Re: Devotion to Mary,
a Necessity for Salvation

J.M.J.

Dear Volunteer,

In our last letter were quotes from some of the great doctors and saints of the Church on how few are the souls that are saved. We only gave a few examples in that letter, but there is much written on the subject.

We received some phone calls and letters in response to the content in that letter. Some people were upset, having not heard of these teachings in the past. Many Catholic Saints have taught that more souls are lost than are saved. Our Lord said “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt 20:16).

Having been reminded of these teachings, we wanted to pass them along to you, for they are of great value in reminding us of how easily we can fall away from the path of salvation. They remind us that we should stay vigilant as Our Lady and the saints did, so as not to abandon and offend God and thereby lose our souls.

The most awful thing that can happen to someone is to lose their soul.

It is only in the last forty years that many of the perennial teachings of the Faith have disappeared from the Sunday Mass sermons. Fifty or more years ago, priests were reminding the faithful to be diligent.

For many presume that they can relax in the practice of the Faith and then at the end of their life go to Confession and be saved. St. Jerome tells us that there is one chance in 200,000 of a death-bed conversion.

St. Paul in his epistle (Philippians 2:12) warns the Faithful “Wherefore, my dearly beloved...with fear and trembling work out your salvation.” No one in this life can be certain of being saved, unless by a special grace, Heaven reveals it.

I am aware of only two people in the last hundred years or so who were given this special gift. One was St. Maximilian Kolbe, who when Our Lady appeared to him as a young boy, was made aware that he would be saved.

The other was Sister Lucy (RIP). She was given this gift at the age of 10 when Our Lady appeared to her in Fatima on May 13, 1917. To my knowledge, she was the last person that the world knew was given this gift. Since 1917, no other human being, to my knowledge, has had that guarantee no matter how pious and holy a life he may lead.

If the saints warned centuries ago, when the Church was not in a crisis of the magnitude it is in today, and if Our Lady of Fatima also warned in 1917 (again when the Church was not in the state it is in today), how can we doubt the truth of the words of Our Lady and the saints?

Given the state of the world and the Church today, how can we not doubt that many souls are being lost? This is precisely why Our Lady came to Fatima.

She came, not only to warn of the number of souls going to hell in 1917, but of how much worse it would become unless the Catholic faithful and Church hierarchy heeded Her requests.

But remember, Our Lady’s Message is one of warning and hope. She doesn’t leave us hanging. She does not warn us and then not give us the means to avoid losing our souls. No, She tells you and I exactly what we must do in order to be saved and how to help save other souls.

To Jesus Through Mary

The key is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. To those who practice this devotion by amending their lives, praying the Rosary daily, making the Five First Saturday Communions of Reparation, offering sacrifices for sinners, Our Lady will intervene and lead them to Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier this year, after speaking to a Catholic bishop on the Message of Fatima and its importance for the salvation of souls, the bishop asked “are you saying that you can’t be saved without devotion to the Blessed Virgin?”

The answer is yes, without devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary you cannot save your soul. This is the teaching of St. Alphonsus de Liguori and many of the other saints. St. Alphonsus demonstrates the necessity of devotion to Our Lady for one’s eternal salvation, in his book, The Glories of Mary.

Certainly the Church has always taught — to be saved, you must be a Catholic and die in the state of grace. However, what could be added to that is, will a Catholic persevere to the end and die in the state of grace if he does not have devotion to Our Lady? The answer is no.

One would find it quite difficult or, rather, impossible to find a saint who has not had devotion to Our Lady and who has not stressed its importance.

There is no greater testimonial to the importance of devotion to the Blessed Mother than the Message from God, delivered by His Mother to us, at Fatima:

“Jesus wants to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. To whoever embraces this devotion I promise salvation; these souls shall be dear to God, as flowers placed by Me to adorn His throne.”

It is because devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is necessary for salvation, that God wills to establish in the world devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. It is through this devotion (chosen by God) that God will be able to achieve the salvation of many more souls.

Enthronement of the
Sacred and Immaculate Hearts

Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the booklet Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which you have already received from Father Gruner. We are asking for your continued help in this campaign to spread this devotion so necessary for the salvation of souls.

A Blessed Christmas

One of our supporters recently wrote a Christmas poem which gives us food for thought, especially when we consider that Our Lady asked us at Fatima to offer sacrifices for sinners. This poem reminds us of the sacrifices made for us by Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and others when Our beloved Savior was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

The author of the poem gave us permission to send it to you. We thought you might like it and we have printed some extra copies in case you would like to share it with others.

For more copies of the enclosed Christmas poem, and/or the booklet, Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, return the enclosed reply form or call us at 1-800-845-3047.

Our Lady’s Apostolate wishes you and your family a blessed and holy Christmas.

In the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts,

Joanna Swords

P.S.We are also offering more copies of the blessed Portraits of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts for you to promote this devotion to those near to you.

P.P.S.Be sure to use the book sale flyer enclosed in the envelope. Give a gift of faith this Christmas.

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