The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-06-03
THE SPREAD OF THE ROSARY.


Father, the Pope, to pray for more
widespread use of the Rosary among
our Catholic people, writes Rev. John
Corbett in The Messenger" For many
centuries in the Church of God it has
been a favorite devotion, popular
among all classes and especially
recommended by the example and
teaching of great Saints and of the
Supreme Pontiffs. In recent years
Pope Leo XIII issued series OF En-
cyclicals, urging upon all the frequent
recitation Of these beautiful prayers,
TO him we owe the invocation OF the
Litany, by which we salute our Lady
as Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
and to him also we owe the public
recitation of the Rosary during the
month of October
By the Rosary we understand prac-
tice of devotion in honor of the Mother
of God, during which we recite liked
number of Our Fathers and Hail
Marys, whilst at the same time we
mediate on certain mysteries, selected
from the lives of our Blessed Lady and
our Lord. The mysteries are divided
into three groups of five each, joyful,
sorrowful and glorious. The JOYFUL
mysteries are the Annunciation, the
Visitation, the Birth Of our Lord, the
Presentation in the Temple and the
Finding in the Temple. The sorrow
full are the Agony in the Garden, the
Scourging, the Growing with Thorns,
the Carrying of the Cross and the
Crucifixion. The glorious are the Res
direction, the Ascension, the Descent
of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption and
the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin
in Heaven.
A mere statement of the nature Of
this devotion is sufficient to show its
sublime character and at the same
time the charming simplicity that
makes it suitable for everybody. Even
the little child can learn to say the
Rosary and the most learned theologi-
an or greatest saint can never exhaust
the profound mysteries of which it is
made up. The Rosary is prayer OF
Faith, simplifying, as it were, the artl-
cles of the Apostles Creed from which
we learn that Jesus Christ was born
of the Virgin Mary" suffered under
Pontius Plate" and rose from the
dead" The combination of vocal and
mental prayer is most happy. Whilst
we have on our lips the words of the
Our Father, taught to us by Christ the
Lord Himself and the Hail Mary, en-
bracing the Salutations of the angel
and of st. Elizabeth with the Church's
touching petition for our Lady's inter
cession now and at the last moment of
our lives, our minds are engaged in
thoughts about the most fruitful, the
most instructive and the most beautl-
full mysteries of our Lord and our
Lady. How greatly we need in our
lives examples of purity and work and
Christian patience! How we long for
forgiveness of sin and consolation!
All these are in the Rosary, where we
behold our Lord as the lovely Chile.
or the Lamb slain on the Cross, or
the Lord of life and death risen from
the grave. These mysteries, too, pre-
sent our Lord to us in union with His
Mother and by that very fact bring
our Lord closer to us, as the Son OF
Man, like unto us in everything save
sin. Moreover, they help us to see
these wonderful events, standing at
Mary's side and, as it were, with her
eyes and with some of her sympathy.
1t is not surprising that the Rosary
should have proved so efficacious in
the history of the Church. First of all,
it is a prayer and as such there are
attached to it all the promises of our
Divine Master. 1t combines in itself
the power of vocal prayer and of medi-
tation of personal prayer and prayer in
common. 1t calls for certain length
OF time, and thus wins the blessing OF
persevering prayer. 1t is a simple
prayer, likely to be disregarded by the
proud and the worldly, but all the
more dear to the Heart of Christ
Finally it is a prayer that fills our
souls with confidence, because it is
approved by Holy Church, her world
wide prayer of every class of PEG
pie: and because it is devotion to
our Blessed Lady whom we regard as
our Protectress and Advocate, the
refuge of sinners, the Mother of mercy
History's record shows how powerful
the Rosary was in the days when the
Turks threatened the destruction o.
Christian civilization. We have in the
Feast of the Most Holy Rosary a year
ly reminder Of the great victory a
Lepanto in 1871. The Holy Fathel
looks upon this devotion as strons
bulwark against the spirit of infldelit!
and the corruption of morals so wide
spread today. Faith, prayer ant
grace are the weapons of God to over
come the enemies of our Christian
people. They are all united in thu
Rosary. Whenever this devotion ha!
been widely practiced, faith and purit.
are Respondent.
The power of the Rosary is mani
tested also in individual lives. From
it the Christian obtains strength tt
avoid sin, to resist his evil inclina
tions, to practice virtue in the full
filment of daily duties and to grow
in Christian perfection. The recollec
ton necessary to say it well is al
antidote against the spirit of Levitt,
and worldly distraction. Whilst W,
are engaged in conversation with tn,
Blessed Virgin, her beautiful exampl,
passes before our eyes in those Yer.