A beautiful response to the thirst for peace, comfort and beauty.
In his Catholic Exchange column , Fr. Ed Broom, an Oblate priest of the Virgin Mary, gives an account of ten reasons for carrying out a devotion or Christian action. On this occasion, and taking as reference the Virgin’s insistence on praying the Rosary to the little shepherds of Fatima, Brother Ed shares ten reasons to pray this beautiful prayer, in a world thirsting for peace, comfort and beauty.
1. Our Lady told us to do it! If a mother repeats an order many times to her son, it is because, deep down in her heart, she knows very well that the order she is giving is of great importance. To the seers of Fatima he appeared six times, and the six asked them to pray the Rosary. But not just them, but asked us to pray for the salvation of the world.
2. The Rosary is a biblical prayer. Many non-Catholics condemn the recitation of the Holy Rosary. However, few know that the Rosary is a prayer that, almost in its entirety, has its origins in the Gospels. For example, the first series of Mysteries, the Joyful Mysteries, comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapters one and two. Thus, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, we also meditate on the love of God.
3. We can learn to know, love and imitate Christ. Saint Ignatius of Loyola tells us that there is a fruit when we meditate or contemplate the life of Christ: knowledge and love for Him. He who more ardently follows him, closer to his Sacred Heart. In parallel, when we get used to praying the Rosary, we approach Jesus through the prayers of intercession of his first disciple: the Virgin Mary.
4. It is a summary of the Gospel. Popes as recent as Blessed Paul VI or Saint John XXIII have called the Rosary “a summary of the Gospel”. Even before St. John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries. Thus, we have the childhood of Jesus in the Joyful, followed by the Luminosos (who are a compendium of the public life of the Lord); the Sorrows speak of the Passion and Death and the Glorious of their Resurrection and of the Assumption of Mary.
5. The Rosary can elevate us to the heights . It is a wonderful prayer that, if prayed well and with perseverance, can lead us to the heights of holiness. The vocalization of the Our Father and the Hail Mary make it a meditation on the mystery and its application in our daily life. It is a contemplative prayer that makes us penetrate the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. And we “associate” with them.
6. The Rosary can bring peace to the world, inside and outside. In a world like ours we need a peace program, expelling the bad and enthroning the good: Jesus and Mary as the king and queen of the world, our province, state, city, home or family. Also of our individual life and of our heart. In Fatima the Virgin warned him: to pray the Rosary is to create a world of peace.
7. A prayer to overcome the vices. Sin can turn us into slaves. Jesus himself said that sin was a bondage. As many conversions show, the Rosary moves away from vices. Our Lady asks us for purity. One of the messages of Fatima is that many lose eternity for the flesh, for sins committed against purity.
8. Prayer for the family unit. One of the most painful losses today is the breakup of the family, of the domestic Church. If the family is doing well, society is doing well, said St. John Paul II. He himself asked to pray the Rosary with two intentions: for the peace of the world and for the union of families. And Father Patrick Peyton put it this way: “The family that prays together stays together.”
9. The Rosary is a spiritual sling to defeat the Devil. The fight, now, is like David’s against Goliath. With the difference that today we are surrounded by “goliats” everywhere: moral relativism, hedonism, materialism … To win the battle we have to place the Virgin Mary as our captain and proudly carry her most powerful weapon: the Holy Rosary, like David, trusting in God, he triumphed against Goliath … with a humble sling.
10. Spiritual treasures kept in heaven. Many saints have said it: the Virgin Mary is “our currency” to make us millionaires in heaven. So things, if you want to be a millionaire in heaven and save your soul, your loved ones and many other souls, now begins to pray, fervently, the Rosary. Jesus, through the intercession of Mary will keep you an abundant treasure in heaven.
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