(LifeSiteNews) — Millions and millions of souls routinely partake in grave sins against the sanctity of life: abortion, contraception, euthanasia, IVF and surrogacy — all of which are intrinsically evil acts. Across our nation and across the world, these souls have cut themselves off from the living grace of God and are in danger of dying unrepentant — with their eternal salvation at stake.
At Fatima, Our Lady urged the three children (and by extension, all of us) to offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners.
“Do you wish to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may be pleased to send you, as both an act of reparation for the sins with which He is offended and an act of supplication for the conversion of sinners? Well then, you will have much to suffer. But the grace of God will be your comfort.” (May 13, 1917, First Apparition)
Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make a sacrifice, ‘O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.’” (July 13, 1917, Third Apparition)
The angel told the children of Fatima, “Make of everything you can a sacrifice and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication, for the conversion of sinners.” In her 1957 interview with postulator Fr. Augustin Fuentes, Sister Lucy of Fatima spoke forthrightly: “Each one has to save not only his own soul, but also all the souls that God has placed on his pathway.” Souls “on our pathway” are, first and foremost, those in our family and among our acquaintances and neighbors. But we cannot ignore the extraordinary number of souls vulnerable to eternal damnation due to sins against the sanctity of life.
A great spiritual battle for souls
We are in the midst of a great spiritual battle where Satan has successfully convinced the modern world of a great illusion regarding the fundamental sanctity of human life: that a mother has a “right” to kill her own child, that human life — created in the image and likeness of God — is disposable, that one can play God in creating life, and that one can choose to poison oneself to death. In the Garden, Satan seduced with the promise, “Ye shall be like gods.” And today the Evil One continues to lure in souls with false promises of freedom and self-gratification. Rather than real freedom and true joy, instead, there’s dark, ugly, painful and vicious enslavement to sin. “My mission is to tell everyone the imminent danger we are in of losing our souls for all eternity if we remain fixed in sin,” Sister Lucy told Fr. Fuentes.
We offer reparation for the atonement of those hundreds of millions of women who have had abortions and for those husbands, boyfriends, family and friends who forced, helped or encouraged them; for abortionists, abortion workers, doctors and nurses who have encouraged, performed or facilitated abortions; for judges, attorneys, politicians, social workers and teachers who have promoted abortion; for those who have voted for pro-abortion ballot measures; and for all others complicit in any of the grave sins against the sanctity of life, including abortion, IVF, contraception and euthanasia.
In total obedience to reverse the disobedience of Adam, Our Lord freely gave Himself up for the redemption of sinners. It is only through His Holy Church that sinners are rescued to be capable of divine light, to be redeemed and divinized as sons and daughters of the Father in Heaven. The Supreme Law of the Church is salus animarum, the salvation of souls. However, in many regards, in this great spiritual battle, the Church is betraying Her salvific mission.
Reparation for those within the Church hierarchy as well
Pope Leo XIV recently spoke up condemning abortion and surrogacy. Yet faithful Catholics have felt astounded, utterly dismayed and, yes, betrayed by many of his prior actions which have essentially proclaimed to the world that the Catholic Church now accommodates abortion. Like a two-faced Janus, Pope Leo smiled for the cameras and publicly affirmed the “good works” of radically pro-abortion, pro-contraception and pro-LGBT nun, Sr. Lucia Caram. And rather than strenuously condemning the intent of Cardinal Blase Cupich to present an award to self-professed Catholic yet radically pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin, Pope Leo instead glossed over this monumental outrage and urged us to consider the pro-abortion politician’s overall work. Pope Leo has affirmed the Vatican’s unqualified “unwavering support” of the United Nations’s mission — a globalist and decidedly anti-Catholic mission which aggressively pushes abortion, contraception and gender ideology. As well, the Holy Father routinely welcomes numerous pro-abortion Catholic celebrities and politicians for private audiences and honors them at Vatican events — with no public rebuke — actions that broadcast to Catholics and to the secular world at large that abortion is something the Church now down-plays. Furthermore, the Holy See’s preponderance of attention on illegal immigrants, so-called climate change, ecumenism and synodality leaves little airtime to preach with clarity on the non-negotiable, widespread and soul-damning sin of abortion and the other grave sins against the sanctity of life.
Throughout the Catholic Church, too many cardinals, bishops and priests, whether out of fear or erroneous ideology, follow Leo’s example. Clear preaching on the beauty and truth of what the Church actually teaches — whether on abortion, euthanasia, IVF or contraception — is exceedingly rare. Not only are millions upon millions of souls lulled into thinking these evils are no big deal, those with these sins on their souls are not being called to soul-saving repentance and reconciliation with Christ and His Church in sacramental confession where Christ’s merciful love awaits them. Vast numbers of souls are at stake, including the souls of those clergy who shirk their solemn responsibility to speak truth in love and call sinners to repentance. We desire, pray and sacrifice for the conversion and sanctification of all of these souls.
‘Soul-pain is the price of conversions’
In his 1943 encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, Pius XII called it a deep mystery “that the salvation of many depends on the prayers and voluntary penances which the members of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ” offer for the work of redemption. Along these lines, Fr. Lawrence Lovasik wrote in his volume The Hidden Power of Kindness (1962) about what he calls the “soul-pain” — how, by taking on the anguish of contrition that sinners do not experience, one can merit for them the grace of repentance:
Soul-pain is the price of conversions. No sin can be blotted out except by the soul-pain we know as supernatural contrition. If you want to win souls for Christ, you must be willing to endure the anguish for sin that sinners do not experience, in order to win at least ultimately the grace of repentance for them.
The just can merit for sinners ‘the first graces of conversion and faith’
In his Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith, Bishop Athanasius Schneider explains more fully how those in a state of grace can earn supernatural merit for sinners. He writes that strictly speaking, we have no true right to any merit, as everything we have, we have received from God. He who is not in the state of grace “cannot merit any grace but can only respond to God’s invitation to grace.” One who is in the state of grace, however, can earn supernatural merit, a measure of divine grace given us as the reward for our good works. This supernatural merit can be earned for oneself and also for sinners. “For himself, the just can merit an increase of sanctifying grace, actual graces for further good works, and eternal glory in heaven.” For sinners, the just can merit “the first graces of conversion and faith.” We offer our good acts, sufferings, penances and sacrifices to prompt sinners to open themselves to these first graces of conversion and faith.
The last two remedies to save the world: the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart
In her last public interview in 1957, Sister Lucy revealed that Our Lady told her and her cousins that God is giving two last remedies to the world: the Holy Rosary, and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others.”
She further said, “… in these last times in which we are living, the Blessed Virgin has given a new efficacy to the praying of the Holy Rosary. … there is no problem, as difficult as it may be, that we cannot resolve at this time by praying the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, sanctify ourselves, console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.”
“Finally, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, consisting in considering her as the seat of mercy, of goodness, and as the certain door by which we are to enter heaven.” Through First Saturday Devotions as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, we make reparations for blasphemies against her Immaculate Heart. This devotion consists of:
- Confession (within eight days before or after the First Saturday).
- Holy Communion, in a state of grace (within 8 days before or after)
- A five-decade Holy Rosary.
- Meditating for 15 minutes on the Mysteries of the Rosary. Go here for a beautiful 15-minute meditation.
A spiritual battle plan
Any spiritual battle plan to merit supernatural graces for ourselves and others, then, must start with these two devotions: daily rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As the angel of Fatima told the children, offer everything as a sacrifice. Through the merits of Jesus Christ, our good works are worthy of the reward of grace.
Fasting, including all voluntary privations and mortifications of body or mind, is another essential element. Our Lord told us about demons, “This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” (Mk 9:29) Fasting helps us develop a spirit of sacrifice and self-denial that transcends those hours of fasting. We can offer the self-denial of our fasting to merit supernatural graces for ourselves and for the first graces of conversion and faith of sinners.
We must be in a state of grace in order to merit grace. Therefore, we must stay in a state of grace with frequent, worthy, sacramental confessions.
At each Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, the source and summit of the Christian life, we humbly bring all of our good acts, sufferings and sacrifices to the foot of the cross and unite them with those of Our Lord Jesus in his passion and death.
We especially call on Our Lady, Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces, to pray for us sinners and for the sanctification of all souls.
