May 13 Tuesday
Why does Our Lady urge us to make reparation for sins?
In her apparitions at Fatima, the Blessed Virgin insisted on the urgency of making reparation for the sins that are committed throughout the world. In the third apparition, on the 13th of July, the shepherd children say that she asked them for sacrifices for the conversion of sinners; at the same time, she showed them the torments suffered by the damned. And in August, she once again insisted: “Pray, pray a lot, and do sacrifices for sinners, because many souls are going to hell because they have no one who sacrifices himself and prays for them."
These words should ring in the hearts of all Christians, but especially in those of us who truly wish to care for souls. And not this alone - they should move us to make very specific resolutions to make atonement to our Lord with our whole life.
“The situation is serious, my daughters and sons, Saint Josemaría said. The whole battle front is threatened. Let it not be breached because of one of us... How many offences against God are there! We are as fragile, and even more fragile, than others; but we have a commitment of Love; we must now give our existence a sense of reparation. Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus, give us peace!"
“We have repaid light with darkness. We have repaid generosity with egoism. We have repaid love with coldness and contempt. Do not be ashamed to acknowledge our constant misery; rather, let us ask for forgiveness."
“Every day, I become more aware of these realities, and every day, I am seeking more intimacy with God in reparation and atonement. Let us place before Him the number of souls being lost and would not have to be lost if they had not been exposed. They are souls that have abandoned the Faith, since nowadays one can make unrestricted propaganda of every type of falsehood and heresy; souls that have been scandalized by so much apostasy and by so much malice; souls that have been deprived of the help of the Sacraments and of sound doctrine..."
“Through the intercession of Holy Mary and of the Holy Patriarch, Saint Joseph, ask our Lord to increase our spirit of reparation, that we have sorrow for our sins and that we know how to have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance."
In Fatima, the summons to penance is maternal; and, at the same time, it is energetic and resolute... The call to penance is united, as always, with a call to prayer. Following a tradition of many centuries, the Lady of the message of Fatima points out the Rosary, which can rightly be defined as 'the prayer of Mary', the prayer in which she feels particularly united to us. She herself prays with us.
Our Lady has often recommended praying the Rosary: to win peace for the world: “To pray the Holy Rosary, considering the mysteries, repeating the Our Father and Hail Mary, with the praises to the Blessed Trinity and the constant invocation to the Mother of God, is a continuous act of faith, hope and love, of adoration and reparation."
Saint Josemaría: “I repeat to the Blessed Virgin many times each day, in different tones - some asking for help, others thanking her, but always with Love - Mother, my Mother! That is what I am saying to Our Lady of Fatima."