Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Save Us From the Fires of Hell III

Bl. Mary of Agreda was a visionary of the Blessed Virgin Mary who had a great devotion to Our Lady's Sorrows. Our Sorrowful Mother often requested of the Servant of God her prayers for the dying, telling her of what torments and perils souls undergo just prior to death. "There are sinners in their last agony who have but a few moments in which to save their souls from eternal perdition." Many souls fight their last battle, trying to keep hold of the graces obtained in a devout and holy life, others are in great danger of losing their final battle. The evil one comes upon them, ladening upon them his rage, beseiging the soul with untold of temptations, especially the temptation to despair in reminding them of thier past sins and unworthiness of forgiveness. These things united with the suffering of death burden the soul greatly.
The person who has in thier life carried a devotion to the Mother of God, especially to her sorrows, will not be left to fight alone at this time of peril. The Queen of Souls has rescued an uncountable number of souls at the very last moment. St. Alphonsus says that: "whoever dies while loving God and pronouncing the name of Mary cannot be lost."
Let us strive to deepen and strengthen our devotion to Mary. Invoke your Sorrowful Mother on behalf of the dying they she may move in skillfully to save them!
Prayer
Be mindful, O Virgin Mother of God, when thou standest in the sight of the Lord, to speak good things for us, and to turn away His anger from us.
We offer unto Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, prayers and sacrifices, humbly entreating that we, who recall with prayer the piercing of the most sweet soul of Blessed Mary, Thy Mother, may, by the multiplied and most loving intercession of her and the Saints, gathered together with her beneath the Cross, and through the merits of Thy death, share reward with the Blessed. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen+

2 comments:

Anita Moore said...

Personally, when I pray the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, I always pray for final perseverance for myself and mine (which I ask God to interpret as broadly as possible), and the grace to die with our sacraments. It may not be pleasant to think about death, but we really need to pray for all those things now, and keep praying for them, because we can't count on being in our right minds or otherwise having the capacity to think about repentance in our final moments.

Dean said...

This is awesome. It's especially meaningful this week for me since I'm doing the Ignatian Exercises and this week's focus is on sin, the surprise of death, and the persistence of hell. Thank you for this prayer!!