ROSARY
BASIC R.C. BELIEF
The most popular devotion of the Roman Catholic Church. Prayers are recited
for each bead. After introductory prayers, the main part of the Rosary
consists of 10 Hail Marys and one Our Father repeated five times, during
which time five mysteries of the Rosary are contemplated. The mysteries
recall joyful, sorrowful and glorious occurrences in the lives of Jesus and
Mary. A complete Rosary is 15 decades (each of 10 Hail Marys and 1 Our
Father); it is more usual to pray 5 decades.
St. Dominic is credited with preaching the Rosary as an antidote to the
Albigensian heresy. He called it "the rampart of the Church of God" and
"the Book of Life." Popes have described it as "The salvation of
Christians;" "the dispeller of heresies;" "the scourge of Satan"; and
"promoter of God's Glory."
The Rosary received great impetus by the words of our Lady at Fatima in
1917.
Msgr. O'Sullivan in EXTERNALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH says, "Repetition in
prayer is a very ancient custom. It would seem natural for man to recite
his prayers over and over. The Buddhist has his long string of beads which
he uses to measure his eternal repetitions of the praises of Buddha."
From SACRAMENTALS, Catholic Information Center, page 21. "It is difficult
to determine just how this special form opf repeated prayer began. We know
that. . . repeated prayer is common in many religions. That is what we
would expect since it is natural to human beings."
From HOW TO SAY THE ROSARY, Imp. Patrick Hayes, Archbishop of New York.
"THE FIFTEEN PROMISES OF MARY TO CHRISTIANS WHO RECITE THE ROSARY.
(1)Whoever shall faithfully serve Me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall
receive signal graces. (2) I promise My special protection and the greatest
grace to all those who shall recite the Rosary. (3)The Rosary shall be a
powerful armor against Hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat
heresies. (4)It will cause abundant virtue and good works to flourish; it
will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the
hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will left
them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify
themselves by this means. (5)The soul which recommends itself to Me by the
recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish. (6)Whoever will recite the
Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred
mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortunes. 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. (7)Whoever shall have a true devotion to the Rosary shall not die
without the sacraments of the Church. (8)Those who are faithful to recite
the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God
and the penitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall
participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise. (9)I shall deliver
from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. (10)The faithful
children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
(11)You shall obtain all you ask of Me by recitation of the Rosary. (12)All
those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their
necessities. (13)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. (14)All who recite the Rosary are My
sons, and brothers of My Only Son Jesus Christ. (15)Devotion of My Rosary
is a great sign of predestination. (Given to St. Dominic and Blessed
Alan.)"
POST VATICAN II
An additional ejaculation, given at Fatima, is often inserted between
decades of the Rosary, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from the
fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in
need of Thy mercy."
From WOMAN CROWNED WITH STARS by Michael Malone (Imp: Bishop Sullivan,
Baton Rouge, 1981). "Our Blessed Mother's Rosary concludes with the Mystery
of the Coronation of the Immaculate Virgin Mary as Queen of all creation;
however, the crowning of Our Lady is not the culmination, but the actual
commencement, of all that has even happened from the very beginning of
time."
From SIMPLICITY, John Michael Talbot. "Personally, I have found praying the
Rosary to be one of the most powerful tools I possess in obtaining simple,
childlike meditation on the life of Jesus Christ."
From HEAVEN'S WEAPONS, published by Apostolate of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
St. Martinville, LA. "Ventimiglia, the author of an ancient history of the
Carmellite order, revealed how God inspired St. Dominic to prophesy that
some day the Blessed Mother would give us two devotions to be known as the
Rosary and the Brown Scapular, AND ONE DAY, THROUGH THE ROSARY AND THE
SCAPULAR SHE WOULD SAVE THE WORLD.
"In the year 1214 while St. Dominic was trying to convert sinners
without success. Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary and taught
him how to use it. Many miraculous conversions resulted!"
From READ ME OR RUE IT by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan. Imp. Joannes Timotheus,
Archiepiscopus, Cincinnatenesis, 8/22/25. Re-printed 11/2/74 by National
Centre for Padre Pio, 11 N. Whitehall Rd., Norristown, PA 19403.
Blessed John of Massias, a Dominican lay brother, obtained by his
prayers (chiefly the recitation of the Rosary), the liberation of one
million four hundred thousand souls!
CATHOLIC JOURNALS
From THE CHURCH WORLD, 3/26/87. "This brings us to the heart of the matter:
The Eucharist and the Rosary! It is generally recognized by the spiritually
`advanced' and by common Catholic consciousness that in Catholic
spirituality these are the mpost powerful means of prayer through which one
can more deeply enter into the life of God and thereby more seriously
confront the reign of Evil. By spiritually `advanced,' I mean people as
Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila, Padre Pio, Dorothy Day, the Cure d'Ars,
Mother Teresa.
"For example, Padre Pio - who appears to be one of the most
extraordinary human beings of the 20th century, a stigmatic for 50 years, a
healer withour peer, a man who spent innumerable hours a day in prayer -
says, `The Rosary is THE weapon.' Now when a person with such spiritual
credentials makes such a definitive statement about how to overcome evil,
it seems to me it can only be ignored or dismissed with fear and trembling.
"Beyond this, the major Marian appartition of the 20th century - Fatima -
explicitely relates the daily recitation of the Rosary to an ending of war
and the obtaining of peace. As described by Lucia, on July 13, 1917, in the
Cova da Iria, Mary said, `. . . Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our
Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain preace for the world and the end of
war. . . ' With such endorsements it would seem that the Rosary would be a
part of every Catholic peace gathering, small or large."
From LEAVES, Sept/Oct 1979. "The rosary goes back tho the first century of
Christianity. (In fact, legend has it that when the Apostles found that
Mary's body had been assumed into heaven and only roses remained where she
had lain, they used the petals to offer psalms of joy to God.)"
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