Our Lady’s Rosary

Dear Mother, I bring Thee roses
Because they are so sweet,
But lilies, my favorite flowers
I am placing at Thy feet.

Accept with each Hail Mary
A rose for Thy crown so bright,
Please don’t forget the lilies,
The lilies so pure and white.

Let them be a bond of love
And understanding rare,
And send a blessing from above
In answer to my prayer.

Loneliness would be unknown
If more people came to Thee,
With their trials and sorrows
And said their Rosary.

With each Hail Mary, they would find
Their load much lighter grow,
And in humility, kiss the cross
In peace, would onward go.

Alice W. Sparks

For Reflection:
How has my load been made lighter this past month as I have prayed the Rosary? Am I willing to make the Rosary a daily prayer? Why or why not?
 

“I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives. May this appeal of mine not go unheard!”
Pope John Paul II

For Reflection:
How will I respond to this urgent appeal of Pope John Paul II?

“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?

“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.

“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.”
Pope 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?

“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.”
Pope John Paul II

For Reflection:
Does my family “pause for prayer” together? What problem is assailing my family today? Can we begin, if we haven’t already begun, to pray the Rosary together for a solution?

“The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer which brings the family together.”
Pope John Paul II

For Reflection:
The attack against the family today is great. How can the family Rosary help to safeguard our family?

“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?

“Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for the Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world.”
St. Pio of Pieltracina

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?

“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?