Totus Tuus - To Jesus through Mary.

To impel the beauty of the new evangelization – this is the charism of the Heralds of the Gospel; Its founder, Monsignor João Dias explains."The Heralds of the Gospel is a private association of faithful with a very special charism based essentially on three points: the Eucharist, Mary and the Pope."

The Heralds of the Gospel are an International Association of the Faithful of Pontifical Right, the first to be established by the Holy See in the third millennium, during a ceremony which occurred during the feast of the Chair of St. Peter (February 22) in 2001.

The Heralds of the Gospel strive to be instruments of holiness in the Church by encouraging close unity between faith and life, and working to evangelize particularly through art and culture. Their apostolate, which differs depending upon the environments in which they work, gives pride of place to parish animation, evangelizing families, providing catechetical and cultural formation to young people, and disseminating religious Iiterature.



Friday 18 March 2011

Japan's Earthquake and The Akita Shrine


Tsunami wave Japan, image courtesy bosbouwbeleggingen.n



The Shrine of Akita, site of the apparitions of 1973 and close to the epicentre, was saved

There the Virgin announced to Sister Agnes Sasagawa major disasters if the world did not do penance.

The Akita shrine is located about 150 kilometres from Sendai, the site closest to the epicentre of the earthquake that struck northern Japan on Thursday, which originated in the sea, creating a devastating tsunami.

Although the city took fire and some buildings have been destroyed, the damage appears to have been lesser than in other parts of the country, and for example the Akita International University has been able to maintain open communications. The area is among the least damaged.

In 1973 Our Lady gave the world three messages to a nun of the convent of the Sisters of the Eucharist in Akita (Japan), Sister Agnes Sasagawa, then a novice. The messages were on 6 July, 3 August and 13 October of that year, and came from a icon. She could hear in spite of being deaf, physical defect which was cured later. That image bleed and shed tears, until all events disappeared in 1981.

Through Sister Agnes, Our Lady warned the world of strong punishment if they did not do penance and prayer, especially the Rosary.

She also said: "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that there will be cardinals against cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by his colleagues ... Churches and altars will be sacked, 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 be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. Think of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no forgiveness for them. "

On April 22, 1984 the bishop of the diocese of Niigata, which is part Akita, John Shojiro Ito, apparitions approved, and in June 1988 the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, endorsed the decision of the prelate.

Brother Arthur

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