“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gn 1:28), the Lord preached to our first parents, certifying that the generation of offspring is the main objective of the institution of marriage. For this reason, we can well imagine how hard it is for a God-fearing couple to be deprived of the beautiful gift of children, as happened to Maria Izabel Cézar and her husband, who live in the Western-Brazilian city of Cuiabá.
A seemingly unheeded request
Being the youngest in her family, with four other sisters, all married with children, Maria Izabel had for some time seen all her hopes of conceiving her first child disappointed. Finally, she decided to consult a specialist, who ordered several tests in order to discover the reason for this. Three long years of treatment passed – years filled, above all, with petitions and promises to the Blessed Virgin, prayers and Masses offered for this intention, but the situation remained the same.
Until one day, a new light shone in her life: she heard about the innumerable favours obtained through the intercession of Dona Lucilia, and about the kindly way in which this lady attended all those who, with humility and confidence, have recourse to her. Maria Izabel then felt inwardly drawn to ask for her help in obtaining that much-desired grace of motherhood. After all, if Dona Lucilia had already helped so many others, she would not fail to help her.
Then she began a real marathon of prayers to Dona Lucilia. Such was her confidence in the kindness of her new protector that she made a promise to her: when she became pregnant, she would pay homage to her by giving her son the name of Plinio.
The days passed by in prayer, accompanied by many tears, especially when the passing of the months seemed to indicate that her prayers would not be answered.
A grace dependent on a step in the spiritual life
In this anguished expectation, Maria Izabel, during thanksgiving at Mass, felt as if someone were suggesting that she make an offering to God before her request was granted. Thus she promised that, if she became pregnant soon, she would distribute baskets of basic foodstuffs to needy people. However, another month went by without the desired gift being granted.
Realizing that this was not the best offer, she changed her promise: instead of giving the baskets of basic foodstuffs, she would pray some Rosaries for her long-awaited child. Another month went by and she received no answer.
Maria Izabel suspected that she still was not making the right offer, so she asked her Guardian Angel for help. And she was well guided, for this time she promised God that if she became pregnant that month, she would never again wear clothes that were contrary to the virtue of holy modesty. A significant detail is that at the very instant she made this promise, her heart was filled with such a strong emotion that she could not hold back her tears, which made her feel certain that, at last, she had found the right offering.
At the end of that month, she believed she had conceived, and shortly afterwards she received confirmation that God had finally answered her prayer through the intercession of Dona Lucilia!
Thanks to this kind lady, Maria Izabel had a child and, above all, she was able to offer God a gift that would really please Him and that would change her life.
In this fact we can once again verify how the kindness of Dona Lucilia is extended to all cases, but she often guides the beneficiary in a motherly way to take a step in the spiritual life. As a true reflection of the generosity of Mary Most Holy, she not only answers the requests, but helps to obtain from Divine Providence the graces that many times we do not know how to ask for.
“Fearing for his soul, I recommended him to Dona Lucilia”
R.E.P.M., living in Mairiporã (Brazil), was undergoing an anguish similar to the one recounted above, but for a different reason. After his son’s birth, the child had lived only with his mother, subject to an unstable life, both in matters of principles and emotionally; moreover, he had not yet been baptized. However, when the child was six years old, the mother decided to entrust him to his father’s care. “I immediately arranged for the child to receive the Sacrament of Baptism and taught him his first prayers, which he learned with great dedication,” recounted the father.
But just when these graces were beginning to bear promising fruit, they were interrupted by yet another separation: “Our time together lasted only ten months, for, on seeing the son making progress in the Catholic religion and especially in devotion to Our Lady, his mother had a sudden fit of anger and took him back.” This time the boy was taken to another state, without the consent of his father, who could now only entrust him to the protection of Heaven: “Not knowing where he was and fearing for his soul, I recommended him to Dona Lucilia, whom, since he had first seen her in a picture, he had taken as his mother.”
His anguish heightens
After two months without news, one day he received a call from the boy’s mother, demanding, with inexplicable fury, that he immediately buy a ticket for the return of his son; otherwise, she would abandon him. “I immediately tried to arrange everything,” continued the devoted father, “but from their location there was only flights with connections. To buy a ticket at the last minute would be very expensive, and all the flights were full.
However, Dona Lucilia was arranging everything before he even realized it. Searching among several airlines, he found a very affordable price and the ideal connection time.
R.E.P.M. continues his story: “When he finally returned to my care, I filed for custody as soon as possible, so that my son would not continue to be at the mercy of these disastrous emotional outbreaks, so detrimental to his development. The hearing was scheduled for ten months in the future and, to ensure that the mother would not take him away again before then, I arranged for provisional custody.”
With this, he had legal assurance of providing for the moral and spiritual education of the boy during that period. After attending catechism classes in one of the houses of the Heralds of the Gospel, the child was able to receive Our Lord in the Sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time. He grew daily in devotion to Dona Lucilia and asked her for the grace to never return to his previous situation.
“When the day arrived for the hearing,” the account continues, “the lawyer told me that it would last only about twenty minutes, since it was a conciliation. If the mother agreed to give me custody of the boy, the problem would be solved. This, however, was practically impossible because, despite all the evidence in my favour, she alleged that the child had been ‘taken’ from her in a moment of weakness, and made it clear that she did not accept the religious formation that the child was receiving. If she did not agree, the judge would continue the process, with the introduction of evidence, the testimony of witnesses, visits by a social worker and everything else necessary.”
Dona Lucilia’s intervention felt
The meeting, calculated at twenty minutes, went on for two hours… Inflexible, the mother would not yield custody. The mediator tried patiently to convince her otherwise, to the surprise of the father, for he knew that it was unlikely that the legal system would take a child away from the mother, even if staying with her entailed living in an environment that is detrimental to its upbringing.
Finally, there was an unexpected outcome, as R.E.P.M. recounts: “After numerous refusals, on hearing the mediator say that the process would continue with the submission of evidence and other steps, the mother immediately changed her tune, stating that, as I was a good father, it would be better for the child to stay with me.”
R.E.P.M. has no doubt that this was a result of a very decisive intervention from Dona Lucilia, who from the beginning had opened the way to obtain this grace for him. As a mother, she well understood the his torment and, fearing that the child would enter upon the path of evil that the world offers, she certainly implored the help of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Brain surgery endured with courage and serenity
The maternal intercession of Dona Lucilia was also felt in Peru, as reported by Solange Calero.
She tells us that, one day, her sister, Yicetth Aissa Calero, asked her to accompany her to a medical clinic, because she was experiencing a strong headache and nausea. Solange immediately entrusted her case to Dona Lucilia. The doctor examined her and ordered a tomography, in order to discover the cause of her illness.
The next day Yicetth’s ganglia became inflamed and her pain increased. She was unable to drink water or even lie down. Hearing of this, Solange began to pray more insistently to Dona Lucilia, asking her to protect her sister.
On the appointed date, they both went to the laboratory to get the tomography results and they received very troubling news: the report indicated that there was a tumour in the brain, near the ocular region. However, in the consultation with the specialist, Dona Lucilia already made her motherly intervention felt, for he told them that it seemed to be a benign tumour and that it would be possible to perform surgery through the nasal passage, in order to avoid damaging a nerve. After further examinations, the doctor confirmed that there was indeed no sign of malignancy and commented to Yicetth: “You have an Angel watching over you!”
However, she still had to undergo an operation to remove the tumour. The operation lasted four hours, during which Solange asked Dona Lucilia to help her sister. After the procedure, the doctor explained to the family that the operation had been complicated, because as soon as he reached the tumour, it burst, making it necessary to remove the material with great care, without touching any of the nerves. “If we had waited one more day it would have been fatal,” he concluded.
Other complications still awaited Yicetth during her convalescence, but all were overcome with serenity and courage, thanks to the help of Dona Lucilia. She recovered fully and left the hospital with no sequelae.
Lymphatic cancer discovered
Dona Lucilia
Jaison Jeferson Küster, a member of the Heralds of the Gospel, also tells us how grateful he is to Dona Lucilia, especially after having been the object of her intercession before God.
He recounts that, some time ago, he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in the most advanced stage. The number of tumours was astonishing: fifteen, all malignant and already in the final stage. The haematologists estimated twelve sessions of chemotherapy and another fifteen of radiotherapy, to try to save the patient’s life.
Aware of the serious state of his health, Mr. Jaison decided to turn to Dona Lucilia. At the beginning of the treatment, he went to her tomb in the Consolação Cemetery, located in São Paulo. After a period of blessed and consoling prayer, it occurred to him to gather some roses which adorned the tomb and, with their petals, to make tea, as a singular method of entrusting his cure to the one he rightly considered to be his spiritual mother.
A different “remedy”
Mr. Jaison knew very well that he could not find in a simple rose petal tea the medicinal elements for the cure of any disease, much less fifteen cancerous tumours in the most advanced stage. However, he had faith that, by that simple gesture practised in the manner of a novena – for he took it for nine days – he would obtain from God, through the intercession of Dona Lucilia, the longed-for cure.
After the first cycle of chemotherapy, the haematologist responsible for the case asked him to take another PET CT SCAN examination, in order to evaluate the effects of the treatment. Upon analysing the results, the doctor could not believe it: in just two months of treatment, Mr. Jaison was completely cured of fifteen malignant tumours!
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At times God sends us certain trials, illnesses and adversities to teach us to look to Heaven, to ask for the help of the blessed who enjoy the beatific vision there and to wait for the help that, according to His wise designs, will come to us.
Thus, having learned of these miraculous favours that Dona Lucilla has so benevolently obtained for those who have recourse to her, let us also be certain that, however unsolvable our situation may seem, with her help we will reach the safe harbour of salvation. ◊
