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?
October 18
“The proficient who would thus live a little better each day by the spirit of the Rosary, would reach the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, a certain penetrating understand of the life of the mystical body, or of the Church militant, suffering, and triumphant. Under the continual direction of Jesus and of Mary Mediatrix, he would enter increasingly into the mystery of the communion of saints.”
-Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
For Reflection:
According to this quote, what is contemplation of the mystery of Christ? How can the Rosary help us to do this? Here, Mary is called “Mediatrix.” (Refer to page 26 for the definition.) How have I experienced Mary as mediatrix?
October 16
“Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the Rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How can meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary help to move me toward “the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him?”
October 15
“Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How does this depiction of Christian meditation differ from other ideas of meditation presented in the secular culture? Why are all of the faculties of the soul are helpful in entering into prayer? How can I engage my intellect, imagination, emotion and desire when I pray the Rosary?
October 14
“Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them…”
-Blessed Bartolo Longo
For Reflection:
What evidence have I seen in my own life that friends take on each other’s habits and characteristics? If I learn to enter deeply into the mysteries of the Rosary, then, I too, can become similar to Mary and Jesus. How does this enhance my desire to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary? (See tomorrow’s Grace Line for an insight on Christian meditation).
