One Hail Mary Saved Him… But His Friend Went to Hell

This One Prayer Saved Him… But Not His Friend
What if one simple prayer could mean the difference between eternal salvation and eternal loss? This chilling true story of Blessed Richard of St. Anne is a powerful reminder of the reality of hell and the mercy of Our Lady. 

Transcript

Welcome back to lent daily today is Wednesday and we continue our meditations on hell so what if I told you that a few imperfect words of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary could make the difference between Eternal salvation and Damnation in 1604 a young man by the name of Richard lie in his bed asleep he was awoken by a wrap at his door and before he could respond his friend was standing right beside him and he looked up at him his he looked different his face was twisted his eyes were hollowed out and everything about his demeanour radiated [ __ ] and his friend looked at him and groaned I am damned this is the true story of blessed Richard of St Anne in the year 1604 in a city of Flanders there were two young students who neglected their studies and instead indulged in a life of excess and vice one evening they visited a house belonging to a prostitute after a little while one left the other remained Richard was the one that left and he walked back to his house crawled into bed and was about to fall asleep and then he remembered he had not said his typical devotion a few Hail Marys so he said his Hail Marys but with great difficulty and weariness and then fell asleep but just as he had begun to rest he was startled by a loud knocking at the door before he even had time to respond he was met with a terrifying sight His companion stood before him his face Twisted in a ghastly and horrifying expression who are you he said to him do you not know me answered the other but what has so changed you you seem like a demon alas exclaimed this poor wretched I am damned and how is this no he said that when I came out of the infamous house a devil attacked me and strangled me my body lies in the middle of the street and my soul is in Hell know that my punishment would also have been yours but the Blessed Virgin on account of those few hail mares said in her honor has saved you happy will it be for you if you know how to Avail yourself of this warning that the mother of God sends you through me after these few words he opened up his cloak and showed the fire and the serpents that were consuming him and then he disappeared then the youth bursting into a flood of Tears threw himself with his face on the ground to thank Mary his deliverer and while he was revolving in his mind a change of life he hears the Matten Bell of a neighbouring Franciscan Monastery it is there he exclaimed that that God calls me to do Penance he went straight to the monastery and begged the priests that he could join them but of course they hesitated because they knew his way of life but then he told them everything that had happened two of the fathers went out to search in the street and actually found there the dead body of His companion having the marks of strangulation and black as a coal whereupon the young man was received from that moment on Richard sought to live a holy life he then went on to India to preach the gospel then from India to Japan and in Japan his life took another significant turn in 1622 he was arrested along with other Catholics about 55 and he was burnt at the stake it is known as the great martyrdom of Nagasaki but when he was burnt at the Stake he was burnt in such a way that one does not typically expect to make the punishment longer and more cruel the fire was six cubits away from the martyr's body the arms were lightly bound to the posts and the restraints were tied Loosely and they were made so that they were not difficult to untie those who did not dare to endure the punishment could Escape if they wanted to but there was not one of them who did not look to the heavens with his eyes not one who did not endure the fire without moving his heart and body even though the wood was burning strongly around them the life of blessed Richard of St Anne is a powerful example to us of heroic virtue I can't imagine what he went through being tied to the stake with the freedom before him of untying himself but he did not knowing that if he did it would be a sign of rejecting his faith he he laid down his life sounds similar to to the one he served and all of this faithfulness by God's grace inspired because of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary a devotion that was imperfect I don't know but you but have you ever felt like your Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary imperfect you get halfway through the rosary you fall asleep you get halfway through the first decade and you fall asleep or if you're like us and we say the rosary as a family with eight children it doesn't feel like it's very devout sometimes kids sometimes are talking sometimes somebody cries a deaper needs to be changed somebody doesn't want to pray they're playing with a toy a little one we let them do that but it's just not perfect and so we can take consolation knowing that God can work with imperfection especially with Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary St Alphonsus says it is impossible that a servant of Mary who Faithfully honored her and recommends himself to her should be lost St Ephraim called Devotion to Mary the passport of Escape From Hell St Bernard says Mary is neither wanting in the power nor the will to save us not in the power because it is impossible that her prayers would not be heard not in the will to save us for Mary is our mother and desires our Salvation more than we desire it ourselves if this is true then how can it ever happen that a servant of Mary should be lost so please share with us below what's the do you and why and let's end with the prayer oh Mary my most Dear Mother in what an abyss of evil I should find myself if you with your kind hand had not so often preserved me how many years should I already have been in hell if you with your powerful prayers had not rescued me my Grievous sins were hurring me there Divine Justice had already condemned me the Raging demons were waiting to execute the sentence but you did appear oh mother not invoked nor asked by me and have saved me obtain for me the grace to be no longer ungrateful to you and to my God who for Love of You has granted me so many favors pray for us oh holy mother of God that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ amen [Music]