SAINTS AND THE ROSARY

SAINTS AND THE ROSARY                                                                                           

1) “Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” – Pope Bl. Pius IX

2) “The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.” – St. Padre Pio

3) “The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” – St. Josemaria Escriva

4) “The Rosary is the most beautiful and the richest 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.” – Pope St. Pius X

5) “The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labours.” – Pope Pius XI

6) “How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening!” – Pope St. John Paul II

7) “The Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.” – St. Louis De Montfort

8) “Go to the Madonna. Love her! Always say the Rosary. Say it well. Say it as often as you can! Be souls of prayer. Never tire of praying, it is what is essential. Prayer shakes the Heart of God, it obtains necessary graces!” – St. Padre Pio

9) “The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.” – St. Francis de Sales

10) “The rosary is the scourge of the devil.” – Pope Adrian VI

11) “If there were one million families praying the Rosary every day, the entire world would be saved.” – Pope St. Pius X

12) “The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.” Pope Leo XIII

13) “The Rosary is a school for learning true Christian perfection.” – Pope St. John XXIII

MOTHER MARY’S PROMISES:

1) Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.

2) I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.

3) The rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4) It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5) The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary shall not perish.

6) Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7) Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.                                                                                            8) Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9) I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.

10) The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11) You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.

12) All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13) I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.                                                                                                                          14) All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.            15) Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

To say that Christendom was in dire straits would be an understatement.

In the late 16th century, Christian Europe was weak and splintered. Politically, Europe was just a collection of small, warring kingdoms. And their fragile unity in the Catholic faith had just been broken by the Protestant Reformation, which was now in full swing across the continent.

The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, was strong and growing, having not lost a significant naval battle in a hundred years. Its forces had already conquered the remains of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, including “New Rome” Constantinople. And now, their seemingly unstoppable forces set their sights on conquering Rome, and from there, the rest of Europe and the New World.

Desperate for survival, Pope Pius V convinced as many Catholic rulers of the Mediterranean as possible to band together to stop the Ottomans, forming what they called the Holy League.

It was originally formed to save a Venetian colony on Cyprus that was under Ottoman attack, but the colony fell before they were able to arrive. The Ottoman commander captured the Venetian leader, had him flayed alive, and hung up his corpse along with the corpses of other Venetian leaders. So the Holy League sailed to meet the Ottoman navy at their naval station Lepanto in Greece instead.

The odds were against the Holy League: Despite the fact that many nations were banded together in the Holy League, the Ottoman forces still had more boats and were practiced in fighting together, rather than being cobbled together just for the occasion.

And the stakes were high: If the Holy League failed, the Ottoman’s would appear to have a cleared way to the heart of Europe in Rome.

Knowing that the circumstances were desperate, Pope Pius V did the only thing those back at home could do: pray. On the day of the battle, he organized a public procession in Rome to pray the Rosary.

And then a miracle happened: they received word that, against all odds, the Holy League had won! Overjoyed, and convinced that their prayers had been decisive, the Pope created the new Feast of Our Lady of Victory. A few years later, it was changed to the Feast of the Holy Rosary, and finally to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in the 20th century, which it remains today. It is celebrated every October 7th.

Historians say that the battle truly was decisive in world history: it once and for all stopped the advance of Ottoman forces deeper into Europe, preserving the independence of the western half of Christendom.

When things seem desperate, pray the Rosary!