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."



March 29: Saint Armogastes and Companions

Posted by Jacob

Today, March 29, we remember Saint Armogastes (born, unknown; died circa 460) and Companions on his feast day. Together with Saints Saturus and Archinimus, Saint Armogastes was subjected to a life of torture, hard labor, and exile for his faith.


Armogastes and his companions were high officers and personal servants to Theodoric, son of the Vandal king Genseric. They lived and worked in the royal court, but were also Orthodox Catholics. King Genseric, too, had once followed the faith, but as time went by, became more and more attracted to Arianism, the heretical doctrine that Jesus Christ was not divine. Upon acceptance of this doctrine, he ordered his family and court to renounce their faith and embrace Arianism. In the process, he waged war on Christian lands, conquering Spain, North Africa, and Italy, and eventually invading and looting Rome itself.

Theodoric, ever the faithful son, submitted to his father’s request, but his servants refused. Led by Armogastes, they professed their belief and faith in Christ, and for that, were tortured in efforts to recant. Saturus’ wife begged him to acquiesce, but he responded using the words of Job: "You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If you loved me, you would give me different advice, and not push me on to a second death. Let them do their worst: I will always remember our Lord's words: 'If any man born to me, and hate not his father and mother, his wife and children, his brethren and sisters, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.'"

Armogastes was bound to an upside-down cross repeatedly, but miraculously, each time the binding broke, freeing him. He was then hoisted aloft by one foot, and left to hang, but again, was saved. Along with his companions, the kind ordered him beheaded with an axe, but was advised by his Arian priests that killing the servants might lead to their veneration as holy martyrs. Instead, Armogastes, Saturus, and Archinimus were sentenced to hard labor at the mines of Byzacena. They persisted in this back-breaking work for years, never losing faith, until they were spared. Armogastes and Saturus were sent to herd cattle in Carthage, where they finished their days. Archinimus was liberated, but spent the remainder of his days begging, having lost everything.

Armogastes, Saturus, and Archinimus lived at a time of great strife within the Church. Their employer and king had renounced the divinity of Christ, along with almost 50% of priests at the time. And yet, these three men remained faithful and confident in their Lord, their fidelity rewarded only with suffering and punishment. Throughout all, however, even in the exhaustion and darkness of the mines of Byzacena, they never lost hope. Their faith and confidence inspires us today to stand firm in our own beliefs, to not compromise our faith for acceptance by others, and to witness to the world the saving power of Jesus Christ!



A Prayer For Steadfastness

Jesus, help us to hear Your words and obey them. When the rains fall, the floods rise, and the winds blow we may be shaken but we will not crash, for our hope is in the One who walks on water and calms the tempest seas. Jesus, You are the Solid Rock upon which we stand when all other ground is sinking sand. Amen.




Year 2: Day 88 of 365

Prayer Intentions: Steadfast courage in the Lord.
Requested Intentions:  Freedom from imprisonment (J); Employment and end to depression (H); Successful employment (A); Health for a soon to be delivered baby (T); Financial security (L); Healing of tooth pain (A); Health of expectant mother and child (R); Purification of the souls in Purgatory (A); Guidance in studies (J); Healing and security for a displaced family (C); Healing of high blood pressure; Recovery of brother following surgery (A); For a sister in trouble, that she may make better decisions in the light of Christ (M); Health of expectant mother and child (R); Attainment of funds for surgery (J); Freedom from financial difficulties (E);  For employment and college acceptance (E); Recovery and healing of a friend (C); For successful outcome to surgery (C); Healing for brother (M); Successful employment (C);  For the victims of the Japanese tsunami/earthquake (J); Healing (E); For a son struggling with depression (B); Successful conception (M); Freedom from social anxiety; confidence in the Lord (J); Improved success in employment and studies (D); Freedom from illness (T); For a wife’s employment (E); Healing of a husband’s knee (M); Freedom from sickness (R); Healing (C); Restoration of marriage (F); Freedom from medical difficulties, employment, successful relationship (D); Healing of a father following stroke (S).

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