Thursday, October 7, 2010

Why Pray the Rosary?



Today is the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. Why should we pray the Rosary? I could give a number of personal reasons why Catholics (and non-Catholics) should arm themselves with this powerful weapon but instead I defer to the great "Cloud of Witnesses" that have gone before us. Here are a few of their thoughts on the Rosary:

"Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today."- St. Padre Pio
"The power of the Rosary is beyond description." - Archbishop Fulton Sheen
"Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance."- St. Louis de Montfort
"The Rosary is the scourge of the devil." - Pope Adrian VI
"The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary." - St. Francis de Sales
"The Holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results."- St. Josemaria Escriva

There are 15 promises given by Our Lady to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roch which are attached to the recitation of the Rosary. In the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae ,  Pope John Paul II goes into great detail on the importance of praying the Rosary and calls it his favorite prayer. "The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in it's simplicity and it's depth."

Here is one of my favorite quotes on the Rosary:
"No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary. Either he will give up sin or he will give up the Rosary."     Bishop Patrick Boyle

Wise words, indeed.

6 comments:

  1. John Paul II use to say that there is one thing that Catholic families can do to strengthen home-life, and this is ‘prayer’: both personal and family prayer. And he recommended one prayer in particular: the Rosary.

    The image of Our Lady of the Rosary portrays Mary who with one arm supports the Child Jesus and with the other is offering the rosary beads to St Dominic. This iconography shows that the Rosary is a means given by the Virgin to contemplate Jesus.

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  2. Eligelavida,
    Thank you for the information on Our Lady of the Rosary and your words on Pope John Paul II and families. I am a firm believer in the power of the Rosary for individuals and families.

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  3. I always wondered about the this. Thank you, Mary.

    Joey

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  4. Love that quote!!!!! Using it!!! Sharing it!!!!

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  5. Julia,
    I love it too! It's so true, isn't it?!

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