Rosary - Johnnette S. Benkovic, Thomas K. Sullivan

Rosary (eBook)

Your Weapon for Spiritual Warfare

Johnnette S. Benkovic, Thomas K. Sullivan (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
256 Seiten
Servant (Verlag)
978-1-63582-492-6 (ISBN)

The rosary is much more than an optional Catholic devotion for the old and dying. In fact, it is a vibrant and powerful intercessory tool in the hands of valiant spiritual warriors. From the moment Our Lady entrusted it to St. Dominic early in the thirteenth century, the rosary has been at the heart of authentic Catholic devotion. And yet it has also been an indispensable weapon in the hands of intercessors and those who actively resist the workings of the devil. In The Rosary, Johnnette Benkovic, founder and president of Living His Life Abundantly and the founder of Women of Grace, teams up with Thomas K. Sullivan, the creator of the Warrior Rosary, to explore why the rosary is the weapon for such a time as this. Together, they've gathered some of the most astonishing historical and contemporary accounts of victories associated with the rosary, along with their own inspiring personal experiences. Readers will discover insights that will enhance their own experience of the rosary, including special prayers based on the lives and writings of the saints who understood the power of this classic Catholic devotion.

Chapter One

The Rosary

A WEAPON FOR ALL TIME

Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.1

—ST. PADRE PIO

Today we face unprecedented challenges on every front. The evils of “this present darkness” weigh heavy against us. Perhaps this is what makes the advice of St. Padre Pio, a holy man from our own age, so valuable and insightful. He reminds us of the Rosary’s power against the devil and his minions, and he reminds us of the efficacy of the Blessed Virgin’s mediation for us through it. Pope Pius XII’s words, too, seem right and fitting: “We put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which afflict our times.”2

What makes this prayer so powerful and effective? One indication may be found in its earliest reference. It seems it was born out of the strife, sacrifice, and persecution of the early Church martyrs. The term Rosary comes from the Latin Rosarium, which means “crown of roses” or “garland of roses.”

As young virgins prepared to walk into the arena of the Coliseum to face the beasts that would tear them asunder, they made ready to meet Jesus Christ, King of Kings, for whom they were offering their lives. They fittingly adorned themselves in festive garments, with crowns of roses for their heads. Thus bedecked, they joined their Savior in His Passion. At night, the faithful would gather up the martyrs’ crowns and say their prayers on them, one prayer for each rose.3 Their prayer was a journey, perhaps, into the mystery of what they had witnessed.4

Using a device to count prayers was common in the Church. In the fourth century, the Desert Fathers kept track of their devotions on prayer cords. In the fifth century, St. Brigid of Ireland strung pieces of stone and wood together to form a little wreath, and upon these pieces, she would pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed.5

During this same time, it became the custom of Christians in both East and West to divide the psalter into three groups of fifty psalms each and pray or chant them in public. The custom was adapted for those who were uneducated or poor, or who toiled in the fields far away from the churches. These substituted fifty repetitions of the Angelic salutation (Ave Maria) for the fifty psalms.6 These Aves were recited along with verses from the Gospel relating to the joys of Mary, such as the Annunciation, Nativity, Resurrection, Ascension, and Assumption.

This style of prayer became known as a Rosarium. According to writings by the Venerable Bede, churches in England and France were making prayer beads available to the faithful by the eighth century.7

The first clear historical reference we have to the Rosary as we know it today dates back to the thirteenth century, from the life of St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans. According to tradition, Dominic devised the Rosary after Our Lady appeared to him and told him to pray in this manner as an antidote for heresy and sin. He obeyed, and he preached the Rosary with great success in France during the time of the Albigensian heresy.

One of the most famous miracles of the Rosary was performed at the hands of St. Dominic. He expelled thousands of demons from a possessed man in front of a crowd of twelve thousand, after putting a Rosary around the man’s neck.8

In spite of this and many other spectacular miracles, the Rosary fell into disuse until two centuries later, when a Dominican theologian named Blessed Alain de la Roche (d. 1475) made it his life’s mission to restore the devotion. He is credited with establishing Rosary confraternities to promote the Rosary and developing what is known as the “Dominican Rosary.” This Rosary included three groups of mysteries related to the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Resurrection of Christ. This became the most popular form of the Rosary.

The beads underwent many changes over time with special devotions, local customs, and even the latest fashions impacting the style in use. For instance, a short form of the Rosary, containing only ten beads and known as a “tenner” (also called a “decade Rosary”), was a favorite among men.9 Women liked the longer version, and they often adorned their Rosaries with gems, pearls, miniature figurines, and even scented fruits and flowers.

Rosaries have been made of everything from pure gold to painted apricot pits. Filigree Rosaries were popular in the eighteenth century, and chain-stitched Rosaries were the rage during the nineteenth. Also during this time, the three beads for the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity were added to the beginning of the Rosary.

No matter the enhancements, adornments, and forms that have graced this sacramental over the years, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the Rosary is first and foremost a powerful spiritual weapon. It has been credited with some of the greatest triumphs in history. Here are just a few of them!

THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO, 1571

The Rosary grew in popularity and became the spiritual weapon of choice in the 1500s. At this time, Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe. In 1571, when it seemed as though the whole continent would fall under their control, Pope St. Pius V stepped into action. Perceiving the great threat posed by the forward advancement of the Ottoman Empire, he formed the Holy League, an alliance of most of the Catholic maritime forces of the Mediterranean. He then asked all of the faithful to say the Rosary and beg for Mary’s intercession for victory over the Turks.

The famous battle, known as the Battle of Lepanto, took place October 7, 1571. It is recognized by historians as the most important naval contest in human history. Pope Pius V would commemorate the date by making it a feast day of the Church, in honor of the one whose intercession made the victory possible.

The pope chose Don Juan of Austria to be the general of the League. He was the illegitimate son of the late Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the half-brother of Philip II, King of Spain. Though only twenty-four, Don Juan was a capable leader. He was a great swordsman and horseman, and he had distinguished himself in battle against the Barbary corsairs in the Morisco rebellion of Spain.10 He was handsome, popular with the ladies of the court, and deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was known to use his sword valiantly and swiftly when needed but to prudently and justly resist when not.

Brandon Rogers, commenting on G.K. Chesterton’s epic poem Lepanto, says that Pope Pius V had both a physical and spiritual plan of attack. The Holy Father was counting on the Turkish fleet to accept the challenge of the Holy League. He told Don Juan, “I take it for certain that the Turks, swollen by their victories, will wish to take on our fleet, and God—I have the presentiment—will give us the victory.”11

The pontiff knew this was a holy war with high stakes. Islam’s goal was to take Europe and most specially to conquer Rome. For this war, then, the pope knew he would need both “the prayers of priests of pure life” and holy warriors. God granted him both.

To Don Juan, the pope’s words could not have been clearer. He took command of his fleet with a series of orders and an invitation: No women could be aboard the fleet, blasphemy would be punishable by death, and the crew was welcome to join him in a three-day fast. On the decks of the Holy League galleys, priests of various religious orders offered Mass and heard confessions.

Many of the oarsmen were criminals. Promising them their freedom in exchange for fighting bravely, Don Juan released them from their fetters, armed them, and then gave each the most powerful weapon of all—a Rosary. He told the men that the battle they faced was as much spiritual as it was physical.

The night before engagement, the men of the Holy League knelt on the galley decks and prayed the Rosary. They were joined up and down the Italian peninsula, as well as throughout Europe, by the faithful, who had filled the churches at the request of Pius V. These faithful, too, plied their beads with fervent petition for a victorious outcome. Our Lady was listening.

At predawn on the morning of October 7, 1571, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated on the decks of the Holy League’s galleys. Pope Pius V had directed the priests to grant general absolution to each man who would serve and die that day.

From the beginning, the odds seemed to be against the forces of Don Juan. Fog, mist, and strong headwinds made for a difficult journey through the choppy sea. The fleet worked its way south into the Gulf of Patras. As they rounded into its narrows, they saw in the distance the enormous war galleys of the Ottoman Empire, coming from the east in full battle array. Their formation was that of a giant crescent, the symbol of Islam.

As the Holy League struggled to make its approach, the men could see the battle pennant of Muezzinzade Ali Pasha, the Muslim commander, flying from the mast of his ship. Green and gold, it was covered with verses from the Qur’an and embroidered with the name “Allah” nine hundred...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	24.1.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
ISBN-10	1-63582-492-3 / 1635824923
ISBN-13	978-1-63582-492-6 / 9781635824926

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