Since in a few days it would already be October, which is the Rosary Month, I’d share with you an importance of the Holy Rosary that some Catholics forget or not aware of.
Throughout my life, I’ve experienced many instances wherein praying the Rosary is made fun of. In school classes, when the country’s problems were discussed, there were times that the teacher joked, “Solve those with the Rosary!” Some anti-Catholic, or non-religious people, and unbelievers criticize the bishops and priests when they invite the people or the nation to pray the Rosary to fight problems, whether personal or as a whole nation.
First off, it’s wrong for them to joke around with the Rosary, because it would be an offense against the Blessed Mother, who gave and introduced the Rosary as we know it to Saint Dominic (See this Saint: https://www.thebestcatholic.com/2016/08/08/saint-dominic/). Another, Our Lady has promised that graces shall be obtained if we pray the Rosary, which she said to the Saints and various visionaries in her Apparitions through the ages. Probably, some people make fun of the Rosary simply because they don’t believe in it.
Some people lose faith in the Rosary because their special requests are not granted. However, it can’t be the basis of the truth of the Rosary, because it depends on the situation of each praying person. God’s answer might be “No.” It could be “Not Yet,” so they need to pray more. Or “It’s Not for the Good of Your Soul.” Whichever God’s answer is, only He knows the reasons why.
We are not in position to judge the efficacy of the Rosary based on individual circumstances. At the end of the day, Our Lady asks us to pray the Rosary daily. And it can never erase that truth. We might feel the pain of the never-ending problems of our country. But we can’t risk ourselves by losing our faith. Look at yourself initially, before you carry the weight of the whole world. As mere humans, we are asked to be caring of one another. But we are not tasked to personally carry the weight of every problem of the country and of the world, and be weighed down by it to the point of feeling bitterness in life. Though still, we must do our part to just pray for everybody. Our loving Blessed Mother takes the load of saving the world anyway, as Saint Dominic said:
“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.”
The sinful world critics the Rosary with the material and physical benefits it gives to people. But it forgets that the Rosary actually gives spiritual graces you receive in life that actually affect you in the afterlife…
It can save you from going to Hell.
After death, we can either go to Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. But Hell, sadly, is the most tragic truth of our Catholic dogma. It exists. Just as people laugh at the Rosary, they sometimes laugh at the idea of hell, and openly doubt its existence. It’s there because of God’s perfect justice. They must know that there is no fun in the eternal destiny of the souls in Hell (or possibly theirs if they don’t get converted), where in they would endure the punishment of fire for eternity.
Here are the excerpts from the book “The Secret of the Rosary” by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort on how praying the Rosary everyday saved persons from being damned in Hell. I heard about this long ago as a child, and have stayed in my mind ever since. But this only gets a meaning to me now as an adult in the right age and wisdom:
“There was a certain pious but self-willed lady who lived in Rome during the time of Saint Dominic. She was so devout and so fervent that she put to shame by her holy life even the strictest religious in the Church.
Having decided to ask Saint Dominic’s advice about her spiritual life, she asked him to hear her confession. For her penance, he gave her one whole Rosary to say, and advised her to say it every day. She said that she had no time to say it, excusing herself on the grounds that she made the Stations of Rome every day, that she wore sack-cloth and also a hair shirt, that she gave herself the discipline several times a week, that she carried out so many other penances and fasted so much. Saint Dominic urged her over and over again to take his advice and say the Rosary, but she would not hear of it. She left the confessional horrified at the tactics of this new spiritual director who had tried so hard to persuade her to take on a devotion that was not at all to her liking.
Later on when she was in prayer, she fell into ecstasy and had a vision of her soul appearing before Our Lord’s Judgment Seat. Saint Michael put all her penances and other prayers onto one balance of the scales, and all her sins and imperfections onto the other. The tray of her good works was greatly outweighed by that of her sins and imperfections.
Filled with terror, she cried for mercy, imploring the help of the Blessed Virgin, her glorious Advocate, who took the one and only Rosary that she had said for her penance and dropped it onto the tray of her good works. The one Rosary was so heavy that it weighed more than all her sins as well as all her good works. Our Lady then reproved her for having refused to follow the counsel of Her servant Dominic, and for not saying the Rosary every day.
As soon as she came to herself, she rushed and threw herself at the feet of Saint Dominic and told him all that had happened, begged his forgiveness for her unbelief, and promised to say the Rosary faithfully every day. By this means, she rose to Christian perfection, and finally to the glory of everlasting life.”
***
In another story, there was an Albigensian possessed by the Devil that was brought to Saint Dominic as he was preaching about the Rosary near Carcassone. Around 12,000 people went to Saint Dominic to listen to him. Saint Dominic exorcised the man in the presence of the huge crowd. The Devil was forced to talk about the devotion to Our Lady, during the exorcism by Saint Dominic:
“Listen well, you Christians: the Mother of Jesus Christ is all-powerful, and She can save Her servants from falling into hell. She is the Sun which destroys the darkness of our wiles. It is She who uncovers our hidden plots, breaks our snares, and makes our temptations useless and ineffectual.”
“We have to say, however reluctantly, that not a single soul who has really persevered in Her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that She offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints.
“We fear Her more than all the other saints in Heaven together, and we have no success with Her faithful servants. Many Christians who call upon Her when they are in the hour of death, and who really ought to be damned according to our ordinary standards, are saved by Her intercession.
“Oh, if only that Mary (it is thus in their fury that they called Her) had not pitted Her strength against ours and had not upset our plans, we should have conquered the Church and should have destroyed it long before this, and we would have seen to it that all of the Orders in the Church fell into error and disorder.
“Now that we are forced to speak, we must also tell you this: nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because She obtains for Her servants the grace of true contrition for their sins, and by means of this they obtain God’s forgiveness and mercy.”
***
Saint Louis de Montfort said:
“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”
***
Even to a person who’s about to be sent to Hell, was saved by the Blessed Mother because of the Rosary he wore, and the Rosaries said by other people because of his encouragement:
“Alphonsus, King of Leon and Galicia, very much wanted all his servants to honor the Blessed Virgin by saying the Rosary. So he used to hang a large Rosary on his belt and always wore it, but unfortunately never said it himself. Nevertheless his wearing it encouraged his courtiers to say the Rosary very devoutly.
One day, the King fell seriously ill, and when he was given up for dead, he found himself, in a vision, before the judgment seat of Our Lord. Many devils were there accusing him of all the sins he had committed, and Our Lord, as Sovereign Judge, was just about to condemn him to hell when Our Lady appeared to intercede for him. She called for a pair of scales, and had his sins placed in one of the balances whereas She put the Rosary that he had always worn on the other scale, together with all the Rosaries that had been said because of his example. It was found that the Rosaries weighed more than his sins.
Looking at him with great kindness, Our Lady said: “As a reward for this little honor that you paid Me in wearing My Rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from My Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. See that you spend these years wisely, and do penance.”
When the King regained consciousness, he cried out: “Blessed by the Rosary of the Most Holy Virgin Mary by which I have been delivered from eternal damnation!”
After he had recovered his health, he spent the rest of his life in spreading devotion to the Holy Rosary, and said it faithfully every day.”
***
Evidently, the Most Holy Rosary is one of the essential help in attaining salvation. Like the stories above, a devout Catholic can also be in danger of not being saved. What more imminent danger of going to Hell is there awaiting for those in sects-cults out there who have never prayed the Rosary… and all disrespect and literally hate Our Lady? Those people who laugh at the devotions of the Roman Catholic Church such as the Rosary are going to be the demons’ laughing stock in Hell someday. Be wiser than them. As Catholics, we are blessed to see and understand the truth. What we have to do is to just take a few minutes of your time a day to pray the Rosary. Remember, to also pray it from the heart. Meditate on the Mysteries, and you’d be closer to Jesus Christ and His Virgin Mother as you get to know them more.
Amen.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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This is an interesting idea. I also wrote an article on being saved from hell.