"The Rosary is my favorite prayer."
These were the words of Pope St. John Paul II in the second Angelus message of his pontificate in 1978, "The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and in its depth."
A while ago I was speaking with a young father who said that he and his wife had "given up" on trying to pray the Rosary as a family because it was just too difficult and too frustrating to be disciplining the children while praying. They felt it was more important to stress the importance of Mass attendance and teaching the children the prayers of the Mass. This of course is also very important, but still, I tried to encourage this young family to also continue to persevere, as the Rosary is a very powerful prayer.
I could not stop thinking about our conversation and since then, having spoken with different people, come to the sad realization that so many have abandoned this daily practice of reciting the Rosary as a family, or even just praying it themselves. It even had me questioning myself as to whether or not it was not I who had become just a bit too "old fashioned" ?!
I could sympathize with that young family, as my husband and I had always recited the Rosary with our seven children when they were growing up. I can remember the effort that went into it. Every evening, after we had finished supper and cleaned up the kitchen, we would round them all up and gather in the living room before our small altar. It would take a few minutes to calm everyone, but then each of them would recite their designated decade of the Rosary, beginning with the youngest. It was not always picture perfect, but we did persevere and the blessings that have come from this have been abundant!
There are so many more reasons why we SHOULD be praying the rosary, and ESPECIALLY as a family, than there are excuses NOT to!
• If you are suffering… pray the Rosary.
• If you are in need… pray the Rosary.
• If you are lonely... pray the Rosary.
• If you are worried… pray the Rosary.
• If your faith is wavering… Pray the Rosary.
In other words, there is nothing in your life that Our Blessed Mother does not desire to help you with!
Sister Lucia (who died in 2005), speaking in an interview in 1957 with Father Fuentes, postulator of the causes for beatification of Francisco and Jacinta Marto (who have since been named saints in the Church), said: "…There is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families in the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations that cannot be solved by the Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls."
In the sixth apparition at Fatima, Portugal, the Blessed Mother identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and it is she who has asked us to say this very powerful prayer. She did not only ask this at Fatima, but she came first to St. Dominic in 1208, and has repeatedly come again and again with the same message to "Pray the Rosary every day", at Lourdes, Kibeho, Akita, San Nicolas, Cuapa, Gietrzwald and so many more places!
Recently I rediscovered the writings of Barbara Kloss, a Polish mystic, who died in 1981. Our Lady dictated to her these beautiful words:
"The Rosary must be the joy of your heart, the light of your thoughts, the ardent desire of your will, the link which unites you to Heaven. It is the unfathomable source of the treasures which I offer you through my immaculate hands… It depends on you alone to accept it and to recite it."
In these messages we hear the voice of a mother — a mother who loves and understands her children as she instructs us on how we can make it possible to say these prayers.
"Just offer your time, a humble and pious disposition and a bit of effort to collect your thoughts while reciting it. Do not be greedy of the time you devote to it. Do not leave it for the last hour of the day, thinking that there will be sufficient time for it.
"The rest is the grace, the action of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the knowledge of the Saviour in His mysteries. [In the Rosary we meditate on the mysteries of the Life of Christ.] The Rosary belongs to you. It is given to you forever. You have it for every moment and for every need, and it depends on you to profit from it and to act through it. It demands fidelity and perseverance."
Wherever we are — no matter what crisis we are undergoing — at work, or at play — we are able to recite the Rosary and meditate on its Mysteries. Our Lady reiterated to Barbara Kloss the same message she gave at Fatima, "Jesus wants Me to be known more and loved more," and she added, "Myself, I want that the Heart of My triumphant Son reign everywhere in your hearts. And both of us want your happiness, your good, for the glory of the Heavenly Father."
The Holy Spirit has inspired Popes over the centuries to encourage the faithful to trust in the power of the Rosary. Emphasizing fidelity to the practice of the Rosary has been the means for peoples and nations to persevere in Christian faith and morals. Pope Leo XIII wrote no less than 16 documents completely on the Rosary! Other papal claims include:
"If the Liturgy [the Holy Mass], as the activity of Christ and the Church, is a saving action par excellence, the Rosary too, as a 'meditation' with Mary on Christ, is a salutary contemplation. By immersing us in the mysteries of the Redeemer's life [the Rosary], it ensures that what he has done and what the liturgy makes present is profoundly assimilated and shapes our existence." – Pope St. John Paul II
Yes! the Mass is the prayer of prayers — nothing can compare with the powerful prayer of the Holy Mass! But when you add to that the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, the demons flee in terror! Fr. Gabriele Amorth, exorcist in the Diocese of Rome, revealed these words given to him by Satan through a possessed person during an exorcism: "Every Hail Mary of the Rosary is a blow to the head for me; if Christians knew the power of the Rosary, it would be the end of me!"
When we are praying the Rosary we are living in the the presence of Christ and His Holy Mother. "I am present for all in the Rosary, it is there that you will find me", Our Lady revealed to Barbara Kloss. We cannot comprehend the power of this repeated prayer, no more than Moses understood the significance of his arms being held up during the battle, but as long as he kept his arms raised, Joshua was winning the battle. When he would grow tired and lower his arms, Joshua would begin to be overcome by his enemies. Aaron & Hur had to come to his aid and hold his arms up for him, and it was only then that Joshua was able to defeat the Amalekites.
As I was concluding this article, I received a message from my young friend of whom I spoke at the beginning. He wanted to let me know that he and his wife have taken up the good practice of reciting the Rosary once again with their children every evening — praised be Jesus Christ! They were excited to tell me that what they have discovered is that, with much patience, the family Rosary has become the time for them to settle down in the evening, to share their experiences of the day with each other and to thank God together for the blessings of that day.
What my friend is discovering is that, when Our Blessed Mother asks us to "pray the Rosary", we need not understand the whys and hows; we need only to obey — God does the rest.
Our Lady revealed to Barbara Kloss, and she continued, "The Rosary is My gift, the gift of the Mother to Her poor children. It is the visible sign of protection and the seal of the elect. It is the joy of the angels and the rejoicing of the saints. It is the terror and the fright of the devils who are overcome by it. It is the simplest and shortest contact of Heaven with earth. It is the treasure of the poor and the strength of the brave. It is finally the joy of duty accomplished with love. It is the hope of the reward that will be obtained here below as in eternity.
And therefore, a custom that can never become outdated. Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Pray for us!
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