The Spiritual Combat; The Imitation of Christ

https://www.bluearmy.com/the-spirituality-of-blessed-jacinta-marto/

The Spirituality of Blessed Jacinta Marto
Jacinta Marto was born in the village of Aljustrel near Fatima in Portugal on March 11, 1910 to parents Manuel Pedro “Ti” Marto and Olympia de Jesus. She was only six when the Angel of Peace appeared, and just seven when Our Lady appeared in 1917. Jacinta is the youngest non-martyr ever to be beatified by the Church. In the course of almost four years until her death on February 20, 1920, she made giant strides in the spiritual life. God, through Mary, gave her many graces and she responded with an unwavering faith and ardent love.

Jacinta was naturally very affectionate; her father called her the sweetest of their nine children. She was also very capricious and somewhat self-willed. She loved games but was easily offended and would go into a corner to pout. The children called this “tethering the donkey.” She could only be coaxed back if she could name the game herself. After the apparitions she retained her affectionate nature, but became more serious. Whatever she did, she did with her whole heart, so after the apparitions she accepted wholeheartedly the message of Our Lady.


Jacinta is carried through the crowds after the vision of hell, July 13, 1917.

Jacinta’s affection during the time of Mary’s appearances was directed into new channels, deepening her love for our Lord, His Mother, for the Church, for the Holy Father and for sinners. It was as though the light that came from Our Lady’s hands in the first and second apparitions, which reflected on all three children, gave Jacinta a deep insight into the meaning of God and eternity. The terrible vision of hell caused her great distress and she asked Lucia, “Why doesn’t Our Blessed Lady show hell to sinners? If they could see it they would never commit any more sins.” She had a deep trust in Mary’s advice to pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners, “for many go to hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.”

The spirituality of Jacinta may be said to rest on a three-fold basis: 1) Devotion to the Holy Trinity, expressed in the prayer to the Trinity taught to the children by the Angel. 2) Devotion to Mary. Jacinta especially had a deep devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary due to special graces given her by Our Lady. 3) Devotion to the Eucharist or “the hidden Jesus.”

Jacinta made her First Communion some time before her final illness. During her illness, she told Lucia, “I love Our Lord and Our Lady and I never get tired telling them that I love them. When I do that it seems I have a fire in my heart, but it does not burn me.”

As her illness progressed and she was too weak to attend daily Mass, she told Lucia, “It doesn’t matter. I want to go to make up for those sinners who will not go even on Sundays. Do you know, Lucia, our dear Lord is so sad and Our Lady told us He is already too greatly offended and we must not offend him anymore, but nobody listens and they just go on committing the same sins.”

Near the time of Francisco’s death, Our Lady appeared and asked her if she wanted to come to heaven then, too, or stay on earth longer to suffer for the conversion of sinners. Jacinta said she wanted to stay and suffer. Our Lady then told her that she would die alone in the hospital in Lisbon, but not to worry because the she would come and take her to heaven.

Just before leaving for the hospital, she told Lucia, “It will not be long now before I go to heaven. You will remain here to make known that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to her.”

Jacinta suffered tremendously while at the hospital from frequent fevers, from an abscess on her side, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. Hardest of all was that she suffered alone, without family or friends. During her stay there, she confided in Mother Godinho who cared for her, several things of great importance that Our Lady had told her:

• “More souls go to hell because of sins of impurity more than any other.”
• “War is a punishment from God for sins.”
• “Certain fashions are going to be introduced that will offend Our Lord very greatly and those who serve God should not follow them.”
• “Many marriages are not good, they are not pleasing to our Lord and are not of God.”
• “Priests must be very pure and concentrate on their mission to the Church and souls, and be obedient to the Pope and their Superiors.”
• “My dear mother, run away from riches. Cherish silence and holy poverty. Always be charitable, even with those who are unkind. Never criticize others and avoid those who do.”

Jacinta never tired of encouraging others to love Our Lord and His Mother, as well as to pray for the Holy Father and make sacrifices for sinners. During her Beatification on May 13, 2000, Pope St. John Paul II publicly thanked her for her prayers and sacrifices.

Little Jacinta died alone in Lisbon on the night of February 20, 1920. Just before Our Lady came to take her to heaven, she appeared to Jacinta and told her that her sufferings and sacrifices saved many souls. When her grave was exhumed so her body could be moved to the parish cemetery of St. Anthony in Fatima, her face was found to be incorrupt and she exhibited a sweet smell like bouquets of flowers. Today she is laid to rest near Lucia’s and Francisco’s in a side chapel in the Basilica at the Fatima Shrine.

 

( By the way I was kind of appalled to read that Lucia's mother used to beat her with a stick to put her of the Fatima vision thing. But looking back on my own childhood , which was not so very long ago everyone used to take turns to beat us. My mother and father, elder brother, teachers, a passing policeman, the park warden, the neighbourhood kids, it was just par for the course. We have to remember we are looking back at a very different world over a hundred years ago when we read this stuff and make allowances) . Even so letting crowds of people visit the bedside of a dying kid who needed peace and quiet seems very odd.

 

Thanks Padraig,

I will look these books up.

I read anything on Fatima...you almost always learn something new.

Sometimes I think purgatory might be a state of loneliness.....
I guess in life it is something you can get used to. One of my dearest friends loves her alone time.

Because it can be so hard, it’s certainly a opportunity to offer it up. Such a little thing really in light of unbelievable sacrifices that little jacinta made for souls. After seeing hell, Jacinta and Francesco were never the same. I think it affected them so much that they spent their remaining time left to sacrifice for poor souls to avoid hell.

The photos you see of them shows such a serious disposition. No smiles..... They matured fast and knew their time was short....and they used the little time left honoring the Blessed Mother’s wish to pray for souls and make great sacrifices.

Little Jacintas body was found incurrupt.

I think that Fatima is the greatest gift to the world in modern times. The movie grabbed my heart when I saw it in first grade. It’s message of offering up and making sacrifices for the salvation of souls guides my life.
Without The Fatima message, I’m not sure that I would truly understand the value of these acts.

Thank you Mother Mary and the children of Fatima! Pray for us to be able to make the sacrifices that you did for souls...our own included.

 

Here is another child saint whose body was found incorrupt just a few days ago.



https://aleteia.org/2019/01/24/body-of-computer-geek-on-way-to-canonization-is-found-incorrupt/

 

I just read about him yesterday!

He had a love and devotion to the Eucharist....and Eucharistic miracles.

 

Children when they turn to God like this with all their hearts are very , very special. They give their whole hearts; no efforts are too much.. They teach us so much.

I noticed this at Medugorje the young people were just totally into fasting, no excuses , no whining like us grown ups.

Today I was reading about St Jacinta climbing out of bed to pray on her knees like the angel of peace. Refusing to take water at night when she was in an agony of thirst. Going on her own to die in great pain in a hospital far away.

God is wonderful in His saints.

 

Ok Padraig....I’m officially shamed by Little Jacinta’s sacrifices.... I’m a moaner about such things...I’m ashamed of myself. This little post has spoken to me.
Thank you...

 

I have come to a part of the book that is so touching and so instructive. It would make you cry, it really, really would.

Jacinta has been moved to Lisbon where she is being taken care of my Franciscan nuns before being moved to the hospital. The Mother Superior was Standing at the end of the bed and Little Jacinta asked her to stand to one side as Our Lady was due to appear there!!!

Just imagine.

Jacinta warned Lucia to die rather than reveal the third secret What was so important and so secret? It must have been to do with the Church.

Anyway these are some last words of wisdom for her many of which came directly from the lips of Our Lady herself.

So precious!!

You must never lie or be lazy, but be very obedient. Do everything well and with patience for the love of God if you want to go to heaven.

Wars are punishments for the sins of the world.

The sins that bring most souls to hell are the sins of the flesh.

Many marriages are not good and are displeasing to God.

If the Governments left religion in peace and give Liberty to Our Holy Religion they would be pleasing to God.

Do not wear immodest clothes.

Run away from riches.

 

At your recommendation I just purchased this book, will start reading tomorrow. Thank you Padraig, God Bless You!

 

You are welcome . I was trying to get twin one on St Francesco but am having difficulties. I must have another look.

ahhh Amazon don't seem to have it on Kindle. What a pity!

https://freedompublishingbooks.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=19906

I love these simple prayerful Catholic little books that encourage devotion to the saints. I will be praying to St Jacinta for quite some time after reading this.

 

The Eleventh Chapter
ACQUIRING PEACE AND ZEAL FOR PERFECTION
WE SHOULD enjoy much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, for these are no concern of ours. How can a man who meddles in affairs not his own, who seeks strange distractions, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected, live long in peace?

Blessed are the simple of heart for they shall enjoy peace in abundance.

Why were some of the saints so perfect and so given to contemplation? Because they tried to mortify entirely in themselves all earthly desires, and thus they were able to attach themselves to God with all their heart and freely to concentrate their innermost thoughts.

We are too occupied with our own whims and fancies, too taken up with passing things. Rarely do we completely conquer even one vice, and we are not inflamed with the desire to improve ourselves day by day; hence, we remain cold and indifferent. If we mortified our bodies perfectly and allowed no distractions to enter our minds, we could appreciate divine things and experience something of heavenly contemplation.

The greatest obstacle, indeed, the only obstacle, is that we are not free from passions and lusts, that we do not try to follow the perfect way of the saints. Thus when we encounter some slight difficulty, we are too easily dejected and turn to human consolations. If we tried, however, to stand as brave men in battle, the help of the Lord from heaven would surely sustain us. For He Who gives us the opportunity of fighting for victory, is ready to help those who carry on and trust in His grace.

If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observance of its externals alone, our devotion will quickly come to an end. Let us, then, lay the ax to the root that we may be freed from our passions and thus have peace of mind.

If we were to uproot only one vice each year, we should soon become perfect. The contrary, however, is often the case -- we feel that we were better and purer in the first fervor of our conversion than we are after many years in the practice of our faith. Our fervor and progress ought to increase day by day; yet it is now considered noteworthy if a man can retain even a part of his first fervor.

If we did a little violence to ourselves at the start, we should afterwards be able to do all things with ease and joy. It is hard to break old habits, but harder still to go against our will.

If you do not overcome small, trifling things, how will you overcome the more difficult? Resist temptations in the beginning, and unlearn the evil habit lest perhaps, little by little, it lead to a more evil one.

If you but consider what peace a good life will bring to yourself and what joy it will give to others, I think you will be more concerned about your spiritual progress.

 

When I was young I noticed many of the neighbours used to stand on their front porches talking. They even left their front doors open so people could wander in and out on visits. My mother never ever did this and our front door was always kept firmly locked.

I asked my mother one time why she never did as they did. She replied that she had ten children to bring up and had no time for such goings on.

There used to be many priests visiting the house to say the Latin Mass on Sundays in our large front room. One of them was a very holy Dominican. I recall him one time saying he had been stopped by a neighbour and asked why he came to stay with our family? That we were a very bad Republican lot and he should avoid us like a plague. But I recall my mother , though her face went slightly stern, never responding , never attacking and never , ever making any comment ; though it must have wounded her deeply.

It reminds me of of what St Phillip Neri used to do with his novices. He used to send them to the graveyard at nights for an hour to praise the dead.

Then the next night he sent them to criticise them.

Finally he would ask the novices if the dead responded if praised or condemned. When the young men responded that they said nothing either way St Phillip replied,

'Be you like the dead to praise or criticism and thus always keep your peace'.