Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Next Wednesday will be the birthday of Mother Mary. Have you ever thought of what gift to give her this time? Don’t forget, our Blessed Mother is also a queen.
If flowers are for the feminine,
Carnations for mothers we’ve reserved.
If the queen deserves the flower queen,
What would the Queen Mother deserve?
A crown of roses, no less; the Rosary!
Every time we devoutly pray five decades of the Rosary, we weave a little crown of heavenly roses for Jesus and Mary, so St. Louis de Montfort wrote in The Secret of the Rosary. This means contemplating on the mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother as we pray, for the Rosary without contemplation is like a body without its soul. A complete Rosary of 15 or 20 mysteries makes a large crown of roses.
Yes, a crown of roses, the queen of flowers, is most fitting a gift to our Blessed Mother, the Queen Mother. How do we know?
The Rosary is Our Lady’s favourite prayer. At Fatima, she called herself the “Lady of the Rosary”. In her many apparitions, notably at Fatima, Lourdes and Akita, she implored mankind to pray the Rosary as penance to appease the wrath of God. In praying the Rosary, which is made up of two divine parts: the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation, we honour the most Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ our Saviour and His most holy Mother. As St. Louis de Montfort pointed out, could there be any prayer more pleasing to God and also to Our Lady, since she would only desire what pleases God?
As a birthday gift aside, why pray the Rosary? Concisely, besides honouring God and Mother Mary, it is to live a holy life, die a happy death and gain happy eternity. Pope John XXIII said that “the Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer for the needs of the Church, the nations and the entire world.” In these times when evil, sin and despair seem to reign, the Rosary is very relevant. Besides, praying the Rosary lessens the sufferings of souls in Purgatory.
Even before the grace-filled Year for Priests ended, the Church was confronted with scandals involving her priests. Clearly, the “enemy” is very displeased, as Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily at the close of the special Year. Hence, the end of the Year for Priests calls for even more prayers to combat the increased attack by the “enemy”. What better prayer than the Rosary, to implore the intercession of Our Lady, who has a special love for her Son’s priests? Thus, in the next few months we will expound on the Rosary which, St. Louis de Montfort wrote, is the rose of all devotions and the most important of all.
In answer to the scandals, each of us is called to holiness to show forth the true face of Christ to the world. And the surest way to holiness is through the Rosary prayer. In his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II wrote that it is a genuine “training in holiness”, in the school of Mary. In praying the Rosary, we contemplate Christ through her who was closest to Him. Ultimately, it helps us answer our Christian call to be conformed to Christ.
Being a powerful weapon against Satan, you can be sure that he increases his attacks on those who pray the Rosary. No wonder one needs more devotion to persevere in praying the Rosary than any other prayer. We will share on ways to overcome difficulties in saying this powerful prayer.
Indeed, many popes and saints have attributed great merits to the Rosary. How can it be otherwise? We will rebut the claims of those who oppose the Rosary, as well as share on Our Lady’s messages in approved apparitions.
As our parish journey towards our Golden Jubilee, it is appropriate that we seek the help of our Blessed Mother to help us remain faithful to Christ as Church. After all, she was His most faithful Disciple. And the best way to follow our Mother is to kindle fervour in the Rosary devotion, by far the simplest and the surest way to Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
So don’t forget your gift of five decades of the Rosary next Wednesday, 8 September to our Blessed Mother. You are also invited to pray the Rosary with us at 5.20 p.m. here every Saturday. We hope to see you next week.
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