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Apparition of the Angel
Sometime during the summer of 1916 the
three cousins were playing in the heat of the day in
the garden near the well behind the Santos home in Aljustrel. Lucia
describes how the angel appeared to them once more, chastising
them for their for their lack of spiritual seriousness.
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Suddenly we saw the same angel near us.
What are you doing? You must pray! Pray! The hearts of Jesus and
Mary have merciful designs for you. You must offer your prayers and
sacrifices to God, the Most High.
"But how are we to sacrifice?" I asked.
In every way you can offer sacrifice to God in reparation for the
sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for sinners. In
this way you will bring peace to our country, for I am its guardian
angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, bear and accept with
patience the sufferings God will send you.
This apparition renewed the
same profound effect which the first one had on them.
Francisco, who throughout the appearances of the angel and Our Lady
would see but not hear, was unsuccessful in prying from the girls the
words which the angel had spoken until the following day. Lucia tells
us,
The Angels' words sank deeply into our
souls like a gleaming torch, showing us Who God is, what is His love
for us, and how he wants us to love Him too; the value of sacrifice
and how it pleases Him; how He receives it for the conversion of
sinners. That is why from that moment we began to offer Him whatever
mortified us.
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