Feb
19
2017
By Anonymous (not verified)
Are you suffering? If so, these two holy children have a request for you. The Church celebrates the Feast of Blesseds Jacinta (1910-1920) and Francisco (1908-1919), two of the three Fatima visionaries, on Feb. 20. Both of the children died very young, shortly after witnessing the famous 1917 apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Jacinta and Francisco were told by Our Lady that they would die soon - and they welcomed it. They were glad that they would swiftly go home to Heaven to be with Jesus and Mary forever. But they were also willing to suffer a great deal during their brief time remaining on earth, all for poor sinners and the consolation of Jesus and Mary. Francisco died of Spanish flu; Jacinta endured fruitless operations with no anesthetic, including the removal of two ribs. They both accepted their sufferings and offered them up for the salvation of poor sinners, a heroic witness to love of God and neighbor.
Now, not all of us are called to face the same challenges. Not everyone is able to bear the same sorts of burdens, and we are promised that God will not send us crosses without giving us the strength to bear them. So long as we do not load ourselves down with crosses that are not ours to bear, we shall be able to bear what is sent. We are not all called to bear the same loads as the canonized saints. Who, after all, could hope to copy St. Mother Teresa's faith and love of God in the face of a spiritual darkness lasting for decades? Thank God we are not all asked to believe and to love in the same way! Thank God that our crosses are tailored to us individually!
Jacinta and Francisco bore heavy loads out of love. Let us take common sense action to alleviate our own suffering and the suffering of those around us, but also offer up our suffering to God and seek to bear it patiently. Let us ask the intercession of these citizens of Heaven for ourselves and for poor sinners everywhere, opening the door to Jacinta and Francisco's powerful intercession and bringing help to our neighbors in their great need.
Jacinta and Francisco were told by Our Lady that they would die soon - and they welcomed it. They were glad that they would swiftly go home to Heaven to be with Jesus and Mary forever. But they were also willing to suffer a great deal during their brief time remaining on earth, all for poor sinners and the consolation of Jesus and Mary. Francisco died of Spanish flu; Jacinta endured fruitless operations with no anesthetic, including the removal of two ribs. They both accepted their sufferings and offered them up for the salvation of poor sinners, a heroic witness to love of God and neighbor.
Now, not all of us are called to face the same challenges. Not everyone is able to bear the same sorts of burdens, and we are promised that God will not send us crosses without giving us the strength to bear them. So long as we do not load ourselves down with crosses that are not ours to bear, we shall be able to bear what is sent. We are not all called to bear the same loads as the canonized saints. Who, after all, could hope to copy St. Mother Teresa's faith and love of God in the face of a spiritual darkness lasting for decades? Thank God we are not all asked to believe and to love in the same way! Thank God that our crosses are tailored to us individually!
Jacinta and Francisco bore heavy loads out of love. Let us take common sense action to alleviate our own suffering and the suffering of those around us, but also offer up our suffering to God and seek to bear it patiently. Let us ask the intercession of these citizens of Heaven for ourselves and for poor sinners everywhere, opening the door to Jacinta and Francisco's powerful intercession and bringing help to our neighbors in their great need.
FAMPK
