It was due to a lack of bread to offer an unexpected visitor that, in the parable told by the Divine Master, an afflicted man had to appeal to the charity of a friend in the middle of the night (cf. Lk 11:5-8), but it was only through stubborn persistence that he obtained the food he needed. Dona Lucilia’s attitude towards those who turn to her is quite different.
Analysing the events described below, it is easy to see that it is not necessary to “knock on Dona Lucilia’s door” too insistently, presenting credentials or merits. All we need to do is trust, because at the moment determined by Providence, she will open the doors of the Heart of Jesus, who will fulfil our requests abundantly.
Intervention more effective than any painkiller
Liviana Nobile, a devotee of Dona Lucilia living in Argentina, tells us about the favour obtained by Maria Margarita Verón an employee of her daughter.
“At the end of April 2023,” says Liviana, “Maria Margarita began to feel strong pains in her midsection and part of her back; then the situation worsened, and the strong pains affected her knees as well.” Because she was very hard-working, she did not see the discomfort as a reason to take any time off, nor did she accept the suggestion to use analgesics to relieve the pain… She preferred to put up with it.
“She went on this way for about a month; the pain in her abdomen and back eased a little, but the pain in her knees increased to such an extent that she could hardly get on or off the bus.”
We do not need to “knock on Dona Lucilia’s door” too insistently, presenting qualifications or merits; rather, all we need to do is trust
Seeing her in this state, Liviana tried to help her: “As I had made friends with her, talking to her about Religion – a subject she liked and was very interested in – and about the Heralds, I soon began to send her daily videos of the Holy Rosary and Mass, the Gospels of the day, ‘Good Night with Mary’, podcasts, and all the novenas there are throughout the year.”
Having heard about Dona Lucilia and her help for those in any kind of need, Maria Margarita also decided to turn to her. In tears because of her pain, on May 26 she said to her: “Dona Lucilia, you who have helped so many people, I ask you to intercede for me with the Virgin Mary and Jesus, so that I can have at least some relief; I cannot endure it any longer! I beg you, Dona Lucilia, please!” When she arose on the morning of the 27th, she no longer felt any pain!
The terrible suffering had disappeared and she was able to go to work with complete normality, unable to believe what had happened to her and surprised by the effectiveness of such a kind mother!
Liviana ends her testimony with a truly filial attestation of enthusiasm: “Thank you Dona Lucilia, on behalf of Maria Margarita Verón and myself! My happiness knows no bounds… Dona Lucilia must be among Angels and Archangels!”
Answered twice without much insistence
Other souls are attended by Dona Lucilia following a different didactic approach: her apparent silence in the face of pleas becomes a guarantee that they will be heeded with greater motherliness, and not, as we might mistakenly think, a symptom of disinterest on her part. A request made to a good mother is never in vain. How much truer is this in relation to a mother who, as we hope, is close to God and can turn to Him for her children’s needs?
So it was with Prof. Edson Luiz Sampel, who has already sent us reports of graces he has received on other occasions, and who gratefully recounts yet another favour obtained through this kind intercessor:
“For someone who once thought devotion to Dr. Plinio’s mother was fanatical, this very generous lady has lavished me with countless blessings. A few months ago, I had a plan to undertake a certain academic project. It did not depend on me. While saying the Rosary, I began to ask Dona Lucilia to intervene in favour of this plan.
“Dona Lucilia answers, even when we do not want to bother her with something we think is not so important”
“I continued like this for a while, until I thought to myself: this plan of mine is important, but it is nothing that justifies the intercession of any Saint, who has truly relevant situations to be concerned with. So I stopped asking Dona Lucilia.”
Little did Prof. Edson imagine that his request would be fulfilled not long afterwards: “I received the news that my plan had met with success, and doubly so because two institutions had shown their interest in the project. I now had to choose one of them.
“This is amazing! Dona Lucilia answers, even when we leave off asking, when we do not want to bother her with something we think is not so important.”
The loss of a mobile phone and a slanderous accusation
A mother treasures her children’s honour. Dona Lucilia knew this very well, and during her life she was very careful to protect the good name of her children, both before God and men. Thus, when Mrs. Kcaran Schreiber, a Cooperator of the Heralds of the Gospel in Peru, found herself in the position of having to resolve an unpleasant situation that had tarnished her son’s reputation, she confided her afflictions to Dona Lucilia:
“A few weeks before Christmas, I had a problem with my youngest son; he was being defamed, accused of having stolen a mobile phone. Unfortunately, the circumstances were such that he seemed to be guilty, but it was essentially a case of bullying at school.”
The storm escalated when the mother of the affected pupil, the victim of the alleged theft, made it public on the parents’ WhatsApp group: “She did it boldly and brazenly, without thinking about the seriousness of what she had posted. I commented to the group that, before publicly airing the issue, she would need first to have obtained every proof that my son was really the one guilty; that she should not slander him so rashly, and that she should have spoken to me first. But she only replied that there is an all-seeing God and that He was going to judge my son.”
The disagreement between the two mothers soon came to a head: “In a phone call with the boy’s mother, she scolded me about the way I had brought up my son. She told me to take off my blindfold and acknowledge how badly I had brought him up. I became very indignant and even had a verbal altercation with the lady.”
Dona Lucilia’s motherly intervention
Kcaran continued: “I have a photo of Dona Lucilia in my house and I immediately felt ashamed, because that was no way to react. First I asked for forgiveness because I was furious and had said words I should not have said, but above all I asked for her intercession so that the case would be cleared up and the mobile phone and the real culprit would be found.”
Kcaran acknowledges that she was the one most affected by the situation. Her son, on the other hand, enjoying the peace that comes with a clear conscience, waited patiently for the facts to be brought to light.
“I asked him why he was so calm, and why he seemed to be unaffected by what was happening, and he replied simply: ‘Mom, I cannot be upset by this because I have a clear conscience. I sleep well, even though my classmates accuse me, and I understand why they do, due to the circumstances in which it happened.’
“At that moment, my son asked me to believe in him again, I hugged him and gave him my support. We continued to trust Dona Lucilia and less than two days later she manifested her maternal power of intercession in favour of her children.”
In just two days, Dona Lucilia helped Kcaran to vindicate her son’s good name and to completely resolve an unpleasant situation
The phone conversation between Kcaran and the other boy’s mother took place on December 5, and the mobile phone was finally found on the 7th.
“It took Dona Lucilia no time at all to answer my prayers as a mother and help to clear my son’s name. They returned the boy’s mobile phone in the presence of his mother, the lady who had slandered my son. She approached my son and, in front of the classroom tutor, asked my son to forgive her. She did the same to me: she phoned and apologized. I forgave her, and she also wrote to the WhatsApp group, apologizing.”
Dona Lucilia helped Kcaran to restore her son’s honour, which had been so thoughtlessly tarnished, and completely set the record straight with that note of kindness and harmony that so characterized her days on earth.
This is how Kcaran ends her account: “I can only thank Dona Lucilia for her powerful intercession. I keep her in mind in my daily Rosaries, which I pray with my family and my prayer group, saying: ‘Dona Lucilia, our mother, help us! Amen.’ Thank you, Dona Lucilia, for your powerful intercession, which has made everything clear!”
“My sister loves you! Why don’t I?”
Like a gentle balm that heals and comforts hearts, devotion to Dona Lucilia makes its way progressively into souls.
Sometimes, this devotion is born in a moment of affliction; other times, after once seeing the effectiveness of her help; on still other occasions, it comes after explicitly asking for the grace to honour her more effectively.
Maria Geralda de Freitas Viana Faria belongs to the latter category of souls. She knew about devotion to Dona Lucilia through her sister, Ana Lucia de Freitas Viana Robson, who had already been a great devotee of hers for years. But Magê – as she is affectionately known – did not feel the same affinity or, perhaps, the same need for special intercession until then.
It was at a time when she was going through a family drama, due to the serious illness of her sister Ana Lucia, that she found in Dona Lucilia a door that was always open to her for help. She herself tells us about this change:
“My sister had a three-centimetre brain tumour that was removed, but the post-operative period was very confusing and very complicated. She no longer recognized anyone, we could not understand anything she said, and that was a huge suffering for the family.”
Then Magê watched some programmes that made her think. She recounts:
“That week I saw a very important video about Dona Lucilia’s ‘miracles’. And I was very impressed! Then a friend sent me an audio of a lady saying that she did not know Dona Lucilia, but had heard that she worked many ‘miracles’.
“After watching this video and listening to this audio, I thought: ‘Dona Lucilia, I wish I had more faith in you! And my sister, she is so devoted to you… Do this ‘miracle’ that we are waiting for: that she be released from hospital! She needs to leave the hospital talking, understanding, interacting with her family and with people…’
“I also said to Dona Lucilia: ‘I want to have more devotion to you, more confidence, and spread the favours obtained through you.’ It was as if I needed that grace to believe more: ‘So many people receive graces by asking you! Can’t I be one of them? My sister loves you! Why don’t I?’
A pleasant surprise
Without Magê realizing it, devotion to Dona Lucilia had already been born in her heart. She prayed this simple prayer, and when she recited the Rosary the next day, she completed her request:
“In the ejaculatory prayers I asked: ‘Dona Lucilia, help us!’ And to our great surprise, the next morning my niece, Ana Lucia’s daughter, who was in the hospital, called me and said: ‘Auntie, wait a moment, there is someone who wants to talk to you…’”
Magê, amazed, recounts that it was her own sister, Ana Lucia, who came to the phone: “She was speaking normally, without slurring her words, recognizing her daughter and me. I was very moved! And I said to her: ‘Do you know who worked this miracle for you, who did it with Our Lady? Dona Lucilia, to whom you, my sister, are so devoted!’”
“I said to Dona Lucilia: ‘I wish I had more faith, and more devotion to you! It was as if I needed that grace to believe more”
And Magê interpreted Dona Lucilia’s message in that smile: “She gave me this grace as if saying to me: ‘Magê, have much faith, much faith in me, because I am here with Our Lady and I can obtain many graces from her for you, my dear children!’”
Undoubtedly, obtaining this favour began a new phase of graces for Magê and her family, in which Dona Lucilia’s protection and maternal help will be ever more present.
She closes her account full of gratitude: “There is no way to remain unmoved by this testimony of yet another grace obtained through the intercession of Dona Lucilia. I am grateful for the life of the Heralds, for the life of Msgr. João Clá Dias and all the Heralds we know. To the priests and to everyone who prayed for my sister: thank you so much!” ◊
