Hajja Salesjana September October 2017

23 life voluntarily suffering for the conversion of sinners after having been shown the horrors of hell. In the book, Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words, Lucia herself noted: “Jacinta took this matter of making sacrifice for the conversion of sinners so much to heart that she never let a single occasion escape her.” When it was time for lunch, they gave their food to the sheep. Whenever they came across children poorer than they were, they gave all their food to them. When looking for a snack of acorns, they chose to eat the bitter ones. Desperate for hydration on a hot day, parched for drink, the sun blazing, on stony hillside wasteland, Jacinta chose not to take water when they finally came across some, as another sacrifice for “poor sinners.” “Jacinta’s thirst for making sacrifices seemed insatiable” recalled Lucia -- who no doubt too will one day be canonized as Jacinta and Francisco have been this year during the Fatima centennial celebrations on the 13 th May 2017 by Pope Francis. Are we aware of this little girl’s ultimate sufferings? First came the death of her dear brother Francisco, which Our Lady predicted to her, and then being told that she too would die soon and that it would happen far away from Lucia and her parents -- a suffering that topped all previous offerings but, extraordinarily, it was also embraced by Jacinta. She would accept any suffering to ensure that souls do not end up in hell. Even when the influenza set in, causing her thirst and a terrible headache, as well as confining her to bed, she refused to take a drink as yet another offering. “Our Lady came to see us,” Jacinta told Lucia. “She told us she would come to take Francisco to Heaven very soon, and she asked me if I still wanted to convert more sinners. I said I did. She told me I would be going to a hospital where I would suffer a great deal; and that I am to suffer for the conversion of sinners, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the love of Jesus.” Jacinta referred to the Communion Host as the “Hidden Jesus” and wept upon hearing descriptions of the crucifixion, always kissing crucifixes presented to her. When her brother was dying, Jacinta’s last words to him were, “Give all my love to Our Lord and Our Lady, and tell them that I’ll suffer as much as they want, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Astounding words from a little child as Jacinta! And indeed so it was. She is a great saint but a largely hidden one. She is a very powerful self-abnegating intercessor before the throne of God in Paradise. Her last suffering came when as predicted she was sent alone to a hospital ninety miles south in Lisbon. When, during their farewell conversation, Lucia told her to stop thinking of dying alone, which is surely, an excruciating thought for anyone, let alone a little girl like Jacinta, she replied, “Let me think about it, for the more I think, the more I suffer, and I want to suffer for the love of Our Lord and for sinners. Anyway, I don’t mind! Our Lady will come to me there and take me to Heaven.” And when the time came for Our Blessed Mother to usher her little visionary to Heaven, it was with these words that the saint headed, with sacrifices in hand, for eternity.