THE INTERSESSIONAL PRAYER THROUGH VENERABLE ELIZABETH MARIA SATOKO

 

 

THE INTERSESSIONAL PRAYER THROUGH VENERABLE ELIZABETH MARIA SATOKO

 

Lord, you gave so many blessings to Venerable Elizabeth Maria Satoko Kitahara. Especially you gave her to serve the war victims with joy and delicate herself to share the time with the poor. Her powerful testimony strengthens the faith of the Church. Her love and cooperation with the grace of the Holy Spirit, led her to care for the poor and to serve them. Thank you Lord with all my heart for this work and for the gift of Your instrument, Maria Satoko . Lord, give us the virtue of charity to imitate You so that we too may bring many souls to You. Lord, give us Your shining light so that You may send us as Your instruments to those who are seeking for God. Lord, hear our prayer and answer our prayer through Venerable Maria. In the name of Father, Son & Holy spirit, Amen.

 

( Following each prayer once;  Our father, Hail Mary and the Glory be )

 

OUR FATHER

 

Our father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen

 

HAIL MARY

 

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

THE GLORY BE

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now,

ever shall be a world without end. Amen.

 

THE WONDERFUL VIRTUES AND EXAMPLES OF THE VENERABLE MARIKA SATOKO 

 

FAITH

 

Her life as a Catholic was short, but she had a strong faith. She participated in Mass as much as possible every Sunday and the holy days of obligation. She prayed the Rosary in the adoration chapel and devoted herself to Mary, the mother of God. After World War II, there was a city where rag pickers lived together in poverty. This city is known as the City of Ants. She followed the path of Christ and devoted herself to help the poor people of this city wherever she was  needed. She always loved those who were impoverished and in need. Her discipleship to Jesus was truly united into one spirit with God. She taught Catechism to the children in an easy-to-understand way, but she never forced them to convert to the  Catholic Church. She taught them to pray and the people learned all the prayers; also, the people witnessed her example of her love for Jesus and her daily life of prayer.

 

HOPE  

 

 

 

She never gave up hope in difficult times.The poor wanted their children to work instead of going to school. However she told parents about the importance of children’s studying in daily life. She sometimes brought the homework assignment in their house and studied with them. Parents watched her prayer at the same time and understood her faith gradually. Her illness was eventually worsened. She became bedridden in a small room. She never complained about the conditions of poverty in which she lived with the people; her bed was infested with lice but she never complained about suffering the pain and itchiness caused by the lice infestation of her room.  When she was forced to move from the City of Ants to another place, she trusted in God’s Providence for her. Not knowing fully God’s plan, she prayed first before the next step. She was never disappointed about anything. Her testimony was to let herself be in God’s hands. She believed that suffering caused by illness was the only way for her to go to heaven and to reach the Light of God’s glory.

 

LOVE GOD IN HUMANITARIAN AID

 

She never forced people to convert to the Catholic Church,  but many people saw the presence of God in her heart. She lived in the City of Ants, not because of humanitarianism or philanthropy, but because she wanted to be humble and live like Christ Who was Poor and Who  gave His life out of His Perfect Love for every soul. By the grace of God, she felt that she could not live the Gospel without the poor, the vulnerable, the despised, all of those people who are abandoned by society.  She left all material things behind, and especially renounced a comfortable life and went to the City of Ants alone without any possesion. They called her “martyr of love” because she devoted herself to cherishing others in a simple life.

 

WISDOM

 

Maria Satoko spoke honestly to everyone she met and taught them the Truth of Christ. The world and society views that her choice to be poor as Christ was poor, and to live in the City of Ants was not a good choice because she contracted tuberculosis. However she didn't have contagious tuberculosis. She became poor as Christ was poor in order to bring the Gospel to the poorest people , who lived and died in the devastating conditions of poverty. This is where she loved Jesus, in His poor little ones who lacked safe shelter and lived in lice and tuberculosis infested conditions.. Her words were always kind, polite, firm in the Truth of Christ. She avoided the secular world by obeying and following Christ Who lived among His people abandoned and rejected by society. When the children didn’t keep their chores, she kindly corrected them in a kind but firm way.

 

JUSTICE

 

She was serious, kind and humble. She didn’t use two faces and avoided hypocritical acts.

She followed all the teachings of the Church in her daily life. Even though someone deceived her, she corrected her own carelessness. She never accused anyone. She also accepted our human weakness with a kind heart. She was always generous to the poor. She said to her mother, “Don’t ask for luxury. I have all that I need by having for a roof over my head  to sleep at night and one loaf of bread so that I do not starve”.

 

COURAGE

 

Despite being a Japanese who respects harmony, she was encouraged by the love of Christ. Her courage and strength left a wealthy and secure parent’s home and she threw her life into the City of Ants. She also trusted the poor and those who were abandoned by society. Even If she got sick, she maintained her determination to live in the City of Ants. She endured the pain of illness by faith. She was always calm and had a smile for everyone. 

 

 ABSTINENCE

 

She left everything behind and didn’t want anything except for the Bible, a prayer book and the Rosary. The Love of Christ and His cherishing the poor inspired her. She was calm and kind to everyone. She never expressed anger to anyone.  She was prayerfully recollected all day and she  continued prayers in calmness and deep faith.

 

 DISCIPLESHIP

 

Her life was short, but blessed by God. She followed his discipleship in the way of thinking like Christ. Her unselfish attitude and a conditional love for everyone are difficult to find in our material and secular world. Mine first - culture is everywhere in the modern world. In addition, we throw away a lot of waste in a trash can. She was making a small amount of money from the ragpicker business. She was simple and humble. She spent the time taking care of people and she used things without any waste. Her simplicity, humbleness, caring to others and being a smile shows us the role model of Christian. She followed the Catholic teaching steadfastly but she never forced them to convert to Catholicism. She listened to non-Catholics’ opinions carefully and brought a conversation in the best way. Her life was always in the center of Christ.

She spent the time in the difficulty of the postwar period, the suffering of illness, and many barriers. With a smiling face, hope in the future,  trust in God and love of all people, she would be our model of what a true Christian looks like in the modern world.

 

 

Year / Age	Description
1929	Born in Asagaya, Suginami-ku, Tokyo as the third daughter of Kinji Kitahara on August 22nd.
1941 / 12	Entered Shoin High School in April
1944 / 15	Student mobized at Nakajima Aircraft Factory
1945 / 16	Returned to school at the end of the war
1946 / 17	Graduated from Shoin High School in March
1946 / 17	Entered Showa Women Pharmacy College in April

 

1949 / 20	Graduated from Showa Women Pharmacy College in March
1949 / 20	Encountered the Mercedarias Missionary at her sister’s Catholic school “Koen Jogakuin” and studied Catechism there.
1949 / 20	Baptized on the feast of Christ the King on October 30th.
1950 / 21	Moved with her parents into the new house they built next to her sister’s place,Hanakawado, Taito-ku in September. Encountered Zeno, a Franciscan brother in November. Visited the City of Ants for the first time in December.
1953 / 24	Published “Children in the City of Ants” in March
1958 / 29	Passed away due to tuberculosis on January 23rd
1975	Started the canonization investigation
1997	Submitted “Posizio” the documentation to the congregation for the causes of Saints in Vatican
2015	Received the title of Venerable from Pope Francis on January 22nd

 

The Venerable Elizabeth, Maria Kitahara Reiko is a non-martyr woman in a country with few Christians, and is attracting attention as a model for living the gospel in the modern world. In order for her canonization to sainthood, a miracle must be acknowledged through her intersessory prayer . If you have any wonderful experiences through her prayer, please let us know.

 

Conventual St. Francisco Monastery

4-12-10 Sekimachikita, Nerima-ku, Tokyo

177-0051

Telephone 03-3929-4103

Fax 03-3929-4954