Motherly and Infallible Assistance

Sudden healings, anonymous donations and unexpected solutions... How can these things be explained? For a more naturalistic spirit, they may seem the work of mere chance, but for souls who have had recourse to Dona Lucilia’s intercession, the answer is clear: they reveal not only the hand, but also the protective shawl of her maternal support. Among the innumerable reports of graces obtained through Dona Lucilia, what draws our attention is the promptness with which she answers the prayers addressed to her, resolving everything from the simplest to the most complicated problems with special attention and care. She has been an infallible aid, close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for those who ask for her assistance in times of great need.

Photo of the grocery items, bills of money and medals
received by Andreia Magalhães

An anonymous and mysterious donation

This is confirmed by Andreia Magalhães, from Curitiba, PR, who was impressed by the unexpected assistance her family received while going through a period of great financial need. Since she was self-employed, she could no longer earn enough to cover her household expenses during the pandemic. She had to pay the rent that was already due, but only had half the amount needed... She was afflicted, not knowing what to do, when she heard her doorbell ring. “I only had four hundred reais for the rent, and was desperate because the contract was drawn up through a real estate company. On Wednesday, a young man from Uber came to our house and said that they had had some boxes to deliver. We were startled; who was the sender? It was several boxes of food...” Andreia tried to find out who had sent the generous shipment that had arrived at her residence, but the delivery driver simply said that they were dispatching it from the city centre of Curitiba, and that everything was already paid for. Surprised, she started to examine the contents of the boxes: “Well, when we opened them up we found them full of groceries, from cartons of milk to cookies... I thought: Wow, whoever sent this knows that there are children in the family. And inside one of those boxes there was an envelope containing 475 reais and four medals of Our Lady. The sender also knew there were four people living in the house at the time. And the money was precisely the amount I needed to pay the remainder of my rent. We were overjoyed with this, but at the same time baffled.”

Melanie Magalhães with her mother, Andreia

The benefactress was closer than they imagined

Soon thereafter, Andreia learned who was responsible for that unexpected and gratuitous act of generosity: “A few days later, we received a visit from two Sisters of the Heralds. While my daughter Melanie was speaking with them, she mentioned that she had asked Dona Lucilia to help us, because we were experiencing difficulties.” This was the answer to the mystery that Andreia had been trying to solve for some days: her benefactress was closer than she had imagined, supporting and protecting her family through the supplication of her little daughter. That mysterious delivery did have a sender: the maternal and infallible assistance of Dona Lucilia.

Inexplicable disappearance of a nodule

Jessica Gobbi, from São Carlos in the State of São Paulo, still feeling somewhat overcome with amazement, tells us of the grace she received through the intervention of Dona Lucilia, by which she was cured in an inexplicable manner.

Jessica Gobbi with her husband in the Heralds’ House in São Carlos

After over two years of marriage, she and her husband Felipe still had no children, despite all their hopes. They then decided to see a doctor: “We began to do several tests. And, in one of them, I found out that I had a nodule in my thyroid, which according to the TI-RADS classification, corresponded to category 5, which means that was highly suspect of being malignant. “Immediately after the discovery of the nodule, I was going to have to undergo a biopsy, but at the same time I found out that I was pregnant... So, my husband and I contacted a Herald priest and asked for his blessing through the intercession of St. Blaise. He took us to the church and gave us the blessing of St. Blaise with the candle on the throat and also offered a prayer asking for Dona Lucilia’s intercession so that the nodule would disappear or be benign.” Not long after this, Jessica returned to the doctor: “I was very nervous about having to do the biopsy and everything... So I went back to the doctor and he said: ‘Since you’re pregnant, let’s just keep an eye on this with ultrasound. After you have the baby, we will have you come back to remove the nodule if it’s really malignant.’ He requested that the exam be repeated, to monitor the nodule throughout the pregnancy.” And to the surprise of Jessica and her husband, everything started to turn around, in a serene, discreet and unexpected way: “When I repeated the examination, the nodule had disappeared. I had a few nodules, but the most serious, that of category 5, had disappeared. And the other nodules that had been found, which presented no threat of being malignant, had diminished.”   Jessica sought medical explanations, but she soon realized the enormous grace she had received: “We took the report and went back to the oncologist. Showing it to him, we asked him if it was normal. And he said: ‘Look, this is not normal, and I can’t explain what happened. But the nodule has really disappeared.’”

Solution for every problem

Cristiano Pires with a portrait of Dona Lucilia

Cristiano Pires, who in the habit of turning to Dona Lucilia’s intercession, also sends us his testimony, eager to make known the assistance he received at moments of great trial and need by the loving and maternal help of this kind lady. He tells us that he had a debt at the bank and received a reminder to pay it. However, he made the payment in the wrong way and ran the risk of losing all the money that he had intended for this purpose. Since this could involve a sizable loss, as well as a huge headache for him, he asked Dona Lucilia for help. Shortly afterwards, before he even took steps to settle the matter, he found that his debt had been paid off in full, everything had been resolved: “Thank God I did not lose the six thousand reais due to Dona Lucilia’s intercession. I felt a great peace in my heart and in my soul, which came from Dona Lucilia’s intervention.” On another occasion, wishing to leave one of his places of employment, Cristiano decided to put the case in the hands of Dona Lucilia, certain that she would help him: “I was working in two hospitals, and I was tired of working at night. I had been in that hospital for seventeen years and had already asked on three or four occasions to be discharged because I could no longer endure the hours. So I decided to turn to Dona Lucilia’s intercession.”

Quick intercession from the “lady of the Quadrinho”

It was not long before his prayers were heard: “The news began to circulate that whoever wanted to be dismissed could give his name to personnel management. I submitted my request, and thanks to God, in January of this year, with Dona Lucilia’s intercession, I was discharged, receiving everything commensurate with the seventeen years of service at the institution.” And Dona Lucilia’s favour was complete: “It’s something incredible, you ask for her intercession and you see it is quick. In a matter of a week I had everything resolved, and all the severance pay was properly settled. I saw my colleagues complaining and fighting with HR, because they were not being paid. And thanks to God, to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to Our Lady, through the intercession of Dona Lucilia, I received this immense grace.”

Suave fragrance of roses on the pillow

Lilibeth Caruso, from Houston, Texas, writes telling us of a significant episode by which she further confirmed how much this kind lady, who did so much good to those around her during her earthly life, is willing to help from eternity those who reach out to her through prayer. When visiting a friend who had been confined to a wheelchair for more than seven years, she tried to offer her some words of comfort and support to help her cope with the difficulties and sufferings that Providence has asked of her: “I gave her a magazine of the Heralds and a photo of Dona Lucilia, and told her that she has worked miracles, although she has not yet been canonized. I advised her to ask for her intercession, saying that she too had been a mother and would help her.” Krystal, her friend, accepted the gift, saying that she would put it under her pillow. She then left the room for a few moments and, upon returning, noticed something different: “When she returned, she asked me if I was wearing perfume. I said, ‘No, why?’ Then she replied that she had started to smell roses, that her pillow was exuding the fragrance of roses. And she added: ‘My grandmother said that when a person is going to be canonized they exude the smell of roses. So this Dona Lucilia is going to be canonized.’” Although to this day we do not entirely know the reason for this sudden fragrance, we might interpret it as a discreet gesture of Dona Lucilia, endowed with beautiful symbolism. Perhaps she wanted to mark that lady’s soul with her presence from the very beginning, teaching her that, just as roses exude the sweetest scent when crushed, souls who are capable of allowing themselves to be immolated by suffering offer God a perfume of pleasing odour.

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As we have seen, there are many, in Brazil and abroad, who feel protected by the motherly assistance of this generous lady, or experience the encouraging effect of her presence. She instils in them the courage to face life’s arduous struggles, but above all she offers them serenity and confidence to deal with the worst misfortunes and disappointments. Certain that she is standing before the throne of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, obtaining with her maternal know-how a favourable decision for those most in need, an ever-increasing number of people have had recourse to her, confiding in her intercession to attain from God not only what is unmerited, but even what is impossible. ◊