"Say the Rosary every day!"
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Seven times, that is to say at each of the seven apparitions, the Queen of Heaven made this request at Fatima. Therefore there must be something powerful in the recitation of these Aves. In view of such an insistence, we must not, in relation to the Rosary, incur the reproach that Our Lord made to his apostles to be "without intelligence"; not to understand its importance and power.
The Rosary is truly Church-like when one thinks that Pope Leo XIII wrote 12 encyclicals on the theme of the Rosary, and that Pius XII speaks of it more than 23 times in his papal acts. These appeals, almost disconcerting by their numbers, gravity and continuity, show that the Popes believed in the supernatural efficacy of the Rosary to awaken and stimulate missionary faith and zeal, but also, like Saint Pius V, to protect Christian civilization ... Yes, really, the Rosary is of the Church; it is profoundly Catholic.
The Rosary, like every holy Mass, condenses the twelve months of the liturgical year into a single day; the whole cycle of the life, “the blessed passion, the resurrection from the dead and the glorious ascension” of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the holy Rosary, the Christian soul repeats after the great Apostle, “For me, to live is Christ!” because one goes “to Jesus by Mary”.
The Rosary is also a constant reminder of the famous Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. All those who have followed them will understand it easily, and those who do not know them should do them as soon as possible! The meditation of these fifteen mysteries is ideal for us to obtain the grace of an “intimate knowledge of Our Lord who became man for me, that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely”. And All these fruits that are mentioned in each mystery remind us of this daily duty of “the conquest of self and the regulation of one’s life in such a way that no decision is made under the influence of any inordinate affection”.
The Rosary is a school of prayer; of vocal prayer as much as of mental prayer. How many Catholics today do not even know the basic Christian prayers: the Credo, the Pater, the Ave Maria, the Gloria Patri. The Rosary ensures that we do not forget them, especially the young, and that more and more souls learn them. It is also a school of contemplation, or of mental prayer, which we can call circular, to take an expression of St. Thomas. As these great birds that make use of the wind to climb ever higher in a circular way without even giving a flapping of their wings, it would be necessary that each time we begin a Rosary, it is better said than the time before, with more attention and more fervor, as it should be for each of our holy communions. Thus the Rosary will make us advance in the spiritual life for the greater glory of God and the salvation of many souls.
The best way to celebrate this centenary of Fatima is to do what the Blessed Virgin has asked for. As far as we are concerned, this is to recite faithfully her Rosary every day if we have not done it so far, and for those who recite it already, to recite it with more attention and more fervor. We have no right to speak to the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and the earth, with negligence and nonchalance.
At Lourdes, at the very first apparition, the Immaculate Virgin taught Bernadette first of all to make well her sign of the cross. Fearful of this sudden apparition, Bernadette had put her hand in her pocket to take her Rosary and began it in a rather hurried manner. The mysterious Lady interrupted her, and showed her how to make the sign of the cross. How beautiful it must have been to see the Blessed Virgin make the sign of the cross! Then, on the Rosary, which had gently slipped from her forearm into her hands, she moved her lips and counted with her fingers, the Pater, Ave and Gloria of the little country girl, as if each of these prayers had its weight which could be exchanged in Heaven for graces waiting for them to water souls.
In these very critical times for Holy Mother Church and for the world, let us beseech with all our strength the Blessed Virgin, this new Esther, with a daring confidence as when Mardochai said to his niece in the palace of the king: "Who knoweth whether thou art not therefore come to the kingdom that thou mightest be ready in such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) This is certainly why, like Esther, the Blessed Virgin asks us in return to pray and do penance so that she may at last obtain from the Divine King the salvation of her people; of her children.
District News
Reassignments in the Canadian district as of October 1, 2017:
|
Centre Saint Joseph, St Césaire, QC |
École Sainte-Famille, Lévis, QC |
|
St. Michael’s Priory, Toronto, ON |
Our Lady of Mt Carmel, New Hamburg, ON |
|
St Raphael’s Priory, Winnipeg, MB Christ the King Priory, Vancouver, BC |
Immaculate Heart of Mary Priory, Calgary, AB |
