Hajja Salesjana November December 2017

32 Lucia, the oldest of the three children at ten, was known for her excellent memory, learning the catechism lessons and making her First Communion by age six and then becoming a catechist to others at nine.  She was the youngest of her six siblings, and her two younger cousins, Francisco, age 8, and Jacinta, age 6, loved playing with her so much that they insisted on being included when Lucia was assigned the pasturing responsibilities with the sheep. I can imagine those sunny days in the fields with the sheep, the three cousins romping and inventing games.  Jacinta was friends with her sheep, naming them, holding them, and even attempting to carry a lamb home on her shoulders, as she had seen pictures of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, doing.  They called the sun “Our Lady’s lamp” and the stars “the angels’ lanterns.” Can you hear them, standing in the valley a distance from their home, calling out words and names to hear the echo?  Can you see them, making a picnic of their lunch, and when the time came to say their rosary, shortening it so that they were only saying the first words of each prayer? These three children were raised with faith at the center of their upbringing.  The stories they were told at home were from the Bible and the village priest was both their hero and their authority. Perhaps, then, it is no surprise that these three children, with their innocence, enthusiasm, and faith, were chosen to be messengers of heaven.  It could have been anyone, but God chose three children whose greatest joy was in Him. In May of 1916, sent to the shelter of an olive grove because of light rain, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, had finished their lunch and rosary and were playing a game with pebbles when a strong wind made them look around. They saw a white light in the form of a young Fatima and My Journey to Less Busyness by Sarah Reinhard (Source: Catholic Exchange) It was 100 years ago, in 1917 that three young children were out in the fields, near Fatima, Portugal, enjoying the sunshine while they prayed their rosary and watched their sheep. Theirs was a simple life, or at least it seems so from where I sit, bogged down with obligations and errands and the busy stuff of modern life.