THE ROSARY IS AN ESSENTIAL PRAYER FOR EVERY CATHOLIC

There are some great ways to celebrate the months of May and October. We celebrate them by praying the Rosary. On this closing month of October, we give praise and thanks for this beautiful month. We dedicated this entire month of October in praying the Rosary as individuals, families and BECs almost everyday. We have used our Rosary to honour Mary and it is the best way of honouring Mary.

I am proud that you were committed yourselves to praying the Rosary in this month of October. I believe the Rosary has brought great peace and holiness to your life. It is a powerful instrument for conversion and an armour to decrease our sins. Through our fervent prayers “Hail Mary…” will help us to grow in holiness by avoiding sin.

We too use social media such as Facebook, Website, Blogs, Whatsapp, Text Messages, etc to share our pleasant experiences and devotion to Mother Mary. We use these tools as instruments in promoting and evangelising about her during the entire month of October.

By praying the rosary faithfully I am sure you would have received graces and blessings through her intercessions. The graces and blessing would have helped bring you much closer to her Son in a unique way.  St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716) stated that “the best and fastest way to union with Our Lord is through Our Lady” by devoting ourselves to praying the Rosary.

The Catholic Church has been promoting the devotion of praying the Rosary for many centuries now. Pope Paul VI, on Lumen Gentium no. 62, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964), which is the principal documents of the 2^nd Vatican Council said, “Our Lady is the Advocate and channel of all God’s Grace to us.” Pope John Paul II, he had a great devotion to the rosary too. Pope Benedict XVI prayed it publicly on various occasions and wrote about how it was part of his daily prayers as well. Pope Francis memorably prayed it publicly in the Vigil for Peace in Syria and Peace in the World.

The rosary is not an easy prayer. For some of us it takes a lot of practice. We regularly find ourselves distracted and thinking of many other things the moment we start praying the Rosary. The older generations find it more comfortable to pray this traditional prayer compared to our present generations. No matter what, we Catholics should pray all the decades of the Rosary at any convenient time without fail.

We all have been taught how to pray the family Rosary. I don't have much tips to teach you on how to form a habit of praying the Rosary wisely and how to recite the Rosary on an individual basis. We have been praying regularly the Rosary these past years and months, do continue to make the Rosary a part of your life.

At the end of the recitation of the Rosary we pray the Memorare, “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary…” The Memorare was a favourite prayer of Saint Mother Teresa and it was one of her secret weapons. She had a very deep love for Our Lady, and she prayed the Rosary all day long. Her rosary was always in her hands. Her lips were always moving in praying the Rosary.

In times of great need, when there seemed to be no solution to some obstacle in her way, she turned to the Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.