Today is Pearl Harbor Day in the United States, which marks the anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on our troops on December 7, 1941. It was early Sunday morning when the Japanese attacked and murdered our troops in Hawaii, who were taking it easy on Sunday morning. The Japanese knew all about the Christian tradition of Sunday being a day of rest, and they planned the attack accordingly. Many of our troops died weeks later, submerged in their ships below the surface of the water, in their sunken tomb that trapped them like rats. May almighty God have mercy on all of their heroic souls.
This was the worst attack on American soil since the British burned down our Capitol, in the war of 1812. Many brave Americans died then too, but they are largely forgotten by Americans today, many of whom don't even know or care that we had to defeat the British not once, but twice, in order to have our country. And of course, since then, we have had the Muslims attack America at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Just like ancient Rome, it seems like we are being attacked by the Visigoths who want to take down our society, in favor of barbarism.
But getting back to WWII and the Japanese, an interesting point is that while it was December 7 in Hawaii, in Japan, across the international date line, it was already December 8, 1941, or the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The Immaculate Conception of Mary is the dogma that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without sin, because God had preordained her to be the living tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, for Jesus, Thee Word of God Made Flesh. Just as the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament was pure and holy and made of the finest elements, just so, Mary, who the Bible says is "Full of Grace," was also created pure and holy for her mission in life. Just as God walked in the pure and holy Garden of Eden before the fall, just so, Jesus lived in the pure and holy garden of the womb of Mary while He was being knit in her womb.
The end of WWII came about with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. But the Jesuits in Hiroshima and the Franciscans in Nagasaki were spared from all effects of the two bombs, including radiation poisoning. They all lived out their lives normally, and physicians to this day cannot explain their survival. But Catholics can. These Jesuits and Franciscans were living the Fatima message of prayer, fasting, daily Mass, and the daily Rosary, in what could be considered hostile territory, not unlike our secular culture here in America today. In a Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego repeat, they survived being thrown into the blast furnace. In that Old Testament story, an angel was in the fire with the three Godly men, to protect them from the fire in the furnace. Believing Catholics know the same thing happened not once, but twice, in Japan. Just like the peasants at Fatima survived the very bright, hot sun which appeared to be falling on them, just so, the holy Jesuits and Franciscans at Hiroshima and Nagasaki also survived the very bright, hot blast of the atomic bomb. The obvious lesson here for us today is to try to imitate those holy men by living out the Fatima message of Mary - prayer, fasting, repentance, confession, frequent Mass, avoiding sin, doing good in the name of Christ, suffering alongside Christ, AND SAYING YOUR DAILY ROSARY!
And I will close this entry with the fact that WWII officially ended with the signing of the peace treaty on August 15, 1945, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary!
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