All content on this page was researched and written by Fr. Frank Lomica and Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish in Lakewood, CO.
1. In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 3 little children in the fields outside their little village. What is the name of their little village?
ANSWER: Fatima
2. The oldest child was 10 years old and her two cousins were 9 and 7 years old. What are their names?
ANSWER: Lucia, Francisco, Jacinta
3. These 3 little children had a very important job to do that they were given by their families. What was that important job?
ANSWER: Shepherds
4. The Blessed Virgin Mary visited with the children 6 times during the year of 1917. What was the date of her first visit?
ANSWER: May 13th
5. The children had many questions to ask the Blessed Virgin. What would you ask her if she came to visit you?
ANSWER: Open to each child
6. Each time the Blessed Mother visited with the children she asked them to do something very important for peace in the world. What did she ask them to do?
ANSWER: Pray the Rosary every day
1. In 1916, the year prior to the apparitions by the Blessed Mother, the children received 3 visits from an angel of God. Who did he say he was?
ANSWER: The Angel of Peace, The Angel Guardian of the Country of Portugal
2. The angel was sent by God to prepare the children for the tasks the Blessed Mother would give each of them to do. What were the three things he taught Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta that were important for them to do?
ANSWER: 1) To pray; 2) To offer sacrifices; 3) To suffer with patience
3. Why did he say these things were important?
ANSWER: To repair for the sins committed against God and for the conversion of sinners.
4. The Angel was speaking to the shepherd children of Fatima, but his words are true for us as well. What did the Angel of Peace tell the children would be the end result of their (and our) obedience to these 3 requests?
ANSWER: We can bring peace to our nation.
5. What are "sacrifices"?
ANSWER: An offering that we make to God of our own free will of those things we enjoy or want to have.
6. What does it mean to "suffer with patience"?
ANSWER: To join our trials or difficulties with Jesus' suffering on the cross; to not be mean to others because we are not feeling well or something bad has happened to us.
1. One year prior to the apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children, they were visited 3 times by the Angel of Peace, the Guardian Angel of Portugal sent by God the Father, to prepare the children for the tasks Our Lady would assign to each of them. During the first visitation he taught them this prayer known as the Pardon Prayer:
My God I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you and I beg forgiveness for all those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love you.
This prayer calls to mind the adoration due to God and the three Theological Virtues. What are the three theological virtues?
ANSWER: Faith, hope, and charity
2. When the Angel came a second time, the children were playing. When he arrived, he reprimanded them saying, "What are you doing? Pray. Pray much!" He continued:
Offer God a sacrifice of anything you can as an act of reparation for the sins with which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners. Draw peace upon your country by doing this. Above all, accept and endure with submission whatever suffering the Lord sends you.
What is a sacrifice?
ANSWER: A sacrifice is an offering to God for love of Him made of our own free will. It can be the surrender of anything we enjoy or desire.
3. How does suffering differ from sacrifice?
ANSWER: Suffering differs from sacrifice, as it is not something we choose of our own free will. Instead, suffering is imposed on us by life and by circumstance.
4. In the fall of 1916, the Angel came for the final time. When he appeared to the children, he held in his hand a chalice. Above the chalice, suspended in mid air, was a host bleeding drops of blood into the chalice. He left the chalice and host suspended and prostrated himself before them. He prayed this prayer:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly and offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences with which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg Thee for the conversion of poor sinners.
Sacrileges refer to a lack of reverence for the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord. Failure to confess a mortal sin and failure to observe the fast before receiving Communion are some examples. "Indifferences" reveal a lukewarm heart. What are 3 examples of "indifferences"?
ANSWER: 1) Sitting idle during Mass; 2) Allowing ourselves to be distracted during Mass; 3) Talking during Mass; 4) Dressing inappropriately for Mass; 5) Arriving late for Mass or leaving early
5. The Angel taught the children to make "reparation" to God. What is meant by "reparation?
ANSWER: Reparation is an act of love (charity) to God in the form of prayer, sacrifice, or a good deed, in order to make up for another's failure or refusal to love Him.
6. What was the greatest act of reparation ever made?
ANSWER: The passion and death of our Lord.