Lúcia began to consider the possibility that those manifestations could be the work of the devil, lost her enthusiasm for the practice of sacrifice, and considered whether she should say that she had lied and thus end it all. Francisco and Jacinta persuaded her not to consider the apparitions a work of the devil and not to lie to regarding them.
Lúcia felt relieved when she isolated herself, even from Francisco and Jacinta.
The idea that the apparitions could be the work of the devil had resurfaced in Lúcia; she began to consider that she should not attend the apparition of July 13th and ended up making that decision.
In the apparition of the Angel of Peace in 1916, along with Francisco and Jacinta, Lucia mentions that she felt the presence of God in a very intense and intimate way, to the point that even they could not speak of such a phenomenon among themselves. None of them thought of speaking or recommending secrecy, and it was not easy to utter the slightest word about it.
The words of the Angel of Peace were engraved in their souls like a light that made them understand who God was, revealing to them how He loved them and wanted to be loved, the value of sacrifice and how pleasing it was to Him, as well as making sacrifices for the conversion of sinners.
Jacinta recounts what they saw on May 13th. 1917: “(…) we saw another flash of lightning and, after taking a few steps further on, we saw, on a holm oak tree, a Lady, dressed all in white, brighter than the sun, scattering light, clearer and more intense than a crystal glass, full of crystal-clear water, pierced by the rays of the most ardent sun. We stopped, surprised by the apparition. We were so close that we were within the light that surrounded Her or that She scattered, perhaps a meter and a half away, more or less.”
After the dialogue with Our Lady, Lúcia recounts what happened: “Our Lady opened her hands for the first time and directed to them a beam of light so intense, as if a reflection emanating from them, that penetrating our chests and the innermost part of our souls, it made us see ourselves in God, who was that light, more clearly than we see ourselves in the best of mirrors.”