The Rosary of the Virgin: Spiritual Weapon

Just prayed the Rosary with two friends as we meditated on the Glorious Mysteries (the Resurrection of the Lord, the Ascension of the Lord, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin).

This is the spiritual weapon that Our Lady of Fatima recommends to Christians fighting in the warfare against the powers of evil, and what a weapon it is.  Think about it.  It's composed of the five basic prayers that all Catholics should know:

• The Sign of the Cross where we mark ourselves with the ultimate symbol of our victory over evil.
• The Lord's Prayer (Our Father), which is perfect in and of itself because it praises God for being God, states our dependence on Him, and asks Him for everything that we need for spiritual and temporal survival.
• The Angelic Salutation (Hail Mary), by which we profess the dignity of her Immaculate Conception and ask her to intercede for us through Her Divine Son.
• The Apostles' Creed (I Believe in God) in which we profess all of the Truths of our Catholic faith, centered around our Triune God and the Mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Redemption.
• The Doxology (Glory Be) through which we sing a simple, but powerful hymn to God's eternal glory and infinite majesty.

What an immense privilege and blessing it is to pray this devotion with friends because we are all places ourselves in God's presence and covering ourselves with the Mantle of Mary as we meditate on the mysteries of our salvation.  We pray the Holy Gospel through the Rosary.  We are present with the Virgin at the Incarnation (Joyful Mysteries), we sojourn with the suffering Christ through His Passion and Death (Sorrowful Mysteries), and we are witnesses to His power and majesty at His wonderful Resurrection (Glorious Mysteries).  Also, we can experience the charity and manifestation of Christ during His public Life (Luminous Mysteries).

It seems that a lot of people (the few people who actually still pray the Rosary and know what it is these days...) say the Rosary so quickly as if merely reciting the words does anything, instead of praying and meditating on the words of the prayers and the Mysteries it recalls.  If this is to be a useful weapon, we must know how to use it, and its real use comes from the heart and from faith.

My usual intentions when I pray the Rosary are the conversion of the heathens and pagans as I pray the Apostles' Creed, the intentions of the Holy Father when I pray the first Our Father, and for mothers in crisis pregnancies and the helpless unborn with the three Hail Mary's as I rejoice in her Immaculate Conception.  The first Glory Be is just praise and thanks to God for everything He has done for me and for preserving me to this day.

Today, my general intentions for the Rosary were for a friend's boss who is recovering from surgery, for a friend's grandma who is dying, and for our Church as we fight our persecution in the United States with the new HHS mandate (that the government is brown-nosing us about now...smh). 

I recommend the following:  When you meditate on the Joyful Mysteries, ask the Holy Ghost to help you increase in virtue in Christina living.  When you meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries, ask Him to help you be truly sorry for your sins and have a contrite, repentent heart.  When you meditate on the Glorious Mysteries, ask Him to ever increase your faith and belief.  When and if you meditate on the Luminous Mysteries, ask Him to really strengthen your participation in the Sacramental life of the Church and to revere the Sacraments.

Satan is on the prowl and is doing his work (and well) and I cannot stress enough to Christians how we need to be on guard and fight.  Go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, pray pray pray and fast and pray and always do good when you can.  The Lord has given us the helps!  Pray your Rosaries, read the Holy Scriptures, offer Mass frequently, do devotions, pray novenas, seek the intercession of your patrons.  Do somethinnnng!!!! 

And the Rosary helps with this and it is impossible to not make spiritual progress with strong devotion for the Rosary. 

Also, Catholics, tired of the incredulity of the heathen Protestants, schismatic Orthodox, and pagan religions, pray to Our Lady that they be converted to the True Faith and that they, as well, may have salvation.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us who have recourse to thee.