CHAPTER EIGHT
THE LADY REVEALS HER SECRETS
When the children arrived at the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth day of July 1917, they found that a crowd of five to six thousand people had preceded them and that these people were anxiously awaiting their arrival. It was the third year of the First World War and people were tired of the fighting. Many of them had husbands, brothers or sons at the Front. If this Lady from Heaven was the One they hoped She was, they reckoned, surely She could prevail upon Our Lord to end the war? And so the hopeful thousands stood at the Cova, awaiting the Lady's arrival.
After the children had battled their way through the surging crowds and reached their little oak, they knelt down to say their Rosary. Then a flash of lightning, cleaving the sky, heralded the Lady's third visit and here She stood again, as lovely and enchanting as the children remembered Her.
Lucia, gazing at Her, felt ashamed. As she motioned to the crowd to kneel down, they willingly obeyed her. Then Jacinta nudged her urgently. "Come on Lucia, talk! Can't you see that the Lady is here and wishes to speak to you?"
Humbly Lucia raised her eyes.
"What dost Thou desire of me?"
"I want you to come here on the thirteenth day of the coming month, and to continue to say the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, to obtain the Peace of the World and an End to the War. For She alone will be able to help."
"I wish to ask you to tell us Who You are and to perform a miracle to that everyone will believe that You appeared to us."
"Continue to come here every month. In October I shall tell you Who I am and what I wish, and I shall perform a miracle for everyone to see in order to make them believe."
Lucia made some requests and Our Lady replied that it was necessary to say the Rosary to obtain graces during the year. Looking earnestly at the children, she added:
"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say frequently, but especially whenever you are making a sacrifice: 'Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'"
Then the Lady again opened out her hands as she had done on previous occasions. This time the light from her hands seemed to pierce the earth. The children saw a vision of Hell, where those who have rejected God live. There was much sorrow and despair there. Terrified, the children turned their eyes towards Our Lady, who said, sadly and tenderly:
"You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go.
In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If they do what I shall tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war will end, but if people do not stop offending God, another even worse one will begin.
"When you see a night, illuminated by an unknown light, know that this will be the great sign which God will give you to show that He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.
"To prevent this I shall come to ask for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If they heed my requests, conversion will occur and there will be peace. If not, errors will be scattered throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be destroyed.
"In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate to me. Conversion will occur and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be kept.
"Tell this to no one. Francesco, yes, you may tell him.
"When you say the Rosary, recite after each mystery:
'Oh my Jesus pardon us. Save us from the fire of Hell. Draw all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Thy Mercy.'"
The crowd had noticed a white cloud surrounding the holm oak since the time when the Lady had arrived. They now heard Lucia ask: "Dost Thou desire anything further from me?"
"No, I desire nothing further," the Lady replied in tones audible only to Lucia and Jacinta. Then She departed.
As soon as the crowd noticed that the white cloud had disappeared from the holm oak, they rushed to surround the shepherds. "What did the Lady say?" they asked, "Lucia, we could hear you sighing. Why did you look so sad? What happened?"
Elbowing his way through the crowd, Father Marto appeared. Having reached the children, he stooped, lifted Jacinta from the ground and swiftly bore her away from the importunate crowd. No such luck for Lucia and Francesco, however. They were left to face the full blast of the pilgrims' curiosity.
Finally Lucia said:
"It's a secret."
"Good or bad?"
"It's for the wellbeing of the three of us."
"And what about the people?"
"It also concerns the people. For some the news is good - for others bad."
And despite all their pleadings, the people obtained no further information from the children.
Only many years later Lucia disclosed the two secrets described above.
Afterwards, at the well in the backyard, Lucia was telling Francesco all the things the Lady had said. As he listened, Jacinta, looking sadly at her hands, murmured:
"Coitadinho do Santo Padre! Poor Holy Father.
Tenho muita pena dos pecadores - Oh, how I pity the sinners . . ."
She was to continue repeating these words at brief intervals throughout the remainder of her short life.
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