THE ROSARY
The rosary is a most precious gift to the Catholic Church. That Mary herself appeared at Lourdes and Fatima to accompany the visionaries in its recitation gives credit to the claim by St Dominic that it was Mary herself who revealed it to him. There has been many occasions on which the last defence of the Church was the saying of the Rosary by faithful Christians.
In 1571 for example the Moslem Ottoman Empire assembled a large fleet containing thousands of soldiers to invade Europe. Europe was in peril and the Pope Pius V instructed the people to turn to Mary and say the Rosary. Indeed when a smaller number of Christians went out to face the enemy on every ship the crew and soldiers joined together to say the Rosary. The Moslems initially had the wind behind them and were threatening to crush the Holy League as the opponents of the Moslem Empire were called. Suddenly the wind changed direction and the advantage now was with the Christians who now had the wind behind them. The Moslem fleet was heavily defeated. Pius V in Rome was looking out the widow when he suddenly knew that the Moslems had been defeated and rang he bells throurghout Rome. In the 18th Century the Moslems were laying siege to Vienna and again the people wee called upon to say the Rosary by the Pope and just when Vienna was about to fall a Polish army arrived and defeated the Moslems There were many other victories of the Rosary over the Moslems and except for the period of the Conquest of Spain the Moslem invasion of Europe was always thwarted. Europe remained Christian.
But what is so special about the Rosary? The Rosary asks us to think of the principle events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, the Joyful events, the Sorrowful Events and the Glorious events, and a new set of mysteries called the Mysteries of Light. When we are daily in tune with these events we can never lose our faith to pride and ignorance. Jesus will always be on our tongue. In the constant recitation of Hail Mary we are constantly begging Mary to pray for us as our advocate with Jesus. Remember again the Wedding Feast at Cana. She was an advocate for the couple who were facing disgrace and she just said "They have no wine". The wonderful relationship she has with Jesus will make her plead on our behalf. "She is worried about her family" "He is feeling unloved". "He is a sinner who needs Mercy" Will not Jesus still listen to his Mother. Or do we really believe he has cast his mother aside and forbidden her to speak because he is offended by people who do not go to him first. If there is joy in heaven over one sinner who does penance then surely this means that heaven is aware of what is happening on earth, and there is no justification for denying this.
But above all the Rosary is not just an intellectual prayer. It is a prayer that appeals to the whole person, the emotional and the rational. Yes, we feel emotion when praying and what is wrong with this. I remember when people prided themselves in destroying "All these devotions" What did they gain? Of course they would never dream of asking the question. But in the UK they lost 50% of Mass Goers and 95% of our Youth. Yet still they devise plans and schemes which mirror their earlier approach. One day perhaps they will stand upend say "We were wrong"
In 1571 for example the Moslem Ottoman Empire assembled a large fleet containing thousands of soldiers to invade Europe. Europe was in peril and the Pope Pius V instructed the people to turn to Mary and say the Rosary. Indeed when a smaller number of Christians went out to face the enemy on every ship the crew and soldiers joined together to say the Rosary. The Moslems initially had the wind behind them and were threatening to crush the Holy League as the opponents of the Moslem Empire were called. Suddenly the wind changed direction and the advantage now was with the Christians who now had the wind behind them. The Moslem fleet was heavily defeated. Pius V in Rome was looking out the widow when he suddenly knew that the Moslems had been defeated and rang he bells throurghout Rome. In the 18th Century the Moslems were laying siege to Vienna and again the people wee called upon to say the Rosary by the Pope and just when Vienna was about to fall a Polish army arrived and defeated the Moslems There were many other victories of the Rosary over the Moslems and except for the period of the Conquest of Spain the Moslem invasion of Europe was always thwarted. Europe remained Christian.
But what is so special about the Rosary? The Rosary asks us to think of the principle events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, the Joyful events, the Sorrowful Events and the Glorious events, and a new set of mysteries called the Mysteries of Light. When we are daily in tune with these events we can never lose our faith to pride and ignorance. Jesus will always be on our tongue. In the constant recitation of Hail Mary we are constantly begging Mary to pray for us as our advocate with Jesus. Remember again the Wedding Feast at Cana. She was an advocate for the couple who were facing disgrace and she just said "They have no wine". The wonderful relationship she has with Jesus will make her plead on our behalf. "She is worried about her family" "He is feeling unloved". "He is a sinner who needs Mercy" Will not Jesus still listen to his Mother. Or do we really believe he has cast his mother aside and forbidden her to speak because he is offended by people who do not go to him first. If there is joy in heaven over one sinner who does penance then surely this means that heaven is aware of what is happening on earth, and there is no justification for denying this.
But above all the Rosary is not just an intellectual prayer. It is a prayer that appeals to the whole person, the emotional and the rational. Yes, we feel emotion when praying and what is wrong with this. I remember when people prided themselves in destroying "All these devotions" What did they gain? Of course they would never dream of asking the question. But in the UK they lost 50% of Mass Goers and 95% of our Youth. Yet still they devise plans and schemes which mirror their earlier approach. One day perhaps they will stand upend say "We were wrong"
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