There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth, a time for dying, a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted,
A time for killing, a time for healing, a time for knocking down, a time for building.
A time for tears, a time for laughter, a time for mourning, a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them, a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.
A time for searching, a time for losing, a time for keeping, a time for discarding.
A time for tearing, a time for sewing, a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking.
A time for loving, a time for hating, a time for war, a time for peace.
Eclesiastes 3These were hard times that now seem to fade away.
In Fátima, we realize that the time to be thankful has come.
To be thankful for the family, the neighbour, the friend, the other.
To be thankful for those who accompanied us in each ward of each hospital.
To be thankful for those who were there, in every moment we said goodbye.
To be thankful for those who spent sleepless nights to protect us, as best they knew how.
To be thankful because we discover who we are, or who we are not.
To be thankful for what is important, so that we can move away from what is not.
To be thankful for starting to search.
These were hard times that now seem to go away.
There is a time for everything, even if we cannot understand it.
This is the time to give thanks. And what better place than Fátima to do so?
Fátima, a time to be thankful.