For those of you who do not know about this devotion, it really is the devotion for our time since it was formed to combat the particular evils inflicting our age. It is quite a remarkable story (or perhaps we should say, stories) which we encourage everyone to learn about. Indeed, the speed and proliferation of the devotion in recent years is gaining encouraging traction around the world.
Did you know that:
- Our Lord specifically established this devotion to offer reparation to His Holy Face and Name, and to combat the outrages against the first three Commandments?
- This devotion has a spiritual element to it that causes the enemies of God to fight with each other, and implores Him to fight for us?
- In 1847, Jesus Himself confided to a little-known French nun, Sr. Marie de St. Pierre, that this devotion should be established as a defense against the Communists who were then first organizing?
- Venerable Leo Dupont, a great promoter of this devotion, was declared by Pope Pius IX to be perhaps the greatest miracle-worker in Church history with the recording of 6,000 certified miracles attributed to his intercession?
So, why is this important? Because in our period of history and right now, we are in the midst of the greatest spiritual battle of all time. It is against a new, sophisticated, and modern communism, and we have had a good taste of it in the last three years. This second communism has a different look, but behind the mask and the mirage, it is the Old Enemy and his infernal cohort who are up to their old tricks and lies. In our time, the greatest attack against the Church is hurled against the image of God in us. All of the attacks on humanity we are experiencing today are really about the attack on God’s image. Who is created in God’s image? We are. And how is an image represented? The image is represented by the face.
The other reason why this devotion is important is because great and powerful healings will flow from it once it is exercised. We need healing today more than ever with so many people ill and suffering.
Jesus Himself predicted that this devotion would only become more pronounced in later times (and indeed there has been a certain veiling and obscuration of the devotion preceding these days)…
Just after Sr. Marie de St. Pierre’s interview with the Archbishop’s Secretary, our Lord came to console her, and in her words she wrote, “Our Savior made me to understand,” writes Sister Mary, “that His Work of Reparation will only become the more flourishing in the future, for it will grow the stronger and more vigorous in the midst of storms, and that like a ship refused harbor at one port, it will happily land at another.” (The Golden Arrow: The Revelations of Sr. Mary of St. Peter, p.218)
The days prophesied by Our Lord are here. The storm is upon us. The ship has come in. So that means those who are called to “sail” with this devotion have a special mission from Him, and are invited to step on board.
The barque is about to sail again. The battle awaits.
Are you with us?
If you are, then hoist the sails and let us set the course.
By John Pacheco , St. Joan of Arc Community http://stjoanofarc.ca/ and also one of our co-founders . Thank you John for your inspiring Words.