«Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, ready
to accept and bear all the suffering He will send you,
in an act of reparation for the sins with which He is offended,
and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?»
The main goal of the Armata Bianca is to invite children to consecrate themselves to God through Mary, thus placing them under the shelter of the Heart of the Father and making them active instruments of Co-redemption.
Whoever proposes this invitation to children continues the work begun by Mary with the three Shepherd children on May 13, 1917. It is not a leading role, but one of being an instrument of Mary who becomes little in order to speak to the little ones, by lending her their voice.
Inviting the children to consecrate themselves to God brings about a direct intervention by the Holy Spirit who, with their “yes”, renews the life-giving action of the Annunciation: after Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta said “yes” to Our Lady’s invitation “She opened her hands, and from them came a most intense light like a reflection which came from Her and penetrated us in the innermost part of our souls. That light was God” (from Lucia’s Memoirs).
The person who goes to speak to children must be conscious of the sacredness of this action and must prepare for it spiritually in order to become a docile instrument of the Holy Spirit in order to bring this message of Light to the children with humility and joy. His first duty must therefore be his own sanctification, by devoting himself to:
- Offering of himself to the Father, willing to live His Will, through Mary with Mary and for Mary;
- Weekly, or at least bi-monthly, confession;
- Daily Mass;
- Daily Communion;
- Daily recitation of the Rosary;
- Daily, or at least weekly, Eucharistic Adoration;
- Spiritual reading and daily meditation on Scriptures and the life of the Saints.
During the consecration the accompanying people remain in constant prayer, asking for the Angels’ intercession so that the children will pay attention and be able to receive Our Lady’s invitation in their hearts.