Why pray the Rosary every day for a year?


Each time the Blessed Virgin has appeared-- whether it be to Saint Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes; to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at Fatima; or to Mariette Beco at Banneux-- she has asserted the importance, saving grace, and power of praying the Holy Rosary on a daily basis. Based upon her words, the Rosary is penance and conversion for sinners, a pathway to peace, an end to war, and a powerful act of faith in Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI presented the Rosary as a powerful means to reach Christ "not merely with Mary but indeed, insofar as this is possible to us, in the same way as Mary, who is certainly the one who thought about Him more than anyone else has ever done."

To show us how this is done, perhaps no one has been more eloquent than the great Cardinal Newman, who wrote: "The great power of the Rosary consists in the fact that it translates the Creed into Prayer. Of course, the Creed is already in a certain sense a prayer and a great act of homage towards God, but the Rosary brings us to meditate again on the great truth of His life and death, and brings this truth close to our hearts. Even Christians, although they know God, usually fear rather than love Him. The strength of the Rosary lies in the particular manner in which it considers these mysteries, since all our thinking about Christ is intertwined with the thought of His Mother, in the relations between Mother and Son; the Holy Family is presented to us, the home in which God lived His infinite love."

As Mary said at Fatima, "Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to My Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by Me to adorn his throne."



Prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist: The Akita Prayer

Posted by Jacob

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Thy Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father pleading for the coming of his Kingdom. Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as Thou wilt for the glory of the Glory of the Father and salvation of souls. Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Thine Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Thy special child. Amen

In 1973, Our Blessed Mother—Our Lady of Akita—appeared to Sister Agnes Sasagawa at Akita Japan. Sister Agnes, a member of the Institute of the Handmaids of the Eucharist, received three messages from The Blessed Virgin, the first of which asked her to pray the Prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist each day. In this prayer, Our Lady introduced three subtle new devotions through her apparitions at Akita, building upon those she had delivered at Fatima. Two of these new devotions are contained within the prayer itself.

The first new devotion communicated by Mary to Sister Agnes, and therefore to the world, at Akita, was the use of the term: “truly.” That is, referring to the "Sacred Heart of Jesus truly present in Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.” The word "truly" was not used by the Angel at Fatima. It is believed that Our Lady chose this prayer to emphasize the reality of the true sacramental presence of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The faithful are thus called to refer to and believe in Jesus as "truly" present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

The second devotion introduced at Akita was the inclusion of the soul as called to consecrate itself in union with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus present in Blessed Sacrament. Souls are called to identify themselves to be consciously spiritually and supernaturally united with the sacramental presence of Our Eucharistic Lord.

The third devotion explicitly ratified at Akita, is the reality of Our Lady as Co-Redemptrix of the Human Race. This was demonstrated by the agonies of pain and sorrow which the Blessed Virgin continues to suffer for the salvation of men- a sorrow which is closely related to her sorrow on Calvary. The pain and sorrow expressed by Our Lady of Akita demonstrates not only her intimate participation in the Salvation of the Human Race, but also her integral participation in the redemptive sacrifice of the Human Race performed in sacrificial union with Jesus at Calvary. Mary suffered to atone for the sin of Eve, while Christ suffered to atone for the sin of Adam. The sins of both Adam and Eve constituted the fullness of the fall of the Human Race, and the sufferings of both Jesus and Mary constituted the fullness of the redemption of the human race, which was accomplished at Calvary.

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1 comments:

  1. Anonymous said...

    Wow! I don't k know what to say. These messages are so profound. My goal is to become closer to God and maybe I could use the intercessions of Mary

    June 27, 2012 at 11:53 AM  

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