On June 28, 1973, a cross-shaped wound appeared on the inside left hand
of Sr. Agnes. It bled profusely and caused her much pain. On July 6, Sr.
Agnes heard a
voice coming from the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the chapel
where she was praying. The statue was carved from a single block of wood
from a Katsura
tree and is three feet tall. On the same day, a few of the sisters
noticed drops of blood flowing from the statue's right hand. On four occasions,
this act of blood
flow repeated itself. The wound in the statue's hand remained until
September 29, when it disappeared. On September 29, the day the wound on
the statue
disappeared, the sisters noticed the statue had now begun to "sweat",
especially on the forehead and neck. On August 3, Sr. Agnes received a
second message.
On October 13, she received a final third message.
Two years later on January 4, 1975, the statue of the Blessed Virgin
began to weep. It continued to weep at intervals for the next 6 years and
eight months. It wept
on 101 occasions.
Apparitions approved - Important Message for the World
A TERRIBLE WARNING
Apparitions approved - Important Message for the World
In 1984, just before retiring at a venerable age, the diocesan Bishop
of,
Niigata, Bishop John Shojiro Ito, in consultation with the Holy See,
wrote a
pastoral letter in which he recognized as being authentically
of the Mother
of God, the extraordinary series of events that had take
place from 1973 to
1981 in a little lay convent within his diocese at Akita,
Japan. Hence in
Akita we are dealing with a Church approved intervention
the Blessed
Virgin Mary as sure in this respect as Lourdes, La Salette, or
Fatima.
The message of Akita, authenticated by Bishop Ito,
is a continuation of Fatima. The chastisement threatened is
truly terrible
- far worse than the possibility of annihilation of several
nations
prophesied at Fatima. Akita is absolutely consistent with
prophecies of Scripture.
The first message received by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa on
June 6, 1973,
was a call for prayer and sacrifice for the glory of the Father
and
salvation of souls. The second message, August 3, 1973, was for prayer,
penance and courageous sacrifices to soften the Father's anger.
The third message on October 13, 1973, the actual anniversary
of the final
visions and miracle of Fatima is as follows: "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 deluge,
such as
one will never have seen before. 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 the
priests. The
work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such
a way that
one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, and bishops against
other
bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed
by their
Confreres. The Church and altars will be vandalized. The
Church will be full
of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many
priests and
consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. "The demon
will rage especially against souls
consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls
is the cause
of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there
will no
longer be pardon for them." In his pastoral letter
approving the events of
Akita as supernatural, the Bishop of Niigata said: "After the
inquiries
conducted up to the present day, one cannot deny the supernatural
character
of a series of unexplainable events relative to the statue of
the Virgin honored
at Akita (Diocese of Niigata). Consequently I authorize that
all of the diocese entrusted to me
venerate the Holy Mother of Akita."
Concerning the messages, His Excellency said:
"As for the content of the messages received, it is no way contrary
to
Catholic doctrine or to good morals. When one thinks of the actual
state of
the world, the warning seems to correspond to it in many points."
His Excellency
explained that he had taken eight years to give this judgment
because of
the importance and the responsibility in question. "The
Congregation of
the Doctrine for the Faith has given me directives in this sense,"
the Bishop
said, "that only the bishop of the diocese in question has the
power to
recognize an event of this kind."
The events of Akita have been confirmed by definite miracles, two of
which
are cited by the Bishop in his pastoral letter. While the
warning given by
Our Lady at Akita is terrible, the message, as the Bishop points
out, is
basically a repetition of the Message of Fatima.
Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary, and above
all
of accepting from God whatever He may send in the course
of each day . . .
whatever suffering . . . and to offer
it up in reparation for so many sins
committed throughout the world at this time. Our Lady begged
especially for
prayers for bishops, priests, and religious, and for reparation
before
the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady said: "I have prevented the
coming of
calamities by offering to the Father, together with all the
victim souls
who console Him, the sufferings endured by the Son on the Cross,
by His blood
and by His very loving Soul. Prayer, penance, and courageous
sacrifices can
appease the anger of the Father."
To the little religious community where Our Lady gave the messages,
she
asked that it "live in poverty, sanctify itself and pray in reparation
for
the ingratitude and the outrages of so many men."
The apparitions and events in Akita, Japan, center around
a three foot high
statue of Our Lady with a Japanese face in the chapel of the
Eucharistic
Handmaids of the Sacred Heart. These supernatural happenings
also involve
Sr. Agnes Sasagawa, one of the Sisters in the convent, to whom
Our Lady gave
Her messages. Sister had been very ill, requiring about
20 operations. When
the apparitions began, she was nearly deaf. On June 12, 1973,
when she
opened the tabernacle for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,
a very strong
light came from it and filled the entire chapel.
This happened for three days. When Sister asked the other Sisters
if they
had seen anything out of the ordinary, they said no.
This strong light also came from the tabernacle on the feast
of Corpus
Christi. When Sr. Sasagawa told the Bishop of Akita (who was
visiting the
convent on the feast) of this, he advised her to keep it in her
heart. On
the Vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart that same year, Sr.
Sasagawa's
guardian angel appeared to her and asked her to pray the Fatima
decade
prayer after each decade of the Rosary. In 1973 this prayer was
not well
known in Japan and Sister had trouble understanding it, but the
Sisters
began to recite the prayer and it has now spread throughout
Japan.
On the same occasion as the apparition of her guardian
angel, a wound in the
form of a cross appeared in the hollow of Sr. Sasagawa's
left hand and began
to bleed. The bleeding ended on the feast of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.
The following Friday, the wound bled and stopped the next day.
This
continued for a month. Sister's guardian angel later spoke to
her in chapel.
Although nearly deaf, she heard the angel saying:
"Pray not only for
yourself, but for the people of all nations. The world today
is wounding the
Sacred Heart of Jesus through so much sin and ingratitude." After
hearing
this, Sister heard a voice come from the statue in the chapel:
"My daughter,
you obeyed me very well; you have renounced everything. This deafness
is a
great suffering for you. Have patience; you will be healed. It is a
trial.
Pray in reparation for all people. Pray much for the Holy Father, for
the
bishops and the priests." On July 6, 1973, a bleeding wound appeared
on
the right hand of the statue of Our Lady in the chapel. On other
days, the
face of the statue bled. Sister's guardian angel told her:
"This flowing
of blood is significant. It in the chapel: "My daughter,
you obeyed me very well; you have renounced everything. This deafness
is a
great suffering for you. Have patience; you will be healed. It is a
trial.
Pray in reparation for all people. Pray much for the Holy Father, for
the
bishops and the priests."
On July 6, 1973, a bleeding wound appeared on the right hand of the
statue
of Our Lady in the chapel. On other days, the face of the statue bled.
Sister's guardian angel told her: "This flowing of blood is significant.
It is from my
Son to soften the anger of the Father. I presented to Him many atoning
souls
who make reparation by prayers and sacrifices. That is what I
ask of you.
Honor poverty. Live poorly. You must keep your vows, which
are like three
nails to nail you to the Cross - the nails of poverty, chastity, and
obedience."
Beginning on September 20, 1973, the statue began to sweat from the
face to
the feet. Tears began to flow down the face. Also, a very pleasant
odor was
felt in the chapel. This happened many times in the presence of others,
including the Bishop. In all, the statue wept a total of
101 times. On
October 13, 1973, there was a serious message. "As I said before,"
Our Lady
said, "if mankind does not repent, the Heavenly Father will inflict
a very
serious punishment on the whole world; a punishment the likes
of which has
never happened before. Many people will perish. Pray the
Rosary often. Only
I can prevent the disaster. Whoever entrusts themselves to me
will be
saved." The statue continued to weep and other messages followed.
Pilgrims
came and many received answers to their prayers.
Then, in 1981, Theresa Chon, who was suffering from terminal
brain cancer,
was miraculously healed through the intercession of Our Lady
of Akita. This
healing was well documented by Fr. Joseph Oh of Seoul, S. Korea.
In his pastoral letter, Bishop Ito said that it
would have been difficult to believe in a message from Our Lady
that is so
terrible, unless there was overwhelming proof that it was indeed
from Her.
But he points out that the terrible chastisement of which Our
Lady speaks
is on the condition: "If men do not repent and do not better
themselves . . ."
The Bishop added it is a serious warning, while at the same time
one
perceives in it the maternal love of Our Lady. In Her message
warning the
world of the annihilation of a great part of humanity, She said:
"The thought
of the loss of numerous souls makes me sad."
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