The Rosary is the most famous and popular of all the devotions to the Virgin Mary. The Rosary was written by St. Dominic in 1206 after a vision in which the Blessed Mother gave him a Rosary.
The Rosary emphasizes the physical and spiritual aspects of our Christian faith, such as the birth, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. The beads are an aid to remind us of the life of Jesus through the cycle which consists of one Our Father, ten Hail Mary's and one Glory Be repeated twenty times in commemoration of the Five Joyful Mysteries, Five Glorious Mysteries, Five Sorrowful Mysteries and Five Luminous Mysteries.
And Pope St. Pius X said:
“In our time more than ever before, the chief strength of the wicked, lies in the cowardice and weakness of good men. All the strength of Satan’s reign is due to the easy-going weakness of Catholics.” Lastly, let us remember the beautiful promises Mary made for us who pray the Rosary:
The Fifteen Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary
- Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
- I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
- The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
- It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
- The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
- Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
- Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
- Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.
- I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
- The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
- You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
- All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
- I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
- All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
- Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
May we not be weak and cowardly as Pope St. Pius X warned, but may millions stand up against the evil Satan is perpetrating in our world. Joining together in the battle by making the decision to pray the Rosary daily as Our Mother requested at Fatima repeatedly:
On June 13 1917, she said:
“I wish …that you pray the Rosary every day.”
And again on July 13, 1917:
“Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for she alone can help.”
And again on Oct 13, 1917:
“I am the Lady of the Rosary, I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask for pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it every day.”
What more will it take for all Catholics to do as Our Blessed Mother requests? What more needs to happen in our world to incite us to pray?
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