The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary—an occasion, especially this year with the Rosary Crusade, to redouble our prayers and sacrifices. I am sure that it is not necessary to point out the power of the Holy Rosary; we have all seen with our previous Crusades, the effects of praying the rosary generously...
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary—an occasion, especially this year with the Rosary Crusade, to redouble our prayers and sacrifices.
I am sure that it is not necessary to point out the power of the Holy Rosary; we have all seen with our previous Crusades, the effects of praying the rosary generously. It is by itself so powerful that we can by it obtain anything from God. The rosary is, after the Holy Mass, one of the most beautiful and efficacious forms of prayer.
One aspect of the Holy Rosary on which we cannot place enough emphasis is the contemplation of the mysteries of salvation. The Holy Rosary is, indeed, a true school of meditation or contemplation on Our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, to avoid a certain routine in our prayers, to fight against all sorts of distractions, we are given the diverse aspects of the life of Our Savior; and the more we focus our minds on contemplating these mysteries, the more meritorious and efficacious our prayers become. Thus, it becomes easier to distance ourselves from our daily worries and to remain united with Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.
The first reason then, why we should avail ourselves of the 15 Mysteries of the Holy Rosary is in order to pray with more attention and fewer distractions.
The meditation that should accompany our daily Rosaries is also a way to greater understanding of Our Savior’s mysteries. We meditate upon the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries in order focus on and mentally picture the various aspects of our salvation. The Joyful Mysteries show us the mystery of the Incarnation. The Sorrowful remind us of the mystery of Redemption. And, of course, the Glorious Mysteries cause us to contemplate Eternal Life—the singular goal of our lives.
In every mystery, therefore, we have an act of faith in the various aspects of our Catholic Faith, seen directly in the life of Our Lord and Savior.
By making a sincere effort to meditate upon the Holy Rosary, our prayer life is purified, even elevated, little by little to a higher form of praying. We move from vocal prayer—prayer whereby we merely repeat the words—to an interior prayer, and a deeper union with God through contemplation.
And finally, the Holy Rosary is a form of prayer that helps us to imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. They are our models, the ones we should always have in mind to imitate at all times, and at all cost.
The mysteries of the Holy Rosary help us to contemplate Their life, in order that we may apply Their example to our own life: To be with Our Lord in His Passion when we suffer, to imitate His patience when we are irritated, to practice His Charity towards everyone, and to rejoice with the Blessed Virgin Mary when God blesses us with joy and peace in our lives, to hope for the heavenly rewards and therefore accept the crosses of today.
The rosary is also most practical; we can apply it to all circumstances of our lives. It is a school of virtues. Let us revive our devotion and our practice of praying the Holy Rosary, convinced of its power, not only as a prayer of petition or way of obtaining our necessities, but also and more importantly, as a prayer of sanctification.
The Rosary Crusade begun in May for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, must include also a personal effort. It must be a way of looking for a greater holiness, a new infusion of graces for our families, our parishes, our schools.
Let us not fall into routine or lukewarmness in this Rosary Crusade, but let us pray with great fervor for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
With my prayers and blessing, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Fr. Arnaud Rostand