Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

AC's Rosary for Annie 
by Ann L. Krumrein

Ave Maria!  Today's lovely feast is all about Mary, the Mother of Christ, and, therefore, it's all about her Beloved Son Jesus, the fruit of her womb.  For a while there after Vatican II, many people abandoned the rosary for a variety of reasons.  Now, some 50 years or so later, it seems that more people than ever have discovered the power and beauty of this ancient Gospel prayer and have made it a vital part of their everyday lives.  Author and educator Alice Camille has written a brief but packed article on the history and spirituality of the rosary called "Full of grace: Reclaiming the Rosary," which I highly recommend (go here).  Or pick up a copy of her book, The Rosary:  Mysteries of Joy, Light, Sorrow and Glory, which contains the above information as well as reflections on each mystery of the rosary along with drawings by Sr. Mary Southard, C.S.J.  You will not be disappointed!

Alice Camille notes that Pope Pius XII called the rosary a "compendium of the entire gospel," which Bl. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have often affirmed.  She also quotes Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman, who said that the rosary is a way of "holding in our hands all that we believe" -- she humorously adds that "it’s a whole lot easier to put a rosary in your pocket than, say, The Catechism of the Catholic Church!"

Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Germany explained this some years ago to a group of Catholics in East Germany who were being persecuted for their faith and were forbidden to carry any books, particularly the Gospel. 

They asked: "What must we believe and pass on to our children in order to reach our eternal goal?' Pressing a Rosary into their hands, the Cardinal told them: "On the end of the Rosary hangs the Cross. St. Thomas Aquinas said: 'The Cross is the book that we can never come to the end of studying.' On the Cross we pray the Creed. This is our Rule of Faith. Then come the first three Ave's with the three theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. This is our Rule of life. Finally, in a threaded sequence, in a sort of Braille, there follows the entire New Testament, decipherable only by the praying hands of the believer. The Rosary contains all that I need to believe and live by." Thereupon a man in the group, deeply moved, held up his Rosary and said: "So here I hold the entire Faith of the Church in my hand."

Hail Mary, full of grace, through the holy rosary, lead us to your Beloved Son Jesus and bring us into the fullness of our faith, which is His precious gift to us.  Amen.