TOKYO, Japan (LifeSiteNews) —Ave Maria! We cannot surrender to COVID. March for Life continues with Our Lady of Fatima in Japan.
Last year, Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 were postponed. However, by grace of God, we did not give up the pro-life march. The day before the cancelled Games, we made our March for Life as planned.
This year, too, we walked for life with Our Lady of Fatima, praying the holy Rosary, on July 22, Our Lady was escorted by 80 marchers on the streets of Tokyo, whereas the world athletes would be matching and playing without cheering spectators in a vacant huge stadium in Tokyo.
For the past two years, the Catholic church where we used to gather before the start of the procession was closed because of COVID. This year, the Archbishop of Tokyo even made a special declaration canceling a pastoral programme for Olympic athletes, making the athletes unwelcome in churches within the Archdiocese due to the pandemic. However, isn’t the supernatural life more important than bodily health? Isn’t acting spiritually against the culture of death more urgent than just canceling pastoral care? A procession with penitential prayers was in the past and is today one of the most powerful weapons of the Catholic Church to fight against epidemics.
Holy Mother Church always teaches us that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. Abortion is gravely contrary to the moral law because it is a direct and intentional killing of the innocent and a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. Considering the number of abortions, we should not be surprised to see vengeance coming to us from Heaven.
What is happening right now around the world, namely COVID-19, forced vaccinations, and lockdown, appears as vengeance from Heaven because of blood of millions of innocents. Today’s worldwide crisis invites us to pray and to beg the mercy of God. God permits some sorrowful events for our correction. We know that “to them that love God, all things work together unto good” as Saint Paul says. We want to respond to this appeal by grace of God: Oh Lord, have mercy upon us, sinners!
If we have wisdom, when we want to understand the actualities, we go to the deepest cause, altissima causa, i.e. God and our sins. Therefore the best Catholic answer to our actual catastrophic situation is to pray, to pray to Our Lady. In fact, Our Lady of Fatima has already invited us to make special reparation for the sins against God, against the Most Holy Eucharist, and against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She asked us to pray the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, promising us the final triumph of her Immaculate Heart.
Our Lady of Akita warned us: “If men do not repent and amend their lives, God the Father will inflict a terrible chastisement on all mankind. Then, God the Father should give a punishment heavier than the deluge, which have never been before. Fire will fall from heaven and by this disaster will die a great multitude of humanity. Good as well as wicked will perish, while priests together with faithful. The survivors would have such tribulations that they envy the dead.”
Thus, we doubled our efforts, making another March, not only in Tokyo, but in Osaka for the past two years. We are so grateful to Our Lady for the inspiration and the realization. We are happy to see the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary walking and blessing us on Midosuji, the main street of Osaka. For Sodom and Gomorrah, unfortunately, God could not find ten just men to spare these cities. Finding the Mother of God among us, God would count her alone as sufficient to have mercy upon us, though our number is insignificant.
Tenjin matsuri, an important festival in Osaka, was cancelled due to COVID in both 2020 and 2021. This pagan festival is believed to have started in the year A.D. 951 and is considered one of the three most famous festivals in Japan. (The others are the Gion festival and Kanda festival.) However, our March with Our Lady cannot be surrendered to COVID. May the Immaculate Heart of Mary intercede for us who have recourse to her with full confidence.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! Our Lady of Akita, pray for us!