Combat the Evils of the World Through the Rosary

CLEVELAND - June 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Previously, we have looked in depth at the Miraculous Medal (http://www.prlog.org/12326283-introduction-to-marian-sacramentals.html) and the Scapular (http://www.prlog.org/12331448-graces-and-devotion-flow-from-the-mercedarian-white-scapular.html) - two Marian Sacramentals and efficacious symbols of devotion. The third Marian Sacramental we mentioned is the Holy Rosary.

Rosary - In imitation of the monks' prayer of 150 psalms, laypeople - many who were illiterate - would substitute 150 or 50 Hail Marys for their own version of the prayer. This devotion took on its current form when Mary appeared to St. Dominic around the 13th century, St. Dominic used the rosary to combat the Albigensian Heresy, which was popular in Europe at the time. The spread of the rosary has been largely attributed to St. Dominic and the Dominican Order.

The Rosary is a combination of vocal prayer and meditation, focused on the central Gospel messages of Jesus, and secondarily on Our Lady. As with all Marian prayer, the Mother of God leads us closer to her son. The three original Mysteries of the Rosary - established by Pope Pius V in the 16th century - focus on the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, and provide material for contemplation. In October of 2002, St. John Paul II added five Luminous mysteries from the public life of Jesus.

A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.The following conditions must also be met for any indulgence:

Sacramental confession,
Eucharistic Communion, and
Prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, all to be performed within days of each other if not at the same time. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent.

Why pray the rosary? Let us listen to the advice of the successors of St. Peter.

 "Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favored by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary" (Pope Pius IX)
"There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family . . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary" (Pope Pius XII).
"Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary . . . can be an excellent preparation for the celebration of those same mysteries in the liturgical actions [i.e. the Mass] and can also become a continuing echo thereof" (Pope Paul VI).
"How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening" (Pope John Paul II).

In our Mercedarian communities, in Cleveland, OH, Lemon Grove, CA, and Baton Rouge, LA, we pray the Rosary in common every day. We find it a great way to join with our Blessed Mother in our lives and apostolate.

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Sr. Jeanette Marie, HMSS
Vocations Director