Let Us Pray and Do Penance for this Day that Lives in Infamy
“We saw an angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire. Pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: Penance! Penance! Penance!”
… Sr. Lucia, speaking on the Secret of Fatima.
Prayer and Penance
For Catholics living in the United States, January 22 has been declared a day of prayer and penance. This is indicated on The Fatima Center’s 2024 Devotional Calendar.
Some possible acts of penance which Catholics could perform include fasting, abstinence from meat, praying an extra Rosary, spending 15 minutes or an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, or praying outside an abortion mill.
The USCCB issued the following General Instruction for publication: “In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 … shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.”
January 22 is now officially designated as a “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.”
The Supreme Court’s Stunning Reversal
On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court stunned the country and the world when they rightly undid what should never have been done nearly 50 years before. After ruling on a case before the court which upheld Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban – Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the seemingly entrenched, diabolical Roe v. Wade was overturned.
That law, passed on January 22, 1973, was responsible for entering the United States into the arena of the biggest, ugliest, and most horrible war in the history of mankind. Greater than World War I – at the time considered the worst in the history of mankind – and its successor, World War II – which fulfilled Our Lady’s prophecy that it would be even worse than its predecessor – the war against the unborn, “legalizing” their murder in their mother’s womb, began in Russia and spread around the world.
Errors of Russia
As Our Lady of Fatima warned, if mankind did not stop offending God, Russia would be the instrument of chastisement chosen by Him to punish the world for its crimes and would spread its errors around the world raising up wars and persecutions, including persecutions of the Church. She said, “The good will be martyred.” Who in the world – besides the newborn, children below the age of reason, and those born mentally disabled – is free of actual sin and thus better fits the description of “good”, than the innocent unborn?
While the overturning of Roe v. Wade removed the federal mandate of 1973, and restored the constitutional rights of individual states to lead according to the wishes of its citizens, it by no means has ended this horrible scourge of abortion. However, it has allowed circumstances that would decrease the number of abortions, such as states whose laws forbade abortion prior to 1973 to once again re-institute these laws.
Not even the howls from hell, heard through satan’s human henchmen, including some government leaders, could overshadow the cries of joy and thanksgiving to God, heard by pro-life advocates around the world resulting from this victory on the Feast of the Sacred Heart and subsequently giving new life to the fight!
The Battle for Life Has Intensified
Since that time, the attacks demonstrative of demonic outrage from the anti-life killers of the innocent, has grown exponentially using a multitude of means including, but not limited to: the burning of Catholic churches, increased physical attacks committed against those peacefully demonstrating outside the New World Orders’ version of the Nazi gas chambers – called abortuaries – where women go specifically for one purpose: to murder their children and, sadly, done with the help of those who are supposed to save lives and not take them.
And the crime doesn’t end there; because in addition to sacrificing to satan the physical lives of their own children, they also deny them the Beatific Vision for all eternity.
Unfortunately, while some states have retained old laws or instituted new laws banning abortion, other states have instituted laws allowing this crime. Perhaps the most egregious outrage has taken place in Ohio. On November 7, 2023 a majority voted[1] on the notorious “Issue 1” to amend the state constitution to include the right to abortion and other so-called “reproductive rights.” Since the Dobbs decision, Ohio has become the seventh state[2] where legislation that advances the murder of abortion has won on a state-wide ballot.
There have certainly been lives saved because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but the battle to save the unborn is ongoing and more vicious than ever.
The headline in a LifeSite news report of January 9, 2024 reveals the ugly truth: “Abortion killed 44.6 million people worldwide in 2023, more than any other cause of death.” (Emphasis added.) The article further related: “That total is greater than the number of deaths attributed to the next seven causes of death – communicable disease [covid, etc.], cancer, smoking, alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, road accidents, and suicide – combined.”
The report cites the source of the figures as “Worldometer, a nonpartisan resource that tracks and estimates statistics in real time on a wide variety of subjects, based on data from sources such as the United Nations, and World Health Organization…”
The Rosary and First Saturday Communion of Reparation
While Heaven has rewarded our prayers by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the battle is not even close to being over. The ultimate battle can only be won with the proper Consecration of Russia, done by the Pope in union with all the Catholic bishops of the world. This will result in the conversion of that nation and subsequently the rest of the world, ushering in an era of peace under the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
For that to happen, we must persevere and ever-increase our prayers – especially the Rosary and sacrifices – and in particular by faithfully fulfilling the devotion requested by Our Lady, the Communion of Reparation on First Saturdays.
If you have not yet signed up for The Fatima Center’s First Saturday’s Challenge 100by100, please do so today! We wish to offer Our Lady a spiritual bouquet of 100,000 First Saturdays by the 100th Anniversary of Her request for this devotion. Update your status and track our world-wide progress at fatima.org/100by100/. And please, share the challenge with everyone you know!
The fight against abortion and the ever-increasing sin in the world, and the fight for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is above all a spiritual battle. And those of us who understand this must embrace this battle wholeheartedly and thank Our Lady for inviting us to join Her.
In addition to praying for the protection of the unborn and making reparation for this sin against the Fifth Commandment, we must also remember in charity to pray for the conversion of those lost souls who seemingly are unable to comprehend the evil that abortion is.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
[1] The final tally was counted at 56.6% in favor (2,186,965 votes) and 43.4% against (1,675,730). These statistics are taken from the Associated Press report. Sadly, on that same day, Ohio citizens also voted in favor of legalizing marijuana in the state. Those who favored abortion were able to raise nearly $100 million in campaign funds, with more than 50% coming from out-of-state sources. In comparison, the pro-life cause was only able to raise $36.6 million.
[2] Vermont, Michigan, and California have all amended their state constitution to claim abortion is a “constitutional right.” Kentucky attempted to amend its state constitution to protect the unborn, but the measure was defeated. Montana attempted to punish health care workers who fail to treat infants born alive at any stage of development, including a failed abortion, but this measure was also defeated.