Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima
The responsorial psalm today says: “The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.” These words of the psalmist resonate with today’s feast. While it is true that God’s revelation is totally and definitively achieved in the life of Christ Jesus, the mother Church considers some private revelations in her history. Among them are the apparitions of Fatima. Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared six times in Portugal to three children: Lucia who was nine years, and her cousins—Francisco who was eights years and his sister Jacinta, who was six.
The message of Our Lady of Fatima to the world is very simple: a call to prayer and penance for conversion of sinners and reparation for sins of humanity against God and for peace in the world. Mary asked these children to pray the Rosary every day for these intentions. She also asked them to accept all the sufferings that they would experience because of their faithfulness to God. The historical context marked by the First World War and the communist ideology made this call very urgent. Our Blessed Mother Mary revealed her name during the last apparition as the “Lady of the Rosary.” Mary’s attitude during these apparitions shows us that she continues to be at the service of her Son Jesus because of her love for us.
The Rosary
Today, the message of Fatima is as relevant as it was in the past. The Blessed Virgin Mary makes us understand that her mission is to lead us to her son Jesus, to help humanity understand more the Gospel message and live by it. At the heart of the Gospel is a universal call to embrace God’s Love through faith, conversion of heart, prayer and penance. We know that not only did Jesus pray several times in the Gospel, he also taught his disciples how to pray and invited them to pray always (cf. Luke 5, 16. 11, 1-13. 21,36). Among all forms of prayers that we have in the Catholic church, the Rosary remains unique. In Fatima, Rosary was the prayer privileged by our Blessed Mother Mary.
For some Catholics, praying the Rosary is difficult not only because of its repetitive character but also because they find it hard to concentrate and meditate on the mysteries of our salvation. I simply suggest here that we read The Secret of the Rosary for renewal and salvation by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. This Catholic priest (1673-1716) presented the Rosary as Mystical Rose tree (Jesus and Mary in life, death and eternity) that should be planted at the garden of our soul. Praying the Rosary goes hand in hand with doing good works.
Hail Mary
So, whenever we say “Ave Maria” we proclaim Mary as the new Eve, and how God in his infinite power had preserved her from all sin to which the first woman was subjected. The name “Mary” means “Lady of Light” because God filled her with Wisdom and light, like a shining star, to light up heaven and earth.
Full of Grace and Blessed Among Women
The word “Full of Grace” reminds us that the Holy Spirit showered so many graces upon her that made her capable of obtaining abundant graces to those who asked for them through meditation.
When we say: “The Lord is with thee”, we remind her of the indescribable joy she experienced when the Eternal Word was made flesh in her womb.
When we say “Blessed are you among women” the mercy of God who has raised her to this degree of happiness is praised in her. And at the mention of the words “Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus”, the whole of heaven rejoices with her, seeing her son Jesus adored and glorified for having saved mankind.” Thus, Mary intercedes for us before her Son as she did during the wedding in Cana (Cf John 2, 1-12).
When prayed with Love and Devotion, the Rosary leads us into a deeper encounter with God. As the world continues to struggle against Covid-19, we are encouraged to pray more especially the Rosary and always accompany our prayers with good works.
Thank you for your encouragement to us to pray the rosary. I am committed to doing this daily and at times my concentration falters. All I can do is to offer my poverty then. The Love and Devotion you wrote of is a gift I request and I long for the deeper encounter which you say follows this.
When my husband prays the rosary with me he puts the live grotto at Lourdes on his iPad. This is one gift that came out of a tragic year – seeing the prayer offered in that place and praying with others.
God bless you.