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."
I leave this evening for my week-long trip to the Guatemalan highlands to serve those in need, build our international Catholic community of faith, and distribute some of the reader-donated Rosaries that I have been able to repair:
... as well as some of the mission-style Rosaries built by our Rosary Construction Mission (and funded by your donations!):
I humbly ask that you pray for myself and my travelling companions during our week of prayer, service, and community!
Prayer Requests: July
While I am travelling, please join me in lifting the following intentions submitted through this blog, to Our Lord and Savior, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother:
For love; Professional advancement (O, United
Kingdom); Healing of a grandmother, academic success (O, Nigeria); Protection,
sale or property, true conversion (E, Oman); Healing and recovery (A,
Philippines); For a sister to find employment (P, South Africa); Reunification
of a son and family (T, USA); Blessings upon children, successful employment
(C, Philippines); Successful conception, financial security, true conversion,
love (P, USA-PA); For a son suffering with mental illness (B, USA); For an end
to depression (B, United Kingdom); Health, protection, Successful employment, A
relationship blessed by God (K, Spain); Successful resolution of a difficult
situation for son (M, USA-OH); Safety and protection during travels (A,
USA-MN); Repose of a departed wife’s soul, financial security, strength and
courage (J, USA-CA); Healing of an ill father (M, USA-TX).
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