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The parish priest of Fatima, who knew Jacinta personally, wrote in his notes about her most remarkable piety and wisdom over a year before she died (author, James W. Demers):
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This is the same Jacinta to whom Our Lady would appear at the church in Fatima to teach her how to pray the Rosary in consolation for the suffering to come. On August 6, 1918, Father Ferreira, the parish priest of Fatima confirmed in his Memoir:
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“Jacinta affirms that Our Lady appeared to her another three times. The first time was in the church at Fatima, during Mass, on Ascension Thursday, May 18, 1918. At that time Our Lady taught her how to say the Rosary. The second time was at night, at the opening of the cave (the Cabeço), while the whole family was sleeping. The third time, in the house, was above a table; the Blessed Virgin was immobile and silent.”
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The reality of Jacinta living out her full martyrdom in her primary years contains for critics and advocates alike a cherished lesson. Throughout history the faith and the Church have been edified, fortified and often rectified by mature women of great sanctity, the most commonly remembered being Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and Thèrése of Lisieux, all now Doctors of the Church (as of 1997). The world-weary observer who in true humility can accept that his own sin-laden soul is momentarily out of the running for such honors, will be unable to resist a generous movement of the heart toward Jacinta, one that will overthrow cynicism so that he can say with pride in the child Jacinta of Fatima that she was a Doctor of Suffering.
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Jacinta’s purity in imitation of Mary and Her Divine Son also affirms the dignity of the truly virginal priesthood.
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When Sister Lucy wrote in a poem about Jacinta, “In deepest suffering, Jesus loving,…” she could have found no more precious words to describe the sacrificial celibate priesthood. In today’s disorientation, both within and without the Church, the priest who cherishes his virginity and lives his life in daily immolation of his human sɛҳuąƖity, who would face death rather than surrender his purity to any but God, is our hope for the future, for the faith, for the Church, for the salvation of souls. To these priests the very mention of the name Jacinta provokes tender emotion, an involuntary acknowledgment that in her they find an example which gloriously justifies the sacrifice which their striving for chastity demands of them.
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There is even a more profound lesson to be learned for the priesthood from the tiny child of Fatima. Our Lady Herself was the tabernacle of the Most High, carrying God in Her virginal womb. Yet Christ did not call even Her to the priesthood.
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Jacinta, in all her humility, stands in complete contrast to the ‘we would be as priest’ women of today’s Church. In everything she did she matched pain-for-pain the suffering of her brother and of the adults who surrounded her. She never made any claim for attention or special treatment and spurned any praise from pilgrims in search of a saint. She was pure and virginal first and last, with the heart of a martyr and a soul wide open to God. That is the perfect description of the priest who daily sacrifices the good of marriage for the greater good of souls.
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It is the virgin priest, living in imitation of Christ’s holy purity, who is ensuring for the Bride of Christ the eternal husbandry of the Order of Melchisidech. Jacinta, now a flower on their altars, is a gift from the Church to the virgin priest. Jacinta was, and remains, definitive proof that, as in all things, in His choice of flowers God is always right.
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Topic: Fr. Pfeiffer gone mad? VERY Inappropriate sermon. (Read 17013 times)