FIRST–have you made your Fatima Family Action Plan? Learn how in 3 EASY steps!

SECOND–every few days throughout the month of May, we will post another Color-By-Number of a different visit of Our Blessed Mother from Heaven! Today–here’s #3!

She always dressed beautifully when she visited from Heaven–but she never wore the same outfit twice!

Want to access all 6 color-by-numbers at the same time? Click below to get the entire coloring book download!

Now, before we forget to tell you: a main message of this apparition–which consisted of SIX visits from Mary and THREE preparatory visits by an angel!–was to tell us to to PRAY the Rosary.

Clara wrote a blog post compiling 21 Ways to Pray a Family Rosary complete with all sorts of rosary prayer aids for adults and children of all ages. And don’t forget about our “Secret Rosary Project” which we conducted with 175 Catholic moms, resulting in these fantastic bead-by-bead rosary picture books for children.

Now–onward to this new color-by number: It’s Our Lady of Fatima because May 13th is her feast day!

Nine-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Francisco (age 7) and Jacinta Marto (age 6), came from a poor shepherding family in Fatima, Portugal.

Every day, the three of them would shepherd their family’s sheep in the fields nearby. They would say their prayers and then play–and they usually rushed through their rosary so they could have more time to play!

In 1916, while they were out tending their sheep, they were visited by an angel who called himself The Angel of Peace and taught them to pray some new prayers. He also told them to pray very much and make sacrifices for all the sins against God. This angel visited them three times and the children began to pray the rosary correctly and to make sacrifices like feeding their lunches to the sheep and praying even more instead of playing.

Then, the following year, on May 13th, 1917, a Lady descended onto a holm oak tree in the field where they were with the sheep. They were, of course, a little frightened at first. They described the Lady as “brighter than the sun” in flowing garments of white and gold and that she appeared above them, holding a rosary in her hand. The Lady told them not to be afraid of her and, when Lucia asked her where she came from, she said that she came from Heaven.

The Lady in white told them she had come to ask the children to pray the rosary as much as they could. There was a terrible war in Europe at that time and the Lady said the suffering it was causing could be ended by fierce prayer, offering sacrifices, and dedication to the Holy Trinity. She told them that she wanted them to return to this same spot again each month on the 13th and that on the 13th of October, she would tell them who she was.

It is a long (but very interesting story) of the next months leading up the Our Lady’s final visit, of all the things she showed them and told them. They tried to be there every month–but one month they were arrested and missed their appointment!

It all turned out OK in the end, though. (The Lady just came and visited them later in another place!)

We don’t have enough room to tell you everything in this blog post–there is just so much to the story,!

Here’s the best way to learn all the details: get this instant MP3 download here (listen to it while you color-by-number) or you can get our recently reprinted Fatima Family Handbook (which is packed with all sorts of pictures and explanations of the story and the prayers the children were taught by the angel and by the Blessed Virgin Mary–plus room for you to write down your thoughts and plans for God!). We even have a big 20-page coloring download with the whole story!

Want to see some great (short) videos and pictures? Then you can also go to this blog post to see videos from Virginia’s visit to Fatima for her honeymoon–definitely worth watching the videos to see where the children lived, where the visitors from Heaven appeared, and the huge basilica that is there today.

The GRAND FINALE: When October 13th finally came, the Lady told them she was the “Lady of the Rosary” and that she wanted a chapel built there where she had been appearing. She also performed a miracle that was seen by tens of thousands of people–the Miracle of the Sun! The children themselves saw not only this miracle, but they also saw Saint Joseph and the Christ Child appear and bless the world!

Now, before you start coloring, think of this:

The Blessed Virgin Mary must’ve loved the clothes she wore to meet Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta very much because she wore them not once but six times! Lucia described the Lady as wearing clothes so pure and white that she shone brighter than “a crystal glass filled with the most sparkling water and pierced with the burning rays of the sun”! Her white clothes had a trim of shimmering gold, and she wore a golden necklace, too. She would stand on a holm oak tree when she spoke to the children, so that is in the picture for you to color, too.

Get this color-by-number here:

Our Blessed Mother in Heaven also reaches out to us in our time of need and offers her help through the rosary! Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

PS The story of the children of Fatima is so inspiring to children. Did you know that Saints Francisco and Jacinta are the youngest canonized saints who were not martyrs? They show us that children can become so holy while they are on earth and, through cooperating with God’s grace, overcome their weaknesses and vices. For all sorts of Fatima reminders and materials, go to HolyHeroes.com/Fatima (surprise your kids with prayers cards, even more coloring pages, books written just for them, and more!).