"Champions of the Rosary"

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This part of an article I read today was especially good, because it gives us more modern examples of “champions”. The Rosary is not merely for a time of chivalry and dragons, but is given to us as our battle against evil continually grows more fierce:

…Champions of the Rosary
The Servant of God Frank Duff — founder of the Legion of Mary — once wondered if there has been a single saint since the 13th century who has not prayed the rosary. Without a doubt, the rosary has been the most frequently mentioned form of Marian devotion by the saints since the 13th century. It would be impossible to list all of these saints. Saint John Paul II once noted the following in this regard: “It would be impossible to name all the many saints who discovered in the rosary a genuine path to growth in holiness.” Many people are familiar with the more well-known champions such as St. Dominic, St. Louis de Montfort, and St. Pio of Pietrelcina, but there are so many more! For example, Blessed Alan de le Roche is responsible for reviving the rosary after the Black Death killed 1/3 of the population of Europe; in the 19th century, Our Lady called St. Anthony Mary Claret a “ new St. Dominic”; Pope Leo XIII wrote 11 encyclicals on the rosary; the Servant of God Joseph Kentenich referred to the rosary as a spiritual machine gun and a grace-filled atomic bomb; St. Maximilian Kolbe specifically called the rosary a sword; the Servant of God Patrick Peyton gathered millions of people together to pray the rosary; and Venerable Fulton J. Sheen created a special kind of rosary known as the World Mission Rosary. And this is only a sampling of those saints and popes who championed the spiritual sword of Mary!..

There has been a notable decline in the Catholic Church in our “Devotion to Mary” as noted by Pope Saint John Paul II, and which I’ve quted on CAF often. He saw this decline in Devotion to Mary in 1982 and drew attention to it. My hope for a renewal of devotion to our Lady and her Rosary is that many of us, especially among the laity will pray the Rosary fervently and encourage others to do so, during this 100th Anniversary of Mary’s Apparitions at Fatima.

Our Mother Mary asked three little children to pray the Rosary daily – they obeyed. What about each one of us who are also her children? Do we love her enough to make time to pray her Rosary every day. I hope so. ( Full article from which quote was taken is HERE)

 

[GLam8833]

Thanx for the write-up on the Rosary,
my daily Rosary helped me keep
my sanity this past year, it has been a
roller-coaster ride, but God has protected
me, by faith and the recitation of the Rosary!!

 

[HCTC]

I have been praying the rosary (usually in the evening) everyday for several years. Spending this time with our Holy Mother is without doubt the most rewarding, the most comforting, and the most spiritually impactful part of my day.

 

[Le_Bonvivant]

Thank you for sharing this Maria Christi! A good reminder about the importance of this great prayer!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanx for the write-up on the Rosary,
my daily Rosary helped me keep
my sanity this past year, it has been a
roller-coaster ride, but God has protected
me, by faith and the recitation of the Rosary!!

Thanks for your reply, GLam,

As I pray my Rosary, it also helps me to keep my sanity, by putting my focus on our Lord and our Blessed Mother. I was thinking today of Jesus’ words on Calvary: “Behold your Mother”; and I realized when I look at Mary beneath the Cross of Jesus, her eyes are on Him!

No wonder she is Mother and Model for the entire Church! No wonder she has asked her children to pray the Rosary! While we are meditating on the Mysteries of her life with Jesus we find in Him, as our Mother did: He IS our Peace!

 

[MariaChristi]

I have been praying the rosary (usually in the evening) everyday for several years. Spending this time with our Holy Mother is without doubt the most rewarding, the most comforting, and the most spiritually impactful part of my day.

Thanks, HCTC, for your reply.

I’m a “morning person” so I try to pray my Rosary as early as I can. If it is a particularly busy day and one with many unexpected things to be done so that I need to wait until evening, I pray it before I go to sleep. At the end of any given day, I’m usually so tired it becomes harder to concentrate on the mysteries. I’ve fallen asleep praying in bed – so now if my only time is before I go to sleep, I make sure I’m sitting up straight!!! By God’s Grace I’ve been able to pray without falling asleep – at least so far

You are right – for most of us, spending time with our Holy Mother is truly a great blessing!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thank you for sharing this Maria Christi! A good reminder about the importance of this great prayer!

Dear Le_Bonvivant,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, it is good for all of us to ponder the importance of the Rosary and to make every effort to pray the Rosary with greater and greater attention and devotion.

The more we ponder the Mysteries, the more, by God’s Grace, we can learn to live as God intends us to live in this world. Mary is our Mother and Model and we find in pondering each mystery of the Rosary a greater appreciation of all God has given us, and all He wants to give us if we continue to open our hearts and minds to Him as Mary did,

 

[abinjoy]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

There has been a notable decline in the Catholic Church in our “Devotion to Mary” as noted by Pope Saint John Paul II, and which I’ve quted on CAF often. He saw this decline in Devotion to Mary in 1982 and drew attention to it. My hope for a renewal of devotion to our Lady and her Rosary is that many of us, especially among the laity will pray the Rosary fervently and encourage others to do so, during this 100th Anniversary of Mary’s Apparitions at Fatima.

Our Mother Mary asked three little children to pray the Rosary daily – they obeyed. What about each one of us who are also her children? Do we love her enough to make time to pray her Rosary every day. I hope so. ( Full article from which quote was taken is HERE)

I understand what you are saying when you talk about Marian Devotions being down played. have seen catholic nuns of 15-20 years of service who does not even know about Mary’s request in Fatima to do reparation to the Immaculate Heart. If that is the case with nuns, we can all imagine the state of a lay person

 

[MariaChristi]

I understand what you are saying when you talk about Marian Devotions being down played. have seen catholic nuns of 15-20 years of service who does not even know about Mary’s request in Fatima to do reparation to the Immaculate Heart. If that is the case with nuns, we can all imagine the state of a lay person

Thanks for your reply, abinjoy,

Yes, not too long ago, a priest shared with a group of us that he was asked to lead a pilgrimage and needed to “learn how to pray the Rosary” again. Regarding some communities of nuns, it has was a great sadness also for me to hear of a retreat house where nuns were actually discouraging people from praying the Rosary.

It is no wonder to me that Pope St. John Paul II wrote his beautiful post synodal document “Christifideles Laici” - “On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and the World.” The evil one hates Mary and the Church she signifies. St. John Paul II saw the decline in devotion to Mary, and did all he could to encourage devotion to her by his words and example. He knew that lay people had perhaps depended too much on priests and nuns to carry on the Mission of Christ – forgetting that ALL are called to holiness. He also wrote an Apostolic Letter “On the Most Holy Rosary”

Lay persons are called to holiness and are sent by our baptism to make disciples just as the first Christians were called and sent and as all our saints have shown us for centuries. Pope Paul VI in his encyclical on Evangelization in the modern World wrote: “The Church exists to evangelize”. Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both called on Mary as the “Star of the New Evangelization”. I read recently that our present Pope once prayed the Rosary in Rome kneeling behind Pope St. John Paul II and was so impressed he (Pope Francis) began to pray the Rosary daily.

Let us pray the Rosary always, with such love and devotion, that others will be encouraged by our example and by our prayers. Actually, everything we do in love ought to edify others, because love diffuses – it spreads – like light in the darkness.

 

[Wannabe_Monk_16]

I remember learning that St. Padre Pio reluctantly admitted to his superiors that he prayed as many as 40 full-blown rosaries in a day. He said something like, “recite it as often as you can, it costs so little, but you profit so much from it.” He called it his weapon.

Somewhat recently, there was some African bishop whose diocese was being tormented by terrorists. He had a vision of Jesus handing him a sword. When the good bishop took the sword from Our Blessed Lord, it turned into a rosary!

Promotion of the recitation of the Holy Rosary is a holy thing to do.

 

[MariaChristi]

I remember learning that St. Padre Pio reluctantly admitted to his superiors that he prayed as many as 40 full-blown rosaries in a day. He said something like, “recite it as often as you can, it costs so little, but you profit so much from it.” He called it his weapon.

Somewhat recently, there was some African bishop whose diocese was being tormented by terrorists. He had a vision of Jesus handing him a sword. When the good bishop took the sword from Our Blessed Lord, it turned into a rosary!

Promotion of the recitation of the Holy Rosary is a holy thing to do.

Thanks Wannabe Monk,

St. Padre Pio is true son of Mary! I think I also read that story about the Bishop in Africa – I believe it! When you think about it, the Scripture tells us the Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword! The Rosary is formed from words in Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium – no wonder it is so powerful!

 

[patricius79]

Beautiful testimonies above.

Being ill, I need a free Rosary CD from the Mary Foundation (what a wonderful ministry!) to help me pray the Rosary. It really helps my family pray the Rosary together too.

I’ve only started praying the Rosary in the past year or so. And now I desire to pray it. It doesn’t feel like a burden. It feels like grace itself.