
for
the sins
by which He is offended,
by which He is offended,
and in supplication
for the conversion of sinners.
for the conversion of sinners.
You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Angel Guardian the Angel of Portugal.
Above all, accept and bear
with submission the suffering
which the Lord will send you.”
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| Angel of the Eucharist |
The
3rd Apparition
The
Angel
of
the Eucharist
“The third apparition must have taken place in October, or towards the end of September, as we were no longer returning for siesta. . . After our lunch, we decided to go and pray in the hollow among the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. . .
As soon as we arrived there, we knelt down, with our foreheads touching the ground, and began to repeat the prayer of the Angel. . . .
I don’t know how many times we repeated this prayer, when an extraordinary light shone upon us. We sprang up to see what was happening, and beheld the Angel.
“Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
I offer You
the precious
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Jesus Christ,
present in all the
tabernacles of the world,
in reparation of the sacrileges, outrages,
and
indifference by which
He Himself is offended.
And through the infinite merits of
His most Sacred Heart,
and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.”
“Then, rising, he took the chalice and the Host in his
hands. He gave the Sacred Host to me,
and shared the Blood from the Chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as
he did so:
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| Receiving the Eucharist |
“Take and drink
the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ,
horribly outraged by ungrateful men!
Make reparation for their
crimes and console
your God. . .
Once
again, prostrated on the ground
and repeated with us, three times more
the
same prayer ‘Most Holy Trinity. . .’
and then disappeared.
Jacinta and Francisco were given their
First
Holy Communion by an Angel!
“In the third apparition, the presence of the Angel was still more intense. For several days, even Francisco did not dare to talk. He said later on, ‘I love to see the Angel, but the trouble is that later one, we are incapable of doing anything. I could not even walk any more, I didn’t know what as the matter!’”
A quick note here: In 1916, Jacinta had just turned six and a half and her brother Francisco eight, and Father Ferreira still did not want to admit either one to the Holy Table. In the spring of 1918, he would refuse to admit Francisco, on the pretext that he did not know the answer to a catechism question. But heaven had already judged otherwise; Jacinta and Francisco, without the knowledge of their parish priest, had already made their First Communion! A real Communion. In fact, although they had never dared to go to Communion in Church without the authorization of the parish priest, Jacinta and Francisco were sure that they had truly received Communion from the hand of the Angel, at the Cabeco. Although extraordinary and miraculous, their Communion was none the less real, as Lucy has always affirmed without hesitation.
These apparitions of the Angel the children kept secret, “the
apparition itself imposed on us the secret.”
Did they tell anybody about the Angel?
YES, “In the first place to the archpriest of Olival. He enjoyed my complete confidence, I hid
nothing from him. He recommended that I say nothing to anybody.” Unfortunately this priest in 1924 died before having
the chance to confirm the fact. Also,
she spoke about it to Bishop da Silva, “He recommended I kept it secret.” In one of her memoirs, reminds her bishop of
the fact and the other received: “For me to keep silent”, she wrote to him,
“was even the first order and the first counsel that God deigned to give me by
means of Your Excellency.”
Canon
Formigao testified both to Father de Marchi as well as to Canon Barthas, that
early on he had received the confidences of Sister Lucy on the apparitions of
the Angel. But he also recommended
silence. From then on, Sister Lucy felt
bound by obedience. Father Martin dos
Reins also acknowledged she told him, “Lucy remembered perfectly, word for
word, the prayers of the Angel and that she recited them already in 1921-1922.
In fact, without revealing the secret she taught the prayers to one of her intimate
friends.
Mortifications and Penances
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| Statues of the Fatima seers (in Fatima) |
“From this moment on, we had begun to offer to the Lord
everything that mortified us, but without looking to impose particular penances
on ourselves, except to pass entire hours prostrated on the ground, repeating
the prayer which the Angel taught us.
. .”
". . .we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes we fell, exhausted. . ."
". . . we imitated the Angel in everything, that is, we prostrated as he did and repeated the words he said. . . we remained a long time in this position, repeating the same words over and over again. . ."
This was the beginning of many trials and sorrows for Lucy for her family would not believe in the apparitions. They would scorn her, ridicule her and her mother even beat her. She offered all up to God. “. . . My poor mother seemed just drowned in the depths of distress. . . My God , where has all the joy of our home gone?”
By an infused grace, the words of the Angel had penetrated very profoundly into their souls. "These words were indelibly impressed upon our minds. They were like a light which made us understand who God is, how He loves us and desires to be loved, the value of sacrifice, how pleasing it is to Him and how, on account of it, He gives the grace of conversion to sinners. It was for this reason that we began, from then on, to offer to the Lord all that mortified us. . ."
". . .we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes we fell, exhausted. . ."
". . . we imitated the Angel in everything, that is, we prostrated as he did and repeated the words he said. . . we remained a long time in this position, repeating the same words over and over again. . ."
This was the beginning of many trials and sorrows for Lucy for her family would not believe in the apparitions. They would scorn her, ridicule her and her mother even beat her. She offered all up to God. “. . . My poor mother seemed just drowned in the depths of distress. . . My God , where has all the joy of our home gone?”
By an infused grace, the words of the Angel had penetrated very profoundly into their souls. "These words were indelibly impressed upon our minds. They were like a light which made us understand who God is, how He loves us and desires to be loved, the value of sacrifice, how pleasing it is to Him and how, on account of it, He gives the grace of conversion to sinners. It was for this reason that we began, from then on, to offer to the Lord all that mortified us. . ."
SEE PART TWO CONTINUING THE STORY. . .
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