“Let your light shine before men”

Dona Lucilia has been extremely generous in her displays of affection and compassion for those who seek her help. So much so that, as this noble lady is a mirror of Mary’s goodness and love, one can apply to her St. Bernard’s words in the Memorare: never was it known that those who fled to her protection, implored her help or sought her intercession were left unaided. This is what can be inferred from the innumerable accounts that come to us by the most varied means. And so as not to hide such a “Lucilian” lamp under a bushel, I am going to tell you a few more of the countless favours dispensed by God through His very loving daughter. In this way, seeing her good works, men will glorify the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:15-16).

“For God nothing is impossible!”

Faced with a mysterious and apparently incurable illness which began with wounds on the legs, Dejair Eiterer, from Juiz de Fora (state of Minas Gerais), was advised to ask Dona Lucilia’s help in order to recover his health: “I went to several specialists – a dermatologist, rheumatologist, angiologist, and a general practitioner... – but none of them were able to offer successful treatment. It was a very difficult time for me. I took morphine every four hours and even so, I felt no relief. “The doctor handling my case said it was impossible to take morphine every four hours and still feel pain. So, in discussion with the other members of the medical team, they all agreed that it would be better to amputate my legs, since the treatment was not working. “The day after this terrible news, my godfather, Expedito Afonso, brought a Herald priest to visit me. During the conversation, this priest said: ‘The doctor said he would have to amputate, but who is the real doctor? It is God! And for God nothing is impossible!’ “After having said that, the priest blessed me and prayed three Hail Marys with me. Then he took a picture of Dona Lucilia, whom I had never heard of, from his pocket, and suggested that I pray with faith a Hail Mary every day, asking for her intercession. “I had been praying a lot for almost a year, and at that moment an inner certainty arose in everyone there that I would be healed through the intercession of Dona Lucilia.”

“Everything began to change!”

The certainty Dejair held in his heart was soon confirmed: “After that visit, everything began to change! The next day the results of an examination arrived, identifying the bacteria causing the problem, and it was discovered that I had been taking the wrong medication for a month. I started the correct medication and within a week the pain began to subside. I was supposed to undergo another debridement, but the unhealthy tissue came off at the time of the dressing and the procedure was no longer necessary. In addition, there was no need to perform grafting at the wound site, which healed with the use of an ointment. “After fifty-five days in the hospital, I was discharged. As I was not yet able to walk, I left in a wheelchair and the doctor who had recommended the amputation of my legs was impressed with my improvement. “On July 21 I went to the Heralds of the Gospel seat to offer my thanksgiving for this grace. I had gone from the perspective of losing both legs and suffering tremendous pain to now being pain-free. Since the day I heard of Dona Lucilia I have prayed a Hail Mary every day without fail, thanking her and asking her to continue protecting me!”

A request immediately heeded

Sergio Matias, consecrated member of a community called Fanuel – Face of God, and coordinator of its missionary presence in the Archdiocese of São Paulo, concerned about his father’s state of health, decided to ask for Dona Lucilia’s help and was promptly assisted: “For fifteen days, my father had been suffering from a throat problem, as if there were a lump or something that even prevented him from breathing properly, for it caused shortness of breath. I had already taken him to the doctor, who had diagnosed pharyngitis and prescribed medication. However, time passed and there was no improvement in his condition. On April 22 of this year, my mother called me and told me that my brother had taken him to the hospital because his condition had worsened. I immediately contacted my brother by phone – he was still in the hospital with my father – [and he said that] the doctor who examined him had ordered a CT scan, because there was a strong suspicion that there was a tumour in the tracheal region. “This left me very sad and worried. My father is already seventy-four years old and, although he is an active man, he was in poor health due to other problems. I contacted the founder of our community, Sandro Peres, via WhatsApp, and told him what was happening. I asked for his intercession and his prayers at that moment. He said to me, ‘Look, today the Heralds celebrate Dona Lucilia’s birthday; ask for her intercession in front of a photograph of her.’ I went to the Heralds of the Gospel website and there was a photograph of Dona Lucilia. And exactly at noon, Brasilia time, I placed myself in front of the picture and asked that valiant lady, a great witness of the Christian faith, and who was certainly now in the glory of God, to intercede in the intention of my father’s health and that the result of the CT scan would come back showing nothing. This was my request: that there should be absolutely nothing. “After that prayer, I went to the hospital and waited there for the CT scan result, which arrived at about four o’clock in the afternoon. The doctor said, ‘Look, your father has nothing. Not in his lungs, and much less in the trachea region. It could be something simple originating in the stomach.’ And the very same day, my father returned home.”

 “I obtained this grace through the intercession of Dona Lucilia”

Grateful for the favour received, Sergio Matias adds: “I am saying this because we have faith, the faith we have received from the Church, faith in the Saints of the Church – in those who have been raised to the altars, but also in those who during their lifetime have done great things for the sake of the Gospel and died in a state of holiness. These people are surely with God, and they also have great intercessory power.

Sergio Matias, consecrated member of the Fanuel – Face of God community

“Therefore, I believe that through the intercession of Dona Lucilia, on April 22, my father was touched and what was in him disappeared, because God, in His infinite mercy and in the name of Jesus, accomplished a work in my father’s life. We still have some exams to do, but I know that through the intercession of the Saints – and now for me, in a very particular way, through the intercession of Dona Lucilia – nothing will happen to my father. “I want to thank all those who were with me in this ordeal, our founder, who is devoted to many Saints, who loves the work of Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira and advised me to turn to this venerable lady, who died in the odour of sanctity and is now in the glory of God, because through her intercession I have obtained this grace.”

Supplication from an afflicted heart

Amauri Valentin, from Vila Velha (state of Espirito Santo), after hearing about Dona Lucilia’s life, also had recourse to her intercession and soon obtained the grace that he had been hoping to receive for some years: “My family was passing through a trying time, regarding a question of inheritance. There was a lot of infighting and we needed to make an important decision, but there were members of the family in disagreement about which step we should take. That night I prayed the Rosary asking for Dona Lucilia’s intercession. “The very day that I had heard of her, I tried to talk to her in my thoughts: ‘You, who are a mother, and also a woman, enter the hearts of my aunts, who are women; win them over and obtain this grace for us.’ Then I fell asleep... “I woke up around nine o’clock in the morning and received a call from my uncle saying that my two aunts had agreed to take the step for us to solve this problem that my family had been struggling with for the last three or four years. “Through the praying of the Rosary and devotion to Dona Lucilia, I obtained this grace. It was a heartfelt request, from someone in need, and I was answered. Since then I have been a great devotee of both her and Plinio.”

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Thus, from eternity, Dona Lucilia has made her care and maternal protection shine in a special way for all those who seek her, in need of help.