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From Fr. Mark:
The words of the Angel of Fatima, “Console your God”, engraved
themselves in young Francisco’s heart. They became the compelling
inspiration of his short life of eleven years (1908–1919). Francisco
wanted, more than anything else, to be the Consoler of the Hidden Jesus. He did this by praying rosary after rosary, and by spending hours close to the tabernacle of the parish church.
Readers familiar with the story of Fatima will recall that on 13 May
1917, after hearing the Lady say, “I come from heaven”, Lucia asked if
she and her little companions would go to heaven. The Lady replied that
both Lucia and Jacinta would go to heaven , but that Francisco would need to say many rosaries first.
This enigmatic utterance concerning Francisco has, over the years,
given rise to a certain amount of speculation as to its meaning. Various
interpretations have been ascribed to it, but I found none of them
satisfying. Some commentators even suggested that Francisco was somehow
held back in his spiritual development and, therefore, needed more
prayer than his sister Jacinta and his cousin Lucia. (Read more.)
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3 comments:
A bit off topic - maybe not - but did you realize the patron angel of Portugal is St. Michael Archangel? I never realized it before. So the angel at Fatima was St. Michael. No wonder the children felt annihilated. Anyway - I reworked my Fatima painting and came across that information. I've become wary of Garabandal but the angel there was said to be St. Michael as well.
Fatima is a very rich resource of spirituality - simply by what was always there to be known - it remains very relevant - perhaps more so now than ever.
I remember hearing that long ago about St. Michael and Fatima but we need to be reminded of these things. Fatima is truly a richer and richer source of fruit for meditation as the years go by. And it all means more than ever.....
I just read Fr. Mark's essay - I like what he has to say about Francisco - and about praying a lot.
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