The Rosary as a devotion to Mary
Many Christians do not pray the rosary as a devotion to Mary, but all have recourse to our Mother who intercedes for us. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux said, "Through the Rosary, we can obtain everything. According to a graceful comparison, it is a long chain that links Heaven and Earth: one end is in our hands and the other in those of the Blessed Virgin."
Personal witness is often the most powerful evidence. The rosary has guided me through some dark hours when prayer was my support and hope. When a loved one is dying, when there are complications in the birthing of a child or grandchild, when you need deliverance from a life-threatening storm – Mary is there to aid us.
When we offer ourselves in service to others there is a proper recognition of where our power comes from: "For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle… But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect" (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).
The rosary will save us! I speak that with confidence having experienced Mary’s intercessory power. When we ask Mary to pray for us, fifty-three times in each rosary, we can hope to succeed. In my life I have asked Mary to pray for me over a million times: “Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death.” It will not be a surprise when Mary greets me after my life’s journey is over.
Over almost eighty years I have prayed the rosary with my parents and siblings, with my wife and children, and with my grandchildren. Is she not our mother? Can a mother refuse such a constant cry for help? We may say, “I’ve said that a million times,” and when it comes to Mary’s intercession, that is no exaggeration. I have experienced the fruits of Mary’s help in consecutive generations that have touched my life.
One of my favourite intercessory miracles of Mary and the rosary is when the atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. There was total destruction for 1.5 kilometres around. A small house, only eight buildings from the point of the explosion, remained intact. Eight Jesuit fathers lived there. They recited the rosary daily. None of them was affected by the bomb.
Increasingly the rosary is prayed by non-Catholics as well as faithful Catholics. The rosary is a meditation on the life of Christ revealed in five mysteries “reflecting on Christ’s joys, sacrifices, sufferings, and the glorious miracles of his life.”
Most of the rosary words come directly from Scripture. The Our Father reflects the words of Christ in Matthew 6:9–13. The Hail Mary, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” comes from Luke 1:28, and “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” comes from Luke 1:42.
Every rosary prayed takes us through creation, God the Father, the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection and at least five divine mysteries of the life of Christ. The rosary will strengthen our faith and bring untold benefits to those we remember in this prayer.
Jesus commended us to Mary’s care as he hung on the cross: “ ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple [and us], ‘Here is your mother.’ ” (John 19:26-27).
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