Servant of God Sister Lucia tells us why in her Memoirs and explains more in her book, “Calls” From the Message of Fatima.
Concerning devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, two major blue-letter (for the Blessed Mother) dates after the 1917 apparitions are Dec. 10, 1925, and Dec. 17, 1927.
Another Appeal
On 10 December 1925 — which happened to be the feast of Our Lady of Loreto — Sister Lucia was in her cell in the convent in Pontevedra, Spain, when the Blessed Mother appeared to her. Our Lady didn’t arrive alone. Jesus was with his Mother, appearing as a child standing on a luminous cloud.
Sister Lucia described what happened, referring to herself in the third person.
“The most holy Virgin rested her hand on her shoulder, and as she did so, she showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand. At the same time, the Child said: ‘Have compassion on the Heart of your most holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.’’
Then Our Lady told her:
“Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”
Another Visit
Lucia kept the visit secret. Two years later, when her superiors asked her to write down this latest apparition, she wanted to take confirmation from heaven. She first went to pray before the tabernacle. It was on 17 December 1927. She asked Jesus how she was to fulfill this request which was part of the secrets.
Lucia was concerned about this part of the July 1917 revelations. Our Lady said:
“Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and these souls will be loved by God, like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.
Nothing could be more obvious — devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was heaven’s plan, the plan of God, the plan of her Son.”
When Lucia wanted to know if she was to remain alone on earth, not with her cousins Jacinta and Francisco, Our Lady answered:
“No, daughter. I shall never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”
Then on 17 December 1925, Lucia said:
“Jesus made her hear very distinctly these words: ‘My daughter, write what they ask of you. Write also all that the most holy Virgin revealed to you in the Apparition, in which she spoke of this devotion. As for the remainder of the Secret, continue to keep silence.’”
What to Reveal
The first revelation of heaven’s plan for the Heart of Our Lady came in the 1917 apparitions.
In her Memoirs, Lucia explained, “Our Lady told us, in the July secret, that God wished to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart.” Our Lady said, Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved on earth. He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart. Three times her Immaculate Heart was mentioned in that July apparition, also referring to the conversion of Russia and the vision of hell. Our Lady said, You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
Reflecting on the June 1917 apparition, Lucia emphasized devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was essential. Our Lady told her that “her Immaculate Heart would be my refuge and the way that would lead me to God. As she spoke these words, she opened her hands, and from them streamed a light that penetrated to our inmost hearts. … From that day onwards, our hearts were filled with a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
Later Lucia revealed:
In front of the palm of Our Lady’s right hand was a heart encircled by thorns that pierced it. We understood that this was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, outraged by the sins of humanity, and seeking reparation. Before St. Jacinta was taken to the hospital, she told her cousin:
“You will remain here to make known that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at His side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace since God has entrusted it to her.”
From the above revelations, we can understand how we should have to devote ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Let’s pray for the graces to lead a devoted life.