Sister Lúcia

"I thought of opening the New Testament, the only book I desire to have here in front of me, in this remote corner of the attic, lit by a single skylight, to which I withdraw whenever I can, in order to escape, as far as possible, from all human eyes. My lap serves as a table, and an old trunk as a chair. But, someone will say, why don’t you write in your cell? Our dear Lord has seen fit to deprive me even of a cell, although there are quite a few empty ones in the house … But I am glad and I thank God for the grace of having been born poor, and for living more poorly still for love of Him. … Very well then. I need no more than this: obedience and abandonment to God who works within me. I am truly no more than a poor and miserable instrument which He desires to use, and in a little while, like a painter who casts his now useless brush into the fire so that it may be reduced to ashes, the Divine Artist will Himself reduce His now useless instrument to the ashes of the tomb, until the great day of the eternal Alleluias. And I ardently desire that day, for the tomb does not annihilate everything, and the happiness of eternal and infinite love begins – now!"

"Before the events of 1917, apart from the family ties that bound us together, I had no particular affection for Jacinta and Francisco that made me prefer their company to that of any other children. In fact, her company sometimes became quite unpleasant because of her overly touchy character. The slightest issue, of the kind that arises between children when they play, was enough to make her sulk in a corner, imitating a mule, as we used to say. To get her back into the game, even the sweetest caresses that children can give in such situations were not enough. It was necessary to let her choose the game and the companion with whom she wanted to play. However, even at that time, she had a very kind heart, and the good Lord had endowed her with a sweet and tender character, which made her both lovable and attractive. (pp. 36-37)"

"The little girl also loved to go to the threshing floor in front of our house at dusk to watch the beautiful sunset and the starry sky that followed. She was thrilled by the beautiful full moon nights. We challenged each other to see who could count the stars, which we called the angels' lamps. The moon belonged to Our Lady and the Sun belonged to the Lord. For this reason, Jacinta sometimes said: – I like Our Lady's lamp better because it doesn't burn us or blind us, whereas the Lord's does. (p. 40)"

"We had been told to recite the Crown after our snack, but since we felt we didn't have enough time to play, we found a good way to finish it quickly: we passed the beads, saying only: Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary! When we reached the end of the mystery, after a long pause, we said the simple words: Our Father! And so, in the blink of an eye, as they say, our Crown was finished! (p. 43)"

"Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire, which seemed to be underground. Immersed in that fire, the demons and souls, as if they were transparent and black or bronze embers, with human form, were floating in the fire, carried by the flames that came out of themselves together with clouds of smoke, falling on all sides like sparks in great fires, without weight or balance, amid cries and groans of pain and despair that filled one with horror and made one tremble with fear. The demons could be recognised by their horrible and repulsive forms of frightening and unknown animals, but transparent and black. (p. 119)"

"[...] we raised our eyes to Our Lady, who said to us with kindness and sadness: – You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If they do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and will have peace. The war is about to end, but if they do not cease offending God, a worse one will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that it is the great sign that God is giving you that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, through war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent this, I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If they accept My requests, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, it will spread its errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be destroyed. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. (pp. 119-120)"

"Some people, even pious ones, do not want to talk about hell to children so as not to frighten them; but God did not hesitate to show it to three, one of whom was only six years old, and whom He knew would be so horrified that, I dare say, she would be weakened by fear. She would often sit on the ground or on a rock and exclaim thoughtfully: – Hell! Hell! How much compassion I have for the souls who go to hell! And the people there, alive, burning like wood on the fire! And, trembling all over, she would kneel with her hands clasped to recite the prayer that Our Lady had taught us: – O my Jesus! Forgive our sins, deliver us from the fire of hell, take all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need. Now, Most Reverend and Most Honourable Bishop, you will understand why I was left with the impression that the last words of this prayer referred to the souls who are in greater or more imminent danger of damnation. And she remained kneeling for a long time, repeating the same prayer. (p. 121)"

"Sometimes I was asked if Our Lady indicated in any apparition what kind of sins offended the Lord most. Well, according to what they say, Jacinta mentioned the sin of the flesh in Lisbon. Perhaps, I think now, since it was one of the questions she asked me, she happened to ask Our Lady about it in Lisbon, and that is how she was told about that sin. (pp. 122-123)"

"[...] I wanted to open the New Testament, the only book I want to have here in front of me, in a hidden corner of the attic, where I retreat, in the light of a poor glass tile, to escape human eyes as much as possible. My knees serve as a table; an old suitcase serves as a chair. ‘Why don't you write in your cell?’ some may ask. The good Lord saw fit to deprive me of a cell, even though there are several empty ones here in the house. [...] But I am content and I thank God for being born poor and for living, through His love, even poorer. [...] And that's fine. I need nothing else: obedience and abandonment to God, who works in me. In reality, I am nothing more than the poor and miserable instrument He wants to use, and soon, like the painter who throws his brush into the fire so that it is reduced to ashes, so too will the Divine Painter reduce His useless instrument to the ashes of the grave, until the great day of eternal hallelujah. And I ardently desire that day, because the tomb does not destroy everything, and the happiness of eternal and infinite love begins there. (pp. 132-133)"

"Francisco did not seem to be Jacinta's brother, except in his facial features and in the practice of virtue. He was not as capricious and lively as she was. On the contrary, he was peaceful and accommodating in character. [...] He did not show the same passion for dancing as Jacinta; he preferred to play the flute while the other children danced. In games, he was quite lively, but few enjoyed playing with him because he almost always lost. I myself confess that I had little sympathy for him, because his peaceful character sometimes irritated my overly lively nerves. (p. 134)"

"– What do you want from me? – I asked. – I want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to recite the Rosary every day, and to learn to read. Then I will tell you what I want. I asked for the healing of a sick person. – If he converts, he will be healed within the year. ‘I would like to ask you to take us to Heaven.’ "Yes, Jacinta and Francisco, I will take them soon, but you will remain here for some time. Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. – Will I stay here alone? – I asked sadly. – No, my child. Does this cause you great suffering? Do not be discouraged. I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God. As she uttered these last words, she opened her hands and communicated to us, for the second time, the reflection of that immense light, in which we saw ourselves as immersed in God. Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in that part of the light that rose towards Heaven, while I was in the part that spread over the earth. In front of the palm of Our Lady's right hand, there was a heart crowned with thorns that seemed to be stuck in it. We understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, which wanted reparation. (pp. 171-172)"

"[...] Our Lady said that we must recite the Rosary to obtain graces during the year. And she continued: – Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for your love, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. [...] When you recite the Rosary, after each mystery say: “O my Jesus! Forgive us, deliver us from the fire of hell, bring all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need”. (pp. 172-174)"

"[...] We saw on the left side of Our Lady, a little higher up, an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; it sparkled and emitted flames that seemed to set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady emanated from her right hand towards him: the Angel pointed to the earth with his right hand and said in a loud voice: Penance, Penance, Penance! And we saw in an immense light that is God: [...] a Bishop dressed in white [...]. Various other Bishops, Priests, religious men and women climbing a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a large Cross of rough logs as if made of cork with bark; Before reaching it, the Holy Father passed through a large city half in ruins and half trembling with faltering steps, afflicted with pain and sorrow, praying for the souls of the corpses he encountered on his way; When he reached the top of the mountain, he knelt at the foot of the large Cross and was killed by a group of soldiers who shot him several times with firearms and arrows. In the same way, the bishops, priests, religious men and women, and various secular people, men and women of various classes and positions, died one after the other. Beneath the two arms of the Cross were two Angels, each with a crystal watering can in their hands, in which they collected the blood of the Martyrs and with it watered the souls who were approaching God. (p. 209)"