The Lenten Lesson of Letting Go
The season of Lent, at first glance, appears to be a time solely of penitence and reparation. And, surely, it is. In increasing our dedication to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we certainly seek to atone for our own sins and those of others, just as Our Lady of Fatima implored us to do. But if we dig further beneath the surface of these penitential acts, we find a beautiful purpose that is too often easily overlooked.
Sister Lucia was a Martyr to Daily Duty
If there is anything we can learn from Venerable Sister Lucia, it is heroic patience and perseverance, which she embraced fully as each day unfolded – one to the next – until her death at age 97 on Feb. 13, 2005. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of her holy passing, Lucia is a good reminder of how to become a saint through what she called “the long, hard road of martyrdom that has to do with daily living.”
Lucia on the Essential Message of Fatima
by Barb Ernster – At the very first apparition at Fatima on May 13, Mary asked the three seers, “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversion […]
Lucia on the Sanctification of Our Daily Cross
by Donal Anthony Foley – We are entering the “Fatima season,” May – October, related to the apparitions of Fatima in 1917. Thus, it is a good time to reflect on the requirements of our daily duty in the light of what Our Lady asked for, particularly in the very first apparition on May 13. […]
Fortitude and our daily duty
by Catherine Moran, TOF, Ph.D. At Fatima, Our Lady asked that we offer up our daily duty as the penance required of us. This sounds easy, but in reality, it is very difficult to do without the gift of the virtue of fortitude, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fortitude is a […]
