"Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for the Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world."
St. Pio of Pieltracina
For Reflection:
What are the evils of the world rampant in our midst today? What one "evil" is assailing me personally? Am I willing to pick up the weapon of the Rosary and fight against it through the intercession of Our Blessed Lady?
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"The rosary is not a road, but a place, it has no goal but a depth. To linger in it has great compensations."
Romano Guardini
For Reflection:
How is it that the Rosary is a place? How can I linger in it so as to reap its compensations? What does this require of me when I sit down to pray the Rosary?
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"Contemplating the scenes of the Rosary in union with Mary is a means of learning from her to 'read' Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand his message."
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
To what extent is Mary helping me to "read" Jesus better? What impact is this having on my life of prayer and my daily life?Â
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"The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary."
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
As I pray the Rosary, do I make a mental effort to see Jesus through the eyes of Mary? When I next pick up my beads, I will ask Mary to help me see her Son through her so that I might know Him more perfectly.
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"If [the pray-er of the Rosary] should listen daily to this secret teaching in the depth of his heart, this prayer would kindle in him the desire of heaven, of the glory of God, and the salvation of souls; it would give him a love of the cross and strength to carry it, and from time to time a foretaste of heaven, a certain savor of eternal life."
Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange
For Reflection:
What do I think it means to "listen to this secret teaching in the depth" of my heart? To what extent have I experienced any of the spiritual realities of this quote while I have prayed the Rosary? How can I aid myself during my prayer time to listen more closely?
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"The proficient who would thus live a little better each day by the spirit of the Rosary, would reach the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, a certain penetrating understand of the life of the mystical body, or of the Church militant, suffering, and triumphant. Under the continual direction of Jesus and of Mary Mediatrix, he would enter increasingly into the mystery of the communion of saints."
Reginald Garrigou- Lagrange
For Reflection:
According to this quote, what is contemplation of the mystery of Christ? How can the Rosary help us to do this? To what extent do live the spirit of the Rosary?
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"[The Rosary's] form is that of a prayerful and contemplative presentation, capable of forming Christians according to the heart of Christ."
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
Have I experienced my own heart being conformed to that of Christ as I have prayed the mysteries of the Rosary? Have I witnessed an increased desire for virtue in my life? How have my attitudes, habits, actions, and reactions come under the influence of Christ as a result of my prayer time?
(Read the next three Grace Lines to see how this is accomplished through the Rosary).
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"Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the Rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him."
Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:,br> How can meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary help to move me toward "the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him?"
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"Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ."
Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How does this depiction of Christian meditation differ from other ideas of meditation presented in the secular culture? Why do you think all of the faculties of the soul are helpful in entering into prayer? How can I engage my intellect, imagination, emotion and desire when I pray the Rosary?
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"In a word, by focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary also makes us peacemakers in the world. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ's invitation to 'pray ceaselessly' (Lk. 18:1), the Rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult 'battle' for peace can be won."
Pope John Paul II
For Reflection:
Do I truly believe that my prayer of the Rosary can be used by God to bring peace to the world? Why or why not? Am I willing to give it a try, in conjunction with so many others, so that this culture might be reclaimed for Christ Jesus? I will pray for generosity of heart.
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