Fatima and the Eucharist

By Ivonne Hernandez

From Lucia Speaks:
  
“The third apparition of the Angel occurred near the end of September or in October. The three little Shepherds were praying the Rosary when the Angel appeared, holding a chalice in his hands with a Host above it from which some drops of Blood were falling into the sacred vessel. Leaving the Chalice and the Host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated himself on the ground and repeated three times the following prayer: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” After that he rose, took again in his hand the chalice and the host. The host he gave to me and the contents of the chalice he gave to Jacinta and Francisco, saying at the same time, “Eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ terribly outraged by the ingratitude of men. Offer reparation for their sakes and console God.” Once more he bowed to the ground repeating with us the same prayer thrice: “Oh, Blessed Trinity etc.” and disappeared. Overwhelmed by the supernatural atmosphere that involved us, we imitated the Angel in everything, kneeling prostrate as he did and repeating the prayers he said. ” [1]
 

MEDITATION:

This was the third and last visit from the Angel, who prepared the children at Fatima for Our Lady’s visits. On his first visit he taught the children to pray, on his second visit he told them to offer God sacrifices for the conversion of sinners, and on this third visit, he taught them the most perfect way to pray and offer sacrifice to God, through the Eucharist. Looking carefully at the details from this visit from the Angel, we can ponder on the depth of the mystery of the Eucharist.

We see blood dripping from the Host into the Chalice; a reminder of the Blood of the Lamb, shed for the salvation of the world. We see the Angel, prostrated in Adoration of the Triune God present in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament, while at the same time offering “the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world”. This is the prayer of the Church at every Mass, where “the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body.” (CCC, 1368)  The angel is teaching us that we possess Jesus and can offer Him to the Most Holy Trinity, and that everything in our lives is to be offered to God as a sacrifice, united to Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.  We also learn from the Angel the interior disposition we must have towards the Eucharist, one of profound Adoration, for God is truly present there.

Almost eight months would pass before Our Lady would appear to the children on May 13, 1917, during which time the children continued to practice everything the Angel had taught them. When Our Lady asked them if they would offer themselves to God and bear all the sufferings for the conversion of sinners, they willingly complied.  What beautiful fruits had these months of deep Eucharistic prayer bore in their hearts. It was necessary to school them in the doctrine of the Eucharist before they could be open to receive the message from Heaven asking for their total gift of self, and it is the same for us. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41) We need to pray and we need to unite our lives to the offering of Jesus in the Eucharist. He will transform us into Himself and we will then be ready to say Thy will be done.


[1] http://fatimaonline.org/?page_id=998