Visiting Fatima years back, preparing to work on my children’s book Jacinta’s Story, the tiny town of Aljustrel gave me a glimpse into the personalities of the three small seers, Lucia dos Santos, and Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
I will never forget emerging from the tiny, white-washed cottage that had been Francisco and Jacinta’s home and seeing the last of their living brothers leaning against a wall, available for souvenir photos. He was a man out of modern time, unsophisticated, direct and simple, a man “of the earth”, still untouched by the complications of industrialized civilization.
This is how Jacinta, her brother and cousin, must have been–even more so. There was nothing remarkable about this man, peering at me shyly from under his brow, just as there must have been nothing extraordinary about the little shepherd girl who Pope John Paul II declared “Blessed” in May of 2000, and who looks at us just as shyly from under her brow in her photos.
Pictures and descriptions of little Jacinta show us a pretty, spritely, charming girl who at times, according to Lucia, was a bit sulky, and “the sweetest of his children” in the words of her father, “Ti” Marto.
We get a glimpse of a sensitive, affectionate child when, at age five, she cried bitterly on hearing about the sufferings of Christ, and promised not to make Him suffer anymore.
We sense her contemplative nature when we read of her calling the moon, “Our Lady’s lamp.".
And we meet the little Portuguese “hostess” when, at age seven, at the first apparition, on May 13, 1917, she shyly asks Lucia if they should share their lunch with their heavenly visitor.
We also glimpse the pristine innocence in the small oval face of the pictures, coupled with an almost disconcerting directness and strength in the brown eyes–eyes that seem to see “beyond”, for indeed they had had a glimpse of Heaven–and Hell.
In the second apparition of June 13, the Blessed Virgin said that she would soon take Francisco and Jacinta to Heaven. In the vision of July 13, they were shown a terrifying scene of Hell, in which they saw, immersed in a huge fire, innumerable souls like “burning ambers”.
This vision coupled with Our Lady’s pathetic plea “Pray for sinners, many go to Hell because there is no one to pray for them,” lit in the innocent girl’s heart a fire of love for God and souls.
Between the great graces of Our Lady, the knowledge that she was not long for this earth and the thirst to save as many “poor sinners” as she could, Jacinta forgot the earth, and for four short years lived only to please God, her “Lady” and to help souls make it to that Heaven she had been promised for herself.
Jacinta’s natural sensitivity and affectionate disposition were sublimated into that burning charity that renders all sacrifice small and all effort easy. Lucia writes in her memoirs how Jacinta never tired of telling Our Lord and Our Lady how much she loved them. She once said, “ I have a fire in my chest but it doesn’t burn me."
This inward “fire” fueled her on until her death of tuberculosis just shy of her eleventh birthday, alone in a hospital in Lisbon, which last sacrifice she embraced for her beloved “sinners”.
Despite her youth, in the words of Pope John Paul II at her beatification on May 13, 2000, “She could well exclaim with St. Paul: ‘I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church’” (Col 1: 24).
In four short years the little Portuguese girl had gone from carefree shepherdess to heroic saint.
On the Anniversary of Blessed Jacinta’s birth:
America Needs Fatima invites you to take the children you love on a wonderful pilgrimage to feel Our Lady’s maternal love and to learn about her beautiful Fatima apparitions through Jacinta’s Story. Children will follow Jacinta’s footsteps to the Cova da Iria—the famous spot where the Mother of God appeared. They will see Jacinta kneel in awe as Our Lady approaches the holm-oak tree in a radiant sphere of light. They will feel Jacinta’s sadness as people spread a rumor that it was the devil instead of the Virgin Mary who had appeared
Jacinta’s Story is the Fatima story imaginatively told through the eyes of Blessed Jacinta Marto, the youngest of the three seers to whom Our Lady appeared in 1917 to deliver the most important message of our times. The book is hardbound and richly illustrated by author Andrea F. Phillips.
Jacinta’s Story contains many vital lessons for children—why it is so important that they pray the Rosary, obey their parents and follow the difficult but rewarding road of virtue in this life.
Visit our On-Line store to place your book order: http://store.tfp.org
Or call us toll free 1-888-317-5571 to place your book order.
Jacinta’s Story:
Hardbound, full color illustrations, 61 pgs.
B23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15
References: America Needs Fatima online, Mystics of the Church onlineSpeech of Pope John Paul II at Beatification of Francisco and Jacinta Marto-Vatican Website
Born
into a humble family which little by little fell into extreme poverty,
Bernadette had always been a frail child. Quite young, she had already
suffered from digestive trouble, then after having just escaped being a
victim of the cholera epidemic of 1855, she experienced painful attacks
of asthma, and her ill health almost caused her to be cut off forever
from the religious life. When asked by Monsignor Forcade to take
Bernadette, the Mother Superior of the Sisters of Nevers replied:
"Monsignor, she will be a pillar of the infirmary."
At
the first exhumation, it was quickly evident that a miracle had taken
place; Saint Bernadette’s skin tone was perfectly natural. The mouth was
open slightly and it could be seen that the teeth were still in place.
Although the rosary in her hands had decayed, showing rust and corrosion
in some spots, the virginal hands that still grasped it were perfect!
The sisters present thoroughly washed the body and clothed it in a new
habit before placing it in an officially-sealed double casket.
coffin.
… the body does not seem to have putrefied, nor has any decomposition
of the cadaver set in, although this would be expected and normal after
such a long period in a vault hollowed out of the earth."
This
is the face which was lifted eighteen times to the Lady of Lourdes, the
very same hands which fingered her rosary during the apparitions, and
the fingers which scratched the earth in obedience to Our Lady’s request
and made the miraculous spring appear.
She
visited her brother once a year, and as she was not allowed to enter
his monastery, he went with a few of his brothers to meet her at a house
some distance away to pray together and speak of spiritual matters. On
one such occasion in 543, they had passed the time as usual in prayer
and holy conversation and in the evening sat down to eat supper.
Scholastica begged her brother to remain until the next day, deviating
from their usual custom, so that they might continue their conversation.
Benedict refused to spend the night outside his monastery as it was
contrary to his order’s rule.
Michael
was born in Cuenca, Ecuador in 1854 to a wealthy family. From birth he
had a deformity that disabled him and prevented him from walking. One
day, as he sat in his wheelchair, he saw a rose in the garden. Above the
flowers, he saw a beautiful lady wearing a white and blue dress,
calling his name. His family, who could see nothing other than the rose,
was astonished when he proceeded to get up and walk. From then on,
Michel spoke with Our Lady and Jesus on a regular basis.
Jerome
was born in Venice in 1481. As a military commander who prided himself
on the strength of his army, he was not a man of God. Yet when he was
taken prisoner and thrown in a dungeon, the proud leader turned to God
and miraculously escaped his captors. After his conversion, Jerome
dedicated himself to Our Lady and the work of God, and was eventually
ordained to the priesthood in 1518.
At
that time, famine and plague were rampant in Northern Italy, and Jerome
devoted himself to caring for sick orphans, housing and teaching them
Catholicism. After contracting the plague and recovering, Jerome decided
to wholly devote himself to caring for others. In 1531, he established
multiple orphanages and a shelter for penitent prostitutes, and just a
year later, along with two other priests, a congregation for men. The
congregation, named The Clerks Regular of Somascha, mainly saw to the
care of orphans and the instruction of youths and young clerics.
Born
on the Greek island of Aegina, Luke belonged to a family of farmers.
Saracen raiders forced his family to leave their homeland for Thessaly,
where Luke worked in the fields and tended sheep. He was a dutiful
child, but his charity towards the poor often frustrated his parents:
Luke would often give his own food and clothing to those less fortunate.
He was so charitable that God blessed him, and his family’s crops
flourished, but his parents still did not approve.
In
1597, Hideyoshi, a powerful Japanese official, listened to the gossip
and lies of a Spanish merchant. The merchant said that Paul and the
missionaries were traitors of Japan, and were spies for Spain and
Portugal. Hideyoshi cut off the left ears of twenty-six Catholics,
including Paul Miki, smeared their cheeks with blood as a warning to
others and paraded them through towns before executing them. Priests,
brothers, laymen, catechists, doctors, servants, old men and innocent
children were bound to crosses and raised into the air, a lance trust
into their sides, killing them. Hideyoshi crucified the martyrs on a
hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, above Nagasaki. They were
canonized in 1862.
Very
little is known about St. Agatha, other than that she was martyred in
Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. According to
legend, Agatha dedicated her life to Our Lord at a young age and refused
any man who wanted to marry her. Agatha was arrested after refusing the
advances of Quintian, a powerful man of high rank, and was imprisoned
in a brothel. Throughout the month she spent being tortured in the
brothel, Agatha would pray, “Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my
heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make
me worthy to overcome the devil," and was preserved from being
violated.
Agatha
was removed from the brothel and again advanced upon by her captor.
Again, she refused him, saying she was dedicated to God alone. Her
captor then sent her to prison, and had her tortured repeatedly. He
refused her any medical care, but God comforted her in the form of a
vision of St. Peter. Agatha was tortured yet again, and this time her
body was grossly mutilated. She died with this prayer on her lips:
"Lord, my Creator
, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer.”
John
de Britto, was born in Lisbon on March 1, 1647 to a noble Portuguese
family. His father died while serving as Viceroy of Brazil. Growing up,
John was a playmate to the future King of Portugal, Pedro II. At
fifteen, the young nobleman applied to join the Society of Jesus into
which he was duly accepted. His talent for academic excellence was soon
noted by his superiors; however, John’s great admiration and devotion to
St. Francis Xavier urged him to apply to serve in the Indian missions.
Amid strong opposition from his family, in 1673 John traveled to Madura
in southern India.
Very
few facts are known about St. Blaise. It is believed that he lived in
the early fourth century, and was of a noble and wealthy Christian
Armenian family. While he was still very young, Blaise was made a
bishop. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of
worship in the Roman Empire was already five years old, there was still
much persecution of Christians in Armenia. God instructed Blaise to
escape his enemies by fleeing to the mountains, where he lived as a
hermit.
Forty
days after the birth of Jesus, St. Joseph again helped his virgin wife
onto the donkey only now she carried the creator of the universe in her
arms. Slowly they made their way to Jerusalem to comply with the Mosaic
Law. In their case, there was really no need for “ransom” or
“cleansing”, Jesus being God, and Mary being a virgin before, during and
after the birth of her divine Son (CCC 496-507, 510). Yet, before the
eyes of men, unaware of these circumstances, the holy family wished to
give an example of humility and obedience by submitting to the age-old
mandate. The fact that St. Joseph offered two doves is evidence of their
poverty.
At Anna’s mother’s funeral a man came up to her and after offering his deepest sympathy, took the grieving daughter aside, 
Henry
Morse was born to protestant parents in Suffolk, England, in 1595, and
left his home to study law in London where he learned of the Catholic
Faith and converted at the age of 23. Henry traveled to Rome where he
was ordained a priest.
The
youngest of a poor farming family of Piedmont in northern Italy, John
Melchior Bosco was born on August 16, 1815. He lost his father at the
age of two, and his saintly “Mamma” Margarita brought up three sons in
extreme poverty and want.
Intelligent
and talented, John Bosco received his first instruction from a priest
who, perceiving his gifts, took him under his wing. Supported by his
mother and facing many difficulties, he pursued the priesthood, and at
twenty-two was ordained in the diocese of Turin.
