motivation to pray the rosary

7/28/2019 Motivation to Pray the Rosary

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Motivation to Pray the Rosary

...So when you give a sermon, urge people to say my Rosary, and in this way your words

will bear much fruit for souls.

- Our Lady to St. Dominic


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For you, my dear neighbor.

Please pray for me.


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Table of Contents

About the Rosary ............................................................................. 4

The Written Gospels as Motivation to Pray the Rosary ........................... 8

Devotion to Mary as Motivation to Pray the Rosary ..............................15

The Catholic Church as Motivation to Pray the Rosary ..........................19

Motivation to Pray the Rosary Because it Strengthens Our Faith ............ 22

The God Infusion as Motivation to Pray the Rosary ........................... 27

The Rosary is the Weapon Against the Evils of the World ..................... 31

Rosary Quotes ............................................................................... 40

The 15 Promises of Our Lady to Christians Who Recite the Rosary ........ 47

Appendix of Quotes Attributed to St. Padre Pio ................................... 48

Appendix on Divine Mercy ................................................................59

Appendix of Thomistic Philosophy. .................................................... 64

Appendix on Confession (transcribed from an old children's missal) ...... 70


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About the Rosary

Welcome. The aim of this book is to convince you to pray your rosary. Your first

assignment, if you have not already done so, is to get a rosary. It doesn't have to be

expensive! A cheap plastic one will work as well as one made of fine gems. You can even

make your own. Precious stones and metals are a beautiful symbol of our devotion to Godbut the real beauty comes from how we use our beads, not the material they are made

from.

The use of a physical device to count prayers with is an ancient practice in the Christian

religion. One of the ways in which early Christians prayed was to recite the Psalter of David

which had foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. As members of His mystical body, these

writings have special relevance to Christians. In fact, when monks began going into the

deserts of Egypt, it was their custom to pray the entire 150 Psalms every day. However,

because some of the monks were not able to read, they would need to either memorize thePsalms or say other prayers in place of them.

These monks kept count of their prayers by casting pebbles into a bowl, but this was

somewhat awkward, and could not easily be performed when outside of their cell. Later the

use of a knotted rope helped the monks to pray unceasingly, whether inside their cell or

outside about their work, thereby complying quite literally with Saint Paul's command to

"Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17).

This is not to say you are required to recite prayers all day. Another way to pray withoutceasing is by frequently lifting your thoughts to God and offering Him your efforts on

whatever work is currently at hand. Anything that is done out of necessity for your state in

life is accepted by God as a prayer if you have the intention of offering it as such. (It is,

however, worth mentioning that there have been several saints - among them St. John

Vianney and St. Padre Pio - who were virtually never seen without a rosary in their hand.)

The Rosary combines vocalized prayer with meditative prayer and in a sense it is as

ancient as Christianity itself. For example the Our Father was spoken by Our Lord as part

of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9-13). And in the Hail Mary we greet God's Motherwith the same words as those used by the Angel Gabriel: Hail [Mary], full of grace, the Lord

is with thee. (Luke 1:28) and then with the words spoken by Mary's cousin Elisabeth:

Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, [Jesus] (Luke 1:42).

Likewise, the meditations of the Rosary themselves center on events taken from the lives of

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Jesus and Mary. These events (which are called the Mysteries of the Rosary) have been

known to Christians since the time of the Apostles and most of them are recorded in the

written Gospels.

Nevertheless, it was not until the year 1214 that the Church received the Holy Rosary in the

form and with the method according to which we pray it today. According to legend it wasgiven to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin herself as a means of converting the

Albigensians. This event is written of in the book The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de

Montfort:

ppearing to him with three angels she said, My dear Dominic, do you

know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the

world?

A

O my Lady, answered St. Dominic, you know better than I becausenext to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief

instrument of our salvation.hen Our Lady replied: I want you to know that in this type of warfare, theprinciple weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter, which is the

foundation-stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these

hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.

T

The Rosary is sometimes referred to as the Angelic Psalter or Mary's Psalter in order to

more directly note it's correspondence to the Psalter of David from the Old Testament. As

previously mentioned, much of the devotion which eventually became the Rosary grew

naturally from the ancient practice of reciting the Psalms as prayers of thanksgiving,

repentance and praise. There are 150 Psalms of David and corresponding to this are the

150 Hail Marys in the Rosary established by St. Dominic. Old Testament Israelites read the

Psalms in anticipation of the promised Messiah. New Testament Christians meditate on His

life, passion and glory as illustrated in the Mysteries of the Rosary. In the Old Testament it

was Eve's disobedience which prompted Adam to sin, bringing death and disorder into theworld. In the New Testament it was the Second Eve's faith which permitted the Word to

take flesh when she said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according

to thy word (Luke 1:38).

Much of what we know about the origin of the Rosary comes to us from the writings of

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Blessed Alan de la Roche. He was a zealous promoter of the Rosary and began this great

work in 1460, after a special warning from our Lord. This is how he reportedly received that

urgent message as written in the book, The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort:

ne day when he was offering Mass, our Lord, who wished to spur him on

to preach the holy Rosary, spoke to him in the Sacred Host. "How can

you crucify me again so soon?" Jesus said. "What did you say, Lord?" asked

Blessed Alan, horrified. "You crucified me once before by your sins," answered

Jesus, "and I would willingly be crucified again rather than have my Father

offended by the sins you used to commit. You are crucifying me again now

because you have all the learning and understanding that you need to preach my

Mother's Rosary, and you are not doing it. If you only did that, you could teach

many souls the right path and lead them away from sin. But you are not doing it,

and so you yourself are guilty of the sins that they commit."

O

his terrible reproach made Blessed Alan solemnly resolve to preach the

Rosary unceasingly.Tur Lady also said to him one day to inspire him to preach the Rosary more

and more, "You were a great sinner in your youth, but I obtained the grace

of your conversion from my Son. Had such a thing been possible, I would have

liked to have gone through all kinds of suffering to save you, because converted

sinners are a glory to me. And I would have done that also to make you worthy

of preaching my Rosary far and wide."

O

Such messages from heaven can be a great encouragement for us. And since miraculous

claims from hundreds of years ago often loose their impact or might seem more difficult to

believe, we will plan, time permitting, to examine the credibility and significance of relatively

more recent apparitions and miracles such as those that have happened in Lourdes,

France in 1858 and Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

At Fatima, for example, heavenly messages were not only given to three little children but

these messages were then supported by a spectacular public miracle with the very day of

its occurrence given out months in advance. This Miracle of the Sun was witnessed by an

estimated 70,000 people who, on the appointed date, flocked to the promised location to

see if the claims were true. The significance of the Fatima apparitions as regards to the

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Rosary can be seen in that the Blessed Mother, deeply saddened at the loss of so many

souls very dear to her, requested that an additional prayer be added at the end of each

Mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to

Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.

An excellent book you may want to read is The True Story of Fatima by Fr. John deMarchi. Fr. de Marchi was an Italian Catholic Priest who moved to Fatima for seven years

while he researched this topic at length. For now, we will simply be content to state that a

central message of this and many other miraculous events throughout history has been

Pray the Rosary!

The Rosary is largely associated with the Catholic Church. This is due to the Church's

historically wholehearted reception and enthusiastic promotion of this devotion. Since the

time of Blessed Alan in the 1400's through to our present day, virtually all of the Popes have

celebrated and exulted it. Pope St. Pius V attributed the surprisingly successful defeat of

an invading Turkish fleet in 1571 to the fact that the victory coincided with the processions

of the Rosary confraternities at Rome and elsewhere. He established an annual

commemoration of the Rosary to be held on the anniversary of that date. Pope Leo XIII

who reigned from 1878-1903 issued a record-setting 11 encyclicals on the Rosary and was

dubbed the Rosary Pope.

Countless Saints have been devoted to the Rosary. Padre Pio (1887-1968) was recently

canonized in the last decade and is best known as being the priest who bore the Stigmata.

For 50 years he carried with him the visible, bleeding, painful and supernatural wounds

corresponding to the wounds of our crucified Lord. And this is actually only one of many

miraculous phenomena attributed to St. Pio, with some of his others arguably even more

remarkable than the stigmata. He was also highly devoted to the Rosary and is quoted as

saying: "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." Near the end of his life, when asked what legacy he would like to leave

behind for his spiritual children, he replied My child, the Rosary.

The primary reason why the Rosary devotion has been so warmly received by so manypeople is because of the marvelous effect which it has upon those who practice it. St. Louis

de Montfort assures us that by the Rosary sinners obtain pardon; those who thirst are

refreshed; those who are fettered are set free; those who weep find joy; those who are

tempted find peace; those in need find help; religious are reformed; the ignorant are

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instructed; the living learn to resist spiritual decline; and by our prayers the Holy Souls in

Purgatory find relief. A primary reason why the Rosary devotion is not nearly as widely

practiced as it should be is because so many people are entirely unaware of it's benefits

either through ignorance or a lack of faith.

It will be our goal then to dispel this ignorance and strengthen faith. In these first few pageswe have already touched on many important motivational topics. The strategy for

upcoming lessons is to take a close look at these topics one-by-one.

The Written Gospels as Motivation to Pray the Rosary

The first motivation to pray the Rosary that we will be looking at in depth are the written

Gospels. Many of the Rosary's prayers and Mysteries are recorded in the written Gospels.This will inspire us to pray the Rosary according to our faith in the Gospels. There is much

in the way of evidence for us to examine so that our faith can be well founded.

First we will compare how closely the modern texts of the Gospels match up with those

used in ancient times. We don't have the original copies of the Gospels. But there are

literally thousands of cataloged manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts of the New

Testament. By examining the ancient Greek New Testament manuscripts we can conclude

that the modern text of the New Testament goes back to at least 200 A.D.

Since there are no older manuscripts of the Gospels that are still preserved for us to

compare modern translations with, we next go on to look at the indirect evidence provided

by the writings of early ecclesiastical writers. A few examples of such writers are St.

Irenaeus of Lyons in Gaul (c. 140 203), Clement of Alexandria in Egypt (c. 150 211) and

Tertullian of Carthage in North Africa (c. 150/160 220). Between these three, they quote

the New Testament over 10,000 times. From their writings alone it is possible to

reconstruct most of the entire New Testament. In doing so we find that it is essentially

unchanged as compared to today.

Another writer, Tatian (c. 120 180) compiled all 4 Gospels into one continuous narrative of

the Gospels called the Diatesseron. The text of the Gospels that Tatian used when he

wrote shortly after the middle of the Second Century matches the Gospels of modern times.

Since Tatian himself became acquainted with the Gospels via St. Justin Martyr (c. 103-165),

we can safely conclude that the text of the Gospels goes back virtually unchanged to at

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least 140 A.D.1

It is also worth noting that the written Gospels were widely diffused among the early

Christian communities where they were collectively read. St. Justin (c. 103-165) writes of

this:

or the Apostles in the records which they have made and which are called

the Gospels, have declared that Jesus commanded them to do as follows,

He took bread and gave thanks and said, Do this in commemoration of Me.2

Fnd on the day which is called Sunday, there is an assembly in the same

place of all who live in cities or in country districts, and the records of the

Apostles are read as long as there is time.3A

This distribution of the written scriptures was well known to the pagan authorities who would

routinely give order that they be surrendered over for burning as is described in documents

related to the trial of early Christians.4 More evidence of the wide diffusion of the Gospels

comes from a group of fourteen writings known as the Apostolic Fathers (composed between

c. 70 A.D. And 155 A.D.). These were written in widely separated parts of the world.

or example, St. Ignatius (d. 107 A.D.) was from Syrian Antioch; the First

Epistle of Clement proceeds from the Christian community of Rome to the

Christian community of Corinth (96/98 A.D.); St. Polycarp of Smyrna (d.155/166 A.D.) in Asia Minor wrote a letter to the Christian community in

Philippi in Macedonia. ...The Apostolic Fathers give unmistakable evidence of

being acquainted with all the Gospels.

F

he oldest extant writing which extensively defends the integrity of the

Gospels is Tertullian's Adversus Marcionem written about 207/211 A.D.

Tertullian's refutation pointed out that all the Gospels were integral because at an

T1 College Apologetics by Fr. Anthony Alexander. 1954, Chicago, Il. Chapter V page 48

2 I Apology66. 3. by St. Justin Martyr

3 I Apology67. 3. by St. Justin Martyr

4 College Apologetics by Fr. Anthony Alexander. 1954, Chicago, Il. Chapter V page 50

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early date measures were taken to insure the agreement of the transcriptions with

the originals.5

( Quoted from Chapter V of College Apologetics by Fr. Anthony Alexander)

The more diffused a writing is the more protected it becomes from corruption during

transcriptions. If a text is widely diffused, errors will be readily noticed and localized.

Because historical documentation convincingly points to such diffusion we can reasonably

conclude that the Gospels of today are essentially the same as the original autographs.

And who were the original authors? It is widely held that the authors of these documents

were St. Matthew the Apostle, St. Mark the Evangelist, St. Luke the Evangelist and St. John

the Apostle writing the First through Fourth Gospels, respectively. But as the authors' names

did not appear on the original Gospel manuscripts, we will examine what evidence exists in

favor of this long held tradition.

In his book, College Apologetics Fr. Anthony Alexander looks to the Ante-Nicene writers for

just such evidence. The passages that follow are taken from Chapter VI of this book:

he tradition which Tertullian [(c. 160 220)] knew concerning the

authorship of the Gospels is set down in his work entitled Adversus

Marcionem as follows:

T

We affirm, first of all, that the source of proof which the Gospels

furnish indicates the Apostles to be their own authors. I maintain

that this Gospel of Luke existed from the very beginning of its publication in the

Apostolic churches and in all those which were united to them through a

common bond of faith, while that of Marcion was unknown to most of the

congregations and if known to any was bitterly condemned. The same authority

of the Apostolic churches also supports the other Gospels which we possess

through them and after them namely the Gospels of John and Matthew as wellas the Gospel of Mark which is designated as that of Peter whose interpreter

5 Tertullian,Adversus Marcionem Bk. IV. 4. 5. Cf. also Eusebius H.E. Bk. V. xxviii. 18; and St. Irenaeus,

Adversus Haereses Bk. IV. 32

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Mark was.6

t. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 140 202/203) was born in Asia Minor and

spent some time in study there. He also knew the tradition of the West for

he succeeded Pothinus (d. 177/178) as the bishop of Lyons. Besides this, heexplicitly states that he set out to discover personally the tradition of Rome.

While St. Irenaeus was in Asia Minor, he was the disciple of St. Polycarp of

Smyrna (d. 155/156) who in turn was a disciple of St. John the Apostle.7 In

Lyons he learned the ancient tradition of this region from Pothinus who was

about ninety years old when he was martyred. [Irenaeus writes:]

S

Matthew published his Gospel among the Hebrews and in their own

language at the time when Peter and Paul were preaching the glad

tidings in Rome and founding the church there. After departure Mark also, the

pupil and interpreter of Peter, has given us what has been preached. Luke,

however a companion of Paul, has chronicled in his work the Gospel as it was

preached by that Apostle. After that John, the disciple of the Lord, who was

reclining on his breast, published his Gospel while he was residing at Ephesus in

Asia.8

renaeus then adds that this knowledge was the universal tradition of the

Church.9Irigen (c. 185-254/255 A.D.) of Alexandria in Egypt succeeded Clement as

head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement, in turn, was

taught by men of olden times who came from many parts of the Greek speaking

world. Origen's testimony regarding the authorship of the Gospels is

O

6 Adversus Marcionem Bk. IV. 5. MPG Vol. II, Col. 365. De Praescriptione Haereticorum 32.

7 Adversus Haereses III. 3. 6.

8 Adversus Haereses III. 1. 1. MPG Vol. VII, col. 844

9 Adversus Haereses III. 11. 8.

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summarized in his first commentary on Matthew. In it he states that he,

...learned from tradition concerning the four Gospels which alone are

unquestionable in the Church of God under heaven, that first was

written that according to Matthew, who was once a tax collector, but afterwardsan Apostle of Jesus Christ who published it for those who from Judaism came to

believe, composed as it was in the Hebrew language. Secondly, that according to

Mark, who wrote according to Peter's instructions Thirdly, that according to

Luke, who wrote for those who from the Gentiles came to believe, the Gospel

that was preached by Paul. After them all, that according to John.10

Numerous similar passages could be produced. These three that were selected are

representative of the principle geographical regions of the ancient world where Christianitywas active, suggesting a universality of this tradition among early Christians and confirming

the correctness of our traditional beliefs regarding the authorship of the Gospels.

There is additional so-called internal evidence within the text of the New Testament itself.11

For the sake of time I will not go into this except to mention that the claims entirely support

what is already believed by tradition and what can be concluded from the Ante-Nicene

literature, namely that:

St. Matthew the Apostle wrote the First Gospel in Hebrew for the Jews.

St. Mark was an associate of the Apostle St. Peter and wrote the Second Gospel for

Christians in Rome.

St. Luke was something like a physician who was closely associated with the Apostle

St. Paul and wrote the Third Gospel for the non-Jewish converts to Christianity.

Last of all, St. John the Apostle wrote the Fourth Gospel, partly as an opposition to a

group identified as Cerinthians who denied the divinity of Christ.

I will refer you to Chapter VI of College Apologetics by Fr. Anthony Alexander for more

10 Quoted by Eusebius in H. E. (Bk. VI. Xxv. 4-6), trans. By Lake & Oulton in Loeb Classical Library (London;

Heinemann, 1926).

11 College Apologetics, Chapter VI

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information on this topic.

It is obvious that the Evangelists were in an excellent position to accurately narrate the events

of Christ's life and His teachings. Two of them were Apostles and two of them worked closely

with the Apostles. It is not difficult to imagine these zealous souls emboldened with the Holy

Spirit going forth to preach the New Law of Grace. After preaching the Gospel for some time,they prudently preserve it in a written form. It is then transcribed and used by the various

emerging Christian communities, each with their own bishop and priests. After fighting the

good fight, the Apostles in general go on to pass the ultimate test of sincerity by being tortured

and martyred for the love of God and fellow man.

This is a compelling meditation by itself and there is no shortage of evidence to support - for

example - the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome as well as countless other early

Christian Martyrs. However, let us further note that the nature of Christianity is so completely

tied to it's founder that it compels the convert to learn all he can about Christ. At the

beginning of Christianity this would involve an investigation into the truthfulness of the

Gospels. Fr. Alexander writes on this:

he existence and the activities of Jesus were widely known. Persons

who were already adults when Christ died, were but from fifty to sixty-five

years old when the first three Gospels were written; and some ancient writers

cite instances of certain exceptional eye-witnesses who lived until after the

writing of the Gospel of St. John.

T

he events of the Gospels were a stumbling block to belief for the Jews.

They wanted a Messiah who would liberate them from the Roman yoke

and make Jerusalem the political and cultural center of the world. But the

Gospels portrayed the Messiah as one who did not care for earthly kingdoms and

who even predicted the destruction of Jerusalem. Naturally, then, the decisive

means at the disposal of the Jews by which they could replace their deeply

embedded, popular notion of the Messiah with the notion of the spiritual

Messiah of the Gospels was to investigate thoroughly the truth of the spoken andwritten Gospels. Yet it can be proved that many Jews12 became Christians.

T

12 H.E. VI. xxv. 4.

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he pagans considered it foolishness to pay homage and allegiance to a

Person who seemed too helpless to prevent men from putting Him to death

in such a disgraceful way as crucifixion. To become a member of the religion

founded by Christ meant that one would have to live with the possibility either of

losing his property by confiscation, or of martyrdom continually imminent.

Naturally speaking, how could these pagans bring themselves to accept Christ

and the consequences of being His followers? The principal means by which

this could be accomplished was by an investigation into the truth and claims of

Christ as they were outlined in the Gospels. Even pagan sources show that many

were converted to Christianity.13

T

After defending the reliability of the Gospels (in Chapter VII of College Apologetics) Fr.

Alexander goes on to discuss the theories of critics:

he illogical procedure of the critics is apparent at once. Instead of applying

the rules of historical method to the Gospels, the critics apply false

philosophical principles to them.14 Their conclusion is drawn before the

investigation begins. With the major premise that miracles are impossible, the

conclusion must be that the Gospels are not historical. These critics show

themselves ready to modify the facts with their theory, whereas a theory should

be modified by the facts.

T

he [Myth Theory puts] the Gospels on par with pagan mythologies, stating

that they had their origin in the imagination of the people, and as such

could command no degree of credibility. Strauss [(1808-1874)] knew well that it

takes time for facts to assume the trappings of myths and so was forced by his

own theory to assign the composition of the Gospels to the Second Century. And

this assigning of the composition of the Gospels to the Second Century proved to

be the weak link in the whole theory, for the evidence of the ante-Nicene

literature is overwhelmingly opposed to setting it at such a late date. Every

T

13 Tacitus,Annales Bk. XV. 44; Pliny, Ep. 96 ad Trajani, Letters Bk. 10

14 The false philosophical principles are that miracles and supernatural occurrences are impossible on earth.

They are not impossible for there is nothing contradictory about them from the standpoint of God, or man, or

the things themselves. -Fr. Alexander

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argument in favor of the integrity and authorship of the Gospels is implicitly

an argument against this theory.

Our above investigations support and commend a faith in the written Gospels as reliable and

historically accurate documents of the Church. Since the written Gospels contain a good deal

of the Rosary's substance, this should compel us to persevere in our devotion.

Devotion to Mary as Motivation to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary is a Marian Devotion. This will motivate us to pray the Rosary to the degree

that we are motivated to honor Mary. With an aim of increasing our desire for this devotion,

lets look at devotion to Mary from a historical perspective.

In the previous section, we concluded that the Gospels read today are essentially

unchanged as compared to those reverenced by the early Christians. In a similar spirit,

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801 1890) set about the task of showing that the beliefs

and devotions that we have today regarding Mary are the very same as those practiced by

the early Christians.

In one of his manuscripts, Blessed John Newman quotes 12 different early Christian writers

and shows that from the very beginning Mary was recognized as a type of second Eve.Let's now consider what that implies.

Adam, who was charged by God with the naming of all things, called Eve the Mother of all

the living. She had her own general relation to the human race and her own special place

regarding its trial and its fall in Adam. She cooperated personally in the sin and brought it

about. Blessed John Newman observes the following:

n that awful transaction there were three parties concerned: the serpent, the

woman, and the man; and at the time of their sentence, an event wasannounced for the future, in which the three same parties were to meet again: the

serpent, the woman, and the man. But it was to be a second Adam and a second

Eve, and the new Eve was to be the mother of the new Adam. I will put enmity

between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. The Seed of

I

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the woman is the Word Incarnate, and the Woman whose seed or son He is, is

His mother Mary. This interpretation and the parallelism it involves, seem to me

undeniable but at all events (and this is my point) the parallelism is the doctrine

of the Fathers from the earliest times; and, this being established, we are able, by

the position and office of Eve in our fall, to determine the position and office of

Mary in our restoration.

Whereas Blessed John Newman goes on to quote 12 early Christian writers to illustrate this

Marian devotion among the primitive Church, we are going to reproduce only 3 of them here:

St. Justin Martyr (A.D. 120 165), St. Irenaeus (120 200), and Tertullian (160 240).

These writers were appealed to in the previous chapter to show the integrity of our traditions

concerning the written Gospels. We now use them to show that our traditions concerning

Mary are equally reliable. The following passage comes from the writings of Blessed John

Henry Newman:

ertullian represents Africa and Rome; St. Justin represents Palestine; and

St. Irenaeus Asia Minor and Gaul, or rather he represents St. John the

Evangelist, for he had been taught by the Martyr St. Polycarp who was the

intimate associate of St. John and of the other Apostles.

T

1 . St. Justin:

We know that He, before all creatures, proceeded from the Father by

His power and will, ...and by means of the Virgin became man, that

by what way the disobedience arising from the serpent had its beginning, by that

way also it might have an undoing. For Eve, being a virgin and undefiled,

conceiving the word that was from the serpent, brought forth disobedience and

death; but the Virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the Angel told her the

good tidings, that the Spirit of the Lord should come upon her and the power of

the Highest overshadow her, and therefore the Holy One that was born of her

was Son of God, answered, 'Be it to me according to Thy word.'

Tryph. 100.

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2. Tertullian:

God recovered His image and likeness, which the devil had seized, by

a rival operation. For into Eve, as yet a virgin, had crept the word

which was the framer of death. Equally into a virgin was to be introduced theWord of God which was the builder-up of life so that what by that sex had gone

into perdition, by the same sex might be brought back to salvation. Eve had

believed the serpent; Mary believed Gabriel. The fault which the one committed

by believing, the other by believing has blotted out. De Carn. Christ. 17.

3. S t. Irenaeus:

With a fitness, Mary the Virgin is found obedient, saying, 'Behold Thy

handmaid, O Lord; be it to me according to Thy word.' But Eve was

disobedient; for she obeyed not, while she was yet a virgin. As she, having

indeed Adam for a husband, but as yet being a virgin ...becoming disobedient,

became the cause of death both to herself and to the whole human race, so also

Mary, having the predestined man, and being yet a Virgin, being obedient,

became both to herself and to the whole human race the cause of salvation.

And on account of this the Lord said, that the first should be last and the last

first. And the Prophet signifies the same, saying, 'Instead of fathers you have

children.' For, whereas the Lord, when born, was the first-begotten of the dead,

and received into His bosom the primitive fathers, He regenerated them into the

life of God, He Himself becoming the beginning of the living, since Adam

became the beginning of the dying. Therefore also Luke, commencing the line

of generations from the Lord, referred it back to Adam, signifying that He

regenerated the old fathers, not they Him, into the Gospel of life. And so theknot of Eve's disobedience received its unloosing through the obedience of

Mary; for what Eve, a virgin, bound by incredulity, that Mary, a virgin, unloosed

by faith.

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Adv. Haer. Iii. 22. 34.

A nd again:

As Eve by the speech of an Angel was seduced, so as to flee God,

transgressing His word, so also Mary received the good tidings by

means of the Angel's speech, so as to bear God within her, being obedient to His

word. And, though the one had disobeyed God, yet the other was drawn to obey

God; that of the virgin Eve the Virgin Mary might become the advocate. And,

as by a virgin the human race had been bound to death, by a virgin it is saved,

the balance being preserved, a virgin's disobedience by a virgin's obedience. Ibid. v. 19.

ow what is especially noticeable in these three writers is that they do not

speak of the Blessed Virgin merely as the physical instrument of our

Lord's taking flesh, but as an intelligent, responsible cause of it; her faith and

obedience being accessories to the Incarnation and gaining it as her reward. As

Eve failed in these virtues and thereby brought on the fall of the race in Adam, so

Mary by means of [these virtues] had a part in its restoration. they

unanimously declare that she was not a mere instrument in the Incarnation such

as David or Judah may be considered. They declare she cooperated in our

salvation by specific holy acts, the effect of the Holy Spirit within her soul;

that as Eve forfeited privileges by sin, so Mary earned privileges by the fruits of

grace; that as Eve was disobedient and unbelieving, so Mary was obedient and

believing; that as Eve was a cause of ruin to all, Mary was a cause of salvation

to all; that as Eve made room for Adam's fall, so Mary made room for our Lord's

reparation of it; and thus, whereas the free gift was not as the offense, but much

greater, it follows that, as Eve cooperated in effecting a great evil, Mary

cooperated in effecting a much greater good.

N

Blessed John Newman goes on to quote several other sources and then shows how various

distinguishing features of Mary such as her Immaculate Conception and her Assumption into

heaven can be seen to flow from her office as the Second Eve. By the Immaculate

Conception of Mary is meant that she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne,

without original sin, having the grace of God from the first moment of her being, as it had

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been given to Eve.

By her Assumption is meant that not only her soul, but her body also, was taken up to heaven

upon her death, so that there was no long period of her body remaining in the grave, as is the

case with others, even great Saints, who wait until the last day for the resurrection of their

bodies. Perhaps one reason for this is that she was so transcendentally holy, so full andoverflowing with grace. Adam and Eve were created upright and sinless and had a large

measure of God's grace bestowed upon them. In consequence of this their bodies would

never have crumbled into dust if they had not sinned. Therefore Mary, having never sinned,

retained the gift which Eve by sinning lost.

After quoting a dozen early Christian writers, Blessed John Henry Newman concludes, I fully

grant that devotion towards the Blessed Virgin has increased among Catholics with the

progress of centuries. [However,] I do not allow that the doctrine concerning her has

undergone a growth, for I believe that it has been in substance one and the same from the

beginning.

The Catholic Church as Motivation to Pray the Rosary

As mentioned before, the Catholic Church has highly endorsed and promoted the devotion

of the Rosary. This will inspire us to pray the Rosary to the degree we reverence and

respect the guidance of the Catholic Church. In order to develop this reverence within us Iwould like us to look at a few different points.

The first point that I would like to draw attention to is the fact that the Church was

established by Jesus Christ Himself. Our bishops today were ordained by bishops who

were ordained by bishops who were ordained by bishops who were ordained by bishops

and so on and so on all of the way back to the Apostles who themselves were ordained by

Jesus Christ.

This mark of Apostolic succession was very important to the early Christians and it was

used as early as the Second Century by Tertullian of Carthage to defend the integrity of the

written Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John against the errors of various gnostic

gospels that were appearing at that time.

Tertullian writes "we affirm first of all that the source of proof which the Gospels furnish

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indicates the Apostles to be their own authors I maintain that this gospel of Luke existed

from the very beginning of its publication in the Apostolic churches and in all those that are

united to them through a common bond of faith while that of Marcion was unknown to most

of the congregations and if known to any was bitterly condemned. The same authority of

the Apostolic churches also supports the other Gospels which we possess through them

and after them; namely, the Gospels of John and Matthew as well as the gospel of Markwhich is designated as that of Peter whose interpreter Mark was."

After persecutions of the Christians ended and it became legal to be a Christian in the

Roman Empire, the bishops at that time were able to take council and come together in

their united faith. One of the artifacts from these early councils and in particular the Council

of Nicaea is what is known as the Nicene Creed or sometimes simply The Creed. In

essence it is very similar to the Apostle's Creed which tradition holds was formulated at a

much earlier date. The Mark of Apostolic succession is one of four marks attributed to the

Church in this creed wherein it is stated I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and ApostolicChurch.

Apostolic here is a reference to the Apostolic succession which the bishops of the Church

possess.

Catholic in this sense means universal and this is a reference to the universal teachings

of the Church which are the same regardless of where one goes and regardless of what

time period one looks at. Since its foundation the Church has consistently taught the same

doctrines throughout all time and in all places that it has been present.

The Church is Holy in its founder, Jesus Christ. It is also holy in the effect it has upon the

souls of those who adhere to Her faith and receive Her Sacraments.

And although the Catholic Church is spread throughout the world with it's numerous

dioceses and parishes, it is One. It is one in its teachings and one in its mission. It is one

as the Mystical Body of Christ. It is one in its leader, Jesus and it is one in its visible head

on Earth, the Pope who, as Bishop of Rome, is the successor of St. Peter, the first Bishop

of Rome and the disciple to whom Our Lord said, Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will

build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The Pope is truly Christ'svicar on Earth.

There are bishops outside of the Catholic Church who also stem from the Apostolic

Succession. The Orthodox Church for example - which is essentially a collection of

independent bishoprics with no distinct leader among them - also have Apostolic

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succession. They split away from the Catholic Church, however, when the Archbishop of

Constantinople felt that since his city had become so prosperous and in some instances

was even being referred to as New Rome that he should be given a similar level of

authority as the Pope who was the Bishop of Rome. What the Patriarch of Constantinople

failed to appreciate was that the Pope does not derive his authority from any earthly power

such as the prosperity of the City of Rome. Neither does the authority depend on himleading a holy life. Rather the Pope derives his power by being the successor of St. Peter

upon whom our Lord bestowed the primacy of authority.

King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and created a separated Church of

England also known as the Anglican church. This was because he was upset that the Pope

would not allow him to get divorced. Therefore he declared himself to be the head of the

Church of England. Again this confuses the spiritual kingdom of God with temporal

kingdoms. It specifically confuses their roles. Ideally, the temporal kingdoms are subject to

the spiritual kingdom of God. Unfortunately, those with worldly power often desire theChurch to be subject to their own will.

The damage done to the Church by King Henry set a precedent making it much easier for

Martin Luther to effect his so-called Reformation shortly thereafter. Additionally the

Reformation would never have been successful if it had not been for the support of various

princes and nobles who conspired together and desired to steal the Church's authority and

possessions.

An example of a true reformation would be the reformation effected by St. Francis of Assisi

who was called by our Lord to rebuild His Church and who in humble poverty and always

in obedience to his superiors set about this task by working within the existing framework

and doctrines of God's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The next point that I would like to draw attention to is that there have been numerous

miracles in the Church that are unexplainable by any natural means. Jesus himself

performed the miracles that are written about in the Gospels and in a previous lesson we

have that the Gospels can be taken as historically reliable documents.

Furthermore, the lives of the Saints are filled with accounts of miracles. Various Saintsthrough all different ages have performed astounding miracles even to our present days.

Modern miracles include the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima and the stigmata of Padre Pio.

And when we look at the message of Fatima for example, we see that the Catholic spirit is

still very much alive in God's mind. The words or Our Lady addressed and stressed the

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importance of several Catholic topics such as the reception of Holy Communion and the

Sacrament of Confession, the need for penance, the existence of purgatory and hell and, of

course, the Rosary.

And the final point to be made is that in addition to administering Her Sacraments, the

Church has a mandate from God to teach the faithful what they are to believe and do inorder to save their souls. Jesus said to His Apostles and disciples: Go forth and teach all

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Since the Church is the institution established by God to teach in His name, we can have

great confidence in Her teachings and in embracing the Rosary which has been so beloved

by the Church.

Motivation to Pray the Rosary Because it Strengthens

Our Faith

There are several dangers to the faith of our souls. To a certain degree this has always

been true, and especially today there are specific dangers I would like to address and in

this way motivate ourselves to strengthen our faith by praying the Rosary.

The first danger I would like to look at is the philosophy of Materialistic Naturalism. Today's

modern world views are largely based on this philosophy. It claims to look to science to

solve problems and give answers to life's questions but like all philosophies it often

becomes nothing more than a tool for vain arguments with no concern for truth.

Science is, by it's own definition, a method of obtaining knowledge. By using scientific

methods we can predict a variety of interesting, observable patterns in nature. Nature

usually behaves in very predictable ways. We can then exploit those patterns to achieve a

variety of useful and impressive technological feats.

Materialistic Naturalism claims to use scientific observations as first principles in aphilosophy to address the pressing questions and concerns of our lives. However in order

to give reliable answers, these first principles need to be complete. That is, Naturalism

necessarily requires that the supernatural does not exist. If the supernatural exists, then

Naturalism is an inadequate method for obtaining truth.

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Shifting our attention from Naturalism in general, let's look at the theory of evolution in

particular. Many people accept evolution as solid fact. As far as science is concerned,

evolution is nothing more and nothing less than the meaning people have attached to

observations of the world as they try to make sense of their measurements. If an engineer

were designing a bridge, he might use a mathematical model of the various forces involved

at key points along its structure in order to test and determine an appropriate form. If ageologist was looking for a fossil in the shape of a certain creature, I suppose he might use

evolutionary principles to model the world and determine where he had the best chance of

finding such a rock.

And If we want to see the world the way the great Saints throughout history did, then we

should be using a model of the world that takes into account it's corruption due to the sin

we have inherited from our first parents Adam and Eve, and due to the sins that have been

committed since that time as well.

I don't know this to be based on official Church teaching but I personally believe that if the

world presently behaves in a way consistent with the theory of evolution then that is due to

the Fall of Man and because of our additional sins since that time. Blessed Anne Catherine

Emmerich, for example, saw the Garden of Eden in a vision with all it contained and it was

said to be a perfect picture of the Kingdom of God. She is also quoted as saying, "Were

Man and the earth in perfect harmony, there would be paradise here below. Prayer governs

the weather... I see the life of nature intimately connected with that of the soul."

Man, sects, societies and governments, however, generally structure their behavior as

though we had no immortal soul, basing their decisions instead on the appearance of

naturalistic principles or no principles at all. Without infallible first principles and honest,

unambiguous logic, the many possible conclusions that can be reached are all invalid.

They are nothing more than splashes in an infinite sea of groundless and vain philosophy.

It is upon the shifting, sandy shores of such a philosophic sea that modern structures,

governments and worldviews have been established. And because the instability and

fallibility of modern beliefs are not generally admitted but instead presented as certain fact,

these are very hazardous times for a soul's faith.

I do not mean that there is no place for philosophy. Philosophic reasoning can be a great

way for our minds to organize and fortify our beliefs, and to draw conclusions based on first

principles. However, there is a need for caution. When a scientific hypothesis is proposed,

it is then tested using data from experimental measurements and if the hypothesis is

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successful in accurately predicting future measurements, a scientist will place more and

more trust in the hypothesis. Similarly, we need to test the various philosophies that are

proposed to us. If a philosophy helps to reinforce the truths which God has revealed to us

then we can place our trust in that philosophy. Alternatively if a philosophy reaches results

that conflict with our well founded religious beliefs then we humbly submit our intellect to

revealed truth, even if we do not immediately see where the philosophical error was made.

By submitting our intellect to revealed truth we are not in any way limiting what we are able

to know. Rather we are saving ourselves from innumerable errors and learning things that

we would not otherwise have any way of knowing. There are certain things such as the

doctrine of the Trinity for example, that unaided reasoning alone could never have revealed

to us. Once a person receives the seed of faith and accepts God's teachings as their

primary source of knowledge and the lens through which they evaluate all other information,

they will have access to a vast treasure of knowledge that is largely neglected by the

generality of mankind.

Using philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas came up with various ways to "prove" God's

existence but his proofs are not the basis for Catholic belief in God. Rather, we believe in

God because that belief is part of the unchanging Christian Faith that has been handed

down to us from the Apostles.

In St. Thomas' day, there was no "Big Bang Theory. He proves God's existence by

causality and arrives at the conclusion that cause-and-effect necessitates a "First Efficient

Cause" and that this is but another name for God. However, a modern atheist might say,

"No, that's another name for the Big Bang."

To be fair, if you look at the different galaxies with appropriate equipment you likely really

will get measurements consistent with the model of an expanding universe just as scientists

claim. I furthermore would wager that if you extrapolate this model 14 or so billion years

into the past you will arrive at a singularity where everything you are modeling is at a single

point.

So far I am content to take the scientists at their word. The difference is that most scientists

believe that this model represents a reality in which the universe is billions of years oldwhereas I simply don't know what it represents, except for a useful way of predicting what

you'll see if you look through a telescope in the here and now. Maybe God created the

Universe with a Big Bang and then again, maybe those galaxies didn't even exist until

people started looking at them. We just don't know.

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Many people look at the beauty of nature and see a reflection of God's perfection. Others

adhere to philosophies that say such beauty is simply in the eye of the beholder, claiming

we have evolved according to the usefulness of aesthetic appreciation. Whereas our

ancestors believed everything on Earth was created to suit life, modern philosophers say

rather, that life evolved to fit the Earthly environment.

That the earth is suitable to life is no miracle (say these philosophers). It is bound to be this

way simply because life does indeed exist on Earth. After all, if the planet was significantly

different, we would not be here to notice its lack of utility. We can see that the universe is

very big. In fact, it is so big that philosophers claim it is really not so remarkable that some

parts of it contain conditions useful for life. And since we ourselves are alive, it goes

without saying that our planet is one such part.

And so here we are on our perfectly composed little planet with our perfect ocean keeping

temperatures stable and our perfect magnetic field protecting us from our perfectly

distanced, perfectly sized and abnormally stable star. Closer to home, our perfect moon

stirs things up, creating tides and reflecting periodic nighttime light for the life below. And

for the intelligent life below, there are even perfect eclipses to witness on occasion since the

apparent shape of the sun and moon are roughly identical as seen from Earth.

There is no apparent requirement for these shapes to correspond so conveniently. Perhaps

a materialist would be willing to chalk this up to coincidence or maybe he would speculate

that eclipses provided some necessary stimulus for intelligent life. Being necessary, it is no

longer remarkable to his mind but simply the result of a large number of blind chances.

Things become more tricky to explain as scientists start looking at the observed conditions

of not only our perfect planet but our perfect universe itself. There is no apparent

underlying reason why various masses and forces of particles should have the values they

do. If these values were changed, even by just a little bit, then the universe would be very

different. There would be no stars and no planets, no heavy elements and presumably no

life.

This is all somewhat irrelevant to us since we already have well grounded reason to believe

the teachings of the Church; teachings that tell us we were created by an intelligent Godwho is outside of time and space. It is equally easy for Him to create in an instant as it

would be to use billions of years in the process. However, many modern philosophers will

obstinately defend their groundless animosity towards Church teachings. So let us

continue to study their tactics.

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In order to explain away the annoying coincidence that the universe itself (not just our

planet) is extremely well suited for life, philosophers are forced to create a hypothetical

infinity of universes. So in this new model, ours is but one of an unlimited number of

universes making the term universe a bit of a misnomer. With so many universes

available, one of them ended up having the unlikely combination of matter, physical laws

and constants of nature perfect for creating a huge number of galaxies and stars along witha variety of heavier elements that can interact with each other in useful ways. Then with all

of those stars available, at least one of them turned out to be well suited for life, containing

a perfect planet at the perfect distance, etc...

Okay. So that's not really any harder of a concept grasp than our previous scenario when

they set out to explain why the Earth is so ideal for sustaining life. The major difference is

that the previous logic only required a big universe. That is something we know that we do

indeed have. (Or at least our telescope measurements would seem to indicate as much.)

But these other universes? They are groundless fantasy! The invention of philosophers!

This sort philosophical fantasizing happens all of the time under the guise of science. The

nonsense is objectified with a name (in this case, the Anthropic Principle) and validated in

the public mind by pseudo-scientific books and articles as philosophers oh so confidently

present us with their discovery du jour. Go to the science section of a popular bookstore

and it will contain vast quantities of books that are filled with these untestable and

groundless theories having nothing to do with the scientific method.

Perhaps this error has been exasperated in recent times by the concurrent rise of

impressive technological innovations. The application of authentic science has resulted in

these technologies. However, since various philosophies are also presented as science, it

is easy and quite natural for most people to associate them with these inventions and by

extension, to the improved standards of living they perceive themselves as having. Thus

people are tricked into confusing philosophic insanities with scientific truth.

The main point to be made is this: it is easy to become tangled up in the views that are

presented to us by the world as standard. It is easy to become distracted from the much

more reliable teachings that God (who it Truth Itself) has revealed to us. The Rosary is a

great way to realign our souls with revealed truth.

Let's conclude this section with a prayer of St. Bede the Venerable.

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et me not, O Lord, be puffed up with worldly wisdom, which passes away,

but grant me that love which never abates, that I may not choose to know

anything among men, but Jesus, and Him crucified.

L- St. Bede (died 735 AD)

The God Infusion as Motivation to Pray the Rosary

Our next motivation to pray the Rosary is the fact that Our Lady's Rosary, devoutly recited,

brings God into our souls and obtains for us, through Mary's intercession, His abundant

mercy. Related to this is the fact that the Rosary is effective at obtaining the conversion ofpeople for whom we pray and relief for the suffering souls in purgatory.

According to Sister Lucy, one of the three shepherd Children to whom Our Lady of Fatima

appeared, the Rosary is a "Eucharistic prayer." She notes that although it may not possible

for Christians to hear Mass every day, it is possible for them to recite the Rosary daily.

Sister Lucy goes on to say, "The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has

given new efficacy in the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such

an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above

all spiritual, in families, of the families in the world, or of the religious communities, or even

of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem,

I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console

Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls."

That the Rosary is a "Eucharistic Prayer" is truly quite a statement. The Eucharist (Holy

Communion) brings God Himself bodily into our heart and soul. When we are not able to

receive God in this way, we can still receive God spiritually into our hearts through prayer.

This indwelling of God within our souls is referred to as Sanctifying Grace. It is a

participation in the divine nature and according to Venerable Louis of Granada (1505

1588), it so transforms man into God that, without ceasing to man, his soul assumes the

beauty, nobility and virtues of Jesus Christ.

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Sanctifying Grace can also be thought of as our "ticket to heaven." This is because the

whole of our salvation is contingent on the state of our soul at the moment of death. If we

have God in our soul at that most critical point in time, then we will have Him for all eternity.

Once acquired, Sanctifying Grace can only be completely lost by committing a mortal sin,

and after death we can no longer sin.

A soul often requires purification in the fires of purgatory before entering Heaven.

Purgatory is a place of extreme suffering but also one of hope and even some amount of

joy because the souls have been saved and will one day behold God in Heaven.

If we do not have Sanctifying Grace in our soul when we die then we will enter into the fires

of hell. The fire of hell is not substantially different from the fire of purgatory but after death

there is no longer time for the soul to repent, have it's sins forgiven and to receive the

corresponding infusion of Sanctifying Grace that accompanies and accomplishes such

forgiveness. Lacking God's grace, the souls in Hell are tormented without being purified.

Instead of joy and hope, the damned are plagued by bitter sorrow and despair. God's great

mercy is for them a source of continual regret. They are grieved to see how they could

have had recourse to heaven while yet living and how they would have been affectionately

welcomed as prodigal children.

The Blessed Virgin revealed as much to Venerable Mary of Agreda, specifically in regards

to devotion to St. Joseph:

In the last day when all men will be judged, the unhappy damned willweep bitterly for not having known, because of their sins, this

powerful and efficacious means for their salvation [devotion to St. Joseph] and

for not having availed themselves of it, as they could have done, to recover the

grace of the just Judge. The world has been greatly ignorant of the magnitude of

the prerogatives which the supreme Lord has accorded to my holy spouse, and

how powerful is his intercession with His Divine Majesty; for be assured that he

is one of the greatest favorites of God, and one of the most capable of appeasing

His justice against sinners. I desire you to be most grateful to the goodness of

the Lord for the favor which I have granted to you on this occasion, and that you

will render Him continual thanks for the illumination that you have received

touching this mystery. Endeavor also, in the future, to augment your devotion

for my holy spouse, and bless the Lord for that He has favored him with so much

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liberality, and also for the consolation that I enjoyed in bearing him company and

knowing his perfections.

It is God's grace that makes us capable of living in heaven. When you are unable to

confess your sins to a priest, then in the meantime confess them to Mary and beg her to

ask Jesus to forgive you. When you are unable to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, then

pray to Mary and ask her to place her divine Son in your heart. Mary is our Mother and it is

She who gives supernatural life to our souls. God gives His grace to the world through the

Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His Mother. There is no grace given that does not pass

through Mary's hands on it's way to souls. She is the Queen of Sinners and the Queen of

Mercy. She turns no one away, not even the greatest sinner, if he will surrender to her care.

Note, however, the necessity of the sacraments (when available). It is true that God has

not limited Himself in His mercy. He is especially generous when one is unable to receive

the sacraments, but they remain the regular means of receiving His grace.

Now, to be effective unto the forgiveness of our sins, contrition must arise from love of God

and sorrow for having offended Him. Attrition is a sorrow for one's sins because of a fear

of the punishment due to them whereas contrition is a sorrow for your sins because you

love God and are sorrowful for having offended Him.

For sacramental confession, attrition is sufficient to be forgiven. But for forgiveness outside

of confession, contrition is needed. This sorrow springing forth from love is so pleasing to

God that He forgives your sins even before they are confessed. If we know ourselves tohave committed any mortal sins since our last confession we are still bound by duty to

confess them before receiving Communion again.

It is true that God is all-powerful and can heal you without confession. Yet this is the way

established by God in His wisdom as the way he wants to forgive sins. Keep in mind what

Jesus said to the lepers when they came to Him to be healed, "Show yourselves to the

priests." Also note that St. John Vianney, the patron Saint of parish priests spent about 12

hours every day hearing confessions.

You should frequently ask God to give you contrition for all of your sins be they venial or

mortal. This can be as simple as saying throughout the day, "God grant me the grace of

true repentance, a perfect contrition for my sins." This contrition of heart is not something

we can obtain without God's help. It is a pure gift from God and not due to any merits of

our own. Prayer is, however, an indispensable requisite for obtaining this gift.

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In addition to getting us into heaven, grace goes hand in hand with virtue. And the virtue of

humility is the foundation of Christian spiritual life. It is the characteristic spirit of the

Gospel. Together with the other virtues, it enables us to cooperate with God's grace and

secures our steps along the path that will lead us to heaven. Imitate Mary's humility, and

ask God for a humble heart.

Grace, moreover, keeps us on the path of Hope. This is the narrow road between

presumption and despair. When conversing with Venerable Mary of Agreda, the Blessed

Virgin Mary stated, "In this dangerous pilgrimage of life God has ordained, that no one shall

know for certain, whether he is worthy (Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 1) of His love or hate;

for if he uses his reason rightly, this uncertainty will urge him to seek with all his powers the

friendship of that same Lord."

Even St. Thomas Aquinas, who never committed even a single mortal sin in his life was

terrified at the thought of loosing God's grace. When visited by an angel, the first question

he asked was, "Am I in a state of grace?" It was perhaps this uncertainty that allowed him

to keep out of sin.

Excessive worry beyond a healthy fear of offending God and losing His grace is not,

however, good for the soul nor useful. If we find ourselves overcome with anxiety, let us

keep in mind the words of St. Padre Pio: "Pray, hope and don't worry. Worry is useless.

God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

The importance of prayer and the need to ask for graces is illustrated in the following story:

n November 27, 1830, [St.] Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother

returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval

frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colors, most of

which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame

appeared the words Marie, conue sans pch, priez pour nous qui avons

recours vous (in English, O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who

have recourse to thee). As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate,

showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and

the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart

of Mary pierced with a sword. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light,

Mary replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask. "

O

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atherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father

confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying

"All who wear them will receive great graces."

C

Originally named the Medal of the Immaculate Conception this medal is today known asthe "Miraculous Medal" due to the countless miracles that have been attributed to it's use.

Grace is not something you can feel. It is true that God sometimes gives spiritual

consolations to souls during prayer or at other times. But these consolations should not be

confused with grace. Neither should we think ourselves especially loved or holy because

we receive these consolations but consider rather that God knows our weakness and gives

these consolations as guidance and as a type of "training wheels" without which we would

never learn to walk in His ways. The great saints were often deprived of such consolations

and subjected to every sort of temptation and discomfort imaginable.

To resist temptations and stay out of sin, the Saints are in universal agreement that it is

necessary to pray often, to keep a humble heart and even to deprive oneself on occasion

from some legitimate worldly consolations even though such things may not be sinful in

themselves. If we fall, let us trust in God's mercy and get right back up.

Useful acts of penance can be as simple as small actions throughout the day that are

required of you in your daily life. For example, if you need to wake up early in the morning

and find the task of getting out of bed unpleasant but necessary you can say, "O my Jesus,

this is for love of you, the conversion of sinners and in reparation for offenses committedagainst the Immaculate Heart of Mary." This prayer was taught to the Fatima Children by

the Blessed Virgin Herself who requested them to say it frequently and especially when

they made small sacrifices. The children for their part also included a prayer for the Holy

Father in this petition.

The Rosary is the Weapon Against the Evils of the WorldThis motivation to pray the Rosary comes to us from St. Padre Pio who said, Love the

Madonna and pray the Rosary, for Her Rosary is the Weapon against the evils of the world

today.

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And what are the evils of the world today?

Well in a certain sense they are preparations for the eventual reign of Antichrist. St. Paul

tells us that even in Apostolic times, the mystery of iniquity was already begun that will

some day culminate in the person he calls the Man of Sin. In the same letter, we are told

that there will first come a general falling away from the faith and that before all of thishappens, we are not to be scared out of our wits as if the day of the Lord were at hand (2

Thessalonians, Chapter 2).

The Antichrist

There is actually quite a bit of disagreement on the exact nature of Antichrist among the

early Church Fathers and there is therefore very little official (infallible) Church teaching

about the man. Scripture seems to indicate that there will be ten kings of Antichrist, all

being of one mind (Revelation, Chapter 17). Perhaps they will be governors of variousregions of the world over which Antichrist will be the supreme leader. We can speculate

that he will possibly establish these kings so as to more easily reign or maybe these kings

will already be in power with Antichrist then assuming a leadership role among them.

Ten may here be a literal number or it may be symbolic. Just as all fingers (and thumbs)

are needed to represent the number 10 on our hands, so too will Antichrist's reign be

universal and consume all. It is worth noting that although Antichrist will be at the head of

the controlling powers of the world, he might not actually be known to very many people as

such. Perhaps he will be revered throughout the world as king, or perhaps he will only beknown and worshiped by the higher echelons of secret societies. In the latter case,

mankind in general would be largely ignorant of the architects at work behind the facade

governments of those days.

This is, however, speculation and there is little we know as certain about Antichrist except

that he will be one man enthroned at the head of the Anti-Christian forces at work during a

period of apostasy from the Catholic faith.

Historical Background

Although the writings of Saint Paul reveal to us that the mystery of iniquity was already at

work in his day among those who did not accept Christ, the early Church period was

characterized by a rapid growth of those who did profess Jesus Christ. Their numbers grew

to the point of converting the entire Roman Empire. Christianity thus went on from being a

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persecuted fringe to become the universal religion of the civilized world.

Seeded with the blood of countless martyrs, the converted Holy Roman Empire was the

social reign of Jesus Christ. It's laws and structures mirrored divine order and allowed

virtue to flourish under the sweet yoke of Christ. Kings were truly Christian and at their

coronation they were sometimes anointed by the Pope or local bishop as a mark ofreceiving from God the authority to rule. The proud Synagogs of Satan had been dealt a

death-blow by the humble Church of Jesus Christ and for a long period of time it was not

uncommon for members at all levels of society to lead good and holy upright lives.

But as centuries passed, the religious grew cold, and philosophers bold, with a proud and

spiteful zeal. After a marked decline in the Church's fervor and virtue, the French

Revolution and other similar revolutions were able to be successfully plotted and executed.

The wounded beast was revived as divine authority was replaced by a false authority of

Man.

Large estates that were once self-contained communities, despite failing to make a great

deal of money for their owners, were the pillars of social stability and provided for the

common good and well-being of the inhabitants. These were systematically dismantled

and replaced by money-making endeavors having profit as their chief aim. Social

structures were subverted and rebuilt to serve their new owners who used convenient

philosophies of the day to achieve their aims.

These revolutionaries portrayed themselves as liberators from the oppression of monarchs

and the Church. Social injustices were highlighted to fuel their cause as peasants were toldto become enraged at the excesses of indulgent kings.

But true freedom can only be found under the sweet yoke of Christ. Having unbridled

society from this saving constraint, very real injustice prevailed thereafter. Peasant children

who had once been able to live off of the land that they themselves farmed now had to work

relentless hours in dangerous factory conditions. Their wage was miniscule and did not

supply for even their most basic needs. Wealth became very concentrated as those who

had it were able to generate more while the poor were left without resources to produce for

themselves. To a large degree, this problem continues in the world to the present day.

The philosophy of Karl Marx offered a solution of communism that might look very nice on

paper. In practice, however, it is no more than an efficient tool used for more revolution,

most notably in Russia. And following suit to their industrialist counter-parts, the new

Bolshevik rulers were several times more vicious and unbearable than the Christian Czars

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they replaced.

Not content to overthrow mere earthly monarchies, there are alleged records that detail the

plans of secret societies to infiltrate and destroy the Church Herself. One such record that

was uncovered in the mid 1800's is named the Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita

and appears to be an instructional document produced by the highest lodge of theCarbonari, an Italian secret society. Its aim was to subvert the Church from within.

Members were encouraged to acquire for themselves the reputation of being good

Catholics even to the point of becoming priests and religious and then to use that reputation

and authority to introduce changes in Catholic ideas and trends. The document itself

anticipates the process to be long and drawn out, spanning multiple generations.

A more recent report of this type of infiltration is AA-1025: The Memoirs of an Anti-Apostle.

These memoirs were allegedly discovered by a French nurse in the 1960's. The nurse was

treating a man fatally injured in a car accident. After his death, she searched through his

belongings in an attempt to identify the man. Writings that were apparently his own claimed

that he was an undercover agent of the Soviet Union ordered to infiltrate the Catholic

Church by becoming a priest. After ordination, he was to put forth modernist ideas through

a teaching position that would undermine the main doctrines of the Church.

In 1884, Pope Leo XIII warned against the practices associated with secret societies by

writing a papal encyclical, Humanum Genus (translates in English to The Human

Condition). Early on in this letter the Holy Father quotes St. Augustine as follows, Two

loves formed two cities: the love of self, reaching even to contempt of God, an earthly city;

and the love of God, reaching to contempt of self, a heavenly one. Pope Leo then goes on

to discuss how those of the earthly city mindset were actively organizing to lay the Church

to waste.

What Would God's Enemies Do?

In his book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis takes a unique look at the life of a typical

man, by portraying it from the theoretical point of view of two devils. In a somewhat similar

fashion, let's see if we can get a better understanding of the world by looking at it from adifferent angle. Let's ask ourselves: What would God's enemies do? Imagining we

ourselves are the avowed enemies of God, how do we go about our business of ridding the

world of Christendom?

Well, this certainly isn't the work of a day. We achieve our goal only progressively and by

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degrees, repeatedly choosing the lesser of two goods or the greater of two evils.

Therefore, a Protestant flavor of Christendom suites us better than the Catholic and

Apostolic Faith; a Protestant sect that rejects the Sacraments, better still; and before long

we have Christians rejecting even belief in One God that is Three Persons. Once we

remove people from the vine of the Church and her unchanging and infallible teachings, it is

then easy to dispel their pious devotions and introduce erroneous teachings. ThoughChristian in name, they know little of the religion they profess.

We are not content to merely hide the Faith from people. When possible, we disfigure and

tarnish people's notion of Christianity with a boundless display of bad examples. Various

selections of our corrupt businessmen, lying politicians, generic imbeciles, and over-the-top

bigots invoke Christ as they convincingly play their roles. We juxtapose these with friendly

and beloved public figures who display charity disconnected from any connotation of

religion.

This scandal produces marvelous effects for us. On the one hand it gives people of

goodwill a distaste for religion, providing many with the necessary push to abandon their

faith. On the other hand it provides Christians with an array of bad role models.

Furthermore, by all available means we encourage vice. That which was known in past

times to be deadly to the life of souls, we glorify and present as worthy life aims. We

engross humanity with the pleasures of the senses and faith loses the place it once had in

their life. Hopefully it will be crowded out entirely. It is only the grace of God that enables

Man to keep the commandments. We do all in our power to discourage the reliable means

of recovering this grace: namely, prayer and the Sacraments.

In addition to faith, we seek to do away with charity as well. If people knew the value of

patiently bearing trials out of love for God and neighbor, and the eternal reward that it merits

for them, we would certainly lose our battle. Hiding this knowledge from them and subtly

attacking it with our contrary philosophies, charity easily dies. We leave them with only an

ambiguous and blinding love that means little more than desire or enjoyment and is

generally disconnected from any willingness toward hardship or sacrifice. As we corrupt

and pervert society, all sense of duty and respect for authority shall be lost as positions of

social leadership increasingly become filled by those most unworthy to hold them. Greed,love of pleasure, love of self, and ambition shall alone motivate mankind.

People will inevitably think about death from time to time. But under our influences, this

does not inspire them to prepare for eternity. Rather, the thought of death is just a reminder

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of the vain pleasures that still need to be checked off of one's bucket list.

When we cannot occupy people with worldly amusements, we distract and unsettle them

with anxiety. Above all, we want them to be entirely consumed with the cares of this world

so that they give no thought to the next. We capitalize on dramatic disasters, drawing men

into unsettling debates, and contrived movements and causes. We create problems andthen offer solutions that further advance our course of affairs. In all cases, we shift as much

blame as possible onto religion.

For those rare occasions when men do think about the afterlife, we are prepared with an

impressive display of psychics, mediums, miracles and prophecies to compete with the very

best that the Church has to offer. Our aim is to thus drown orthodox Christianity in a flood

of alternative religions, philosophies and scientific discoveries all suggesting that it doesnt

really matter what a man believes.

To be sure, we study deceits all day long. With our calm voice, assured demeanor and

natural gestures we put on a most impressive display calculated to arouse trust and

goodwill. Our disarming words are able to hide the most insidious lies and blasphemies.

Discretion is often necessary as we stamp out God's Kingdom on earth. Attacking too

openly at the wrong time draws unwanted attention and is counter-productive in our quest

to bury and erase the religion of Jesus Christ. However, by spewing our assaults at

organized religion in general, we accomplish much as we teach people to be grateful for

having gotten out of the dark ages when Christianity held sway.

It is the Devil who must be served in order for our authority to reign supreme. To

accomplish this we need the assistance of numerous people. Unfortunately, if they knew

the truth, most men would run back to their merciful God. No, we need to carefully screen

our proselytes, revealing only what we want them to know. In stages, we teach and guide

those that best suite our needs.

A certain corruption is necessary and for this we plot schemes that cause men to sin and

despair of their salvation. Only when we are certain that they have no aspirations towards

heaven do we admit them into our higher ranks. We use whatever lie and philosophy isconvenient, telling them certain sins are unforgivable, falsely interpreting scripture or even

tricking them into thinking they themselves are demons and gods. They are then easily

incited to take revenge on their Creator who in His too great of mercy, even still wants to

see them saved.

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Gods infinite mercy calls to them: As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the

wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways

and why will you die?" (Ezekiel 33:11)

But our faithful dupes have no desire towards God's forgiveness. They eagerly fall in line

and do our bidding. It gives us great satisfaction to think of the eternal horror and confusionthey will bear after death as they are tormented with us here in hell.

...Such are the sentiments of God's enemies, if not of men then certainly of demons.

Private Revelation

There are a number of predictions made regarding the future that come to us from private

revelations. By private revelation is meant that the information is not directly contained in

the Deposit of Faith handed down to us from the Apostles. Catholics are not required tobelieve in private revelations such as what is said to someone during an apparition of a

Saint and so forth. However in certain cases (for example, when the message is

accompanied by miracles and approved by Church authorities as worth of belief) it would

seem prudent to at least take notice.

The general gist of several such revelations warn of an impending chastisement that is to

come upon the world. There are many sources that speak to this effect. The words spoken

motivation to pray the rosary

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