"The Popes and the Rosary" - Pope St. John Paul II

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing to ponder the Apostolic Letter of Pope St. John Paul II, “On the Most Holy Rosary”

The Popes and the Rosary

1. Numerous predecessors… attributed great importance to this prayer. Worthy of special note in this regard is Pope Leo XIII…who … proposed the Rosary as an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society. Among … recent Popes who… have distinguished themselves in promoting the Rosary… Blessed John XXIII and above all Pope Paul VI, who …emphasized… the Rosary’s evangelical character and its Christocentric inspiration. … From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life… The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort…scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: “The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and its depth. […]. … the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium,…which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church. …the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the …mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. … our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind… Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.

… I set the first year of my Pontificate within the daily rhythm of the Rosary. Today, as I begin the twenty-fifth year of my service as the Successor of Peter, I wish to do the same. How many graces have I received …from the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary… I wish to lift up my thanks to the Lord in the words of his Most Holy Mother, under whose protection I have placed my Petrine ministry: Totus Tuus!

What can I add to the words of a Saint? Perhaps another Saint can take us further into the Rosary. St. Louis de Montfort’s treatise on “True Devotion” is the source of the words “Totus Tuus” (“All Yours”). St John Paul II wrote in another of his works, reading St. Louis De Montfort’s treatise as a young man was the turning point of his life. He consecrated himself totally to Jesus through Mary and contunually renewed his Act of Consecration. If you seek more of the wisdom given to the saints who pondered God’s Word and work in Mary, read whenever you can, or read again, St. Louis De Montfort’s treatise. Online version is HERE