Giving Attention to Our Lady’s Rosary: Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor, Monday, September 30, 2019

J.M.J.

There are many helpful quotations about the Rosary that are especially relevant during October. They may be incorporated into homilies, classes, Sunday parish bulletins and parish newsletters. Here are only a few quotations.

 

*“The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of the ordinary people and the Saints . . . it is a prayer from my heart.” Pope Francis

*“Our Lady has never refused me a grace through the recitation of the Rosary.” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina 

*“The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual . . .” Venerable Fulton Sheen

*“Cling to the Rosary as the creeper clings to the tree—for without Our Lady we cannot stand.” Saint Mary Teresa of Kolkata

*“Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

*“The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: ‘Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: ‘In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed.’” Saint John Paul II

*“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic or be led astray by the devil.” Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

*“The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessings.” Blessed Alan de la Roche

*“There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” Servant of God Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart

*“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God . . . and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.” Saint Pius X

*“No prayer is more meritorious for the soul and more glorious for Jesus and Mary than a well recited Rosary.” Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

*“Today, together we confirm that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and His Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what He did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ’s mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of His holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory. May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us she can ‘water’ society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each ‘Hail Mary.’” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

*“Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved.” Blessed Bartolo Longo

" V. Gate of Heaven. R. Pray for us.": Saturday, August 31, 2019

J.M.J.

When I entered the seminary on August 24, 1984, one of the first seminarians I met was Peter. From Chicago but studying for one of the dioceses in Minnesota, Peter was generous and helpful. We recited the Holy Rosary together. More than once, we walked along the highway to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away. We discussed many things and laughed a lot. He even told me that his grandmother came to the United States on a ship from Italy with Mother Cabrini.

Peter was serious about spiritual matters. And in a short time after our friendship began, he introduced me to the “Total Consecration” Ad Iesum Per Mariam—“To Jesus through Mary”—advocated by Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.

With a copy of A Treatise on True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis Marie along with a slender book that offered recommended prayers and readings for the thirty-three days period of preparation, I started to ponder just what is this way of going to Christ through the Ever-Virgin.

Thirty-five years later, I understand better that what this inspiring missionary proposed requires a lifetime of continual effort. To know, love and serve Jesus Christ via the mediation of Mary is an awesome privilege—and a sacred responsibility.

This encounter with a revered method of drawing closer to the Son through His Mother remains a significant event in my life. In fact, it was pivotal. It opened an inviting horizon for me, and it taught me how Saint John Paul II himself related to the King and the Queen of the Universe.

That was not my initial contact with Our Blessed Mother. At home, we had a large painting of “Our Lady of the Grapes” in the dining room. My parents, five siblings and I honored Mary every evening during our night prayers with a decade of the Holy Rosary. One of my own sisters is named “Mary.” The Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary were our teachers in our parish’s school. Mary was all around us, and we were glad. 

Our Lady’s importance was reaffirmed for me when I, then as a priest, was sent by my Bishop to Rome to study Mariology. Now, I contemplated in-depth the Marian truths that before I knew experientially. What a treasure to have whole semesters dedicated to investigating the Divine Maternity, the Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, not to mention other facets of the Marian mystery!

And, as if that were not enough, my current assignment allows me to work in the diocesan Office of the Marian Apostolate, encouraging the veneration of Mary and noting how she is present in the hearts of the Faithful.

The day-to-day interaction with my Spiritual Mother, however, is “where it’s at.” No amount of books, classes, presentations or pilgrimages can substitute for the consistent, needed receptivity to the love of Christ that Our Lady mystically models for me. She is the best human template of charity and mercy that I possess.

What more magnificent gift can I give to Our Lady other than my sincere conformity to Jesus Christ the Great High Priest? This is her desire. And, despite my weakness, I know that it must be mine, too.

That spirited, zealous Peter of decades ago? He was eventually ordained in another diocese in the Midwest. His death only a few years after his ordination was tragic, shrouded by uncertain circumstances. I will never forgot Father Peter’s kindness in ushering me into a fresh manner of venerating Our Lady. May his soul rest in peace.