The Rosary, or the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a prayer of extraordinary power for obtaining peace and divine protection over families. It has been strongly recommended by every recent pope, from Leo XIII to the present day. For example, between 1883 and 1898, Pope Leo XIII wrote no fewer than eleven encyclicals devoted specifically to the Rosary. In 1974, Pope Saint Paul VI published an apostolic exhortation on Marian devotion, in which he offered "a few reflections for a more vigorous and conscious revival of the recitation of the Rosary," emphasizing one essential aspect of this prayer: contemplation.
We also remember well Saint John Paul II's special devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to the Rosary. Two weeks after his election in 1978, he declared that the Rosary was his favourite prayer. In 2002, he published an apostolic letter entirely devoted to the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, in which he proposed the meditation of five new mysteries—the Luminous Mysteries of the life of Jesus—adding to the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.
What is the Rosary? Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, a great French saint, wrote a book entitled The Admirable Secret of the Most Holy Rosary, divided into 50 chapters that he called "roses." Here is what he writes in the opening chapters:
"The Rosary contains two things: mental prayer and vocal prayer. The mental prayer of the holy Rosary is none other than the meditation on the chief mysteries of the life, death, and glory of Jesus Christ and of His most holy Mother. The vocal prayer of the Rosary consists in saying fifteen decades of Hail Marys, each preceded by a Pater Noster, while meditating and contemplating the fifteen principal virtues that Jesus and Mary practised in the fifteen mysteries of the holy Rosary. In the first chaplet of five decades, we honour and consider the five Joyful Mysteries; in the second, the five Sorrowful Mysteries; and in the third, the five Glorious Mysteries."
"However, the holy Rosary, in its present form and method of recitation, was inspired and given by the most Blessed Virgin to Saint Dominic in the year 1214, for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics and of sinners, in the manner I shall describe, as related by Blessed Alan de la Roche."
St. Louis de Montfort recounts the following story:
"Saint Dominic, seeing that the sins of men were preventing the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest near Toulouse and spent three days and three nights there in continuous prayer and penance. He wept, groaned, and scourged himself until he was half-dead, seeking to appease the anger of God. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him, accompanied by three princesses of Heaven, and said:'Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity used to reform the world?'—'O my Lady,'he replied,'you know better than I, for after your Son Jesus Christ, you were the principal instrument of our salvation.'She answered:'Know that the chief weapon was the Angelic Psalter, which is the foundation of the New Testament. Therefore, if you wish to win these hardened hearts to God, preach my Psalter.'"
An Albigensian Possessed
In the thirty-third chapter of The Admirable Secret of the Most Holy Rosary, Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort relates an event he witnessed himself, demonstrating the power of the Rosary:
"While Saint Dominic was preaching the holy Rosary near Carcassonne, they brought to him an Albigensian heretic possessed by the devil. The saint exorcised him in front of a great crowd—more than twelve thousand people, it is said. The demons, forced to answer his questions against their will, said:
1. That there were fifteen thousand of them in the man's body, because he had attacked the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary;
2. That the Rosary he preached struck terror throughout Hell, and that he was the man they hated most on earth, because of the souls he snatched from them through this devotion;
3. They revealed several other things besides.
"Saint Dominic threw his Rosary around the neck of the possessed man and asked the demons which of all the saints in Heaven they feared most and should be most loved and honoured by men. At this, they let out such dreadful screams that many people fell to the ground in fright. The evil spirits, not wanting to reply, began to wail so pitifully that several people wept out of compassion. Through the mouth of the possessed man, they cried:'Dominic, Dominic, have pity on us! We promise never to harm you. You who have such mercy for sinners, have mercy on us! Why do you torment us? Mercy! Mercy!'
"The saint answered that he would not cease tormenting them until they gave their answer. They begged to speak to him privately, but he commanded them to speak aloud. When they refused, he knelt and prayed to the Blessed Virgin:'O most holy Virgin Mary, by the power of the holy Rosary, command these enemies of mankind to answer my question.'
"As soon as he had finished, a blazing flame came from the ears, nostrils, and mouth of the possessed man, terrifying the crowd but harming no one. Then the demons cried out:'Dominic, we beg you, by the Passion of Jesus Christ and by the merits of His holy Mother and of all the saints, let us leave this body without speaking. The angels will reveal it to you if you wish. Are we not liars? Why would you believe us? Have pity on us!'
"'Wretched creatures,' said Saint Dominic, 'you are unworthy of being heard.'Then he again knelt and prayed: 'O most worthy Mother of Wisdom, I pray for this people who have learned how to pray the Angelic Salutation. Compel your enemies to confess publicly the full and sincere truth on this matter.'
"No sooner had he finished than he saw the Blessed Virgin beside him, surrounded by a multitude of angels. Holding a golden rod, she struck the possessed man and said,'Answer my servant Dominic as he asks.'Only Saint Dominic saw and heard her; the people did not.
"Then the demons began to shout: 'O our enemy, our ruin, our confusion! Why have you come from Heaven to torment us so much? Must we, against our will, declare before everyone the truth that will be our downfall? Woe to us! Woe to our princes of darkness!'
"'Listen, Christians,' they cried.' This Mother of Jesus Christ is all-powerful in preventing her servants from falling into Hell. Like the sun, she dispels the darkness of our snares, breaks our traps, and renders our temptations useless. None of those who persevere in her service is ever damned. One sigh from her, offered to the Holy Trinity, surpasses all the prayers and desires of all the saints. We fear her more than all the blessed together, and we can do nothing against her faithful servants. Many Christians who invoke her at the hour of death, and who by our ordinary laws should be damned, are saved by her intercession. If this Mary (so they called her in their fury) had not opposed our designs, we would long ago have destroyed the Church and plunged all orders into error and infidelity. We are forced to declare that none who faithfully say the Rosary are damned, for she obtains for them true contrition and pardon for their sins.'
"Then Saint Dominic had the people recite the Rosary slowly and devoutly. At every Hail Mary that was prayed, an astonishing thing occurred — a multitude of demons came out of the possessed man's body like burning coals. Once the man was completely freed, the Blessed Virgin, though unseen, gave her blessing to the people, who felt immense joy. This miracle caused many heretics to convert and join the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary."
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