MARY, OUR MOTHER

Here's a couple of special posts on the Holy Rosary:
First from Spirit Daily:

Pope Praises Rosary as Fatima Anniversary Nears

Cardinal Sodano to Represent Pontiff at Festivities

VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he hopes the 90th anniversary of Mary's apparitions in Fatima will help the faithful to grow in their appreciation of the rosary.

The Pope said this in a letter sent to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, naming him as the pontifical legate for the opening celebrations of the anniversary.

The celebrations will take place in Fatima, Portugal, this Saturday and Sunday.

The Holy Father's message reads: "We, who have already visited the sanctuary and, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, have studied the message entrusted by the Blessed Virgin Mary to the little shepherds, hope that the faithful will rediscover the value of praying the holy rosary."

The letter was written in Latin and published on Wednesday by the Holy See.

Pope John Paul II entrusted then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger with the task of writing the "Theological Commentary on the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima" (June 20, 2000).

On May 13, 2000, during the third and last visit of John Paul II to Fatima, Cardinal Sodano, then Vatican secretary of state, announced the third part of the secret of Fatima and explained its meaning. His announcement followed the beatification of two of the three visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta.

Benedict XVI's message also referred to John Paul II's visit to Fatima in 1982 to thank the Virgin Mary for "having preserved in a miraculous way" his life during the assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981.

Benedict XVI recalled how, on that occasion, John Paul II "exhorted the faithful to heed [Our Lady of Fatima's] warnings and fulfill her requests."

And from my friend Mark Mallett, a powerful post:

Mark Mallett

—Spiritual Food For Thought—

Time To Get Serious!

“Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world . . . for she alone can save it.” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917)

IT is time to take these words seriously… words which require some sacrifice and perseverance. But if you do, I believe you will experience a release of graces in your spiritual life and beyond.

JESUS — THE CENTER OF THE ROSARY

The focus, the very center of the prayer of the Rosary, is the face of Christ: Jesus. This is why the Rosary is so powerful. When we contemplate the face of God, we are changed inside.

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18)

But there is something more… something about this Lady who holds our hand as we pray (I think of the Rosary beads as being our Lady’s hand). Since she is the mother of the "whole Christ", both Body and Head, she is uniquely able to distribute to us graces for our sanctification by virtue of the Holy Spirit within her; she who is "full of grace," pouring out grace upon her children:

With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer. —JOHN PAUL II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, n. 1

And yet, there is even more. This "woman clothed with the sun" is also the same woman engaged in a battle with the ancient serpent, the devil or Satan (Gen 3:15, Rev 12). She has a fight to pick with a snake who’s been messing with her children.

At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation. —Ibid, n. 39

THE POWER OF ONE HAIL MARY

Listen, dear friends… I am not interested in starting a Rosary club. Rather, it is my hope that we will recognize one of the greatest weapons ever given to the Church in the Rosary, and take it up like a sword. I am certain that right now many sincere Christians are undergoing strong and sustained attacks from the enemy. There is a darkness and oppression that has grown in the last year. It can lead to anxiety, depression, feelings of guilt, anger, and division in our families. Many of the letters I receive are from souls who are feeling a sense of desperation in their situations. Furthermore, the signs of the times speak of the need to intercede for our world as judgment once again hangs over it like a flaming sword.

We must pray and fight back with the dignity accorded us in our Baptism as sons and daughters of God. But not with weapons of the flesh!

For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. (2 Cor 10:3-4)

Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the Chief Exorcist of Rome, relates how during an exorcism performed by one of his colleagues, the devil said:

Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end. —Echo of Mary, Queen of Peace, March-April, 2003

Let us not forget that at the center of every "Hail Mary", the "hinge" as it were, is the name of Jesus—the Name above all names—which causes the devil to tremble. Padre Pio once said,

Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for Her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today.

That’s because when we pray the Rosary, we are praying the Gospels, the Word of God, the living Word of God which pulls down strongholds, breaks chains, topples mountains, pierces the darkest nights, and liberates those entombed in sin. The Rosary is like a chain, binding Satan to the foot of the Cross. In fact, a few years ago, the Lord gave me this prayer which I continue to use this to this day when I must address oppressive evil spirits:

I bind you in the name of Jesus, with the chain of Mary, to the foot of the Cross! I forbid you to return!

The Rosaries that we pray are the chains used to bind Satan in our personal lives, our family life, our society, and the world at large. But we must pray the Rosary to make those graces available.

TIME IS SHORT

It is time to stop dismissing those beads as being that prayer which belongs to those "little ladies before Mass," and to recognize it as the sword of the saints, the mantra of the martyrs, the song of the angels. If you feel a spark of hope in you now, then blow it into flame by picking up your Rosary, and never putting it down. These are not the times for complacency, but for decisive action on our part, surrendering ourselves to all the means of grace available to us, starting with the Sacrament of Confession, culminating in the Eucharist, and strengthening those graces with the little sacramental called the Rosary. Do not cower in fear! Christ and His mother wish to hand you a victory!

Pray the Rosary every day. Pray it as a family. The temptation not to pray it should be a testimony in itself as to why you should.

There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessings upon the family . . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary. We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that we put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils of our times. —PIUS XII

Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil… sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins. —St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary

FURTHER READING:

• Don’t know how to pray the Rosary? Click here.

• The spiritual weapon for families: Wars and Rumors of Wars
  

• Mary, the guiding Star to Jesus: Look To The Star