#31DaysofMary: Our Lady of Akita

Our Lady of Akita

Title given to a statue of The Lady of all Nations that spoke to Sister Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist, Akita, Japan

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Beginning in 1973, Sister Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist began to experience signs and visions, the first being a bright light emanating from the Tabernacle in her convent’s chapel,  surrounded by spiritual beings worshipping the Eucharist.

Soon after, Sister Agnes received the stigmata, and encountered her guardian angel and the statute of The Lady of All Nations surrounded by light. On July 6, 1973, the statue gave Sister Agnes a message for the first time. A bloody wound would also be discovered on the hand of the statue.

Our Lady spoke to Sister Agnes two more times through the statue, and her guardian angel would also appear to her several more times. On September 29, 1973 the statue stopped bleeding but began to weep. She would continue to do so, 101 more times, until September 15, 1981. The weeping was broadcast nationally on Japanese TV. Sister Agnes’ guardian angel explained the number of times the statue wept:

“There is a meaning to the figure 101. This signifies that sin came into the world by a woman and it is also by a woman that salvation came into the world. The zero between the two signifies the Eternal God who is from all eternity until eternity. The first one represents Eve, and the last, the Virgin Mary.”

Miracles attributed to Our Lady of Akita include the complete restoration of the hearing of Sister Agnes, and the healing of a brain tumor of a South Korean women who placed an image of Our Lady of Akita under her pillow and prayed for a cure.

The chapel where Our Lady spoke to Sister Agnes was rebuilt in 2002 in a traditional Japanese style and is now a shrine.

(post sources 1, 2)

Eucharistic Prayer of Akita

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist,
I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart,
being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father,
pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.

Please receive this humble offering of myself.
Use me as you will for the glory of the Father and the
salvation of souls.

Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son.
Please defend and protect me as Your special child.
Amen.

(prayer source)

The journey continues tomorrow with Our Lady of Good Health, India!