Two Old Testament greats who had to give way to Jesus Christ

 

 

by

Damien F. Mackey

 

 “When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus”.

 Matthew 17:8

  

Immediately following this, his manifestation in glory, Jesus, coming down from the Mountain of Transfiguration, will refer to his Resurrection, and to John the Baptist having come in the spirit of Elijah (vv. 9-13):

 

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead’.

The disciples asked him, ‘Why then do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?’

 

Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands’. Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

 

Here I intend to consider John the Baptist and also Moses, who, with said Elijah, was present at the Transfiguration. The Baptist and Moses had to, in a sense, diminish, so that Jesus Christ could wax the greater (John 3:30): ‘He must increase, and I must decrease’.

 

What follows is not original, but has been picked up from various talks and videos.

 

Saint John the Baptist

 

John the Baptist was, in fact, the head of the Old Testament.

 

Apart from his being prefigured by the prophet Elijah, as Jesus had recalled, John was marvellously foreshadowed by another worthy person, Jonathan, the son of King Saul and the bosom friend of David, the Lord’s anointed. Though Jonathan was the natural heir to Saul’s throne, being the king’s eldest son, he was prepared to yield to his friend, David, knowing that this was what the Lord had intended. For David, not he, Jonathan, was the Lord’s anointed.

 

What a man! What humility!

 

Jonathan could easily have had David removed out of the way by assisting his jealous father in the latter’s desire to have David killed.

Instead, he will risk his own life for the sake of his friend, David.

 

The remarkable sacrifice of the dedicated Jonathan is well captured in the following article: “I Will Be Second”: Insights From an Ancient Friendship - Hope 103.2

 

“I Will Be Second”: Insights From an Ancient Friendship

Home › Christian Living

 

What was the Biblical Jonathan doing when he promised the throne to David and suggested he would be his 2IC?

 

By Hope 103.2 Network

26 January, 2025

 

It’s an often-overlooked statement that is strangely counter-cultural: “You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you.”

 

Key Points

 

• In a world that is built upon the notion ‘me first’; humility and genuine servant-heartedness is becoming more difficult to find.
• Johnathan in the Bible exemplified what servant-heartedness looks like – as well as what a good friend looks like.
• Seeking to serve others instead of yourself is one of the true signs of a good leader.

---

 

You find it in 1 Samuel 23:17 and it is the words of Jonathan to his great friend David.

 

Now it wouldn’t be too startling a sentiment if it wasn’t that everyone expected Jonathan to be king. After all, he was the oldest son of King Saul, and that’s how these things work in royal circles. The oldest son is heir to the throne – easy, straightforward, not controversial at all. So what is Jonathan doing promising the throne to David and suggesting he would be his 2IC (second-in-charge)? And why would anyone willingly say, “I will be second”.

 

The desire to be first fuels so many conflicts – and it certainly fueled a fair few in the Bible. Take Jacob’s desperate desire to have the rights of the first born which were given to Esau who had beaten him by a whisker as these twins exited their mother’s womb. The deceit and conflict that follows is truly tragic, and all because Jacob could never accept that he came out second. While Esau paid scant attention to his rights as a firstborn he never thought that he should simply say to his brother Jacob, “I will be second.” Or what about the conflict between Joseph and his older brothers. Told in a dream that one day these brothers would bow down to him, Joseph is foolish enough to share the vision. Rather than say “No worry, we will be second” they plan to kill him – but then settle for selling him into slavery. And oh the family heartache that follows.

 

Coming second seems counterintuitive

 

There is something deeply counterintuitive in being content to be second, yet Jesus pushes the idea even further.

 

He suggests that the first will be last and the last first – so why select second when you can select last?

 

Noble though Jonathan’s sentiment towards David was, it didn’t turn out that way. David did indeed become king, but Jonathan was killed in battle far, far too young. David is devastated. We will never know if it would have worked with David as king and Jonathan his second. But there is an example set, and it should not be forgotten.

Jonathan was probably right that David would be a better king than him. Both were exceptionally capable – but David a bit more so. It’s hard to be confident in your status as an achiever yet to recognize that someone is a better fit than you are. It takes remarkable humility. Few have it. Jonathan wasn’t interested in what served his agenda, but what would serve the national interest best. When it came to being king, Jonathan couldn’t think of anyone who was a better fit for the role than David – even though Jonathan would have done a good job – and no doubt been better at it than his very erratic father, Saul. ….

 

So perfect was the Baptist’s awareness of his own vocation ‘to make straight the way of the Lord’ – he, likewise, risking his life in the face of fierce opponents and a mad king, Herod Antipas - that Jesus can say of him (Matthew 11:11): ‘Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!’ 

 

John the Baptist was, in fact, the head of the Old Testament.

His beheading, bitter as it was, was, in a symbolic sense, necessary. For the head of the Old Testament needed to be removed in order to make way for the divine Lord of the New Testament.

 

It is a far superior, spiritual order of being.

 

That is why Jesus could finish his statement in praise of John the Baptist with the seemingly belittling words, ‘… yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he’.

 

Moses the Lawgiver

 

The Law alone is insufficient to get us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

What was the sin of Moses?

 

At the waters of Massah and Meribah, Moses, it appears, failed to uphold the holiness of God: What defines the holiness of God?

“God’s holiness is His absolute moral purity, transcendence, and set-apart nature, distinguishing Him from all creation and sin.

Definition and Nature. God’s holiness fundamentally describes His unique, set-apart quality that separates Him from all creation and from sin or impurity (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16)”. 

 

Was the Lord too harsh on Moses?

 

To accuse Moses of “pride” here does not appear to sit very well with that statement about him in Numbers – somewhat mindful of Jesus’s praise of John the Baptist: (Numbers 12:3): “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth”.

 

It is a difficult narrative, with which commentators can struggle.

The following article (2025) at least makes a good attempt to explain it:

What sin did Moses commit against God?

 

What sin did Moses commit against God?

 

By striking the rock instead of speaking to it, Moses failed to uphold God’s holiness before the people. Scholars and theologians have debated the deeper meaning of this act. Some suggest that Moses’ actions reflected anger, impatience, or pride.

 

Moses is one of the most revered figures in the Bible, known for leading the Israelites out of Egypt and receiving the Ten Commandments from God. His faithfulness, humility, and leadership are celebrated throughout Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Yet, even Moses was not without fault. One of the most frequently discussed questions about his life is: What sin did Moses commit against God? This post explores the key incident that the Bible describes as Moses’ transgression, its context, and its consequences for his legacy.

 

Moses’ Leadership and Relationship with God

 

From the burning bush to the parting of the Red Sea, Moses’ life was marked by extraordinary encounters with God. Chosen to deliver the Israelites from slavery, he became the mediator between God and His people.

 

Moses regularly communicated with God, receiving laws, instructions, and guidance for the nation of Israel during their wilderness journey. Despite his closeness to God, Moses was still human and subject to error.

 

The Waters of Meribah: The Incident Explained

 

The most significant sin associated with Moses is found in the Book of Numbers, chapter 20. The Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, arrived at Kadesh and found themselves without water. As they often did, the people complained bitterly to Moses and Aaron, longing for the comforts of Egypt and fearing for their survival. Moses and Aaron sought God’s guidance, and God gave Moses specific instructions: “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink” (Numbers 20:8, NIV).

 

Instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded, Moses, perhaps frustrated by the people’s attitudes, struck the rock twice with his staff. Water did flow from the rock, quenching the people’s thirst, but Moses had not followed God’s command exactly. God then said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them” (Numbers 20:12, NIV).

 

The Nature of Moses’ Sin

 

The sin of Moses, as described in this story, was disobedience and a lack of trust in God’s instructions. By striking the rock instead of speaking to it, Moses failed to uphold God’s holiness before the people. Scholars and theologians have debated the deeper meaning of this act. Some suggest that Moses’ actions reflected anger, impatience, or pride. Others believe that his failure was in not making it clear that the miracle was solely due to God’s power, not his own.

 

This incident is particularly striking because of Moses’ long record of faithfulness. Unlike other leaders who openly rebelled against God, Moses’ disobedience here was subtle but significant. God expected the highest standard from Moses, especially given his role as the leader and representative of God’s will to the people.

 

The Consequences for Moses

 

The immediate consequence of Moses’ sin was that he was barred from entering the Promised Land. After leading the Israelites through decades of hardship and hope, Moses was only allowed to see the land from a distance before his death. This outcome, while seemingly harsh, emphasized the seriousness of his disobedience and the weight of leadership in God’s eyes.

 

Despite this penalty, Moses remained a figure of immense respect. He continued to guide the Israelites, appointed Joshua as his successor, and delivered his final blessings before dying on Mount Nebo. The biblical narrative portrays Moses’ exclusion from the Promised Land not as a total rejection, but as a sobering reminder that even the greatest leaders are accountable to God. ….

 

The Law’s limitations

 

Whatever may be the precise explanation of the incident, it seems as if, just as John’s head had to be removed, so must Moses himself be disallowed from entering the Promised Land, because Moses, as the embodiment of the old Law, was not the one to lead his people into the Promised Land, symbolising heaven.

 

The Law alone is insufficient to get us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Only Jesus, belonging to that superior, spiritual order of things, can lead us into Heaven.

 

Paul allegorically contrasted the Old and the New in Galatians:

Topical Bible: The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

 

“Paul's allegory emphasizes the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old. It underscores the futility of relying on the Law for justification and the necessity of faith in Christ for true freedom. The allegory serves as a powerful reminder to the Galatians—and to all believers—of their identity as children of the promise, called to live in the freedom of the Spirit rather than the bondage of the Law”.

 

And that is why, symbolically, Moses had to yield to one with the name of Jesus, namely Joshua, who did lead the Israelites into the Promised land.

 

 

Pope Leo XIV’s real concern, to build up the City of God

 

Everyone has missed Pope Leo’s true enemy, and it’s not AI

 

Everyone has missed Pope Leo’s true enemy, and it’s not AI

 

Opinion by Elise Morrison

 

Pope Leo XIV’s much-anticipated first encyclical on safeguarding the human person in the time of AI was released last month to much fanfare and discussion. A renewal of the Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII (1891), this encyclical sought to speak of the “res novae (new issues) of our time” – such as AI.

 

As he writes: “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.”

 

Commentators thus far seemed to have focused on what he has to say about what he calls the “Babel syndrome”, yet have missed something significant: most of the encyclical is dedicated to the more fundamental Christian question of how we might think about building the City of God here on earth, how we can work together to “foster a peaceful, just and dignified life in community within today’s ‘cities’”.

 

If you’re not Catholic, you might be asking: “Well, what does it matter what the Pope has to say?”

 

Nearly 20 years after the financial crisis of 2008, amid the climate crisis and the mental health crisis, with wars in Ukraine and Iran, the turmoil of Donald Trump’s second term, and, as the encyclical is concerned with, the rise of an artificial intelligence which no longer serves us, but we serve it, it is clear that the modern world isn’t working for us.

 

The Pope’s encyclical has a message that is more fundamental than

a critique of AI - Remo Casilli/Reuters

 

The real problem is that the current political offerings available to us are fundamentally untethered from what Catholic social teaching might call “the Good” or “the Real”, and instead remain beholden to the technocratic doctrines that have prevailed for much of the post-Cold War period.

 

Today’s politics have prioritised efficiency and profit over the values of peace, justice, and fraternity. Pope Leo’s encyclical, by contrast, draws on the Church’s “ancient wisdom” to generate fresh ways of approaching social, political and economic questions.

 

The proliferation of AI is just one symptom of this broken society. If we are unable to connect our use of technology to virtues which serve us, we will remain servants to it.

And so the Pope warns us: “When it [technology] becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded, reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”

 

But it’s not difficult to look around and see how life more generally has become transactional in the past 50 years.

 

‘Unless you eat my Body and drink my Blood’

 

 

 

‘Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life;

and I will raise him up at the last day’.

 

John 6:54

 

 

Pope: 'Keep beautiful witness of Corpus Christi processions alive'

 

Pope: 'Keep beautiful witness of Corpus Christi processions alive'

 

During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV recalled that Thursday marks the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, encouraging the faithful to keep alive the public witness of faith made visible in Corpus Christi processions around the world.

 

He also offered heartfelt words of prayer and accompaniment to priests and religious in the Middle East.

 

Jun 03, 2026

Related News

 

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• Tech expert: People are in need of moral leadership on AI

 

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"An expression of popular Eucharistic devotion is found in the processions with the Blessed Sacrament that take place in the streets of many towns and countries; in this regard, I encourage you to keep alive this beautiful manifestation of public witness to the faith."

 

Pope Leo XIV expressed this sentiment during his Wednesday General Audience, recalling that this week the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

 

The Pope encouraged the faithful to participate in this tradition, recalling that "In the Eucharist we contemplate Jesus, bread broken and given for each one of us."

 

In his greetings to the faithful, the Pope also offered special words of closeness to priests and religious serving in the Middle East.

"I accompany with my prayer and my blessing your ministry and the hopes of your respective countries."

 

The Holy Father also greeted the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the members of the Montfortian Family, and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Cenacle, encouraging them "to be a sign of hope for all those who thirst for God, for His truth, and for His peace."--Vatican News

 

Today (7^th June, 2026) is the feast of  Corpus Christi

 

One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce fires up anti-abortion rally

 

 

“You must keep that fire burning for those people who can’t

stand up for themselves and I call them people – they’re not foetuses”.

 

Barnaby Joyce

  

 

Farid Farid and Robyn Wuth
Jun 03, 2026, updated Jun 03, 2026

 

Source: AAP

 

Riding high on One Nation’s popularity in the polls, backbench MP Barnaby Joyce has fronted an anti-abortion rally with a fiery warning to other politicians.

 

Joyce said his pro-life stance was one of conviction rather than of political opportunism, drawing massive cheers from a crowd of about 2000 people outside the NSW parliament on a chilly Sydney evening.

“Politically, does this make you popular? No, you’d probably lose half your votes every time you do it. But you know why you do it because that’s the right thing to do,” he said.

 

Joyce, who left the Nationals in late 2025 as the far-right One Nation’s polling rise gathered pace, argued that galvanising support around the pro-life cause could change the political landscape.

 

One Nation has leapfrogged Labor to become the political party with the highest primary vote, according to a Redbridge poll this week.

 

“I don’t know much about a lot, but I know a lot about politics and the one thing politicians fear is losing their job. They’re very mindful of that,” Joyce said.

“You must keep that fire burning for those people who can’t stand up for themselves and I call them people – they’re not foetuses.”

 

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce vowed to ‘keep the fire burning’ for the

anti-abortion cause. Photo: AAP

 

Tuesday’s demonstration was organised by anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe in support of a bill in NSW parliament proposed by Libertarian MP John Ruddick to criminalise gender selective abortions.

 

 

 

King Louis XIV of France and Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

In June 1929, the Fatima seer Lucia received another vision in which Our Lord

told her, “Like the king of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer”.

  

Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Miles Jesu

 

Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • St Josaphat Formation Center, Phoenix, AZ

 

A little known fact of the revelations of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary is that in 1689 Jesus asked that the King of France consecrate himself and his realm to the Sacred Heart and that he adorn his flags and coat of arms with the image of His Heart. He was promised as a result to be victorious over his enemies and those of the Holy Church. The King at that time was none other than Louis XIV ‘the Sun King’ who, in spite of his many personal sins, was quite devout according to historians. He had, in fact, consecrated the realm to St. Joseph only three days after ascending to the throne some 45 years previously.

 

But this request of the Sacred Heart went unfulfilled by him and by his son Louis XV as well. It wasn’t until more than 100 years after the revelation to St. Margaret Mary of Our Lord’s special request that the French King – the unfortunate Louis XVI – made a private consecration of himself and the realm to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1792.

 

But it was too late. Louis XVI made this consecration privately as a prisoner in his own palace under the guard of the French Revolutionaries who ended his monarchy and sought his blood in the Terror that reigned in Paris.

 

Louis had vowed to make the consecration publicly when he would be restored to power, but the guillotine dashed all hope of that when he and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed.

 

Even though the kings of France had been reluctant to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart, many others were not, and the devotion spread within France and to other political powers of Europe with very positive results. Yet, one can wonder what would have happened if the Sun King had humbled himself and consecrated his realm to Jesus’ Heart?

 

The rest of the story, as they say, is that in June 1929, the Fatima seer Lucia received another vision in which Our Lord told her, “Like the king of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer.”

 

Don’t hesitate to inform yourself and then consecrate yourself and your families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate of Heart of Mary. St. Margaret Mary said, “The most efficacious way to obtain devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Angel of Fatima

 

 

 

“The angel also identifies himself specifically as the guardian angel of Portugal, hearkening back to St. Michael’s role as prince and guardian of Israel

in the book of Daniel”.

 

Fr. John Horgan

 

 

 The Angel of Fatima, a Messenger of Peace - Catholic Exchange

 

The Angel of Fatima, a Messenger of Peace

 

18 May 2018

- By Fr. John Horgan

 

The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, at Fatima in 1917 are not only one of the most important events in the Church in the twentieth century, but also one of the greatest Mariophanies in the life of the Church. Because of the spiritual movements that arose from these appearances, a tremendous wave of prayer, devotion, writings, and spiritual works of all kinds spread across the globe.

 

Pope St. John Paul II was unquestionably “the Pope of Fatima,” who believed that the personal and historic events of his reign — from his shooting to the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and beyond — were inextricably linked to the messages of the Mother of God and the secrets she entrusted to the children she appeared to.

 

Angel of Peace

 

One of the secrets they kept, however, regards not the Virgin’s words, but the appearances of the “Angel of Peace,” who came to the children three times in the years before the Virgin’s first appearance and who made a profound impression upon their minds and hearts. These apparitions offered a catechesis of grace and sacrifice that disposed Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco to receive the coming of the Holy Virgin and her message with a depth of commitment and maturity that far exceeded their years or education.

 

Lucia did not speak about these appearances at all until 1924, and Sts. Jacinta and Francisco never did so at all before their deaths.

 

Though Lucia confided in a priest about the angel’s visits, she was advised not to speak about them, lest they confuse the importance of Our Lady’s words. It was only in her 1937 memoir that she revealed their story in full.

 

The first appearances took place in 1915, when Lucia and two other girls saw a white transparent figure appear in the sky at the Cabeço — a secluded hillside — not far from their homes. The figure was of natural height, but seemed like a brilliant snow-white statue made of cloud. Though they saw this figure on three occasions, they did not reveal the experience to anyone.

 

In the spring of 1916, Lucia and her two cousins, Jacinta and Francisco, were tending their sheep at the Loca do Cabeço and had just finished their shortened version of the Rosary. A figure approached them through the sky coming from the east — a trans­parent, luminous figure of a youth of perhaps fourteen or fifteen years. The children were amazed and overwhelmed by what Lucia would describe as the “supernatural atmosphere” that penetrated and surrounded them. As she recounts in her memoir, the angel spoke to them words of reassurance and authority:

 

“Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.”

 

Kneeling on the ground, he bowed down until his forehead reached the ground. Led by a supernatural impulse, we did the same, and repeated the words which we heard him say:

 

“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee!”

 

Having repeated these words three times, he rose and said:

 

“Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.”

 

Then he disappeared.

 

The children remained with their heads bowed to the ground for some time, filled with this supernatural splendor. The prayer that they heard, now commonly called the Angel’s Prayer, remained fixed in their minds; Lucia said they often knelt with their heads on the ground, repeating this prayer for long periods of time.

 

This first message has many rich graces for us to consider: The angel reveals himself as the “Angel of Peace” in the midst of the First World War, but the peace that he comes to bring is based in union with God and intercession for others. His words call us back to the greatest commandments of the Old Law: total and complete love of God and neighbor.

 

The prayer he entrusts to them is brief, but it expresses both adoration and intercession in a posture of total reverence: kneeling and with forehead touching the ground. It is a gesture that the children understood and that they imitated constantly.

 

The Angels’s Second Appearance

 

The second apparition took place in the summer, after the children had pastured their sheep in the morning. Then, in the heat of the afternoon while they were playing quietly in the shade by the well near Lucia’s house, the angel appeared suddenly and said:

“What are you doing? Pray, pray very much! The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.”

Lucy asked: “How are we to make sacrifices?”

 

“Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is so offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon your country. I am its Angel Guardian, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the suffering which the Lord will send you.”

 

The angel’s first words are abrupt and echo the Lord’s voice to Elijah on Mount Horeb:

 

“What are you doing, Elijah?” (see 1 Kings 19:9–13).

 

Yet they are immediately followed by reassurance and strength. Once again, the angel speaks of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, but this time he does not call them “attentive” to the children, but rather he says that Christ and His Mother have “plans of mercy” for them — a suggestion of an upcoming mission.

 

Then the angel speaks of sacrifices, both those voluntarily undertaken and those the Lord will send to the children. The sacrifices that they generously take upon themselves will serve as reparation for sins, contribute to the conversion of sinners, and bring about peace for the nation. These are weighty responsibilities to give to the three children.

And the angel points out too that the greatest sacrifice of all is the sacrifice of our own will, through acceptance and willing submission to God’s plan.

These are words on which we must meditate, just as the children did. They cannot simply be heard; rather, we must listen to them with open and trusting hearts. Let us pray: “Jesus, I want what You want for me.”

 

The angel also identifies himself specifically as the guardian angel of Portugal, hearkening back to St. Michael’s role as prince and guardian of Israel in the book of Daniel.  …. The question of the angel’s identity has not been answered ….

 

The Angel’s Final Apparition

 

The third and final apparition of the angel is the most extraordinary of all, since it is focused on the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. While other saints and blesseds have received Holy Communion from the hands of an angel (St. Bonaventure, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Paschal Baylon, St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds, Blessed Marguerite Bays, and others), the Communion of the children of Fatima would seem to have an added ecclesial significance in keeping with the importance of their whole mission:

 

The third apparition must have taken place in October, or towards the end of September, as we were no longer returning for siesta.

After our lunch, we decided to go and pray in the hollow among the rocks on the opposite side of the hill. To get there, we went around the slope, and had to climb over some rocks above the Pregueira (south of the Loca do Cabeço). The sheep could only scramble over these rocks with great difficulty. As soon as we arrived there, we knelt down with our foreheads touching the ground, and began to repeat the prayer of the Angel:

 

“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee . . .”

 

I don’t know how many times we repeated this prayer, when an extraordinary light shone upon us. We sprang up to see what was happening, and beheld the Angel.

 

He was holding a chalice in his left hand, with the Host suspended above it, from which some drops of Blood fell into the chal­ice. Leaving the chalice suspended in the air, the Angel knelt down beside us and made us repeat three times:

 

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the sacrileges, outrages and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.”

Then, rising, he took the chalice and the Host in his hands. He gave the Sacred Host to me, and shared the Blood from the chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so:

 

“Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”

 

Once again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with us, three times more, the same prayer: “Most Holy Trinity . . .” and then disappeared.

Moved by a supernatural force which enveloped us, we had imitated the Angel in everything; that is, we prostrated as he did and repeated the prayers that he said. . . . We remained a long time in this position, repeating the same words over and over again. It was Francisco who realized that it was getting dark, and drew our attention to the fact, and thought we should take our flocks back home. I felt that God was in me.

 

The Eucharistic prayer that the angel teaches the children is a magnificent summary of the Catholic Faith: It speaks to us first of the Trinity; then it summarizes, almost like a catechism, the definition of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; then it moves us to offer Christ to the Father, accepting His Passion for our sake and uniting our will to His will as an act of expiation and reparation; and finally it turns us to the very core of His redeeming love, his Sacred Heart, always united to His Mother’s pierced Heart for the salvation of sinners.

 

The angel offers this prayer in preparation for the children’s Communion and as the most fitting thanksgiving thereafter.

 

We too can benefit greatly from this prayer, receiving it as a gift from Heaven and incorporating it into our own Eucharistic Communions.

 

The children see the Host bleeding into the chalice, a visual image that unites the two Species and links this extraordinary re­ception of the Eucharist to the Sacrifice of the Cross and its renewal upon the altar. Lucia has already received her First Holy Commu­nion in the parish church of Fatima, so she is accustomed to the reception of Holy Communion. Francisco and Jacinta have not yet received their First Communion, but are communicated with the Precious Blood from the chalice. This first mystical union with Christ affected the children profoundly, leaving them in a state of joy, silence, and exhaustion.

 

In the third apparition, the presence of the Angel was still more intense. For several days, even Francisco did not dare to talk. He said later on: “I love to see the Angel, but the trouble is that later on, we are incapable of doing anything. I could not even walk any more. I didn’t know what was the matter!”

 

It was a grace so sublime, and so intimate, that Francisco, all absorbed in God, did not have a clear consciousness of the mystical grace that he had received and felt in a confused way. Once the first few days were over, and we had returned to normal, Francisco asked: “The Angel gave you Holy Communion, but what was it that he gave to Jacinta and me?” “It was Holy Communion, too,” replied Jacinta, with inexpressible joy. “Didn’t you see that it was the Blood that fell from the Host?” Francisco replied: “I felt that God was within me, but I did not know how!”

 

Though Francisco could not articulate his experience as clearly as the others, his words reflect the truth and beauty of what he felt, with all the candor and simplicity of a child.

We know that he never heard the words of the angel — nor, later, the words of Our Lady — but rather he depended on Lucia and Jacinta to repeat them to him.

 

But he did see the angel with the Host and the chalice, and he shared in the others’ adoration and prayer; this was enough to prepare him for this moment of union with Christ the Savior.

 

Why did the two younger children receive their mystical First Communion from the chalice rather than with the Host? Perhaps this was because the chalice is a biblical image of suffering, both in the Old Testament and the New.

 

Sharing in the Blood of Christ — drinking of His chalice — is a sign of willingness to undergo martyrdom for the sake of His Name. Jacinta and Francisco were both destined to die at a very early age, and both offered their sufferings consciously and courageously to the Lord, as the angel had taught them. Jacinta was drawn to reparation for sinners, while Francisco spent many hours of the day in their parish church, “consoling God.”

 

Now, from their place in Heaven they have become evangelizers, teaching us to do good with all our sufferings — and to do good toward those who suffer. The prayers they learned from the angel can be taught to the great and the small, the young and the old. In them we find a message from Heaven to each of us. Through such prayers and the generous offering of our own sacrifices, may we come to share in this life in the wonder, reverence, and joy that the children of Fatima experienced. And may we one day be their companions in Heaven!

 

Editor’s note: This article is adapted from a chapter in His Angels at Our Side: Understanding Their Power in Our Souls and the World, which is available from Sophia Institute Press.