October 29
“Into [the Rosary] one may take his whole life – joys and sorrows, men and things, everything – as he would take it to someone whose presence he finds restful, not to find out how he might act with more success,
but to put everything into a proper light.”
-Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
Do I bring the whole of my life to the Rosary when I pray? What is the difference between going to pray searching for an answer and going to prayer seeking wisdom? Which is the greater gift? How can the Rosary help me to attain it?
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October 28
“The immense good which this noble devotion (the Rosary) has done to the world is well known. How many, by its means, have been delivered from sin! How many led to live a holy life! How many to a good death,
and are now saved!”
-St. Alphonsus Liguori
For Reflection:
Do I know anyone who needs to be delivered from serious sin? Who is living a life lacking in holiness? Who is now confronting his or her death? Today, I will use the weapon of the Rosary to fight for them through my prayers.
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October 27
“The family that recites the Rosary together reproduces something of the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members place Jesus at the center; they share his joys and sorrows; they place their needs and their plans in his hands; they draw from him the hope and strength to go on.”
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
What about my home and my homelife reflect the household of Nazareth? What about it does not? How can I help my family enter into the mysteries of the Rosary so that Jesus is at the center of all we do and say?
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October 26
“To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily ‘pause for prayer’ with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated.”
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
Does my family “pause for prayer” together? What problem is assailing my family today, cultural or otherwise? Can we begin, if we haven’t already begun, to pray the Rosary together for a solution? What is one way I can initiate this effort or what is one way I can increase my family’s prayer of it?
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October 25
“The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer which brings the family together.”
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
The attack against the family today is great. List some ways this assault is being waged by the secular culture. How can the family Rosary help to safeguard our family?
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October 24
“If evils increase, the devotion of the People of God should also increase. And so, venerable brothers, we want you to take the lead in urging and encouraging people to pray ardently to our most merciful mother Mary by saying the Rosary during the month of October.”
-Pope Paul VI
For Reflection:
Is my devotion to prayer keeping up with the increase of evil around us? What one way can I increase my devotion today?
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October 23
"Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for the Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world."
-St. Pio of Pietrelcina
For Reflection:
What are the evils of the world rampant in our midst today? What one “evil” is assailing me personally? Am I willing to pick up the weapon of the Rosary and fight against it through the intercession of Our Blessed Lady?
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October 22
“The rosary is not a road, but a place, it has no goal but a depth. To linger in it has great compensations."
-Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
How is it that the Rosary is a place? How can I linger in it so as to reap its compensations? What does this require of me when I sit down
to pray the Rosary?
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October 21
“Contemplating the scenes of the Rosary in union with Mary is a means of learning from her to ‘read’ Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand
his message.”
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
To what extent is Mary helping me to “read” Jesus better? What impact is this having on my life of prayer and my daily life?
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October 20
“The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary."
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
As I pray the Rosary, do I make a mental effort to see Jesus through the eyes of Mary? When I next pick up my beads, I will ask Mary to help me see her Son through her so that I might know Him more perfectly.
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