St. Dominic & The Power of the Rosary
“From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God.” - St. Pope John Paul II
In the Catholic Church we recognize the month of October as the Month of the Most Holy Rosary! In fact, on October 7th, we celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary! It is during this month that all of us should recognize the tremendous power of the Rosary!
To build up some excitement around the true power that the Rosary holds for all of us, we wanted to share a little story about St. Dominic and the Power of the Rosary.
We believe that the Rosary is the spiritual tool to live a life worthy of becoming Saints and leading other’s to also know and love Jesus.
St. Dominic & the Albigensian Miracle
Most of the following is taken from: “St. Dominic’s Way of Life”
Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP & Fr. Jacob Bertrand Janczyk, OP
From the Preface by Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP
“As Dominic was traveling on a missionary journey through the South of France, he encountered the stronghold of the Albigensian heresy. Within this heretical cult, the people renounced Christianity and forfeited their own humanity. Albigensianism considered material creation to be the main enemy of humanity. The meaning of life, for Albigensians, consisted in liberating the soul from the captivity of the body. Accordingly, anything that served the purposes of the “flesh” - such as marriage and procreation and family and eating - was to be rejected. Sanctity insisted on release from matter. This meant that suicide stood as a virtue in Albigensianism, and the most commendable form of suicide was self-induced starvation.
All this may seem quite quaint - primitive and passé. But fast forward to the inconceivable events of 2020. In August 2020, the CDC published a report about the increased adverse behavioral health conditions brought on by the pandemic. In one particular month, 11 percent of those polled indicated that they had seriously considered suicide. For young adults aged eighteen to twenty-four years, that statistic rose to one in four persons who seriously thought about committing suicide.
It is not that they are Albigensians. They are, however, people struggling in desperate need, willing to sacrifice their very selves in the hope of attaining liberation, security, an answer, meaning, peace. Something More.
The Something More that People are truly seeking has a name:
Jesus Christ.
However, unless there is someone at work in the world to propose that Something More, unless there is someone to preach Jesus Christ in a compelling manner, the self-destructive behaviors of both the thirteenth century and the twenty-first will tragically continue.
At the moment Saint Dominic encountered such catastrophic sadness, he stopped in his tracks, reordered his priorities, and changed his plans, He sat up all night with an Albigensian innkeeper, and by morning the man was converted, loving and living for Jesus Christ. Whatever Saint Dominic did in that inn needs now to be done, and be done intensely.” - Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP, from “Saint Dominic’s Way of Life”
What did St. Dominic do to Proclaim Jesus:
St. Dominic knew the importance of preaching Jesus and is one of the Church’s greatest models of how to do it effectively. In fact, St. Dominic is the founder of one of the great religious orders still preaching Jesus today, the Order of Preachers, most commonly referred to now as the Dominican Order.
Through his personal prayer and efforts to convert souls, the Blessed Mother revealed to Dominic the great gift of the Rosary prayer. It was the rosary that Dominic would popularize and preach throughout his missionary journeys.
In the Rosary, as we pray and meditate on the various mysteries of the life of Jesus, in time, we will pray and reflect on the main moments of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Praying and reflected on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is one of the greatest things that we can do to deepen our own relationship with God and grow in holiness.
In praying the rosary, the true power found in this simple and beautiful prayer, is that it soaks the soul in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - and therefore unites the soul to Him who has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, and also unites our hearts to Mary, in her most perfect love.
Sharing is Caring
Through this prayer, there is immense spiritual power for all who pray it - but also, there is evangelical power for all who share it!
Using the Rosary as a means of sharing the Gospel is one of the greatest things we can do to lead people to know the love of Jesus.
When someone learns to pray the Rosary, the not only learn some of the most meaningful traditional prayers of a Catholic life, but they learn the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and spend time reflecting on what Jesus means to them, and the love that Jesus has for them.
A person could sit and pray on simply one of the mysteries of the Rosary and receive a multitude of benefits from that time well spent.
Even just caring the Rosary in ones pocket holds some great spiritual power. When we reach into our pockets today, it is likely to grab our wallets, or more regularly these days, to grab ones smartphone - the noise machine in everyones life, always grabbing for our attention. Simply by placing a rosary in ones pocket can help to mute the noise that is constantly trying to pull our time and attention away from the most important things. When we reach in to grab our smartphone, when we feel the beads also there, it might remind us to stop, take a moment with Jesus and our Blessed Mother, and pray instead of stay in the noise and distraction.
Commit to Praying the Rosary More
So this October, during the month of the Rosary, we hope that you can spend more time committed to praying the Rosary, and that you might realize the great spiritual power and benefit that it can have in your own life.
Please consider joining Holy Family’s Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, by signing up as a member here, all that is required of members is a commitment to praying the Rosary. Our Confraternity at Holy Family consists of a passionate group of 120 members praying the Rosary in the hope of Jesus and Mary. We hope you join us!
Join the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary
Have a blessed Month of the Rosary!
