October - Month of the Holy Rosary

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October - Month of The Holy Rosary

By TOM DENNEHY

October is the month of the most holy rosary. Today we are never in more need of its power to intervene in a world which is being threatened to be overcome with evil and war. In all her apparitions Our Lady has implored us to pray the rosary. She has told us it is so powerful it has the power to stop wars.

What makes this prayer so effective?

It is because the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Holy Trinity and it is a meditation centred on Christ. It is important that we pray each word slowly and distinctly as each Hail Mary is new just as water gushes forth from the spring, we give our prayer to Our Lady who makes it perfect, and she gives it to Jesus who works a miracle with it.

When we pray the rosary.

*We meditate on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and Mary’s role as mother of God and our Mother. * We open our minds and hearts to God’s holy will so that the Holy Spirit can enlighten us to a deeper understanding of our faith. *We encounter a peace that only God can give. No matter how anxious and troubled we may be, we find a peace that is very much lacking in our world today. Saint Padre Pio had great devotion to the rosary, He always had a rosary in his hand and prayed the rosary many times every day. He said “If we do what we have always done, what our fathers did before us, we cannot go wrong. Satan wants to destroy this prayer, but in this he will never succeed. The rosary is the prayer of those who triumph over everything and everyone. It was Our Lady who taught us this prayer, just as it was Jesus who taught us the Our Father. The rosary is the weapon against the Devil and the evil in the world today.”

How to pray the Rosary

The rosary is a scripture-based prayer, it begins with the Apostles Creed which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is from the Gospels. The first part of the Hail Mary is the angel’s words announcing Christ’s birth and Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary. St Pius V officially added the second part of the Hail Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary centre on the events of Christ’s life. There are four sets, The Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and The Luminous added by Saint John Paul 11 in 2002. The repetition of the rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ’s spirit dwells. The rosary is our greatest prayer after Holy Mass.

There are 15 promises attached to those who pray the rosary daily given by Our Lady to

Blessed Alan De Le Roche.

They include 1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the

Rosary, shall receive special graces. 2. I promise my special protection to all who shall pray the Rosary. It shall be a powerful defence against Hell.

It will help us to overcome bad habits and thereby decrease sin. 3. Whoever shall have true devotion to the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 4. You shall obtain what you ask of me by praying the Rosary. 5. I will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God and shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary. 6. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

Our Lady’s message in

Medjugorje August 25, 1995.

“Dear Children; I invite you to prayer. Let prayer be life for you. A family cannot say it is in peace if it does not pray. Therefore, let your morning begin with morning prayer, and the evening end with thanksgiving. Little children, I am with you, and I love you and I bless you and I wish that every one of you be in my embrace. You cannot be in my embrace if you are not ready to pray every day.” Let us all make a very special effort to pray the rosary every day. Why not begin with one decade? You can pray it when at home, or driving in your car, or out and about on your walk or wherever you are. I promise you it will change your life and the lives of those around you.