WHEN we are reminded that sins of the flesh were identified by the Blessed Mother in Fatima as being the most common of offenses that lead many to hell, no objection is likely. Pornography is on phones, promiscuity is television and movie fare, so-called sexual liberation has long institutionalized itself in almost all nations. From this standpoint, it must be true that this world has really distanced itself from God.
There’s yet another less explicit worldwide situation that tells us of the gap between earth and Heaven: the general propensity to see any form of suffering as evil and the satisfaction of one’s earthly desires as good and worth slaving for.
Unfortunately for those with such mindset, no one has ever been declared saint for reaching outstanding mode of pleasure or for having amassed incredible wealth or for having conquered hemispheres. On the contrary, there’s one thing the saints had in common: they all embraced suffering.
Not that Jesus Christ, who Himself had shown us the way of the cross, wants us to suffer on earth as much as to give us nonpareil everlasting happiness...in Heaven, in the afterlife where all is perfect and nothing ends.
We can recall the siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto of the 1917 Fatima apparitions of the Blessed Mother who had said she would take them to Heaven soon. Together with their cousin Lucia dos Santos who was to remain on earth for a mission (she was to die in 2005), the three children were shown hell “where poor sinners go.” They were terrified.
To save more people on earth from going to hell and knowing they were to die and go to Heaven soon, Jacinta and Francisco performed sacrifices (sufferings) which they offered for the salvation of sinners. Secretly, they tied ropes around their waists and this caused discomfort, among other sacrifices.
Francisco died from flu on April 4, 1919 after offering his pains for the salvation of others. It was the same intent for Jacinta who, while in sick bed, refrained from eating grapes that she liked much, offering her voluntary deprivation also to save souls from hell. She died alone in a hospital on February 20, 1920 as she had foretold.
It’s not necessarily sin to want to live comfortable lives on earth. Indeed, parents are obligated to provide well for their children, which is laudable. It just happens (with good reason and a lot of grace) that the way of the cross has always been the road taken by saints.
On the controversial issue of suffering, there’s St. Paul saying in Colossians 1:24: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.”
The Church has never taken this to mean that Christ’s death was insufficient but that He wants us to actively participate in that part of his redemptive work by making satisfaction for the debt of temporal punishment due to sin. And it’s sin that we have committed ourselves and need atonement for, or committed by others whose atonement can be done by us in the name of charity.
In the Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that “the work that is done for another becomes his for whom it is done: and in like manner the work done by a man who is one with me is somewhat mine.”
Christians must take on suffering in the name of saving ourselves and, yes, bringing more people, especially wayward loved ones for a final flight to Heaven. Indeed, when a Medjugorje visionary was asked whether she was afraid for her children amid prophesied tribulations in these days, she replied that all must just convert and focus their vision on Heaven.
And so let me share some messages from the Blessed Mother in Medjugorje, amid her appeals for all to seek everlasting life in Heaven. The messages are dated as follows:
Sept. 25, 2021: “Dear children! Pray, witness and rejoice with me because the Most High continues to send me to lead you on the way of holiness. Be aware, little children, that life is short and eternity is waiting for you to give glory to God with your being, with all the saints. Little children, do not worry about earthly things, but long for Heaven. Heaven will be your goal and joy will begin to reign in your heart. I am with you and bless all of you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.
April 25, 2021: “Dear children! Today I am calling you to witness your faith in the colors of spring. May this be a faith of hope and courage. May your faith, little children, not waver in any situation , not even in this time of trial. Go courageously with the risen Christ towards Heaven, which is your goal. I am accompanying you on this way of holiness and am placing all of you in my Immaculate Heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Jan. 25, 2021: “Dear children! I am calling you at this time to prayer, fasting and renunciation, that you may be stronger in faith. This is a time of awakening and of giving birth. As nature which gives itself, you also, little children, ponder how much you have received. Be joyful bearers of peace and love that it may be good for you on earth. Yearn for Heaven; and in Heaven there is no sorrow or hatred. That is why, little children, decide anew for conversion and let holiness begin to reign in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
May 25, 2020: “Dear children! Pray with me for a new life for all of you. In your hearts, little children, you know what needs to be changed. Return to God and His Commandments, so that the Holy Spirit may change your lives and the face of this earth, which is in need of renewal in the spirit. Little children, be prayer for all those who do not pray; be joy for all those who do not see the way out; be carriers of light in the darkness of this peaceless time. Pray and seek the help and protection of the saints so that you also could yearn for Heaven and Heavenly realities. I am with you and am protecting and blessing all of you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.”