This came from Ana Shawl this morning, it's always an encouragement to read what Fr. Slavko said about the Rosary. Why pray the Rosary Hi there dear prayer group, I know that many of you have the book "Pray with the Heart" from Fr. Slavko. For those of you who don't have this book I thought it would be good to share his words about the Rosary and just how important it is and what it means. I hope this helps those of you in the prayer group who might be having difficulty finding time for reciting the Rosary. Father Slavko's words always helped me. At the bottom I included messages from Our Lady regarding the rosary and how she has asked us to do it. God Bless you all Love Ana Praying the Rosary From Pray with the heart by Fr. Slavko Barbaric. In all her apparitions, Our Lady has called us to prayer. She did not ask us for new forms of prayer, nor did she offer them. She rather asked for old forms to be renewed and to be given a new life force. Such is the case with medjugorje too. at the beginning, she suggested seven Our Fathers, Hail Mary's and Glory Be's, and the Creed as the minimum of daily prayer. Then, she called for one part of the Rosary and finally for all three parts. (Now, all four parts). On the eve of the great feast of her Assumption, August 14, 1984, Our Lady said through Ivan Dragicevic: I would like the world to pray with me these days. As much as possible, to Fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and to pray at least the Rosary every day: joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. Meaning of the Rosary To pray the Rosary means nothing else than to find a way to be with Jesus and Mary. By meditating on the mysteries of their life, we are with Jesus and Mary: be it the joy of Christmas and the seriousness of the presentation in the temple, or the sorrow and bloody sweat on His face, the wounds on His back from the scourge and the cross, or the crown of thorns on His head. When we are daily linked with Mary and Jesus by such meetings, then the joy of victory over death and sin is guaranteed to us with them and the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the final triumph in Heaven are assured us. So, to recite the Rosary does not mean to hide oneself somewhere in a corner and to live far from the world and life. It means to prepare oneself for one's own and other people's crosses, the way Jesus and Mary carried them. To be with them means to have troubles and problems, and yet never to become embittered. To be with them means to experience contempt and disappointment, and yet never to seek for revenge. To go with them means to go the way of a person who believes in God who makes everything new. Every prayer can be finished in a hasty manner so that we "say" all our prayers to the end without having even met Jesus and Mary. If we do this, there is danger that prayer will become a waste of time for us and we will never come to like prayer. It is just like meeting a friend. If we never have time for our friend or, if the time we devote to him is too short or if we speak with bad grace, then the friendship is bound to die. Therefore, it is important to have time for the prayer of the Rosary and for every prayer. Here are some of Our Lady's messages on praying the rosary: Dear Children, Today I would like to ask you to make me happy with your prayers again and again. Unfortunately, there are a lot of those in the parish who do not pray, and my heart is sad. So pray that I may take all your sacrifices and prayers to the Lord. Thank you for having responded to my call. (Oct. 4, 1984) Dear Children, Intend all your evening prayers at home for the conversion of sinners because the world is in great sin. Recite the Rosary every evening. (Oct. 8, 1984 through Jakov). Dear Children, I call on you to invite everybody to the prayer of the Rosary. By the Rosary you will conquer all the calamities which Satan wants to inflict upon the Catholic Church. Pray the Rosary, all you priests. Devote your time to the Rosary. (To Marija Pavlovic in answer to the question: "Our Lady, what would you like to recommend to priests?") Dear Children, Today I invite you in a particular way to enter the battle against Satan by means of prayer. Stan wants to battle more, now that you are aware of his activity. Dear Children put on, therefore, the armor against Satan, and with the Rosary in your hands you will defeat him. Thank you for having responded to my call. (Aug. 8, 1985) Dear Children, Today I invite you to start praying the Rosary with a living faith. Only in this way shall I be able to help you. You, dear children, want to get favors without praying. In that case I cannot help you because you do not care to move. Dear children, I call on you to pray the Rosary and to accept it as an obligation which you will meet with delight. In doing so you will understand why I have remained so long with you. I want to teach you how to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call. June 12, 1986
Thanks for posting this Lee. We can never have enough reminders that at a minimum our Lady in Medj is asking us to pray, pray, pray. It seems prayer is the base level or foundation we set first to build and strengthen our faith until we are doing the 5 stones consistently.
I recently learned that for the last two years (since my mom was diagnosed with cancer) my two oldest sisters call each other every weekend to pray the rosary together over the phone. I'm touched to know that. Their faith and dedication is edifying. Makes me wonder about a dream I had a long, long, long time ago when I saw these two same sisters and my mother hovering a few feet over the ground singing with a choir of angels (the angels were a lot higher up though--in the sky, zillions of them stretching out as far as the eye could see). Mother Mary was there at the front of the choir. She wasn't singing though. She was dressed in a golden gown and had a gold crown on her head. The dream makes me think these two sisters are destined for heaven. When I first had it this was hard to imagine, especially the one, heh heh. But she's mellowing with age. Or perhaps saying the rosary is transforming her? When I mention the dream my other two sisters say, "Hey,what about us? Does that mean we're in hell?" I tell them maybe they weren't dead yet. They don't put a lot of stock in dreams and that's probably wise. I shouldn't either. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, I guess it depends on the day.
Rain, that is a lovely story and dream! Remember we gain so many indulgences from doing things like that...not only are they praying the rosary, they are praying it for your mom, and they are doing it together, as a family. When I read the list of indulgences from the other thread, it reminded me that so many little things we do every day find favor with God, and these indulgences compound upon themselves too. I love this, that God is continually applying all these little things we do for our own salvation and the salvation of our loved ones. If you offer an indulgence for someone else, you also get something in return. I thought about something so simple as visiting a loved one at the cemetary. It is listed as a source for an indulgence, but while we are there we pray for the person, and perhaps for other souls in purgatory too. Or maybe we say a rosary. In those few minutes, just think of all the indulgences we have gained for them and by doing so, for ourseles too! It is a little overwhelming, hard to wrap my head around. Only God can manage all that, and aren't we glad he does!
