Originally printed in Issue No. 90 of The Reign of Mary

Generosity: Living the Message of Fatima

By Sister Mary Agatha, CMRI

As often as we have heard about or read about Fatima, its message is something that always bears repeating. The 1917 apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, were a great mercy of God, shedding heavenly light and grace upon this troubled and sinful world. But while many traditional Catholics esteem highly the Fatima message, one wonders how many of us, in God’s eyes, truly fulfill Our Lady’s requests to the degree that He wills.

In the late 1950’s, Father Augustin Fuentes, Roman Postulator for the Causes of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, was given the rare opportunity to interview Sister Lucia, the only surviving seer of the Fatima apparitions. In a conference given to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and of Our Lady of Guadalupe on May 22, 1958, Father Fuentes described his interview:

“When I visited Sister Lucy, she received me full of sadness… The first thing she said to me was: ‘Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad because no one heeds her message, neither the good nor the bad. They continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil…”

It is striking that Our Lady should be saddened even by those who are living lives of virtue and carrying on an active apostolate. The message of Fatima is often described as nothing more than the living of our Catholic Faith. Yet here Sister Lucy’s words would lead us to believe that our Blessed Mother expects more. But in what sense? In other words, what does it mean to unite our lives to the message of Fatima?

The simplicity of the Fatima message is indisputable. Simple, however, does not necessarily mean easy — Our Lady’s requests are not difficult to understand, but they do require generosity and self-sacrifice. Prayer, sacrifice, reparation, penance — these help make up what we call Christian living. But if God saw it necessary to send His Mother to earth to remind the faithful to make use of these means, does it not suggest that they were not being used generously enough? For all — but especially for those who are living lives of serious sin — this means, before anything else, amendment of life: “Men must cease offending God, Who is already too much offended.”

Avoiding sin, however, is only the beginning. We ought not to think that we are doing God a favor by avoiding mortal sin; that is the least He requires of us. The Christian life is much more than a list of “Thou shalt not’s”; it is essentially a life of love. Love means self-sacrifice and surrender to God’s Will – generosity, in other words. Perhaps, then, this is the key to living the Fatima message in accordance with Our Lady’s wishes.

In her interview with Father Fuentes, Sister Lucy emphasized that prayer and sacrifice are the two weapons Our Lady gave us. Certainly this is not to suggest that these means of grace are new to the spiritual life. Without prayer, there can be no true amendment of life, and sacrifice is part of the Christian way of life: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24).

To apply the principle of generosity here in a practical way, how might we become more generous in our prayer life? Do Jesus and Mary expect us to spend our every free moment kneeling in prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? Sister Lucy answers thus:

“Prayer is a conversation with God, our Heavenly Father. But it is not necessary to be in church or before a holy picture to converse with Him. We can pray everywhere, in the street, at school, in the office, the workshop — everywhere.”

This is an echo of the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori, the great Doctor of prayer, who wrote:

“You are not asked to apply your mind continually to the thought of God and lay aside the fulfillment of your duties and your recreations. Nothing else is required than to act towards God, in the midst of your occupations, as you do, even when busy, towards those who love you and whom you love.

“Your God is ever beside you — indeed, He is even within you. ‘In Him we live and move and are.’ …Speak to Him often of your business, your plans, your troubles, your fears — of everything that concerns you. But above all, converse with Him confidently and frankly, for God is not want to speak to a soul that does not speak to Him” (How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God, Daughters of St. Paul, Boston, MA, 1981, p. 22-23).

Sister Lucy went on to explain what she meant by sacrifice:

“All of us, regardless of our state in life, must suffer. We must suffer because of original sin and also as true followers of Christ. Everyone has some kind of affliction, contrariety, illness or problem to bear. Our Lord offers His Cross to all; we should love it then and embrace it. But we should not only accept the sufferings He sends us — we should also have the generosity to make many sacrifices. Every Christian is ‘another Christ’ and as such, he should be willing to pray and suffer for souls. Now as never before we should put selfishness to one side. We have to save our souls or lose them along with many other souls. Many souls depend upon our correspondence to grace. If we lose our souls, we will likewise lose many other souls.”

“Putting selfishness to one side” has never been easy for human nature, but today nearly everything in our society militates against self-denial. Modern psychology with its emphasis on self-esteem and self-fulfillment has managed to infiltrate nearly every facet of society today. Even traditional Catholics can be lured from a life of self-sacrifice into a state of emotional fastidiousness and preoccupation with one’s feelings. What effect has this mentality had on how Catholics today live the Fatima message, with its plea for prayer and sacrifice — for generosity with God? What would our Blessed Mother say to Catholics today?

It is so easy to get lost in our own little worlds and to forget how desperately the Fatima message is needed. The light of Faith shines but dimly in the world; so few Masses are offered to call down graces from heaven. So many souls have been deprived of the means of grace that, not so long ago, were so abundant. Our Lady’s plea for prayer, sacrifice, reparation, amendment of life is more urgent than ever. “Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the suffering that He may please to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and to ask for the conversion of sinners?…”

Will you be generous?