“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it” (Sg 8:7). How well these words apply to Dona Lucilia! Would she, who spent her life loving God in her neighbour, do any differently after crossing the threshold of eternity? Now, one of the ways in which she shows her unfathomable love to those who confide in her is to give a prompt answer to their requests.
A serious accident and an extraordinary cure
Wishing to express her gratitude to Dona Lucilia, Mrs. Cristiane Ramos, who resides in the city of Caieiras (Brazil), sends us an interesting report of how she has always been attended by this charitable mother in moments of need.
Her husband, a lieutenant in the Fire Brigade, suffered an accident in September 2018. He was fighting a fire in a building in the downtown area of São Paulo when he and other members of the team became trapped on the third floor. When he was finally rescued, he had internal and external burns on about 20% of his body. Given the gravity of the situation, he was intubated and taken to the ICU of the Burn Unit of the Hospital das Clínicas. There he remained for almost a month, undergoing such painful treatments as debridement of the skin.
Cristiane never stopped praying for his recovery. She tells us: “At a certain moment I asked Dona Lucilia to at least arrange for my husband to leave the ICU and go to a room, which would facilitate contact with his family.” Dona Lucilia surpassed all her expectations: just two days after making the request, her husband not only left the ICU, but was discharged. “This was the first great miracle of Dona Lucilia for the benefit of my family,” concludes Cristiane, full of gratitude.
Once again, she did not abandon them
In 2021, while jubilantly awaiting the birth of Miguel, her second child, Cristiane was dismayed to receive the diagnosis that he would be born with Down’s syndrome, possibly aggravated by a heart disease. As if this were not enough, it was also found that the baby was already showing a decline in growth, and the cardiotocography test indicated that his movements were not as expected for his gestational age. In short, the gravity of the situation was such that even the doctors themselves were perplexed.
Distressed by the uncertain prospect she was facing, Cristiane understood that help could only come from Heaven, and she consecrated her unborn child to Dona Lucilia.
At thirty-seven weeks of pregnancy, during a routine consultation, the couple was informed of the need to deliver the baby that very day, in view of Miguel’s condition. The mother says: “Those were moments of great anguish. I spent about eight hours receiving medication to stimulate his movement, but he did not respond. Finally, the doctor decided to start a Caesarean section.”
Against all expectations, Miguel cried loudly at birth and did not need any respiratory support or surgical intervention. He went straight into his mother’s arms. Cristiane concludes: “As soon as he was in my arms, I thanked Dona Lucilia with all my heart for this great miracle of a safe delivery.”
Opening the way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Following the example of Our Lady, the most indulgent of mothers, Dona Lucilia delights in coming to the aid of people who ask her to solve little problems of everyday life.
Such is the case of Mrs. Helsi Carrera from Peru.
It was June 24, 2022, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Helsi’s work shift would end at 6 p.m., leaving her with very little time to pick up a friend at the end of the day so that they could go to Mass together. She hurried out, got into her car and drove off. Everything was going fine until she was caught in a terrible traffic jam at a roundabout! All the cars were at a standstill. She had no choice but to start watching the Mass transmitted live on the internet…
She called to report the delay to her friend, who suggested she ask for the help of the Angels. Helsi began to pray, but Dona Lucilia immediately came to mind. “Of course! How could I not have recourse to her?” Helsi relates. And she addressed this filial prayer to her: “Mother, come to my aid! Get me out of here! Open the way for me so that I can reach the Mass in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whom you love so much and to whom you were so devoted!”
Immediately, the traffic jam began to clear, and Helsi soon had the great pleasure of telling her friend about the reliable goodness of Dona Lucilia.
“I am with you and your request has been heard”
During the covid-19 pandemic, Benjamin, youngest son of Mrs. Claudia Espejo, also living in Peru, spent two years without attending school. When things finally returned to normal, he showed great difficulty in adapting to a return to the classroom. He underwent a psychological test, which detected an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The psychologist recommended consulting a neuropediatrician, who gave a troubling diagnosis: Level 1 autistic spectrum disorder.
Very fearful about her son’s future, Claudia prayed and cried a lot. One day she remembered that a Herald priest had told her that a mother is permitted to give her children a blessing. So, one night when she was praying with them, she took holy water and made a sign of the cross on Benjamin’s back, making this petition to Dona Lucilia: “I entrust my son to you. Help me as a mother, and adopt him.” And she continued to pray for him at home and in church, before the Blessed Sacrament.
She then began to notice changes in the boy’s behaviour. A new psychological examination showed a very encouraging result: 90% recovery, a scenario confirmed by the teacher hired to help him at home. And the school monitor reported that he was striving to progress every day and his grades had improved, further commenting that he was “a very noble boy with a big heart.”
Now, one day when Claudia was organizing Benjamin’s drawers, she was greatly surprised to find a picture of Dona Lucilia among his papers. And she sent us this touching testimony: “I cannot explain how that picture got there. When I took it in my hands, I felt that it was saying: ‘I am with you and your request has been heard.’ Benjamin’s change was really something inexplicable. I put the picture in my room and every time I look at it I feel the love that a mother has – I who have four children and would give anything for them.”
Quick and complete resolution
Dr. Edson Luís Sampel, professor at the Superior Institute of Canon Law of Londrina and President of the Special Commission of Canon Law of the OAB-SP [Order of Attorneys of Brazil-São Paulo], wishing to show his gratitude to Dona Lucilia, gives us his testimony:
“I had a financial obligation, that is, a monthly fee I had to pay which I considered to be unfair. As amicable attempts to free myself from this obligation were unsuccessful, I was compelled to resort to judiciary power. From the first moment that the lawsuit was filed, I asked Dona Lucilia to intercede in Heaven for me, and that, if it was God’s will, I would obtain total exoneration from the referred obligation. To my delight and surprise, at the beginning of the process, days after the filing, the judge granted an injunction exonerating me completely from the monthly payment. In the end, the sentence confirmed the injunction decision and the opposing party did not file an appeal.”
Dr. Sampel recognizes Dona Lucilia’s intervention in this rapid solution to the problem.
A supplication made with faith
Mrs. Izabel Moura, from Rondonópolis (Brazil), also tells us how Dona Lucilia answered her prayer. Her great-granddaughter, who was the only eight months old, developed an uncontrollable cough. She was immediately taken to the doctor and took the prescribed medicine, but without any result. Her situation steadily worsened, to the point where the child lost her breath and fainted.
Izabel recounts the outcome of the case: “We were desperate, but she quickly recovered from her fainting swoon. I had read a report about some of Dona Lucilia’s miracles. So I clung to her and asked her to calm the girl’s cough, since the doctor had not yet found the right remedy. I asked with faith! And from that moment on she no longer coughed as before.”
Once this first affliction was resolved, it was possible to obtain a diagnosis of the ailment from a specialist, who prescribed some medicine. In a few days the baby recovered completely.
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As we learn of more of the innumerable favours obtained from the Good Lord through Dona Lucilia, for those who request her help and assistance, let us not hesitate to have recourse to her in the difficult situations of life, whatever they may be. ◊
Kindness and Intransigence
What most stood out in Dona Lucilia was this extraordinary mystery of motherhood that made her love anyone and everyone. A person needed only to approach her with confidence and openness of soul, to immediately feel captured by her enveloping goodness and by that magnificent way of being which Dr. Plinio described as “velvety”. She treated others with a sweetness and a desire to please that were truly captivating.
One might imagine that this affability and affection would lead Dona Lucilia to make compromises with evil. It would be a mistake to suppose so, for this benevolence was not a sign of liberalism; on the contrary, it was very radical, prompting her to a love of the good taken to the furthest limits, because she loved God. And she had, therefore, a true hatred of evil. In what did this hatred of evil consist?
The essence of Dona Lucilia’s combativeness came from a very deep principle of love for God: He is the supreme Being, the Creator and Redeemer, and must be loved above all things. Now, in the whole order of creation, there is nothing so opposed to God as sin, for it is the act by which an intelligent creature, Angel or man, rebels against God and proclaims another law, contrary to the divine one, and, in effect, places himself on an equal footing with Him.
This caused a true shock in Dona Lucilia’s soul, and an immediate sorrow to see that God, who is so surpassingly good, was not receiving all the love and praise He deserved. For this reason, she would try to find a means for that soul to convert and enter once again into harmony with God, repenting of the offence committed against Him.
This is exactly how God acts with us: He loves us with an extraordinary love and, after our having committed a sin, He desires nothing more than to forgive us and restore to us all that we have lost; He can, even at the hour of death, grant a grace of perfect contrition and save that soul. But He does not compromise with evil or condone faults, because He is the integral Cause, without any stain. […]
[Dona Lucilia] was enchanted by innocence, and experienced an interior revulsion and real indignation towards anything that was adverse to it. This is explained by the fact that she was so deeply united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that for her the law of goodness and the law of truth were one. In other words, the starting point of her maternal love was the same as that of the Commandments, and therefore, when it came to principles, she revealed a total radicality: she held steadfast to her morals, not yielding even a millimetre in anything, as Dr. Plinio once commented: “This energy had something in common with her goodness; and it was the unbreakable energy of which she gave proof on certain occasions: ‘On ne passe pas! – You do not cross this line!’”
Taken from: CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio.
O dom de sabedoria na mente, vida e obra de
[The Gift of Wisdom in the Mind, Life and Work of]
Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Città del Vaticano-São Paulo: LEV;
Lumen Sapientiæ, 2016, vol. 1, p.132-133
