By Modesto P. Sa-onoy
In the last century, the Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima and in Akita, Japan. The messages of these two apparitions had been discussed at length and we know that several of the messages had been fulfilled but some had been ignored.
Pope St. John XXIII in 1959 and Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1965 read the letters written by Sister Lucia, the longest survivor of the three children that saw the Blessed Mother and through whom the messages were delivered. But the two Popes declined to publish it. After the May 13, 1981, attempt on his life, Pope St. John Paul II asked for the letter. He soon authorized the disclosure of the secret in conjunction with the May 13, 2000, beatification ceremony for Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
The secret describes an angel with a flaming sword in his left hand crying out: “Penance, penance, penance.” Then a bishop dressed in white (thought to be the Holy Father) joins other bishops, priests and men and women religious in ascending a steep mountain with a big cross on top. On the way to the mountain, the Holy Father goes through a city half in ruins, and “he prays for the souls of the corpses” he sees. At the top of the mountain, he kneels before the cross and is killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him. Other bishops, priests, men and women religious and laypeople are also killed. Then two angels gather up the blood of these martyrs into a crystal aspersorium and sprinkle the souls on their way to God.”
The angel called three times: Penance, penance, penance. In the Jewish language, the repetition of the word three times is the superlative. It is the strongest emphasis.
But did the world listen to the angel with a flaming sword? Such an angel is an avenger, could be like the one seen by Pope Gregory during the 6th century plague that I mentioned last week. That he was still holding the sword with the left hand means that he was not about to assault as he called for penance, a chance to ward off his sword from going to his right hand to strike. Two other angels collected the blood of martyrs. Does this mean that many bishops, priests, and faithful will be martyred as in persecutions and pandemics?
On June 12, 1973, Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist of Akita, Japan had an apparition of an angel in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Much later, Our Lady appeared to her. On August 3, 1973, Our Lady sent a clear message:
“Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and ingrates. In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my Son I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger. I desire this also from your community…that it love poverty, that it sanctifies itself, and pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men.” The emphasis is mine.
These seers are warning us of the chastisement and even the wrath of God. But the world did not listen and today the world squirms and people agonize due to the virus so small it is invisible to the naked eye. Fear grips the land. But to the faithful, God said, “be not afraid.”
Except for few voices within the Catholic Church to whom these messages were coursed through, there is deafening silence for what the message demands, “penance” and more of it, to appease the Divine wrath. There seems to be a “skirting” or camouflaging of the demands for penance. Indeed, the messages claim there are people within the Church who are responsible for the present degeneration. Closed churches had never been the Church’ response until now.
Continued tomorrow.
