Friday, March 29, AD 2024 10:23am

Saint of the Day Quote: Saint Francisco Marto and Saint Jacinta Marto

“From the road, where the carriages were crowded together and where hundreds of persons had stayed for want of sufficient courage to advance across the muddy ground, we saw the huge crowd turn towards the sun which appeared at its zenith, clear of the clouds. It resembled a disc of silver, and it was possible to stare at it without the least discomfort. It did not burn the eyes. It did not blind….Then a tremendous cry rang out and the crowd nearest us were heard to shout: Miracle! Miracle!…Marvel!…Marvel! Before the dazzled eyes of the people, whose attitude transported us to biblical times, and who, dumbfounded, heads uncovered, contemplating the blue of the sky, the sun trembled, it made strange and abrupt movements, outside of all cosmic laws – ‘the sun danced,’ according to the typical expression of the peasants.”

Avelino de Almeida, reporter for O Seculo, a socialist and anti-clerical newspaper, who was present at Fatima on October 13, 1917

 

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Mary De Voe
Thursday, February 20, AD 2020 5:17am

“The sun danced” You would too If Our Lady appeared to us.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Thursday, February 20, AD 2020 9:30am

Here’s six little-known facts about this amazing Fatima mystic:
1) St. Francisco could not hear Our Lady when she appeared
St. Francisco was only 8 years old when Mary appeared at Fatima. However, even though he could see and feel Our Lady’s presence, he could not hear her. Only his sister, Jacinta, and his cousin, Lucia, heard Mary’s words.

Lucia (now Servant of God Lucia Santos) relayed her messages to him.

After asking Mary to take her to heaven during the first apparition on May 13, 1917, Mary said Lucia needed to wait, but that God would soon take Francisco and Jacinta. She added that if Francisco “prayed many rosaries,” he would go to heaven when he died.

The three Fatima children (from left to right): St. Jacinta Marto, Servant of God Lucia Santos, & St. Francisco Marto / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
2) St. Francisco was sixth of seven children
Francisco was the son of Manuel and Olimpia Marto. In addition to his younger sister Jacinta, Francisco had five older siblings.

3) He skipped school to pray alone before the Eucharist
Francisco often played hooky from school to sneak away to Jesus in the Eucharist.

He referred to the Eucharist as the “Hidden Jesus” in the tabernacle. He greatly desired to console the sorrowful heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

He, Jacinta and Lucia prayed and fasted often in reparation for sinners and to console the hearts of Jesus and Mary. They gave their lunch to the sheep and to needy children and prayed rosaries with conviction.

Francisco also fasted from food and water for days during hot weather and tied a tight rope around his waist.

Entering heaven was Francisco’s most fervent goal. He once said, “Soon Jesus will come and take me to heaven with Him and then I shall always be able to comfort Him.”

When asked what he wanted to be “when he grew up,” he said, “I don’t want to be anything. I want to die and go to heaven.”

Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
4) He gave all the money he had to save a bird
Francisco once offered a friend one penny in exchange for a captured bird, only to let the bird free.

5) St. Francisco Received His First Communion the day before dying from the flu
The Marto family (with the exception of their father Manuel) contracted the Spanish Flu one year after the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. Francisco never complained. He knew Our Lady would soon take him to Heaven.

Even while sick with the flu, Francisco and Jacinta walked to church for Mass and worshipped Jesus in the Eucharist. They knelt and prayed for hours before the Eucharist with their heads on the ground, as Mary instructed.

Knowing his death was near, Francisco asked to receive the “Hidden Jesus” in his first Holy Communion on April 3, 1909.

The next morning, 10-year-old Francisco died with a heavenly glow on his face.

Resources following on next comment.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Thursday, February 20, AD 2020 9:53am

churchpop.com. 04/04/19

John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
Thursday, February 20, AD 2020 12:50pm

I first saw this video 6 months ago. It’s called a Crown Flash. It’s the erratic flashing of the sunlight through ice crystals. It’s a very rare occurrence. It looks like a glitch in the sky.

It could be similar to what the people saw at Fatima but in many ways the description is very different with the full sun being visible, but dulled / veiled to the naked eye. Even IF it was a natural phenomenon, to have known that the event was going to happen in advance at a given time is a supernatural miracle.

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