An excerpt from "Inside the Light: Understanding the Message of Fátima" by Sister Ângela de Fátima Coelho:
Our Lady came to Fátima to teach us to have this openness of heart. She wants to create the perfect conditions for our personal encounter with Jesus, an encounter which will transform our lives and allow us to live the virtues of faith, hope, and love.
Our Lady asks us, as she asked [the three children], "Are you willing to offer yourself to God?" The children answered yes. How will you respond? Will you offer yourself?
If we say yes to this fundamental question, the shepherd children's experience will become our experience. We will see ourselves in the light of God; we will see ourselves as God sees us, and that vision and God's love will transfigure us. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the aim of our spiritual lives.
Perhaps an analogy may shed some light on the spiritual potential that God is waiting to unlock in all of us. In La Clairvoyance, a painting by René Magritte, a painter sits before his canvas looking at an egg on a nearby table. But on his canvas, he has not painted the egg but a graceful bird about to take flight. In other words, the painting depicts the potential of the egg.
This offers an extraordinary metaphor for our discussion on sanctity and seeing ourselves as God sees us. When we look in the mirror, we do not see a bird in glorious flight but an egg. Yet God, the True Painter, sees the bird about to take flight. He sees our potential, if we would only say yes to Him and allow His grace to hatch us.
(text source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HJGK1VN)
(picture source: https://www.cathopic.com/photo/5854-divina-misericordia-virgen-fatima)
