From Carrie Gress' Book, The Marian Option, p.165
There is a story that tells of a priest, doing missionary work in Japan, attending an international event that brought together Christians from around the world as well as foreign dignitaries. The Japanese ambassador approached the priest and said, “War is your fault.” Surprised by such a stark statement, the priest asked what he meant. The ambassador answered, “You Catholics, all of you—we do not have peace in the world. It is your fault.” The priest asked for more clarification. “Ambassador, why do you blame us?” “I’ve read about this,” he replied. “The Lady came to you at Fatima, right? That’s what you believe? She told you what to do to secure peace in the world. Well, there’s no peace in the world, so obviously you Catholics haven’t done it.” The priest, acknowledging that the ambassador was right, still protested, “Isn’t peace everyone’s responsibility?” The ambassador spoke vehemently, “No, she came to you Catholics. Not to Buddhists. Not to Hindus. She came to you, and it is your responsibility.” (Fr. Calloway, Five First Saturdays in Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, www.marian.org/13th/firstsaturday.php).
While it is hard to ascertain if this conversation really happened, what we do know is that the ambassador was right: Mary did come to Catholics. She has told us how to bring peace to the world, and we have a responsibility to do it not just for ourselves or our children but for the whole world. Like other Christs, we are called to make sacrifices and step into the gap of what is lacking in others to help bring salvation to those who don’t know how to acquire it themselves.
As the Good Book says, “To those who have been given much, much is expected. And unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more” (Lk 12:48).
Often we get caught up in our daily lives, and it is easy to forget all the incredible things that Mary has done and is doing in the world. It is easy to forget the simple solutions available to us and the world through her powerful intercession. We can also forget that what we have been entrusted with is both a privilege and a responsibility—something we will be held accountable for when we face God’s judgment. But when we do get caught up in the things of this world, the solution doesn’t need to be overwhelming. In fact, it’s very simple: grab your rosary and turn to Our Lady.
Servant of God Sister Lúcia de Santos, one of the children of Fatima, has assured us that “the Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families … that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”
The Portuguese nun emphasized, “There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”22
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