This Thursday, Oct. 7, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In my childhood years, my family prayed the Rosary every night after supper, 365 days a year.
The images of the mysteries in the book that we used are still emblazoned in my mind as the definitive picture of each sacred event in the life of Jesus and Mary.
Profoundly Scriptural, the Rosary is a meditation on the principal moments in the history of our salvation in Christ, and thus, serves as an assured method to grow in our understanding of the Gospel and our devotion to the Lord.
Devotions to the Rosary
All of the saints and popes had a tremendous devotion to the Rosary, and Mary herself has strongly advocated for us to pray it, most recently at Lourdes and Fatima.
Sister Lucia, one of the seers of Fatima, says, “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual . . . that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”
Pope Leo XIII said, “The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.”
Pope Pius XI adds, “The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin . . .
If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary.
Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.”
“When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer,” offers St. Louis de Montfort.
Part of a faith-filled life
I personally like to use the Scriptural Rosary, which offers a short quote from the Bible for meditation on each Hail Mary bead.
These brief passages narrate the story of each mystery and also have the practical effect of keeping my mind from wandering.
The four sets of mysteries focus on the principal components of the life of Christ: The Joyful, which meditate on Jesus’ Incarnation and birth; the Luminous, reflecting on the major sacred events which reveal Jesus’ identity and mission; the Sorrowful, drawing us into the Passion and crucifixion of our Lord; the Glorious, which proclaim the Resurrection of Christ as His triumph over the powers of sin and death.
In a journey to Kyrgyzstan two years ago as part of my work with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ work to aid the Church in formerly Soviet countries, I met an elderly woman who had witnessed the brutal communist takeover of her village.
Soldiers burned down the church, shot the priest, and religion was outlawed from that point forward.
This woman would secretly gather the villagers in her home after dark and they would pray the Rosary together.
They had no priest, no sacraments, no Scriptures, and very little hope for the future.
Meditating on the mysteries, praying the “Our Fathers” and the “Hail Marys” gave them hope, grace, courage, and perseverance.
The Rosary was the only method these persecuted Christians had to hang onto the Faith and pass it down to their children.
This reflection is leading to a request to you from me. If you do not already do so, I encourage you to start praying the Rosary on a daily basis.
It only takes about 15 minutes, it is profoundly efficacious in both our understanding and practice of the Faith, it is an assured path to greater holiness and love, the saints all promote it, and Mary herself promises that it will help us in our problems and sorrows, as we make our way to the Father’s house.
I cannot think of a better way to promote the goals of Go Make Disciples than to pray for its success by means of the Rosary.
Imagine if every Catholic in our diocese was praying every day for the evangelizing fruitfulness of our efforts to prepare our already engaged Catholics to go forth and witness the love of Christ to those who have no practical relationship with the Church.
Enlisting the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in this ongoing effort will ensure the graces we need to be missionary disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.