A priest offering a reflection on the Rosary offered these profound words, “The Rosary ends wars.” Perhaps these words spoken from the pulpit on a military base, added extra credence and power to these words, however, it was clear he meant the imagery to extend beyond the military battlefield to our personal wars.
“The Rosary helps end wars,” Father continued, “not only wars in our world, as with Fatima and World War I, but the many wars in our lives. Those wars that rage within our hearts, our bodies, our families, and communities.” Yes, the Rosary is a powerful adversary against the attacks of visible and invisible enemies. As Padre Pio taught, “The Rosary is the weapon for these times.”
Our daily battles can weigh upon us, sometimes making praying difficult. When combat escalates beyond our feeble strength, the Rosary can be our stronghold. Under fire, we can take the shelter in the Blessed Mother’s mantle. Comforted by holding the Rosary, feeling each bead between our fingers, reciting each prayer as a battle cry. Holding tight to these beads, we can imagine ourselves holding fast to Mary’s hand, and who doesn’t love holding your mama’s hand?”
In a conversation between Sister Lucia dos Santos of Fatima, one of the children visited by Our Lady in Fatima, and Fr. Augustin Fuentes, Dec. 26, 1957, Sr. Lucia said this: “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” That is some fantastic secret weapon!
A necessary reminder to the faithful is that there is no war that Mama Mary and the Rosary cannot tackle. Among the many problems we face, none of them are above the reach of our Lord and our God. We love and follow an unfathomable God who thinks far beyond our comprehension and owes us no explanation. As the prophet Isaiah tells us, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Yet, generous and kind, God does allow us the Holy Spirit to enlighten where we need, to understand all we out, to restore our hearts to a place of peace. Through prayer, we do not fix ourselves; instead, we set our gaze upon Jesus. We take attention from the inward seeking of answers, bringing them outward and upward to the One holding not only answers but also a peace that surpasses our understanding. And where we can find comfort and consolation when the answers are not what we were hoping to hear, or we can find no explanation at all.
Shields and Roses (aka the Rosary)
After all that heroic talk about the Rosary, you are probably not surprised to learn it will be the focus of our daily prayer during our Super Girls and Halo’s Book Club. At the beginning of each session (in the companion journal), you will find the outline of a beautiful Rosary — the Our Father beads, a shield, and the Hail Mary beads, roses. There is space available for you to jot down specific prayer requests offered during your Rosary.
You may choose to pray a decade a day during each session, coloring in the beads as you go, or if you wish to pray an entire Rosary (either daily or one day during the week). The Rosary truly is one of the Catholic Church’s greatest treasures and most powerful weapon. A weapon Saints and Popes have wisely been encouraging Catholics to adopt for years! We pray you will use this opportunity to build this powerful prayer devotion into your spiritual arsenal.
Special Offer:
If you have purchased the journal and would like a downloadable version of the Shields and Roses coloring page, as to pray the Rosary in this unique way, email Allison@CatholicVineyard.com with your WINE order number, and we’ll send you the file.
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