The Most Amazing Thing: The Miracle of Hiroshima

August 2014 brings the 69th. anniversary of the terrible dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought about the immediate end of World War II, as Germany had already been vanquished.

The bomb exploded just eight blocks from the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Jesuit mission.  Fr. Hubert Schiffer, one of the few survivors said: “Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunder stroke.  An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me ’round and ’round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind.”

He and three other priests lived in the rectory within the radius of complete atomic destruction.  After the shock of the blast they looked around and saw absolutely nothing; for miles in every direction, thousands of people were dead and every building was destroyed- except for the four priests and their rectory!  Although wounded, they survived and afterwards suffered NO RADIATION SICKNESS.

“It took only a second: a flash- fearfully frightening- and Hiroshima, home of half a million people, was wiped off the earth.  What was left was only darkness, blood, burns, moans, fire and spreading terror.”

Asked why they believe they were spared, when so many others died either from the bomb blast or from the subsequent radiation, Fr. Schiffer spoke for himself and his companions: “We believe that we survived because we were living the message of Fatima.  We lived and prayed the rosary daily in that home.”

This last quote from Fr. Schiffer says it all:  “What we need today is a Crusade of Prayer; the spirit of prayer everywhere; a renewal of our deepest trust and confidence in God’s providence.  Our Blessed Mother promised that when we heeded her plea for prayer and Christian action, the world will have peace.  We may feel that our humble efforts cannot have such a tremendous effect upon the world, but let us think for a moment about the power of a river- sweeping everything before it.  That river is made up of tiny drops of water and because numberless tiny drops of rain have fallen into it, the river has become a force that carries heavy ships and changes deserts into fruitful farms and gardens.  So, too will the Perpetual Rosary Crusade, the recitation of the rosary for peace by countless persons all over the world become an immense and irresistible spiritual force for peace.  In this universe there is nothing else that forms a common ground for the people of the world except the love of God, charity and the spirit of prayer.  Our Blessed Mother’s rosary is a bond which unites the heart strings of the world.”

I believe that the world wants peace; I truly do- but the world wants peace without the Prince of Peace.  People want a Christless peace, therefore PEACE WILL BE DENIED IT.  Let us join in the Perpetual Rosary Crusade and thereby ally ourselves with Christ and His plan for the universe.  We will bring grace into the world and into our own worlds.  We will bring grace into our hearts, thus fulfilling the requests of the Queen of Heaven… and WE WILL HAVE PEACE, the peace that surpasses all understanding- and the understanding that brings peace.

081914Rosary_1

Share

Comments are closed.

QR Code Business Card