Lesson 3: Loving Sacrifices
When we make a sacrifice with love in our hearts and Sanctifying Grace in our souls, our loving sacrifice is united to the Loving sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Through these sacrifices God does many beautiful things.
1. What is a sacrifice?
A sacrifice is a good action that I offer to God to show Him that I love Him. These actions are often difficult to do. All the saints made many loving sacrifices.
2. What day of the week are we required to make some sacrifice?
It is good to make sacrifices every day, but we are required to make some sacrifice every Friday because Jesus died on Friday. We make this sacrifice on Friday to show Jesus that we love Him and are sorry for our sins. A good sacrifice to make on Friday is not eating meat.
3. What must we have for our sacrifices to be pleasing to God?
For our sacrifices to be pleasing to God, we must have Sanctifying Grace, the life of Jesus in our souls that we received t Baptism, and we must do these sacrifices with love.
4. What effects do sacrifices produce that are performed with Sanctifying Grace and love?
If we have Sanctifying Grace in our souls and we do these sacrifices with love, God does many beautiful things through these sacrifices.
-Our souls are purified of the effects of sin.
-We are drawn closer to God;
-Souls are released from Purgatory and enter heaven; and
-Souls are saved from going to hell.
The more we do these sacrifices with love for Jesus, the more we and other people are helped.
Sacrifices made with love are the greatest acts of mercy we can make.
5. What is the best way to make our offerings of love to Jesus?
The best way to make our sacrifices and offerings of love to Jesus is through Mary, his mother. Mary purifies all that we offer to her. She makes our offering immaculate and offers it to Jesus.
Offering everything to Mary gives God the greatest glory.
6. What are the most important sacrifices that God wants of me?
The most important sacrifices that God wants of me are:
-Doing my daily duties at home, at school, and at home;
-Accepting the difficulties of life without complaining; and
-Being kind to others.
7. What are some other sacrifices that we can do for the love of God?
-Give up drinking your favorite soft drink or something you like.
-Give up watching your favorite television program. Watch less TV.
-Get up right away from bed in the morning.
-Eat what your parents make for you. Never complain about food or anything.
-Be always cheerful to your parents and others even when you don’t feel like it.
-Do your prayers right away in the morning.
-Never waste time.
-Clean your room. Make your bed.
-Ray even when you don’t feel like it. Pray the Rosary every day.
-Always tell the truth even when it is hard
-Help your mom and ad. Never talk back to them. Always be polite to them.
-Learn to see God in your parents and grandparents
-Come to confession every week after your first Confession
-When you pass a church, stop in to tell Jesus that you love Him
The Angel of Peace (1916)
In 1916, an angel appeared to the three children in Fatima, Portugal – Lucy dos Santos, Saint Jacinta Marto, and her brother Saint Francisco. The angel appeared to them three times in the form of a young man who was radiantly bright. He told them, “Pray! Pray very much!… Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to God, the Most High.” Luch asked, “How are we to make sacrifices?” The angel responded, “Make of everything you can sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission, the suffering which the Lord will send you.” Years later, Lucy wrote, “These words were indelibly impressed upon our minds. They were like a light, which made us understand who God is, how He loves us and desires to be loved, the value of sacrifice, how pleasing it is to Him and how, on account of it, He grants the grace of conversion to sinners. It was for this reason that we began from then on to offer to the Lord all that mortified us, without however seeking out other forms of mortification and penance except that we remained for hours on end with our foreheads touching the ground repeating the prayer the Angel had taught us: My God I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love You. I implore your pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love You. 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 the 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 those of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” In his final appearance the Angel came with Holy Communion and gave Lucy the Host to eat and Blessed Francisco and Jacinta the precious Blood to drink from the chalice. After giving them Communion, he said, “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Repair their crimes and console your God.”
Our Lady of the Rosary (1917)
In 1917, the following year, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, appeared to them six times. She was “dressed in white” and “was more brilliant than the sun.” She was filled with love. The children deeply felt her love and loved her in return. In every appearance she told the children to pray the rosary every day for peace in the world. World War I was then taking place. They began to say many rosaries. On July 13thshe said, “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice, ‘O Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’” As Our Lady spoke these words, she opened her arms. The rays of light coming from her hands seemed to penetrate the earth, and the children saw what looked like a “sea of fire.” In this fire were demons and souls in human form, all blackened or bronzed, raised into the air by the flames that came from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke. They screamed and groaned with pain and despair, which made the children tremble with fear. The demons could be recognized by their terrifying and disgusting likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. After this vision Our Lady told them in a sad and kindly voice, “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” ON August 19th Our Lady said, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners’ for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.” The vision of hell had such a deep impact upon them and Our Lady spoke so powerfully that the children began to pray for hours at a time, saying many rosaries, and making many sacrifices to prevent sinners from going to hell. The children would go a long time without water in the very hot summer sun, would share their lunches with the poor, wore a cord around the waist that caused them much pain around their waist, and accepted the difficulties of their lives without complaining. On September 13 Our Lady told them that God was very pleased with their sacrifices, but did not want them to sleep with the cord on. Through their sacrifices many souls were saved, God was consoled, and the children themselves became great saints. Pope, John Paull II beatified Francisco and Jacinta in the year 2000.
