“What is it that Your Grace wants of me?”, was the question made by the the Shepherd Children to Our Lay in the Cove of Iria, 13 May of 1917.
This was the theme chosen for the Pilgrimage of Children this year. A pilgrimage that is one of the greatest and most festive pilgrimages of this Marian Sanctuary (Fatima) that fills the heart and rejoices for each child. In the preparation for this great day, The Sanctuary brings the proposal to all the teachers of orientation to the children. This proposal involves the reflection of four themes, and what I want here to share with you is that they are for all of us as well, a base to give our daily response to God.
There are four questions to reflect, the first is “Giving time to be with God” and how it is difficult to each one of us to find this time, in our daily preoccupation with family, with children, with work, finally everybody that surrounds us and that wears us out and at the end of the day makes us say…” I don’t have the strength for anything more” but it is in this hour that He is there. And it is in this hour that we need to seek his presence that strengthens us and re-establishes us. And why not seeking with your son or daughter, in that moment that you are going to tuck them into bed, giving a kiss for a good night, and joined making the nightly prayer? Have you already experienced hearing the prayer of your son…believing many times in the innocent words of a child, God speaking with each one of us, that brings us to reflect on the theme for the second week, “You are attentive to the word of God?”, being attentive that invites us to welcome the will of God in our life, the choosing his word and making of his life, not only hearing…but putting it into practice in our life.
God is love, and all His word is reflected from infinite love, and if each one of us knows to hear God and allows ourselves to be surrounded by his word, we will see this love of God reflected in each gesture of your day, and each one of us will be the presence of God for each other. And this, will be for practice of the theme of the third week “Doing what God likes”, loving the neighbor. Stopping pointing out the defects of the other, but seeing in him above all a work of God, made in His image and likeness. Thinking that in each face that surrounds us, in each gesture of the other one encounters a little of God. How can you desire evil for him, how can you not smile to him, how can you not care for my brother.
Finally, this journey needs to remain seal with the last proposed theme, “Are you going to be faithful to your promises?”, saying the same thing: are you going to faithful to the will of God, are you going to be available for God, Are you going to be as those shepherd children, and showing my availability to God, asking each day, and today Father, “What does Your Grace want of me?”
May our Lord Jesus Christ be praised, and for always be praised with his mother Mary Most Holy.
Canção Nova Portugual