“That is why I think it would be good to instil in the faithful a great confidence in God's mercy and in the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the need for prayer accompanied by sacrifices, especially those that must be done to avoid sin.”
Part of Lucia's letter of August 18, 1940.
“So many people falling into hell, so many people in hell! Ah! If we could, with our sacrifices, close the doors of this terrible furnace forever!... If we could make all sinners take the path to Heaven! Comfort Our Lord who is so afflicted because of so many sins.”
Jacinta exclaims.
“My cousins Francisco and Jacinta have sacrificed a lot because they have always seen the Blessed Virgin very sad in all her appearances. She never smiled at us and that sadness, that anguish that we noticed in her, caused by offences to God and punishments that threaten sinners, penetrated our souls. We did not know what to invent in our little childhood imagination as means to pray and make sacrifices... What also sanctified my cousins was the vision of hell...”
Lucia recounts.
It was always the same outbursts of love that returned to her lips. Sometimes, kissing her crucifix, she would gather it in her hands and exclaim: “Oh my Jesus, I love you and I want to suffer a lot for your love!” Often she also said: “Oh my Jesus, now you can convert many sinners, because this sacrifice is very great!”
A purulent pleurisy caused her great pain, which she endured “with resignation, a surprising joy.” Out of delicacy towards her mother, so as not to worry her, she made the sacrifice, so costly when one is in constant pain, never to complain. On the other hand, to Lucia, she opened her soul sharing with her her trials and the graces she received: “I feel such pain in my chest! But I do not say anything to my mother; I want to suffer for Our Lord in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Holy Father, and for the conversion of sinners.”
Lucia writes about Jacinta.
“– Yes, I do suffer; but I offer everything for sinners and to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
– I am so glad to suffer for their love! To make them pleased! They love very much those who suffer to convert sinners.”
Jacinta said to Lucia in June 1919 during Lucia's visit (at Jacinta's request) before her departure to the Vila Nova de Ourem hospital.
The day of departure for Lisbon, January 21, 1920, finally arrived. Jacinta's farewells to her dear Lucia were poignant. She embraced her for a long time, weeping and saying: “We’ll never see each other again! Pray a lot for me, until I go to Heaven. Then, there, I will pray a lot for you.
Never tell anyone the secret, even if they kill you. Love Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary very much, and make many sacrifices for sinners!”
Lucia writes before Jacinta's departure to the Lisbon hospital.
“Doing penance, that is, converting, is simply a commandment of God. Even if the Virgin Mary had not recommended it, all the popes in the Bible teach it, and penance is even more necessary in our present times, when worldly customs and propaganda make us believe that all of life consists of eating well, dressing elegantly, making a career, and having as much fun as possible.”
Part of Albino Luciani's homily on January 6, 1977, before he became John Paul I, in the St. Mark's Basilica.
Pray, do penance, consecrate ourselves, and become devotees of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.