Our Lady of Sorrows
one
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Today we remember how Mary suffered with Jesus in His work of saving souls.
She did not begin to suffer at Cavalry when Jesus was crucified. Oh no, her suffering began much earlier. Her suffering began
· When Jesus was presented in the Temple forty days after his birth and Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart because her son would be rejected.
· Almost immediately, Mary and Joseph had to flee with their infant son to Egypt to escape being murdered by King Herod.
· Then when Jesus was twelve, he disappeared for three days causing great anguish in the heart of Mary and Joseph.
· And we recall the sorrowful meeting between Jesus and Mary in the 4th station of the Cross.
· And the sword did pierce her mother’s heart when Jesus was crucified and died on Calvary and when soon after she received her dead son into her arms as they lowered him down from the cross and placed him in the Tomb.
These seven sorrows of Mary signify the way she participated with Jesus in his work of saving the world.
Today we turn to our Mother Mary with gratitude for all she and her Son suffered for us.
two
Mary continues to suffer with and for her children
Many people are unaware of the approved messages from Mary to Sr Agnes Sasagawa which took place in Akita, Japan between 1973 and 1981. The apparition and messages were approved by Bishop John Ito in 1984. During this time a wooden statue of Mary wept human tears on 101 different occasions, ending on this day Sept. 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
I met the man who carved the statue - he testified - it was just wood!
The miracle of the Weeping Statue was followed by messages from Her Guardian Angel and Our Lady to Sr Sasagawa.
In DECEMBER of 1975 her Guardian Angel said: "Do not be surprised to see the Blessed Virgin weeping. She weeps because she wishes the conversion of the greatest number. She desires that souls be consecrated to Jesus.
But you might ask, how could Mary weep in Heaven?
Jesus and Mary continue to mystically suffer in heaven as the head and heart of the body of Christ.
Mary is the Mother of every person on the planet. If her children are suffering, how could their mother not be. Any mother can understand that…In heaven Mary weeps, but she is not sad for herself.
● Her sorrowful heart breaks to see so many of her children on earth rejecting God and in very real danger of going to hell by their own free choice.
She sheds tears to get our attention, to wake us up, to call us to conversion and call us to action
three
AUGUST 3, 1973 Mary revealed to Sr Sasagawa
"My daughter…do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, listen to what I have to say to you...Many men in this world afflict the Lord.
"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…Offer in reparation (whatever God may send) for sins. Let each one endeavor, according to capacity and position, to offer herself entirely to the Lord."
October 13, 1973
"As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the Flood…Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests."
Our Lady said:
"Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamites which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved."
four
How should we interpret this message?
The more people turn away from God and a godly way of life the more we live like beasts and demons destroying one another and destroying the world.
God does not need to punish us because we are oh so good at punishing ourselves.
God gave us freedom and He won’t remove it.
· Good actions result in good consequences
· Evil actions result in evil consequences that affect everyone, bad and good alike.
God sent His only begotten Son to show us the way and then he even went as far as to die for us. But we have rejected His Son.
· Now He sends His Mother and She shows us Her Sorrowful Heart
· Maybe a mother’s heart will move our cold and stony hearts.
The Purpose of the Message of Chastisement is this:
● The future is not irrevocably set
● We can’t change world events by watching the news
● We can change world events and help save souls,
o if we answer the call of Our Lady
And what has she asked of us?
· Our Conversion – to stop living lives of sin which don’t make us happy anyway
· Commit to prayer and growth in virtue and happiness
· Help her lead our family and friends to Jesus before it is too late.
five
Our Lady is calling us to join her in a Rescue Mission
In general, we can help Jesus save souls by uniting our prayer, work, joy and suffering to Him – by offering these things up. But God has given you a specific responsibility to help the people He placed in your life. Now, I have been praying, thinking and working on this for 30 years. Given the culture, I think the most effective thing we can do for our loved ones is three-fold:
1. You Pray the Rosary Podcast every day
a. Learn your faith in bite sized digestible portions
b. Learn to Meditate
i. Easy to share with others
ii. Easy to invite others to pray with you
2. Take Back Sundays
a. Every Sunday invite family and friends to come with you to Mass to delight in all that God has done for us
b. Then invite them to share a meal or some good activity, and talk while you do it rather than passively veg before a screen
c. Commit to share life together every Sunday
3. Invite the people in your life who aren’t very interested in God to come and share life
a. They may not be willing or able to go to Mass
b. But they can come to your home and experience people who have faith, who are normal (well at least some of us) and who are people who love life and live joyfully
c. Maybe this will spark something in them to be interested in God and to have faith in him
d. You’re the only Gospel their going to get, so you better live it well and joyfully and invite them