Should We Be Concerned About Our Lady’s Messages at Akita?

In 1973, Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Agnes Sasagawa in Akita, Japan and delivered messages very similar to the messages that she had communicated at Fatima in 1917.  In light of recent events around the world and here in the United States, prudence dictates that we pay heed to what Our Blessed Mother had to say at Akita.

In my previous article, I touched upon some of the more noteworthy appearances of Jesus and Mary in the last couple centuries and I stressed the necessity of prayer and discernment in considering various modern day prophecies.  Many Marian apparitions have occurred since the 1800s and especially in the last 100 years or so. Several are Church approved.  Some are still under consideration by the Church.  Some have been rejected by the Church.  Again, I reiterate the words of St. John in his First Letter: 

“Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.   This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.”  (1 John 4:1-3)

In 1973, Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Holy Eucharist in her convent in Akita, Japan.  Our Mother’s appearances were preceded by several Eucharistic miracles and visits from Sister Agnes’s Guardian Angel.  Interestingly enough, Sister Agnes was deaf at the time but was later miraculously healed.  In addition, Sister Agnes experienced the stigmata on her left hand and a statue of Our Blessed Mother was seen to exude perspiration or blood on several occasions and weep tears some 101 times in 1975.  Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Agnes on three occasions:  6 July 1973, 3 August 1973 and 13 October 1973. 

Our Blessed Mother’s message of 13 October 1973 is the most significant and detailed of the messages.  You will note that this appearance occurred on the anniversary of her 13 October 1917 appearance at Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun which occurred at that time. 

On 13 October 1973, Our Mother told Sister Agnes on 13 October 1973:

"As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests."

"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

"The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them."  [You can find the full text on EWTN’s website at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/message-from-our-lady--akita-japan-5167  ]  

In just three paragraphs, Our Blessed Mother packed a lot for us to consider.  The first part of her message is reminiscent of the Book of Revelation.  In Revelation 16:8-9, it is written “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. It was given the power to burn people with fire.  People were burned by the scorching heat and blasphemed the name of God who had power over these plagues, but they did not repent or give him glory.”  The second and third parts talk about the devil’s infiltration into the Church to destroy it from within by causing internal conflict amongst the Church’s leaders and the persecution of the faithful by other members and even leaders of the Church.  

Our Blessed Mother’s warning about Satan’s infiltration into the Church brings to mind another warning mentioned by Pope St. Paul VI.  In his Homily for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 28, 1972), Pope St. Paul VI stated “from some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God” (See Donald R. McClary.  “Pope Paul VI and the Smoke of Satan.”  29 January 2013. Accessed online on 20 October 2023 at https://catholicstand.com/109/   )

Based upon recent events and the overall trajectory of our world and our country, the Faithful and all humanity ought to be concerned about the Eschatological path that we are all on right now.   War is raging in the Ukraine and now between Israel and Hamas.  The latter is threatening to escalate beyond Israel and Hamas.  Communist China is rapidly expanding its armed forces and menacing its neighbors in the Far East.  Iran and North Korea are continuing their efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.   At home, our nation is beset by rampant inflation and widespread political and social upheaval.  Our nation is significantly weaker militarily, economically, politically, diplomatically, and morally than it was just a couple years ago.  Sadly, even our own Church is struggling internally between those who respect and uphold Traditional Church teachings and those who want to alter and/abolish some of its core teachings. 

This is why what Our Blessed Mother said at Akita is so relevant for today. 

The similarities between Mary’s messages at Fatima and at Akita emphasize the gravity of the situation and inspire the faithful into action.   At both locations, Our Blessed Mother emphasized how greatly humanity’s sins are offending God and how He will punish humanity severely for people’s sins.  At both locations, Our Blessed Mother stated that the Church and the faithful will be persecuted and even martyred.  At both locations, Our Blessed Mother called upon us to pray the Rosary, seek repentance and make reparations for sins and sinners.  As dire and urgent as her warnings are, Our Blessed Mother also offers hope and the promises that she will aid us in this struggle. 

Akita is not a repeat of Fatima.  Akita is an amplification of Mary’s urgent warnings.  Akita is a renewed call to humanity for repentance and reparation.  Akita is an urgent warning that humanity did not heed her early urgent warning at Fatima. 

Our Lady’s appearances at Akita have been approved by the Church.  Bishop John Shojiro Ito, Bishop of Niigata, Japan, issued a pastoral letter in which he approved the events at Akita on 22 April 1984, which was also Easter Sunday that year. 

To learn more about Our Lady’s appearance at Akita, I would suggest several resources.

Last week, Joseph Pronechen of National Catholic Register published a concise and insightful examination of Akita entitled “Message of Akita on 50th Anniversary Is More Timely Than Ever”

( https://www.ncregister.com/blog/message-of-akita-50th-anniversary-more-timely-than-ever  )

 Father Chris Alar, "Father Joseph" - Director of the Association of Marian Helpers, National Shrine of The Divine Mercy at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, has a comprehensive video discussion of Akita posted online at https://www.thedivinemercy.org/videos/akita-dire-prophecy-can-it-change-explaining-faith 

I first became aware of Akita through the writings of investigative journalist Michael H. Brown and specifically his 1995 book The Final Hour.    ( See https://bookstore.spiritdaily.com/collections/michael-h-brown-books/products/br-the-final-hour-by-michael-h-brown  )

Ted and Maureen Flynn devoted an entire chapter to Akita in their 1993 book The Thunder of Justice: The Warning, the Miracle, the Chastisement, the Era of Peace  (See https://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Justice-Warning-Miracle-Chastisement/dp/096343070X/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=Kut1F&content-id=amzn1.sym.579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_p=579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_r=138-3562202-2185118&pd_rd_wg=UWNSq&pd_rd_r=f695e505-f65b-4481-b4b8-357277cf6c5e&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk 

Lastly, EWTN has an article by John Ata summarizing the apparitions at Akita posted on its website at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/message-from-our-lady--akita-japan-5167 

These are perilous times that we are living in, even if the End Times are not coming to an end soon.  Nevertheless, we have a powerful ally and defender in Our Blessed Mother.  As she told the three children at Fatima on 13 July 1917…”in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”  And ultimately, we know how this will all end when it does end.

“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” (Luke 21:27-8)