Apparition of the Fatima Angel - Prostration in Prayer - Children's Eucharistic Adoration

EWTN and Children of Hope ^

[NYer]

In the spring of 1916 Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, had their first encounter with a heavenly messenger. Writing in her memoirs, composed under obedience to the Bishop, Lucia tells of that first meeting.

We went on that occasion to my parents' property, which is at the bottom of the Cabeco, facing east. It is called Chousa Velha.

About the middle of the morning it began to drizzle and we climbed up the hill, followed by our sheep, in search of a rock that would shelter us. And so it was that we entered for the first time into that blessed place. It is in the middle of an olive grove that belongs to my godfather, Anastacio. From there one can see the village where I was born, my father's house, and also Casa Velha and Eira da Pedra. The olive grove, which really belongs to several people, extends as far as these places.

We spent the day there, in spite of the fact that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining in a clear sky. We ate our lunch and began to say the Rosary. After that we began to play a game with pebbles. We had only been at it a few moments when a strong wind began to shake the trees and we looked up to see what was happening, since it was such a calm day. And then we began to see, in the distance, above the trees that stretched to the east, a light whiter than snow in the form of a young man, quite transparent, and as brilliant as crystal in the rays of the sun. As he came near we were able to see his features. We were astonished and absorbed and we said nothing to one another. And then he said: 

Do not be afraid. I am the angel of peace. Pray with me.

He knelt, bending his forehead to the ground. With a supernatural impulse we did the same, repeating the words we heard him say:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not  love You.

After repeating this prayer three times the angel rose and said to us:

Pray in this way. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are ready to listen to you.

And he disappeared. He left us in an atmosphere of the supernatural that was so intense we were for a long time unaware of our own existence. The presence of God was so powerful and intimate that even among ourselves we could not speak. On the next day, too, this same atmosphere held us bound, and it lessened and disappeared only gradually. None of us thought of talking about this apparition or any pledge of secrecy. We were locked in silence without having willed it.

The intense effect that the apparition of the Angel had on the children, quite different from the more serene experience of the Virgin the following year. Lucia states,

I don't know why, but the apparitions of our Lady produced in us effects quite different from the angel's visitations We felt in both instances the same intimate happiness, peace and joy, but instead of the physical prostration the angel imposed, our Lady brought a feeling of expansion and freedom; and instead of this annihilation in the divine presence, we wished only to exult in our joy. There was no difficulty of speech when our Lady appeared; there was rather on my part a desire to communicate.

This difference can perhaps be explained in this way. The angels of whatever choir share in common with God a spiritual nature, unmixed with matter. The goodness of their being, filled with the divine justice according to the degree of glory granted to each, radiates that holiness unmediated, though proportioned to the capacity of human beings to experience it. Not without reason Scripture shows how easily an angel appearing to men can be confused with God Himself (Rev 19:10, 22:9). When our Lady appears, however, although her glory is greater than that of the highest seraphim her human nature cloaks that glory in the familiar, just as did Our Lord's human nature, even after the Resurrection. 

Although the angels, too, can appear in more mundane fashion, it must have suited the divine purposes to reveal to the children something of the holiness of God. Lucia tells us of the lingering effect it had on them.

His words sank so deeply into our minds that we never forgot them, and ever after we used to spend long periods on our knees repeating them, sometimes until we fell down exhausted.

[NYer]

I have tied two web sites together to bring you a beautiful program for possible implementation in your own parishes. Last week I received the video from Children of Hope which shows children praying before our Lord in the Eucharist. It absolutely moved my heart! For those who may be interested, I am providing a link below.

---

What is the relationship between Children’s Adoration
and the Message of Fatima?

When the angel first appeared to the shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in Fatima, Portugal, it was to
prepare them for the mission which Our Lord had planned for them.  It would be given to them of course through our
Blessed Mother.  The angel taught the children to adore!

"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son,
Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly
and offer You the most Precious
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ, present in all the
tabernacles of the earth, in
reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges, and indifference with
which He Himself is offended. And
through the infinite merits of His
Most Sacred Heart and of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of
You the conversion of poor
sinners."

Therefore, as the angel
taught us through the three children, we want to repeat
this prayer of adoration as
many times as we can.  Not
only during times in the
adoration chapel, but also
throughout the day and in
the evening before going to bed.

The response of these children should be an
inspiration to children everywhere today to
long to console the Heart of Jesus, so
wounded!  And, to make reparation for the
sins of so many who even today are on the
brink of hell.  That theirs prayers and
sacrifices can do this is certain!  Our
Blessed Mother asked Jacinta, after she had
offered so much for poor sinners, if she was
ready to go to Heaven now, or would she
like to stay awhile longer and “save more
souls!This mission remains today for our children!

From Lucia's own words: We spent the day there, among the rocks, in spite of the fact that the rain was over and the sun was shining bright
and clear. We ate our lunch and said our Rosary. I am not sure whether we said it that day, in the way I have already
described it to Your Excellency, saying the word Hail Mary, and Our Father on each bead, so great was our
eagerness to our play! Our prayer finished, we started to play Pebbles. We had 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 towards 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. On reaching us, he said: "Do not be afraid!
I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me."

Kneeling on the ground, he bowed down until his forehead touched the ground, and made us repeat these words
three times: "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." Then rising he said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are
attentive to the voice of your supplications." His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could
never forget them. From then on, we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his
words, until sometime we fell exhausted. I warned my companions, right away, that this must be kept secret and,
thank God, they did what I wanted.

Some time passed , and summer came, when we had to go home for the siesta. One day, we were playing on the
stone slabs of the well at the bottom of the garden belonging to my parents, which we called the Arneiro ( I have
already mentioned this well to Your Excellency in my account of Jacinta). Suddenly, we saw beside us the same
figure, or rather, Angel, as it seemed to me. "What are you doing? he asked. "Pray, pray very much! The most Holy
Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the most High."
How are we to make sacrifices? I asked. "Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of
reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw
down peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with
submission, the suffering which the Lord will send you." A considerable time had elapsed, when one day we went to
pasture our sheep on a property belonging to my parents, which lay on the slope of the hill, I have mentioned, a little
higher up than Valinhos. It is an olive grove called Pregueira. After our lunch, we decided to go and pray in the
hollow among the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. To get there we went around the slope, and had to climb
over some rocks above Pregueira. The sheep could only scramble over these rocks with great difficulty.

As soon as we arrived there, we knelt down, with our foreheads touching the ground, and began to repeat the prayer
of the Angel: "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You, I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not
adore, do not hope and do not love You." I don't know how many times we had repeated this prayer, when an
extraordinary light shone upon us. We sprang up to see what was happening, and beheld the Angel. He was holding
a Chalice in his left hand, with the Host suspended above it, from which some drops of Blood fell into the Chalice.
Leaving the Chalice suspended in the air, the Angel knelt down beside us and made us repeat three times: "Most
Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges
and indifference with 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: "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, he prostrated on the ground and
repeated with us, three times more, the same prayer..."Most Holy Trinity..."and then disappeared. We remained a
long time in this position, repeating the same words over and over again. When at last we stood up, we noticed that it
was already dark, and therefore time to return home......

[NYer]

Children of Hope

[Salvation]

What a great article. Read about the children of Fatima in a fabulous book;

“In Her Own Words to the Nuclear Age”. Don’t recall the author right now.

It’s Lucia’s, Francisco’s and Jacinta’s memoirs. Great book.

[clockwise]

This reminded me of Father Todd.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1658886/posts

Here is a comment a parishioner left on his blog:
Each month, Fr. Todd would make the long trip to Sioux Falls to celebrate children’s adoration. He wore the most elaborate vestments he could find. He asked the children to get on the floor into a ball and “Make yourselves small, so that Jesus can grow bigger in you.” He always had the children recite the Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great and told them, “1,000 souls will be released from Purgatory and they will pray for you when they get to Heaven.” At intention time, he allowed every last child to come within a few feet of the Blessed Sacrament. He would say, “Don’t tell me; I’m not Jesus! Go right up close, look straight at him, and tell him your intention!” One time he burned so much incense that the smoke detector went off and the fire department showed up! He wanted to promote children’s adoration in the diocese, so he once asked that photos be taken at holy hour; these were posted in the Bishop’s bulletin.

[Raquel]

After recently reading Sister Lucia's account of the apparitions at Fatima, I was reduced to tears, not just tears, but sobbing.

The way Sister describes her little cousin Blessed Jacinta is such a wonderful and beautiful account. I was moved beyond belief at Jacinta's humility and acts of obedience and mortification.

I never thought a girl at the very young age of 7 could be my hero, but she is. Blessed Jacinta, pray for us!