Feb 22, 2025: Balazar & Braga

4 min read

Blessed Alexandrina at Balazar

This lady’s story really stuck me the first time I heard it. This year I’m making the connections better. She lived the Message of Fatima perfectly. She was devoted to Our Lord and offered her suffering for poor sinners.

The Life of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa (with the help of AI writing)

Blessed Alexandrina, born on March 30, 1904, in Balasar, Portugal, is a remarkable figure in the Catholic Church, known for her deep mystical experiences and profound love for Christ. Her life can be seen as a beautiful journey of faith, suffering, and love.

Let’s walk through her home and life:

From a young age, Alexandrina exhibited a strong spiritual inclination. However, her life took a dramatic turn at the age of 14 when she was home with her sister and friend when men with bad intentions broke in. The girls blocked the doors and pulled a sewing machine on top of this trap door.

The guys still got in.

To preserve her purity Alexandrina jumped out of this window. Im guessing there weren’t bushes here then.

She’s hurt but still gets up and is able to save the other girls before anyone was hurt.

Her health declined from the injury until she was completely bedridden by age 21.

Her mom and sister shared the bedroom through that small door.

This physical limitation could have led her to despair, but instead, Alexandrina embraced her suffering as a means to unite herself more closely with Christ. She often referred to her suffering as a way to express her love for Jesus, embodying the spirit of sacrifice and reparation for the sins of humanity.

From 1932-1942 she had mystical experiences including visions of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Every Friday from noon to 3pm she’d go into a trace like state were she was able to get out of bed and relive the passion of Christ on this very rug.

Doctors would try to pick her up but they couldn’t. Later when questioned she said that’s when she, as Christ, was carrying the weight of the world’s sins.

She spoke with Jeuss many times. He told her, “let devotion to My Real Presence in the tabernacle be preached and spread abroad because for many days no one comes to visit Me; they don’t love Me, they don’t make reparation to Me. They don't believe that I live there.”

For the last 13 years of her life, Alexandrina lived on the Eucharist only, no food or drink. The Church was skeptical and she was taken to a hospital in Oporto for observation for a month. Two body guards stood at the door 24/7 to ensure no food was getting snuck in.

At the end of the month an agnostic doctor also couldn’t believe it. Her vitals were normal. He kept her an extra 10 days for observation and concluded no foul play. This is a miracle.

This profound connection to the Eucharist and her willingness to suffer for the sake of others exemplified her deep love for God and humanity.

Alexandrina's life was marked by her commitment to prayer and her desire to lead others to Christ. She became a source of inspiration for many, encouraging them to find meaning in their own sufferings and to turn to the Eucharist for strength. Her motto, "suffer, love, make reparation," encapsulates her approach to life and faith.

She passed away on October 13, 1955, (recall Oct 13 is the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun!) and her legacy continues to inspire countless individuals.

Alexandrina was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II on April 25, 2004, recognizing her as a model of holiness and a testament to the power of love and sacrifice in the Christian life. Her story serves as a reminder of the transformative power of suffering when united with Christ and the importance of the Eucharist in the life of a believer.

I myself still struggle with the idea of suffering being a good thing. I like comfort. But in this journey toward heaven I pray I’ll get it eventually.

Consoling the hearts of Jesus and Mary for the indifference so many people have toward them makes sense. God made each person yet so many don’t even acknowledge Him! Or they say they know Him but don’t really spend any time with Him. This was me for a long time. I try to be aware of His presence throughout my day.

To make the story of Alexandrina even more real our local guide has a direct connection to her!

When she was still alive, people would come to her to pray and ask for advice. A young girl and her boyfriend visited once. Alexandrina told the girl privately this isn’t the man you will marry. She broke up with him and years later she married a widower with 7 children. She had 10 more children with him. Number 15 is our guide’s wife! They are a devout family with a load of kids themselves. So many lives connected to Blessed Alexandrina.

There’s a new huge church being built across from her home.

Down the street from Alexandrina’s home…

Little Chapel of the Miracle of the Cross

In 1832, just 100 years before Alexandria picked up her cross, a cross appeared in the dirt.

The local Priest said to cover it up but it kept reappearing. The man pictured asked to build a chapel over it.

And so he did.

Now it’s a pilgrimage site where people can dig up some of the dirt to take home.

The dirt never runs out… there’s always enough.

…

Another pilgrim and I were discussing suffering. I don’t get it. I don’t want it. I’m definitely not strong enough for it.

Lesson from Fr John: We shouldn’t ask for suffering but we should accept whatever suffering does come our way and offer it to Christ as reparation for sins.

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