As May is the month dedicated to Mary, both P and I have also been watching, for free, the excellent series put out by St Paul Center for Biblical Theology entitled The Bible and the Virgin Mary. Watching the talks have given me fresh insights into the dogmas on Mary and how the Catholic Church arrived at them.
Contrary to what non-Catholics think, dogmas have their roots in the Bible, especially Marian dogmas; Mary's Immaculate Conception, her role as Mother of God, her Perpetual Virginity, and Mary's Assumption into heaven. Do watch the talks if you seek a deeper understanding of why Mary is so loved and revered as our Mother.
Each talk is prefaced by a vignette on Marian apparitions that have occurred worldwide. Apart from Lourdes, Mary has appeared in Guadalupe, Banneux, Fatima and Knock, to name a few places, and her apparitions usually coincide with turbulent times in world history, or just before pivotal events or great changes happen. Mary, through her appearances, inspires us to deeper prayer and faith, to turn to Jesus, her Son, as Lord and Saviour, especially in times of trial.
Her gentle and quiet wisdom, coupled with her exemplary life, has helped many return to the faith, and even today, many flock to places like Lourdes, to seek healing and reconciliation with Jesus. Thousands of hearts have been converted, just by visiting these sacred sites where she has appeared.
Although I have always loved Mary, I have never prayed the rosary with any regularity. It is through P's great love for Mary that I have come to love and respect our Mother in new ways, and to pray the rosary daily. I can testify to how powerful the rosary has been, for my prayers, spoken and unspoken, have been answered in ways I never thought possible. My faith journey has been enriched immensely in these last seven months
Praying the rosary, coupled with fasting, is truly a powerful spiritual weapon that has helped avert wars and combat evil. Many saints both recommend and, through their lives, demonstrate the efficacy of the rosary. Saint John Paul II exhorted the faithful to pray the rosary not only for peace in the world, but as a defender of family life. If we want to effect change in the world, especially attacks on the family, our own families in particular, pray the rosary. It will change not just us as people, but the people around us.
In his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, paragraph 15, JPII talks about how the rosary leads us to closer relationship with Jesus, and thus to be more like Him:
In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “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 meditating 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 and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”
It is not easy to be committed to meditating on the five mysteries as one recites a decade of Hail Marys at a stretch during each mystery, but it has helped me learn perseverance and patience, besides giving me supernatural wisdom to aid my decisions these last months. Praying the rosary allows me to show my love and regard for both Jesus and Mary. Praying the rosary lets me live my faith out in a very real way. Give it a shot if you need quiet but potent oomph in your prayer life. Pray the rosary.
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