Our Lady of the Rosary and It’s POWER!

Play clip, a Carmelite Brother talking with The Sisters of Carmel re: the Rosary

The Sisters of Carmel, Colorado Springs, Col. provide this audio clip of a Brother speaking to them re: the Power Of the Rosary!

October 7, Feast of the Rosary, is an opportunity to focus on a very Powerful Rosary, that is for me a deeply contemplative prayer, the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

But 1571, Pope Pius V organized a coalition of forces from Spain and smaller Christian kingdoms, republics and military orders, to rescue Christian outposts in Cyprus, particularly the Venetian outpost at Famagusta which, however, surrendered after a long siege on 1 August before the Christian forces set sail. On 7 October 1571, the Holy League, a coalition of southern European Catholic maritime states, sailed from Messina, Sicily, and met a powerful Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto. Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct materiel disadvantage, Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory,^[3][4] and led a rosary procession in Rome.^[5]

After about five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece, the combined navies of the Papal States, Venice and Spain managed to stop the Ottoman navy, slowing the Ottoman advance to the west and denying them access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas.^[6] If the Ottomans had won, there was a real possibility that an invasion of Italy could have followed so that the Ottoman sultan, already claiming to be emperor of the Romans, would have been in possession of both New and Old Rome.^[

Reprinted From: Joseph Pronechen Blogs September 15, 2017

We easily recognize the Blessed Virgin Mary under some of her most popular titles — the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Fatima, the Immaculate Heart, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Queen of Heaven. But we sometime miss another of her major titles — Our Lady of Sorrows.

Yet on Oct. 13, 1917, during her last apparition and the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, she appeared not only as Our Lady of the Rosary and As Our Lady of Mount Carmel, but also as Our Lady of Sorrows.

In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. St. Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world, Mary told the three children during her Sept. 13 apparition, preparing them for her next visit. More on the connection later.

Her feast of Our Lady of Sorrows falls on Sept. 15. Wisely, it links to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross the day celebrated before, on Sept. 14. The connection is most obvious.

But not so obvious are the promises Our Lady made for those with a devotion to her seven sorrows. And not so obvious is what those Seven Sorrows are even though the devotion has been around for many centuries.

We’ll look at the promises and the seven sorrows in a minute, but first, here’s a quick glance at where the devotion originated.

Devotion Begins

The solid connection between both feasts really begins at the Crucifixion.

The Church has celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross from 326, when on Sept. 14 St. Helen discovered Christ’s True Cross on Calvary. The feast became prominent in the west in the 7^th century after Heraclius rescued the True Cross from pagans who took it from Jerusalem in 627.

Also in the 4^th century Ephrem the Syrian and St. Ambrose celebrated and venerated Mary’s sorrows and compassion. In 1239 the sorrows of Mary standing under the cross became the main devotion of the new order, the Servants of Mary or Servites. In his major book The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus Ligouri explains how in that year Our Lady appeared to seven of her servants “with a black garment in her hand, and told them that if they wished to please her, they should often meditate upon her dolors (sorrows).” These seven became the founder of Servants of Mary, the Servites.

The Holy See granted them a feast of the Seven Dolors. Centuries later, in 1814, the Holy See placed the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on the Roman calendar.
 

Penance: Our Lady of Seven Sorrows “I gaze upon the children of men to see whether anyone feels compassion for me, and alas, I see but few! …Do not forget me. Consider how much I have suffered.”

Our Lady to St. Bridget

The Seven Sorrows

These are the Seven Sorrows of Mary:

1, The prophecy of Simeon

2. The Flight into Egypt

3. The Loss of Jesus for Three Days in the Temple

4. Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary

5. Jesus’ Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross

7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb

In The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus presents these in great detail, quoting major saints with their understandings into Mary’s sorrows and insights to saints given by the Blessed Mother herself and by Jesus.

Promises of Our Lady

“So much does the Crucified Lord desire humanity to ponder, along with His own saving Redemption, the coredemption of his Mother, that He has attached to the prayerful meditation of the seven principal historical events of Our Lady’s sufferings promises of grace and mercy that are nothing short of extraordinary and miraculous,” reveals Marian expert Mark Miravalle.

Our Blessed Mother revealed these seven promises to St. Bridget of Sweden in the 14^thcentury. Our Lady said she would bestow seven graces to the those souls honoring her daily by saying seven Hail Marys while meditating on her tears and sorrows:

1. “I will grant peace to their families.”

2. “They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries.”

3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”

4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”

5. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”

6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death—they will see the face of their mother.”

7. “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.”

Promises of Jesus

In The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus also lists the four promises Jesus made for those devoted to his Mother’s sorrows. Alphonsus recounts the revelation made to St. Elizabeth of Hungary “that after the assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven, St. John the Evangelist desired to see her again. The favor was granted him; his dear Mother appeared to him, and with her Jesus Christ also appeared; the St. then heard Mary ask her Son to grant some special grace to all those who are devoted to her dolors. Jesus promised her four principal ones:

First, that those who before death invoke the Divine Mother in the name of her sorrows should obtain true repentance of all their sins.

Second, that He would protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and that He would protect them especially at the hour of death.

Third, that He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in heaven.

Fourth, that He would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, with the power to dispose of them in whatever manner she might please, and to obtain for them all the graces she might desire.”

Saints on Her Sorrows

In his great work, St. Alphonsus also presents the insights of a number of major saints as they see the connection between Our Lady of Sorrows and her Crucified Son. A look at a tiny handful helps us visualize her sorrows and our need to take them to heart, and console and honor her.

Looking at Our Lady’s “sea of grief” at the Passion, St. Bernardine professed “that if all the sorrows of the world were united, they would not equal that of the glorious Virgin Mary.”

St. Bonaventure asks this Mother, “O Lady, where art thou? Near the cross? Nay, rather, thou art on the cross, crucified, sacrificing thyself with thy Son.”

Our Lady herself told St. Bridget, that even after Jesus’ death and Ascension into heaven,  whether she was working or eating, the memory of his Passion was deeply imprinted  and always in her tender heart.

An angel addressed these words to St. Bridget: “As the rose grows up amongst thorns, so the Mother of God advanced in years in the midst of sufferings; and as the thorns increase with the growth of the rose, so also did the thorns of her sorrows increase in Mary, the chosen rose of the Lord, as she advanced in age; and so much the more deeply did they pierce her heart.”

The angel also told her that this Mother was so merciful and kind she was, recounts St. Alphonsus, “willing to suffer any pain, rather than to see souls unredeemed or left in their former perdition.  It may be said that this was the only consolation of Mary in the midst of her great sorrow at the passion of her Son, to see the lost world redeemed by his death, and men, who were his enemies, reconciled with God.”

“But of this she complained to St. Bridget, that very few pitied her, and most lived forgetful of her Sorrows. ‘I look around upon all who are in the world, if perchance there may be any to pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows, and truly I find very few. Therefore, my daughter, though I am forgotten by many, at least do not thou forget me; behold my anguish, and imitate, as far as thou canst, my grief.’”

Fatima Connection

In her book ‘Calls’ From the Message of Fatima, Sister Lucia brings out this same connection that “Mary, made one with Christ, is the co-redemptrix of the human race.”

Lucia explains how at Calvary “she suffered and agonized with him, receiving into her Immaculate Heart the last sufferings of Christ, his last words, his last agony and the last drops of his Blood, in order to offer them to the Father.”

Lucia adds as her own interpretation of this vision of Our Lady of Sorrows, God wishes “to show us the value of suffering, sacrifice and immolation for the sake of love. In the world of today hardly anyone wants to hear these truths, such is the extent to which people are living in search of pleasure, of empty worldly happiness, and exaggerated comfort. But the more one flees from suffering, the more we find ourselves immersed in a sea of afflictions, disappointments and suffering.”

How to console our Blessed Mother? Again, Fatima answers.

During the July 13 apparition, Our Lady told the children, Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often, especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. There’s any small sacrifice.

Do the Five First Saturday devotions. On December 10, 1925 Our Lady and Jesus appeared in the convent in Pontevedra, Spain to Lucia who described the visit

Jesus said: Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.

Then the Blessed Virgin Mary said to Lucia: Look, my daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me.

Again, comforting her sorrows also means putting into practice what she said in each apparition, including on Oct. 13: I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day.

Beginning this centennial anniversary, it’s time we comfort Our Lady of Sorrows

The Seven Sorrows Rosary Prayer is provided here from IMMACULEE

How to pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary
The following is a description of this amazing Rosary as the Virgin Mother herself taught it to Marie-Claire in Kibeho. It may be prayed aloud or contemplated in silence, alone or with others; the key is for the prayers, reflections, and meditations to always come from the depths of our hearts…It is important that, when we reach each of the Seven Sorrows, we take a moment to meditate on the magnitude of Mary’s sufferings…and the strength of Our Mother’s love. From Source.

THE ROSARY OF THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY BY OUR LADY OF KIBEHO

Sign of the Cross: In the name of The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Amen.

Introductory Prayer: My God, I offer You this Rosary for Your glory, so I can honor your Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin, so I can share and meditate upon her suffering. I humbly beg you to give me true repentance for all my sins. Give me wisdom and humility, so that I may receive all the indulgences contained in this prayer.

Act of Contrition: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend You, my God, You Who are all good and deserving of all my love.  I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

(Pray 3 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

1) THE FIRST SWORD OF SORROW: THE PROPHECY OF SIMEON (LUKE 2:22-35)

“And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”). There, the old priest Simeon held the baby Jesus in his hands, and the Holy Spirit filled his heart. Simeon recognized Jesus as the promised Savior and held the Child high toward heaven, thanking God for granting his wish that he would live long enough to behold the Messiah.

“Now Your servant may depart this life in peace, my Lord,” he said… Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”

The Blessed Virgin knew that she had given birth to the Savior of humankind, so she immediately understood and accepted Simeon’s prophecy. Although her Heart was deeply touched by this favor of bearing the Baby Jesus, her Heart remained heavy and troubled, for she knew what had been written about the ordeals and subsequent death of the Savior. Whenever she saw her Son, she was constantly reminded of the suffering He would be subject to, and His suffering became her own.

Prayer: Beloved Mother Mary, whose Heart suffered beyond bearing because of us, teach us to suffer with you and with love, and to accept all the suffering God deems it necessary to send our way. Let us suffer, and may our suffering be known to God only, like yours and that of Jesus. Do not let us show our suffering to the world, so it will matter more and be used to atone for the sins of the world. You, Mother, who suffered with the Savior of the world, we offer you our suffering, and the suffering of the world, because we are your children. Join those sorrows to your own and to those of the Lord Jesus Christ, then offer them to God the Father. You are a Mother greater than all.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

2. THE SECOND SWORD OF SORROW: THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT (MATTHEW 2:13-15)

Mary’s Heart broke and her mind was greatly troubled when Joseph revealed to her the words of the angel: they were to wake up quickly and flee to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill Jesus. The Blessed Virgin hardly had time to decide what to take or leave behind; she took her Child and left everything else, rushing outside before Joseph so that they could hurry as God wished. Then she said, “Even though God has power over everything, He wants us to flee with Jesus, His Son. God will show us the way, and we shall arrive without being caught by the enemy.”

Because the Blessed Virgin was the Mother of Jesus, she loved Him more than anyone else. Her heart was deeply troubled at the sight of her Infant Son’s discomfort, and she suffered greatly because He was cold and shivering. While she and her husband were tired, sleepy, and hungry during this long travel, Mary’s only thought was about the safety and comfort of her Child. She feared coming face to face with the soldiers who had been ordered to kill Jesus because she was aware that the enemy was still in Bethlehem. Her heart remained constantly anguished during this flight. She also knew that where they were going, there would be no friendly faces to greet them.

Prayer:  Beloved Mother, who has suffered so much, give to us your courageous heart. Please pray for us to have strength so that we can be brave like you and accept with love the suffering God sends our way. Help us to also accept all the suffering we inflict upon ourselves and the suffering inflicted upon us by others. Heavenly Mother, you, in union with Jesus, purify our suffering so that we may give glory to God and save our souls.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

3. THE THIRD SWORD OF SORROW: THE LOSS OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE (LUKE 2:41-52)

Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, but He was also Mary’s child. The Blessed Virgin loved Jesus more than herself because He was her God. Compared to other children, He was most unique because He was already living as God. When Mary lost Jesus on their way back from Jerusalem, the world became so big and lonely that she believed she couldn’t go on living without Him, so great was her Sorrow. (She felt the same pain her Son felt when He was later abandoned by His apostles during the Passion.)

As the Holy Mother looked anxiously for her beloved Boy, deep pain welled in her heart. She blamed herself, asking why she didn’t take greater care of Him. But it was not her fault; Jesus no longer needed her protection as before. What really hurt Mary was that her son had decided to stay behind without her consent. Jesus had pleased her in everything so far: He never annoyed her in any way, nor would He ever displease His parents. She knew that He always did what was necessary, however, so she never suspected Him of being disobedient.

Prayer: Beloved Mother, teach us to accept all our sufferings because of our sins and to atone for the sins of the whole world.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

4. THE FOURTH SWORD OF SORROW: MARY MEETS JESUS ON THE WAY TO CALVARY (LUKE 23:27-31)

Mary witnessed Jesus carrying the heavy cross alone—the cross on which He was to be crucified. This didn’t surprise the Blessed Virgin because she already knew about the approaching death of Our Lord. Noting how her son was already weakened by the numerous hard blows given by the soldiers’ clubs, she was filled with anguish at His pain. The soldiers kept hurrying and pushing Him, though He had no strength left. He fell, exhausted, unable to raise Himself. At that moment, Mary’s eyes, so full of tender love and compassion, met her Son’s eyes, which were pained and covered in blood. Their hearts seemed to be sharing the load; every pain He felt, she felt as well. They knew that nothing could be done except to believe and trust in God and dedicate their suffering to Him. All they could do was put everything in God’s hands.

Prayer: Beloved Mother, so stricken with grief, help us to bear our own suffering with courage and love so that we may relieve your Sorrowful Heart and that of Jesus. In doing so, may we give glory to God Who gave you and Jesus to humanity. As you suffered, teach us to suffer silently and patiently. Grant unto us the grace of loving God in everything. O Mother of Sorrows, most afflicted of all mothers, have mercy on the sinners of the whole world.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

5. THE FIFTH SWORD OF SORROW: MARY STANDS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS (JOHN 19:25-27)

The Blessed Virgin Mary continued to climb the mount to Calvary, following behind Jesus painfully and sorrowfully, yet suffering silently. She could see Him staggering and falling with the cross some more, and she witnessed her Son being beaten by soldiers who pulled His hair to force Him to stand up. Despite His innocence, when Jesus reached the top of Calvary, He was ordered to confess in front of the crowd so they could laugh at Him. Mary deeply felt her Son’s pain and humiliation, particularly when His tormentors forced Him to strip off what was left of His clothing. The Blessed Virgin felt sick at heart seeing these tyrants crucifying her Son naked, shaming Him terribly merely to amuse the jeering crowd. (Jesus and Mary felt more disgrace than normal people did because they were without sin and holy.)

The Blessed Virgin Mary felt pain beyond bearing when Jesus was stretched out on the Cross. His murderers sang merrily as they approached Him with hammers and nails. They sat on Him heavily so that He could not move when they spiked Him to the wood. As they hammered the nails through His hands and feet, Mary felt the blows in her heart; the nails pierced her flesh as they tore into her Son’s body. She felt her life fading away.

As the soldiers lifted the Cross to drop it into the hole they had dug, they deliberately jerked it, causing the force of His body weight to tear through the flesh and expose His bone. The pain shot through His body like liquid fire.

Jesus endured three excruciating hours skewered on the Cross, yet the physical pain was nothing compared to the agonizing heartache He was forced to bear seeing His mother suffering below Him. Mercifully, He finally died.

Prayer: Beloved Mother, Queen of the Martyrs, give us the courage you had in all your sufferings so that we may unite our sufferings with yours and give glory to God. Help us follow all His commandments and those of the Church so that Our Lord’s sacrifice will not be in vain, and all sinners in the world will be saved.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

6. THE SIXTH SWORD OF SORROW: MARY RECEIVES THE DEAD BODY OF JESUS IN HER ARMS (JOHN 19:38-40)

The friends of Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus, took down His Body from the Cross and placed It in the outstretched arms of the Blessed Virgin. Then Mary washed It with deep respect and love because she was His mother. She knew better than anyone else that He was God incarnate who had taken a human body to become the Savior of all people.

Mary could see the terrifying wounds from the flogging Jesus had received while at Pilate’s. His flesh had been shredded and large strips had been torn from His back. His entire body had been so lacerated that gaping wounds crisscrossed Him from head to toe. Mary found that the wounds from the nails were less severe than those caused by the flogging and by carrying the Cross. She was horrified at the thought that her Son had managed to carry the heavy, splintered Cross all the way to Calvary. She saw the circle of blood the Crown of Thorns had made on His forehead and, to her horror, realized that many of the barbed thorns had dug so deeply into His skull they had penetrated His brain. Looking at her broken Boy, the Holy Mother knew that His agonizing death was far worse than the torture reserved for the wickedest of criminals.

As she cleaned His damaged Body she envisioned Him during each stage of His short life, remembering her first look at His beautiful new born face as they lay in the manger, and every day in between, until this heart rending moment as she gently bathed His lifeless Body.  Her anguish was relentless as she prepared her Son and Lord for burial, but she remained brave and strong, becoming the true Queen of Martyrs.  As she washed her Son she prayed that everybody would know the riches of Paradise and enter the Gates of Heaven. She prayed for every soul in the world to embrace God’s Love, so her Son’s torturous death would benefit all humankind and not have been in vain. Mary prayed for the world; she prayed for all of us.

Prayer: We thank you, Beloved Mother, for your courage as you stood beneath your dying Child to comfort Him on the Cross. As our Savior drew His last breath, you became a wonderful Mother to all of us; you became the Blessed Mother of the world. We know that you love us more than our own earthly parents do. We implore you to be our advocate before the Throne of Mercy and Grace so that we can truly become your children. We thank you for Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, and we thank Jesus for giving you to us. Please pray for us, Mother.

(Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary’s)

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the Sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

7. THE SEVENTH SWORD OF SORROW: THE BODY OF JESUS IS PLACED IN THE TOMB (JOHN 19:41-42)

The life of the Blessed Virgin Mary was so closely linked to that of Jesus she thought there was no reason for her to go on living any longer. Her only comfort was that His death had ended His unspeakable suffering. Our Sorrowful Mother, with the help of John and the Holy women, devoutly placed the Body in the sepulcher, and she left Him. She went home with great pain and tremendous Sorrow; for the first time she was without Him, and her loneliness was a new and bitter source of pain. Her heart had been dying since her Son’s heart had stopped beating, but she was certain that our Savior would soon be resurrected.

Prayer: Most Beloved Mother, whose beauty surpasses that of all mothers, Mother of Mercy, Mother of Jesus, and Mother to us all, we are your children and we place all our trust in you. Teach us to see God in all things and all situations, even our sufferings. Help us to understand the importance of suffering, and also to know the purpose of our suffering as God had intended it.

You yourself were conceived and born without sin, were preserved from sin, yet you suffered more than anybody else. You accepted suffering and pain with love and with unsurpassed courage. You stood by your Son from the time He was arrested until He died. You suffered along with Him, felt His every pain and torment. You accomplished the Will of God the Father; and according to His will, you have become our Mother. We beg you, dear Mother, to teach us to do as Jesus did. Teach us to accept our cross courageously. We trust you, most Merciful Mother, so teach us to sacrifice for all the sinners in the world. Help us to follow in your Son’s footsteps, and even to be willing to lay down our lives for others.

Fiat!