Mass Prayers and readings of St Francisco and St Jacinta Marto
February 20th Memorial
Entrance
Antiphon Mathew
18:3
Unless you
change and become like little children you will never enter the
Opening Prayer
God of
infinite goodness Who loves the innocent and exalts the humble grant that, in
imitation of Saints Francisco and Jacinta, we may serve You with purity of
heart and so be worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We ask this through Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Liturgy of the
word
The readings
may be taken from the Mass of the day. When a pastoral motive dictates the use
of readings in keeping with the feast, these can be taken from the Common of
Saints or from those which follow.
Reading 1 Samuel 3:1, 3-10
Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening
A reading from
the First Book of Samuel.
Now the boy Samuel was ministering
to Yahweh in the presence of Eli; Samuel was lying in the Sanctuary of Yahweh
where the ark of God was, when Yahweh called, “Samuel! Samuel!”
He answered, “Here I am.” Then he
ran to Eli and said, “Here I am since you called me.”
Eli said, “I
did not call. Go back and lie down.”
So he went and
lay down.
Once again
Yahweh called, “Samuel!! Samuel!”
Samuel got up
and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, since you called me.”
He replied, “I did not call you, my
son; go back and lie down.” Samuel as
yet had no knowledge of Yahweh and the word of Yahweh had not been revealed to
him.
Once again Yahweh called, the third
time.
He got up and
went to Eli and said. “Here I am, since you called me.”
Eli then
understood that it was Yahweh who was calling the boy, and he said to Samuel,
“Go and lie
down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Yahweh, your servant is listening.”
So
Samuel went and lay down in his place. Yahweh then came and stood by, calling
as He had done before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, Yahweh,
Your servant is listening”.
The Word of
the Lord
Responsorial
Psalm Luke 1:46-52
R. The
Lord has exalted the lowly
My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord
And my spirit
exalts in God my Savior;
Because He has
looked on his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this
day forward all generations will call me blessed.
R.
The Lord has exalted the
lowly.
For the
Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is His
name, and His mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear Him.
R.
The Lord has exalted the
lowly.
He has shown
the power of His arm.
He has routed
the proud of heart.
He has pulled
down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
r.
The Lord has exalted the
lowly.
Gospel
Acclamation Psalm 118 (119), 130
R.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
As Your Word
unfolds, it gives light, and the simple understand.
R. Alleluia!
Gospel Matthew 18, 1-5, 10
The one who makes himself as little as
this little child…..
A reading from
the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.
At that time the disciples came to
Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the
So He called a little child to Him
and set the child in front of them. Then He said, “I tell you solemnly, unless
you change and become like little children you will never enter the
See that you never despise any of
these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in Heaven are continually
in the presence of My Father in Heaven.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Prayer over the
gifts
Humbly we
beseech Thee, Lord, that You accept the homage of our prayers and sacrifices,
which we offer for the forgiveness of our faults and for the conversion of
sinners.
We ask this
through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.
Communion
Antiphon cf: Matthew 11:25
May You be
blessed, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have revealed to the little ones
the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Prayer after
Communion
For the Divine
Sacrament which we have received, Lord, inflame in us that wondrous love which
inspired the Saints Francisco and Jacinta to give themselves entirely to You
and to offer themselves in love for the salvation of all men.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
CELEBRATION
OF THE FEAST OF ST. FRANCISCO AND ST. JACINTA dt.: 07 Feb 2023
I
wish to remind you that on February 20, the liturgical Feast of Saints
Francisco and
Jacinta
Marto, the two little shepherd children of Fatima to whom with Lucia (their
elder
cousin) Our Lady appeared in 1917, is celebrated.
It
is mandatory for all members of the World Apostolate of Fatima to observe the
feast
day, thanking God for the life of these two little shepherds who are models of
sanctity
for us and intercessors in heaven for our intentions.
Novena
to the saints starts on February 11. Our intentions for the novena should
include:
•
End of the War in Ukraine;
•
The Prevention of a Nuclear War in Europe and a Third World War;
•
Peace in the whole world;
•
The Conversion of Russia;
•
Beatification of Sr. Lucia;
•
Successful Propagation and Acceptance of the Message of Fatima throughout
the
world; and
•
The final Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in our days.
We
must promote devotion to the canonised little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta
for
their great importance in the history of the Church to make possible the
acceptance
of the Message of Fatima around the world. As in past years, this feast
must
be celebrated as a day of prayer and recollection in every WAF nation, having
a
special programme.
SUGGESTED PROGRAMME
The
Feast should be celebrated at personal and public levels.
(a) At Personal Level
Usually,
this day is celebrated at personal level by our WAF members,
through
the practice of their own devotions (Mass, Holy Rosary, Adoration,
Meditation
on the Life of the Saints, etc.)
(b) At Public Level
1.
The programme should begin with a Vigil of Adoration and Reparation to
the
Blessed Sacrament in the company of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Fatima
Message: Daily Rosary, Penance, Sacrifice, Reparation and Consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary
www.worldfatima.com
on the eve, Sunday 19th of February,
2023 offered for the intention listed
above. (Praying of the Rosary with Meditation
on the Mysteries,
Procession
with Candles where possible, Veneration of the Relics of the
Saints,
if possible, Fatima Prayers, Prayers of Reparation to the Sacred
Heart
of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Blessing of the
Faithful).
2.
On Monday the 20th of February 2023, we offer in our places at the most
convenient
time:
(i)
A solemn meditated Rosary (for the same intentions listed above);
(ii)
Procession with the icons or statues of Our Lady of Fatima and St.
Jacinta
and St. Francisco (for the families, the youth and children of
the
world);
(iii)
Holy Votive Mass of the Little Shepherds (for Beatification of Sr.
Lucia
and for the unity and strength of the Church);
(iv)
Talk on the Children of Fatima. The Saints of Fatima must be
made
known throughout the universal Church as models for
holiness
and missionaries of evangelisation.
(v)
Events should be organised for children and youngsters to honour
the
Little Shepherds of Fatima after knowing about their lives as
presented
in the talk with participants of the Sunday School or
Catechetical
group or Catholic association of children and
youngsters
or Children of the Eucharist.
(vi)
Vespers (to reject consumerism and accept in our lives that GOD IS FIRST)
The
prayers at the Little Chapel of the Apparitions may be followed by internet:
http://live.worldfatima.com/en/
This is through our WAF International webpage. The
programme
at the Shrine of Fatima will be as follows:
February 19th, Sunday
21:30
– Prayer Vigil, with Rosary Prayer, Procession and Veneration of the tombs of
St.
Jacinta and St. Francisco Marto (Chapel of the Apparitions and Basilica of Our
Lady
of the Rosary)
February 20th, Monday
10:00
– Solemn Rosary Prayer (Chapel of the Apparitions)
10:45
– Procession with the Icons of St. Francisco and St. Jacinta Marto
11:00
– Holy Mass (Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity)
17:30
– Solemn Vespers (Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary)
18:30
– Rosary Prayer (Chapel of the Apparitions)
21:30
– Rosary Prayer (Chapel of the Apparitions)
(The
hours above are those of Portugal time zone)
In
attach is the Novena Prayer to Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
May
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the intercession of St. Jacinta and St.
Francisco
be our fortress and refuge. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prof. Michael Ogunu
International President of the
World Apostolate of Fatima
NOVENA
TO SAINTS FRANCISCO AND JACINTA MARTO
[Repeat
the following prayers for 9 consecutive days]
O
God of goodness and font of holiness,
Who
gave Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto
As
lights to illuminate the world,
Exalt
the humble who in your light
See
the light, so that all may contemplate
The
ways that lead to your heart.
Through
Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who
lives and reigns with you in the unity
of
the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever.
Amen
(Mention
your intention[s] here...)
1
Our Father...
1
Hail Mary...
1
Glory Be...
Our
Lady of Fatima, Pray for us.
Saint
Jacinta Marto, Pray for us.
Saint
Francisco Marto, Pray for us.
[You
can also say this Litany]
LITANY OF SAINTS FRANCISCO AND JACINTA
Lord,
have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us!
Christ,
have mercy on us! Christ, have mercy on us!
Lord,
have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy on us!
Our
Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, pray for us!
Our
Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Virgin
of the Little Shepherds, pray for us!
Saint
Francisco Marto, pray for us!
Saint
Jacinta Marto, pray for us!
Children
called by Jesus Christ, pray for us!
Children
called to contemplate God in Heaven, pray for us!
Little
ones to whom the Father reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom, pray for us!
Little
ones privileged of the Father, pray for us!
Perfect
praise of the wonders of God, pray for us!
Perfect
examples of filial abandonment, like children in the mother’s lap, pray for us!
Victims
of reparation for the benefit of the Body of Christ, pray for us!
Confidants
of the Angel of Peace, pray for us!
Custodians,
like the Angel of the Fatherland, pray for us!
Adorers
with the Angel of the Eucharist, pray for us!
Seers
of the Woman dressed in the Sun, pray for us!
Seers
of the Light that is God, pray for us!
Beloved
children of the Virgin Mother, pray for us!
Ears
attentive to the maternal solicitude of the Virgin Mary, pray for us!
Advocates
of the Message of the Lady more brilliant than the Sun, pray for us!
Heralds
of the word of the Mother of God, pray for us!
Prophets
of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Accomplishers
of the designs of the Most High, pray for us!
Faithful
trustees of the Message, pray for us!
Emissaries
of the Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Missionaries
of the requests of Mary, pray for us!
Couriers
of the calls from Heaven, pray for us!
Protectors
of the Vicar of Christ, pray for us!
Confessors
of heroic life in the truth, pray for us!
Comforters
of Jesus Christ, pray for us!
Examples
of Christian charity, pray for us!
Servants
of the sick and the poor, pray for us!
Repairers
of the offenses of sinners, pray for us!
Friends
of men before the throne of the Virgin Mary, pray for us!
Pure
white lilies breathing holiness, pray for us!
Brilliant
pearls in splendid beatitude, pray for us!
Seraphim
of love at the feet of the Lord, pray for us!
Offerings
presented to God to bear sufferings for reparation, pray for us!
Admirable
examples of sharing with the poor, pray for us!
Untiring
examples of sacrifice for the conversion of sinners, pray for us!
Examples
of fortitude in times of adversity, pray for us!
Souls
enamored of God in Jesus, pray for us!
Little
Shepherds leading us to the Lamb, pray for us!
Disciples
of Mary’s school, pray for us!
Questioners
of mankind, pray for us!
Fruits
of the tree of holiness, pray for us!
Gifts
to the Universal Church, pray for us!
Divine
signs for God’s People, pray for us!
Witnesses
of God’s grace, pray for us!
Incentives
to living one’s Baptism, pray for us!
Examples
of the experience of the loving presence of God, pray for us!
Eloquent
souls in the intimacy of God, pray for us!
Intercessors,
before God, for sinners, pray for us!
Builders
of the Civilization of Love and Peace, pray for us!
Lamps
illuminating mankind, pray for us!
Friendly
lights illuminating multitudes, pray for us!
Lanterns
shining in men’s roads, pray for us!
Flames
burning in somber and anxious hours, pray for us!
Candles
lighted by God, pray for us!
Christ,
hear us! Christ, hear us!
Christ,
please hear us! Christ, please hear us!
Concluding prayer:
God
of infinite goodness,
You
love the innocent and exalt the humble;
please
grant, through the intercession of the Immaculate Mother of Your Son,
that,
in imitation of Saints Francisco and Jacinta,
we
may serve You in simplicity of heart
and
thus may enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Through
Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who
is God with You in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen!
HOLY HOUR FOLLOWING THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE LITTLE SHEPHERDS
BEFORE
EXPOSITION: St. Michael the Archangel…..
EXPOSITION: Come & Worship – Hymn No.
99, page 43
We shall now recite the EUCHARIST
PRAYER, please repeat:
“O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee! My God, my God, I love Thee in
the Most Blessed Sacrament!” (3 times)
Spend
few moments in deep Adoration….
We shall now recite the MORNING OFFERING on page 107. Please
keep your scapular ready for kissing…
“O my God, in
union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (here
kiss your Brown Scapular as a sign of our Consecration. This carries a partial
indulgence) I offer
Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus present on all the altars of the world,
joining with the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day.
O my Jesus, I
desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them
together with myself, to Mary Immaculate – that she may best apply them to the
interests of Thy Most Sacred Heart”.
Precious Blood
of Jesus, Save us!
Immaculate
Heart of Mary, Pray for us!
Sacred Heart of
Jesus, Have mercy on us!
Immaculate
mantle of Our Lady, Protect us!
St Joseph, Pray
for us!
Blesseds
Francisco, Jacinta and Alexandrina Da Costa, Pray for us!
Servant of God,
Lucia, Pray for us!
St Pio, our
Spiritual Father, Pray for us!
St John Paul
II, our Patron, Pray for us!
St Teresa of
Calcutta, our founding member, Pray for us!
Jesus help us to say this SACRIFICE PRAYER often when we make
sacrifices: Please repeat: “O Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in
reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
(Three times)
We will now recite the Reparation and Pardon prayers on page 114
“Most Holy Trinity, Father,
Son and the Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly and offer Thee 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 the indifferences by which He is offended. And
through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners”
“My God, I believe, I adore,
I hope and I love You, I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, nor
adore, nor hope, nor love You.” (3
times)
“Holy God, Holy
Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy on us and on the Whole World.” (3
times)
HYMN No 133: I Surrender all, page 58.
Please Spend Few Moments In
Silent Prayer……
Most Holy Rosary:
no meditation
Litany of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta
Protectors
of the Vicar of Christ, pray for us!
Concluding prayer: God of infinite goodness, You love the
innocent and exalt the humble; please grant, through the intercession of the Immaculate
Mother of Your Son, that, in imitation of Blesseds Francisco and
Jacinta, we may serve You in simplicity of heart and thus may enter the Kingdom
of Heaven. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who is God with You in
union with the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Daily Act of Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary * I, N……, a faithless sinner, renew and
ratify today in Thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I forever
renounce Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ,
the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and
to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence
of all the heavenly court I choose Thee this day for my Mother and Queen. I
deliver and consecrate to Thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both
interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future,
leaving to Thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that
belongs to me, without exception, according to Thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in
eternity. Amen.
Hymn: WE STAND FOR GOD Hymn No. 72, page 31
Please Spend Few Moments In
Silent Prayer……
Conclusion: Lord, we thank You for these moments of just
speaking to You and being in Your sacred presence and for Your unconditional
love.
Hymn: Let Us Bow In Adoration Hymn No. 100, page 43.
Priest: You have given them bread from Heaven.
Congregation: Containing in itself all delight.
Let us Pray: O God, who in this wonderful sacrament have left
us memorial of Your passion; grant us we beseech You, so to revere
the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood, that we may continually find in
our souls the fruit of Your redemption; who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
The Divine praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy.
Blessed be Her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be Her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph Her Most Chaste Spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angles and in His Saints!
THE FATIMA SAINTS AND
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION By: Prof. Américo Pablo López
Ortiz, International President of the World Apostolate of Fatima
Jacinta and Francisco Marto
were canonized on May 13th, 2017 in Fatima, Portugal, by Pope Francis, during
the celebration of the Centennial Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in the Cova
da Iria. Their beatification was held on May 13th of 2000 in Fatima, Portugal,
by Pope Saint John Paul II, as the Third Part of the secret of Fatima was
revealed. I was physically present both
times as a pilgrim in the beautiful Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, representing
the World Apostolate of Fatima International. The two occasions were historical
moments in the life of the Universal Church recognizing the unique place of the
Fatima Saints in serving as models and calls to contemplative life, as well as
to missionary life, the two major ways to holiness!
1. Francisco de Jesús Marto was
born June 11, 1908 in Aljustrel, a small hamlet near Fatima, Portugal. He was
the youngest boy of Manuel and Olimpia Marto. Sister Lucia in her Memoirs
describes him as a boy with a placid disposition, who loved music and played
the flute, and liked to be by himself to think.
Francisco preferred to pray
alone “to console Jesus
for the sins of the world”. He had a special vocation to adore “Hidden Jesus”
in the Blessed Sacrament. As his sister Jacinta and his cousin Lucia dos
Santos, he experienced three apparitions of the Angel of Peace in 1916
preparing them for the apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima.
The Angel of Peace taught them to pray in meditation reflecting
on the mystery of God, the Most Holy Trinity; the value of penance and the
Eucharistic Adoration, receiving a mystical Holy Communion under to two species
given to them by the Angel of Fatima, the Guardian Angel of Portugal.
Then, Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima appeared six times in
the Cova da Iria in 1917. Lucia and Jacinta could hear her voice and see her.
Lucia talked to her. But Francisco could only saw her. Our Lady said that he
needed to pray first many Rosaries to go to heaven. Francisco followed our Lady’s advice in a
perfect manner. He was able to develop an inner life, a contemplative character
made to console the Good Lord for the sins of humanity by praying many rosaries.
Then, this inner life permitted him to adore the Most Holy Trinity in his heart
and through the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Lucia, Francisco
and Jacinta walked to the parish church in Aljustrel to practice Eucharistic Adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament, complemented by the practice of self-mortifications (penance)
“to save sinners from the fires of hell”.
The Angel of Peace taught the children shepherds of Fatima the
prayers to initiate them as adorers of the Most Holy Trinity. The Apparitions
of the Angel of Peace imposed secrecy on the children. The apparitions of the
Angel were so intimate. Kneeling on the ground, the Angel bowed down until his
forehead touched the earth. Led by a supernatural impulse, the three children
did the same, and repeated the words which they heard the Angel say: “My God, I
believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I beg pardon of Thee for those who do
not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee!”
The supernatural atmosphere which enveloped the children was
so intense, that they were for a long time scarcely aware of their own
existence, remaining in the same posture in which the Angel had left them, and
continually repeating the same prayer. The presence of God made itself felt so
intimately and so intensely that the children did not even venture to speak to
one another. Next day, they were still immersed in this spiritual atmosphere,
which only began to disappear.
The Angel of Peace was a Seraphim, who serves before the
presence of God, who excels in the adoration of the Most Holy Trinity! The
angelic nature, so different from human nature, caused these effects upon the
children shepherds of Fatima.
Nevertheless, when Our Lady appeared to them, they were
immersed in the same spiritual atmosphere of the presence of God, but Our
Blessed Mother communicated to them a great joy and energy, an expansive desire
to share with the people the Trinitarian love they have experienced through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, a great conscience of their reality and the need to
attract people to God by vivid efforts of great joy! Our Lady is of human
nature. She has a resurrected body as Christ has, as she is glorified in heaven
in the presence of God the Almighty.
At the time of the first apparition of Our Lady on 13 May
1017, Lucia was 10 years old, Francisco was 8 and Jacinta was 7. During the
first apparition, Our Lady asked the children if they were willing to offer
sacrifices to God, offering them for the conversion of poor sinners, to pray
the Rosary daily and to return to that spot the thirteenth of each month for
the next six months.
Following their supernatural experiences, their fundamental
personalities remained the same. But their friendship with the Good Lord and
Mother Mary increased so much as their inner life in the presence of God raised
to the sky.
Brother Francisco and sister Jacinta with their cousin Lucia
tended to their families’ sheep in the fields of Fatima. They were typical
Portuguese village children of that time and were illiterate. The siblings were
victims of the great 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe that
year. Our Lady have promised Francisco and Jacinta to take them to heaven soon,
while Lucia will stay on earth for many years to serve as Messenger and Apostle
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to communicate the Message of Fatima to the
Church.
Francisco received his First Communion on 3 April 1919 and
died at home on the next day, 4 April 1919. He had a great spiritual
development as he lived his consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The
consecration to Our Lady is the soul of the Message of Fatima, which consists
of entrusting our past, present and future existence to the Lord through Mother
Mary. This is the true realization of our baptismal promises, in which we renounce
Satan and all his works, the corrupt world, and our egocentric weaknesses, in order
to become the “new man”, the “new being” raised up to the dignity of an adopted
son of God, a true “Alter Christus”, with all that it implies. With our
consecration to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we become true
spiritual children of Mother Mary, conceived in her own heart, beating in union
with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in an ineffable harmony of loving. The
authentic consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in which we find
various levels of perfection, constitutes a real school of sanctity, a marvelous
spirituality that even today is not an exhausted subject, but on the contrary,
continues bringing forth new works dedicated to Mother Mary that diffuse
throughout the Church and the world “the marvels” contained in the heart of
such a unique Mother.
Focusing on Saint Francisco of Fatima, we can point to
several levels of consecration suggested by the story of Fatima, which are as
follows:
a. A rejection of
sin, timidity and indifference in favor of an imitation of Christ, his virtues
and teachings, through a Marian spirit of joyous acceptance of God’s will, with
all the repercussions for the human soul.
b. Francisco had a deepening in the inner life of prayer, through
the discovery of a personal God who beats within his heart, having a desire to
please “the Good Lord” even in the smallest details so that “the fire of Our
Lord burns our hearts”. This fire being of a spiritual nature in two respects,
to “console” Our Lord for all the ingratitude and indifference with which we
offend Him as much as to convey and communicate the wave of burning love which
consumes everything in grace and apostolic dedication. As Saint Jacinta said: “to
whomever I may communicate this burning fire within my breast”. In the first
respect, we find that Francisco distinguished himself, the prophet enamored of
the spiritual consolation of Our Lord, frequently forgotten and despised by
humanity. In the second respect, we find that Jacinta distinguished herself as
an untiring apostle in the conversion of poor sinners.
c. The highest
mystical peaks can be reached as the priceless gift of the Heart of such a Holy
Mother who gives sublime gifts to her favorite children revealing her most
unimaginable treasures. Sister Lucia, Apostle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
contemplates in Tuy, Spain, the ineffable mystery of the Most Holy Trinity,
through the Heart of Mary, receiving illuminations concerning this mystery
which she was not allowed to reveal. The total spiritual marriage comes, the
entrusting of total existence in reciprocity with Christ, making the human soul
“another beloved disciple of His”, with a love so special that it elevates us
to the category of intimate friends with Christ as “flowers placed by Mary to
adorn the throne of God”. Blessed are those who reach such a state of spiritual
perfection that persevere and triumph, for they truly become other Mary’s,
other Christ’s, adorning the Creation of the Heavenly Father with their loving
presence and saintly scent. They are the ones, more than anyone else, that will
make possible the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a definitive triumph
that is imminent in our times, the first third part of the twenty-first
century.
2. Jacinta de Jesús Marto was born 11 March
1910 in Aljustrel. She was affectionate with a sweet singing voice and a gift
for dancing the folkloric music of Portugal. Jacinta was deeply affected by the
terrible vision of hell shown to them by Our Lady of Fatima in the third apparition
(First Part of the Secret of Fatima). She therefore was deeply convinced of the
need to save poor sinners through penance and sacrifice, as Our Lady had told
the children to do. All three children practiced penance, but Jacinta had a
special call, as the Congregation for the Causes of Saints reported about Jacinta
Marto in her beatification decree, “an insatiable hunger for immolation”.
Jacinta was a missionary who evangelized people by preaching
to them the Good news of salvation, the echo of the Gospel, the Message of Fatima,
a need to convert and do penance, to save many souls from going to hell.
Jacinta became a “victim of reparation”, a pure sacrifice united with Christ’s
Passion, Death and Resurrection, a pure oblation to the Heavenly Father, for
the reconciliation of humanity.
Reparation which becomes life-giving penance, whose principal
manifestation is the joyous acceptance of God’s will, offering Our Lord through
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our prayers, good deeds, sufferings, joys and
happiness, in other words, all our being and existence, in order for us to
become like Christ -a pure sacrifice to God the Father- so that we truly become
His disciples, carrying our crosses every day, until we can say along with St.
Paul: “I am no longer the one who lives, it is Christ who lives in me.” This is
the principal mission of Mother Mary in our lives, to mold our souls in the
image and likeness of her Divine Son. It is the essence of Mother Mary, her
“FIAT” of the joyous acceptance of God’s will: “I am the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done to unto me according to thy Word.” In the submission of Mother Mary
to God, she correctly understood as a voluntary, free and spontaneous giving up
of her own freedom, which is transformed into a loving promise with the
self-revealing Truth; resides the greatness of Mother Mary.
There is no greater honor than that to be the servant of the
servant of the Lord, because there we give up our free will which bestows human
dignity upon us, for LOVE, which will surpass all our possibilities in an
infinite and ineffable ocean of affection. As a corollary to such an attitude
towards life, mortifying acts are undertaken and sufferings offered out of love
become possible to the extent of being willing to give up even permissible
pleasures, in order to discipline ourselves spiritually and morally. Sacrifice
will root our essence in Christ, which will be the true directing center of our
lives. Rooted in Christ, our true essence, we will truly belong to Our Lord, as
effective instruments in the pursuit of his plans of salvation for modern man.
The result will not be long in waiting: “Numerous souls will convert, because many
are lost for lack of someone to pray and SACRIFICE for them” as Our Lady of
Fatima said to the three children shepherds. And after the conversion of many,
others will forsake their indifference for an authentic fervor, while those
already blessed with fervor will attain high levels of perfection.
In Fatima, Reparation is offered to us through three paths,
where Saint Jacinta excelled herself:
a. Penance, in its
dual acceptance of our submission to the will of God, which implies that we
carry on our daily cross, accepting the sufferings that God sends us, as well
as the mortifications we inflict on ourselves by voluntary privation and
sacrifice, as defined by the Angel of Peace in his second apparition to the
children;
b. Reparatory Prayer, signifying a profound adoration of the
Majesty of God which we offend with our lack of love and which is superbly
contained in the prayer by the Angel of Fatima and addressed to the Most Holy
Trinity with the purpose of “consoling Our Good Lord, who is greatly offended”.
c. Reparatory Holy Communion, through the Most Holy Sacrament of
the Altar, transformed into a spiritual banquet through the Eucharist, Our Lady
of Fatima offers the Great Promise of her Immaculate Heart, a promise of
salvation made to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain, for those she most especially
loves, being Pontevedra, in the unity of the Message of Fatima, the nerve
center of such great opportunity for men hungering for God. Through the reparatory
devotion of the Five First Saturdays of the Month, Our Lady emphasizes the major
importance of the Eucharist as the unbending pillar of Christian life,
promising the grace of final perseverance for those practicing it; peace of the
world, the conversion of poor sinners and unity and strength of the Universal
Church against inner dissention opposing the Magisterium of the Successor of
Peter, a topic of the utmost importance today in the Catholic Church.
The siblings, Francisco and Jacinta Marto,
were victims of the great 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe
that year. In October 1918, Jacinta told Lucia that Our Lady had appeared to
her and promised to take them to heaven soon.
Jacinta was moved from one hospital to
another in an attempt to save her life, which she insisted was futile. She
developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs
were removed. She could not be full anesthetized, and suffered terrible pain, which
she offered to convert many sinners. Thus, Jacinta became “a reparatory victim”.
On 19 February 1920, she asked the
hospital chaplain who heard her confession to bring her Holy Communion and
administer Extreme Unction because she was going to die “the next night”. He
told her that her condition was not that serious and that he would return the
next day. The next day Jacinta was dead; she had died, as Our Lady told her,
“alone” in order to convert more sinners. Our Lady offered her to die at a particular
moment and our Blessed Mother will take Jacinta to heaven, or if the child
preferred, she would stay alive more days and suffer more, to save more souls
by offering her sacrifice for their conversion and salvation. Jacinta decided
to suffer more and stay alive some more time to contribute to the Savior’s
efforts for the salvation of souls.
Jacinta, before her death at age nine,
told Lucia, then a twelve- year-old girl: “When you are to say this, don’t
hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate heart of
Mary, that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants
the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to
pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to her”.
Sister Lucia wrote in her Memoirs that
Jacinta had personal visions outside of the Marian visitations, one of them
involving the Pope who prayed alone in a room while people outside shouted ugly
things and threw rocks through the window.
At another time, Jacinta saw the Pope who had gathered a huge
number of people together to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When
questioned about the Third part of the Secret of Fatima, Sister Lucia said that
the three of them had been very sad about the sufferings of the Pope, and that
Jacinta kept saying: “Poor Holy Father, I feel a lot of pity for the sinners!”
In 1937 Pope Pius XI decided that causes of canonization for
minors should not be accepted as they could not fully understand heroic virtue
or practice it repeatedly, both of which are essential for canonization. For
the next four decades, no sainthood processes for children were pursued. In 1979,
the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Don Alberto Cosme do Amaral, asked all the world
Bishops to write to the Pope, petitioning him to make an exception for Francisco,
who had died at age 10, and Jacinta, who had died at age 9. More than 300 bishops
sent letters to the Pope, writing that “the children were known, admired and attracted
people to the way of sanctity. Favors were received through their
intercession.” The bishops also said that the canonization of Francisco and
Jacinta was a pastoral necessity for the children and teenagers of the day.”
In 1979 the Congregation for the Causes of Saints convened a
General Assembly. Cardinals, bishops, theologians and other experts debated
whether it was possible for children to display heroic virtue. They decided that,
like the very few children who have a genius for music or mathematics, “in some
supernatural way, some children could be spiritual prodigies.”
Francisco and Jacinta were declared venerable by Pope John
Paul II in 1989. On 13 May 2000, the siblings were declared “blessed” in a
decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Jacinta and Francisco
are the youngest non-martyred children ever to be beatified. When Pope John
Paul II arrived in Fatima for the first time, in 1982, he said that he had come
“because on this exact date last year in St. Peter’s Square, in Rome, there was
an attempt on the life of your Pope, which mysteriously coincided with the
anniversary of the first apparition of Fatima, that of 13 May 1917. The
coincidence of these dates was so great that it seemed to be a special
invitation for me to come here.”
Another miracle was found to have been attributed to their intercession
and the process that investigated the miracle was validated on 8 February 2013.
On 23 March 2017, it was announced that Pope Francis would canonize them while
visiting Portugal on 12 and 13 May. Pope Francis solemnly canonized Francisco
and Jacinta on 13 May 2017 during the centennial of the first apparition of Our
Lady in Fatima. They are the Catholic Church’s youngest saints who did not die
as martyrs, with Jacinta the youngest.
Lucia de Jesus Rosa
dos Santos was born 28 March
1907 in Aljustrel and died 13 February 2005 in the Carmelite Monastery of
Coimbra in Portugal at the age of 97 years. She is in the process of
beatification. Sister Lucia was the perfect synthesis of the contemplative and missionary
schools of holiness serving as Apostle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Messenger
of the Message of Fatima. Her authoritative, prolific and illuminated writings
will probably will grant her from the Catholic Church the title of Doctor of
the Church when these writings are published and made known after the scrutiny
of the process of canonization.
I had the honor of knowing her and visited her three times
while investigating the Message of Fatima. Her correspondence with Saint John
Paul II, still not known publicly, was studied by me with the permission of the
Church authorities, to enhance the comprehension of the Third Part of the
Secret of Fatima, according to the wishes of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger at that time,
to welcome more works of investigation about the third part of the secret of
Fatima.
Let us put into practice the echo of the Gospel of Jesus, the
Message of Fatima, explained to us by the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “while
there is still time” as Sister Lucia wrote, before it is too late! Let us
transform our hearts with meditative prayer, penance, Eucharistic Adoration and
the Communion of Reparation, consecrating ourselves to God, through the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, in this time of grace and mercy that we have been granted from Heaven!
Now is the time for our “metanoia” following in the steps of Saint Francisco
and Saint Jacinta Marto of Fatima. ORBIS UNUS ORANS!
© Copyright: Prof. Américo Pablo López Ortiz Dec 20, 2019
All rights reserved.
www.apostoladomundialdefatima.org
PRAYER:-
O God of goodness and font of holiness,
who gave Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto as lights
to illuminate the world, exalt the humble who in your
light see the light, so that all may contemplate
the ways that lead to your heart.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
WORLDWIDE CELEBRATION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAINT
JACINTA MARTO’S DEATH, 20th OF FEBRUARY, 2020
World Apostolate of Fatima
More than 20 million members
in 110 countries
Prof. Americo Pablo Lopez-Ortiz
International President
P.O. Box 1968, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00681
Tel. 001 787 487 5383
Email: alfatima@coqui.net
www.apostoladomundialdefatima.org
10th of
December, 2019
94th
Anniversary of the Apparition of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Pontevedra,
Spain
Requesting the
First Saturdays Devotion
Dearest
leaders and members of the WAF nations of the world, dear Marian devotees and faithful
of the Catholic faith:
The World
Apostolate of Fatima International in conjunction with the Shrine of Our Lady
of Fatima in Portugal is convoking all of the faithful to join the great
celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the death of Saint Jacinta
Marto of Fatima on the 20th of February, 2020. On this day, the Church
celebrates the liturgical feast of Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta Marto, the
Little Shepherds of Fatima, canonized on May 13th, 2017.
This cover
letter provides us with the opportunity to participate in the official
celebrations at the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal, offering as well the guidelines
to have a unique celebration in our parishes and Catholic institutions to mark
the day with abundant grace and mercy to all.
SUGGESTED PROGRAMME
1. The Program begins with a Vigil of
Adoration and Reparation to the Blessed Sacrament in the company of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary on the eve, Wednesday, 19th of February, 2020,
offered for the intention of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in our
days. (Meditation of the Holy Rosary, procession with candles where possible,
veneration of the relics, if possible, Fatima prayers, prayers of reparation,
blessing of the faithful.)
2. On the 20th of February, 2020 we
offer in our place at the most convenient time:
a. A solemn meditated Rosary (for the
conversion of many sinners);
b. Procession with the icons or statues
of Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco (for the families,
the youth and children of the world);
c. Holy Votive Mass of the Little
Shepherds (for the unity and strength of the Church);
d. Talk on the Children of Fatima based
on the Conference enclosed: THE SAINTS OF FATIMA AND EUCHARISTIC ADORATION. The
Saints of Fatima must be made known throughout the universal Church as models
for holiness, as a missionary for the evangelization and active life (Saint
Jacinta) and as contemplative of the mystery of God, consoler and reparative
soul (Saint Francisco), the two schools for sainthood.
e. Event with children and youngsters to
honor the Little Shepherds of Fatima after knowing about their lives as
presented in the talk. May be done with participants of the Sunday School or
Catechetical groups or Catholic associations of children and youngsters;
f. Vespers (to reject consumerism and
accept in our lives that GOD IS FIRST.).
The prayers at
the Little Chapel of the Apparitions may be followed by internet: http://live.worldfatima/.com
This is through our WAF International webpage. The program at the Shrine of
Fatima will be as follows:
February
19th, Wednesday
21:30: Prayer vigil, with Rosary prayer,
procession and veneration of the tombs of Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco
Marto (Chapel of the Apparitions and Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary)
February
20th, Thursday
10:00 – Solemn Rosary prayer (Chapel of the
Apparitions)
10:45 – Procession with the Icons of Saint
Francisco and Saint Jacinta Marto
11:00 – Holy Mass (Basilica of the Most
Holy Trinity)
14:00–16:00
– Activity with
children (Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity)
17:30 – Solemn Vespers (Basilica of Our
Lady of the Rosary)
18:30 – Rosary prayer (Chapel of the
Apparitions)
21:30 – Rosary prayer (Chapel of the
Apparitions)
(The hours
correspond to Portugal time zone)
The World
Apostolate of Fatima is an international public association of the faithful of pontifical
right present now in 120 countries around the world. This is the official Apostolate
of Fatima for the Universal Church pursuing the sanctification of its members by
spreading and making live the authentic Message of Fatima as an instrument for
the New Evangelization and the formation of families, the two most important
task in the Church today.
We thank
Father Carlos Cabecinhas, Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Portugal, for this
joint effort is spreading throughout the world the authentic spirituality of
Fatima.
ORBIS UNUS
ORANS.
In Christ and
Mary Queen,
Prof. Américo
Pablo López Ortiz
International
President of the World Apostolate of Fatima
