Day 5 - 9 May / 9 October

In Fatima… On Wednesday June 13th 1917 Our Lady appeared, as she had promised, to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco for the second time. It was the feast day of St Anthony of Padua, who was actually born in Lisbon and is the patron saint of Portugal. It was, and is, THE children's feast in Portugal, so Lucia’s parents naturally thought that the festivities at the parish church in Fatima would distract her from the appointment at the Cova, especially as this parish church is dedicated to St Anthony. 

It had been a tough time for the children since the first apparition of Our Lady a month earlier - their families, especially Lucia’s, had reacted very negatively to the children’s “stories” of a beautiful lady appearing to them. However, Lucia, together with Francisco and Jacinta, had only one focus that day and ran to the apparition site to keep their noon day rendezvous. They waited beneath the shade of the holm oak tree praying the Rosary with about 50 local people who had joined them. Promptly at midday they saw the familiar flashes of lightning and suddenly there was the lady standing on the holm oak tree just as she had a month before.

Lucia spoke first, asking as she had in May: “What do you want of us?” 

The lady replied: “I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day and I want you to learn to read. Later I will tell you what else I want of you.” 

Lucia then asked for the cure of a sick person. The lady replied: “He will be cured later this year if he amends his life.” Then Lucia made a request: “I would like to ask you to take us to heaven.” 

“Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you are to stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”

Lucia’s final question was: “Am I to stay here alone?” 

“No, my daughter. Don’t be afraid. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never leave you - I will always be at your side. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to 

God.” 

As in May the lady then opened her hands from which poured forth rays of brilliant light which penetrated their hearts, immersing them in God’s love. As Lucia later wrote: “The moment she said the last words, opening her hands, she transmitted to us, for the second time, the reflection of that intense light. In it we felt we were submerged in God. Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in that part of the light which was rising to Heaven, and I in the part spreading over the earth. In front of the palm of Our Lady's right hand was a heart encircled with thorns which appeared to pierce it. We understood it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary offended by the sins of humanity in need of reparation.” Just like in May, the Lady then rose upwards toward the east and disappeared into the "immensity of heaven."

Reflection…  The main focus of the second apparition is the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which Our Lady explains is desired by Jesus himself. But why, some might say, do we need to honour the heart of Our Lady? Everything Mary does is perfectly united to her Son, so our devotion to her brings us closer to Jesus. So God intends our consecration to Mary’s heart to open us more fully to the heart of Jesus, which is love and mercy itself. We see this beautiful tenderness of heart in Our Lady’s words to Lucia in this June apparition - notice how she is slowly leading the children into the deepest of mysteries through very simple, direct commands which they can understand: “Pray the Rosary every day”; “Learn to Read”.  

And Our Lady answers all of Lucia’s very honest questions with as much clarity as possible. Imagine also Lucia’s mixed emotions when she learns that her two great companions will soon be taken to heaven, leaving her alone for an unspecified length of time to fulfil this mission on her own. Our Lady immediately comforts and encourages her with tender words spoken from her heart: “Don’t be afraid… Don’t lose heart… I will never leave you…” This is love in action! 

Mary’s heart is totally pure, filled with God’s love and never stained by sin because of the great privilege of her Immaculate Conception. So Jesus could find a place of unconditional welcome in her heart. We too need to open our hearts fully to Jesus and what greater model can we find for this than Our Lady’s heart. Her heart is filled with love for you and me. She was given to us by Jesus himself as our mother from the cross. So her heart embraces the heart of every single one of us, her children. 

So we should naturally have a special love and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady, which is a refuge for us. We can also learn from her how best to serve God. Her heart was filled with humility - in response to the Angel Gabriel’s invitation at the Annunciation that she become the mother of God’s own Son, she described herself as “the handmaid of the Lord.” In other words she was a servant, ready to do whatever God wanted, reflecting perfectly Jesus’ own servant heart.

Her heart was filled with faith - as her cousin Elizabeth said to her, “Blessed is she who believed the word that was spoken to her.” We too need to learn this total faith in God from Mary. Mary also had a deeply prayerful heart. As we read, “Mary pondered these things in her heart.” When things weren’t clear she tried to understand through prayer and reflection. We should ask the Holy Spirit to give us such a heart so that we too can be more deeply rooted in God and seek to do his will in everything.

We can ask Mary’s intercession that our own hearts may be like hers. We need to bring our wounded hearts and the broken hearts of those we love to Christ through Mary’s Immaculate Heart.