The beautiful Lady engulfed the three in her immense light and rested her loving eyes on Lucia. The girl could not speak for joy. Jacinta prodded her, "Lucia, go ahead, speak to her. She is already speaking to you. So Lucia, looking up towards Our Lady, her eyes filled with loving devotion, asked, What do you want of me? " I want you to return here on the thirteenth of next month, the lady said. Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war; for she alone can save it." Lucia thinking of her mother and the words of the Pastor, wishing to clear up the doubts of people, spoke again in her own childish manner, " Will you please tell us who you are and perform a miracle so that everyone will believe that you really appear to us ?" Continue to come here every month.
In October, I will say who I am and what I desire and I will perform a miracle all shall see so that they believe." Then Lucia spoke of the petition of the people. Our Lady answered,
"Some I will cure and others not. As to the crippled boy, I will not cure him or take him out of his poverty, but he must say the Rosary every day with his family. Lucia told her of the case of a sick person who wished to be taken soon to Heaven. " He should not try to hurry things. I know well when I shall come for him." Lucia asked for the conversion of some people. The answer of the Lady was, as with the crippled boy, the recitation of the Rosary. Then to remind the children of their special vocation and to inspire them to greater fervor and courage for the future the Lady said:" Sacrifice yourselves for sinners; and say often, especially when you make sacrifice: ' My Jesus, it is for love of you, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary' " As our Lady said these words,
Lucia later described the scenes, " She opened her hands again as she had done the two previous months. The Light reflecting from them seemed to penetrate into the earth, and we saw as if into a sea of fire, and immersed in that fire were devils and souls with human form, as if they were transparent black or bronze embers floating in the fire and swayed by the flames that issued from them along with clouds of smoke, falling upon every side just like the falling of sparks in great fires, without weight or equilibrium, amidst wailing and cries of pain and despair that horrified and shook us with terror. We could tell the devils by their horrible and nauseous figures of baleful and unknown animals, but transparent as the black coals in a fire. Frightened, deathly pale, the little ones raised their eyes to Our Lady for help as Lucia cried out. Oh,... Our Lady! Our Lady explained:
" You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go.
To save them God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people will do what I will tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.
When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light,January 27th, 1938I shall come to ask the consecration of Russia
to my Immaculate Heart
and the Communion of Reparation
on the First Saturdays.
converted, and there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church;
The Holy Father will have much to suffer,Do not tell this to anyone. To Francisco, yes, you may tell it. Lucia, her heart aching to do something heroic for her Lady, once again said to her, in childlike abandon, " Don't you
want anything else from me ? " No; today I desire nothing else from you.
At this point something like thunder was heard, and a little arch that had been set up to hold vigil lanterns shook as if there had been an earthquake. Lucia arose, turning around so fast that her skirt flared. " There she goes, she shouted, pointing up to Heaven, " There she goes. Then a few moments later, " She's gone! The small, grayish cloud vanished and as soon as the children recovered from their spell of emotions, a ruthless, inquisitive crowd surrounded them, all saying at once, " Lucia, what did the Lady say to make you look so sad ? " It is a secret, she responded. Is it something good ? " For some, it is good; for others, it is evil. " Won't you tell it ? they pressed. " No, I cannot tell it, she answered with convincing determination. The people kept pushing so much that they almost smothered the children. Jacinta's father, frightened for the safety of his children, perspiration rolling down his face from the excitement of the occasion, elbowed his way close to the children, picked up Jacinta in his strong arms and, sheltering her from the sun with his hat, started for the road home. The two mothers, still hiding behind the bushes, felt all strength gone from them. When they saw the crowd milling around their children, Jacinta's mother cried out, " Oh good mother, they are killing our children! How relieved both were a few moments later to see Jacinta on the shoulders of her father, Francisco in the arms of a relative, and Lucia being carried by a very tall man, so tall in fact that Lucia's mother was distracted from her worry. " Oh, what a big man, she blurted out.
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