The Death of a 20th Century Heroine: Sor Lucia March 2005The Pope is mourning the loss of a friend who saved his life. This friend had been rallying prayer support for the Holy Father since she was 10 years old until her death last month at the age of 97. She said she had been told to do so by another friend, Mary. John Paul II credits her prayers and the prayers that she helped stir in others with surviving an assassin's bullet that by all normal circumstances should have killed him within seconds. The Pope's friend was Lucia, a little shepherd girl from Portugal, and she died a few weeks ago, on February 13 th . In this lesson we will look at her life, her friendship with Mary, and her mission in the world. Chosen for a missionIn 1917, Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal to the 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos along with her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto. For the next six months, from May to October, the Blessed Mother would appear to the shepherd children on the 13 th of every month (except for the August apparition). She spoke to them like friends, and gave them a serous message for the world, telling that terrible events were coming for people, and asking everyone to pray the rosary daily and do acts of penance, praying in a special way for the conversion of sinners. She also entrusted them with three secrets. The last secret would not be made public until more than 80 years later. This special friendship with Mary was a gift that the children did not expect nor ask for. They were only poor, humble shepherds who knew nothing about fame and worldwide events. When Our Lady asked them to pray in a special way for Russia, they thought that Russia may have been some lady or sinner who needed to be converted. These children became heroes because they were not looking to be more important or famous than everyone else, but just to focus on being who God wanted them to be. Even from the beginning, their mission was not easy, but children can often surprise us by their courage. The government at that time in Portugal was anti-Catholic, and at one point, the children were jailed in a town called Ourem, and the Mayor threatened to boil them in oil if they did not say that the visions were a lie. One by one he lead them away to what they thought was certain death. It turned out that the threat of the Mayor was a bluff, but the children had believed it was true. Even with the possibility of death they would not betray Our Lady. In the words Pope John Paul II sent for Lucia's funeral last month, he reminded us of Lucia's fidelity to her mission. "The visit of the Virgin Mary, which little Lucia received in Fatima together with her cousins Francisco and Jacinto in 1917, was for her the beginning of a singular mission to which she remained faithful until the end of her days." A mission to save souls At one point, Mary showed the three children a vision of hell. They saw a great sea of fire with demons like frightful animals and souls shrieking and groaning in pain and despair. It was not an illusion. It was real, terribly real. Lucia said that they would have died of fear and terror right there, except that they had already been allowed a special experience of God´s love and Mary had already promised to take them to heaven. The purpose of the vision was to show them the need to save souls. Seeing how bad hell was increased their apostolic zeal, and they decided to do anything possible to stop souls from ending up there. Mary promised that many could be saved through devotion to her Immaculate Heart, and helped the children to realize that their prayers were powerful for the salvation of souls. It was a simple mission, to dedicate time every day to pray and offer sacrifices for others, but the children were convinced that it was the most important thing in the world. They lived it seriously, and inspired countless others throughout the world to do the same. Life of prayer When, after the apparitions, so many people came to pray in Fatima, they often wanted to see little Lucia too. She was glad people were coming to pray, but did not want to be the center of attention. With the help of her parents and her bishop, Lucia was secretly enrolled in a girls' boarding school in another town in 1921. Her classmates did not even know she was the famous Lucia of Fatima. Her cousins had died in 1919 and 1920, and even though Lucia was very sad, she found strength and joy because Mary had promised she would bring them to heaven. Lucia wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to prayer. When she was 18 years old, she was admitted as a postulant in the Institute of the Sisters of St. Dorothy in Spain. Fourteen years after making her perpetual vows, she transferred to the Carmel of Saint Teresa in Portugal where she dedicated her life to prayer in a cloister, taking the name of Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart. She would remain here for the rest of her life, seriously working to fulfill her mission to save as many souls as possible through her prayer and sacrifice. She did not look for special treatment and simply lived the life of the convent like all the other nuns. Once, when a new sister came to live there, she did not even realize that Sister Maria Lucia was Lucia of Fatima until over a week after her arrival. Lucia was chosen by Mary because of her humility, and she wanted to keep practicing that humility for the rest of her life. Guardian of the Pope On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was struck down by the bullet of a professional assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca. The gunman fired several shots at very close range, and he was confident that there was no way he could miss. The bullet entered the Holy Father's abdomen, and exited out the other side, also breaking his elbow and cutting a finger before falling to the floor of the Popemobile . By a miracle, the bullet that pierced the Pope was somehow deflected around vital organs, and the Pope's life was spared. The doctors could not explain how this had happened. The Holy Father immediately accredited this to the intervention of Our Lady of Fatima, and the strength of the prayers of her friend, Sister Lucia. To this day, the assassin is still trying to figure out what this mysterious "Fatima" secret is, that could have foiled his master plan so successfully. He would never believe that a little nun who was praying hard in a country far away, would be able to guard the Pope's life against his gun. On May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II traveled to Fatima in thanksgiving, putting the bullet in Our Lady's crown as a sign of her victory, and meeting with his prayer-bodyguard, Sister Lucia. A secret is revealed Sister Lucia had received three secrets from Our Lady in 1917, which were revealed little by little. She said that the third one could not be known until after 1960, and so she carefully wrote it out, sealed it in an envelope, and gave it to her bishop to be kept in the Vatican secret archives. Recently, it was revealed that Mary's third secret to Lucia and her cousins had been a type of vision. They saw the Church under attack, many martyrs, and the Pope himself being killed by enemy gunfire under a huge wooden cross. She did not know what it meant at the time, but in humility she recognized that it was only her job to report it, not to try to figure it out. Only the Popes were able to see it until a few years ago when it was revealed to whole world. What does it mean? Lucia's vision does not imply that God was planning to have the Pope shot, nor that she was able to predict the future. The vision was an image of what would happen in the 20 th century: the battle of the atheistic systems against the Church and all Christians, and in a particular way against the Pope. It shows the great sufferings of all those people who take their faith seriously and refuse to betray Christ. Lucia and her cousins were constantly motivated by this reality, repeating, "Poor souls! Poor Holy Father!" The vision also shows that the martyrs who successfully give witness to their faith earn more graces to strengthen the rest of us. When Mary came to Fatima, she reminded the world that she and her Son are actively involved in human history. Though we normally do not see their actions, our faith assures us that they are interested and participate in everything that goes on in our world. Our Lady of Fatima showed the children that prayer can change the course of history. In explaining the third secret of Fatima, the Church has confirmed that this happened. History was changed through prayer in a real way, when Pope John Paul II was shot, and yet lived on for many more years to see the fall of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe. The silent army general Lucia led the way of prayer and penance that millions of believers would follow. Silently, from her cloister she gathered an army around the Pope and the Church. Her faithful transmission of the Blessed Mother's message has inspired countless others to offer simple prayers and sacrifices for the good of the Church and the souls that are in danger of being lost. Her example led many others to strive hard towards heaven. Lucia taught us a prayer that is very powerful. It helps us focus on our main goal in life and calls us to join in her spiritual combat for others. The Holy Father invites us to repeat this prayer often: "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy."
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