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."



Marian Mondays

Posted by Jacob

With a month of prayer behind me, and this blog beginning to take shape, I am pleased to introduce a new weekly posting, which I will refer to as “Marian Mondays”  (better than “Mondays with Mary,” I suppose…). As my devotion to Our Blessed Mother deepens through my communion with her in the Holy Rosary, I feel drawn to writing more about Mary’s role in my faith, in the faith of the Church, and in our lives. For many of my readers—especially those from faith traditions other than Catholicism—there are questions, and wonderings, and even concerns about what they might consider the Catholic “idolatry” of Mary. While it is not my intention to unequivocally refute these questions and concerns, I hope to promote greater understanding of the personal role of the Blessed Virgin in my life—one which involves logical and rational thought, study of the Scriptures, and Church doctrine—but also one that transcends these domains of the brain and reason and fills the heart, soul, and body. This, too, is important to consider, as we worship the Lord not just with our minds, but with our hearts, souls, and bodies—and contemplation of the Blessed Mother, always begins and ends with Christ. She is a model of His love and suffering. She is the holy vessel inherent to His Incarnation. She is a virgin of transforming virtue and quality. She is our Mother.

So, why pray the Rosary? Before I can even think to begin answering that question (which believe me, I have been asked a few times at this point!), the preliminary question might be, “So, why pray to Mary?” That’s where we will start, over the next few Mondays. While I am no expert scholar, no “Mariologist” if you will, I will try to do my best. Along the way, I will discuss my personal encounter with Mary in the grotto at Lourdes. In this, as in all things, I ask the Lord for guidance in thought and word, that this blog and these reflections may be pleasing to Him and beneficial to those who read.  And for those of you who do read this, I would love to hear your thoughts as we go along.  Feel free to leave comments and ask questions.  I look forward to hearing from you!

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