Our Lady of the Holy Rosary - A Red Rose - For Sinners

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary by Guido Reni

Picture source

POOR MEN AND WOMEN who are sinners, I, a greater sinner than you, wish to give to you this rose----a crimson one, because the Precious Blood of Our Lord has fallen upon it. Please God that it will bring true fragrance into your lives----but above all may it save you from the danger that you are in. Every day unbelievers and unrepentant sinners cry: "Let us crown ourselves with roses." [1] But our cry should be: "Let us crown ourselves with roses of the Most Holy Rosary."

How different are theirs from ours! Their roses are pleasures of the flesh, worldly honors and passing riches which wilt and decay in no time, but ours, which are the Our Father and Hail Mary which we have said devoutly over and over again and to which we have added good penitential acts, will never wilt or die and they will be just as exquisite thousands of years from now as they are today.

On the contrary, sinners' roses only look like roses, while in point of fact they are cruel thorns which prick them during life by giving them pangs of conscience, at their death they pierce them with bitter regret and, still worse, in eternity, they turn to burning shafts of anger and despair. But if our roses have thorns, they are the thorns of Jesus Christ Who changes them into roses. If our roses prick us, it is only for a short time----and only in order to cure the illness of sin and to save our souls.

So by all means we should eagerly crown ourselves with these roses from Heaven, and recite the entire Rosary every day, that is to say three Rosaries each of five decades which are like three little wreaths or crowns of flowers: and there are two reasons for doing this: First of all to honor the three crowns of Jesus and Mary----Jesus' crown of grace at the time of His incarnation, His crown of thorns during His passion and His crown of glory in Heaven, and of course the three-fold crown which the Most Blessed Trinity gave Mary in Heaven.

Secondly, we should do this so that we ourselves may receive three crowns from Jesus and Mary. The first is a crown of merit during our lifetime, the second, a crown of peace at our death, and the third, a crown of glory in Heaven.

If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins "you shall receive a never fading crown of glory." [2] Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practise black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if----and mark well what I say----if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.

In this book there are several stories of great sinners who were converted through the power of the Holy Rosary. Please read and meditate upon them.

Text Source

From The Secret of the Rosary by St. Luis De Montfort, Montfort Publications

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Picture source

"When Christ appeared to Margaret Mary and revealed His infinite charity to her, He also let her perceive a kind of sadness in Him in His complaints against the countless and grievous insults He suffered by reason of men's ingratitude.  May the words He then spoke become firmly engraved in the souls of the faithful and never be erased!" - Pope Pius XI in his Encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor

Picture source

"This sovereign Spirit that operated and acted in me independently of me, had seized such absolute control over my whole spiritual and even bodily being that it was no longer in my power to command any feeling of joy or sadness except at His good pleasure; nor could I focus my mind on anything except what He presented to it." - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Picture source

"Truthfully, my dear Mother, I don't know what to say to those I love, unless I speak to them of the cross of Jesus Christ, and when I am asked what graces our Lord grants me, an unworthy sinner, I can only speak of the happiness there is in suffering with Jesus Christ, for I see nothing more precious in this life, for those who love Him, than to suffer for love of Him." - From the Letters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Picture source

"O my dear Mother, if its true value were known, everyone would not flee from it and reject it so freely; but on the contrary, it would be so greatly cherished and loved that everyone could find happiness only in the cross, and rest only on the cross, and would have no other wish than to die in His arms, scorned and abandoned by all." - From the Letters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Picture source

"All my prayers and everything I can do seem to be directed toward this goal alone, to establish reign of the Sacred Heart; and now to obtain the approbation of the request you have made to Rome on this matter.  I am not failing to ask the most sacred Virgin and our blessed Father La Colombiere to take an interest in it, and I hope he will be of very great help to us.  For, just as you are taking his place on earth, I think he also is taking yours in heaven to love and glorify this divine heart." - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Picture source

"Finally my dear Mother, it is consoling to hear the successful progress of this beautiful devotion.  (Note from me: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus)  We are informed from Lyons that it is like a Miracle to see how everyone is embracing it with fervor and eagerness.  Three or four cities have been mentioned to us where these books are going to be printed, including Marseilles.  And a thousand have been taken for that one place.  And of twenty-seven religious houses in that city, there is not one that has not accepted this devotion, and they have been so eager that some of them have erected altars, others are dedicating chapels to it; and as soon as the people of Marseilles heard about it, they urged their preachers to give them exhortations to thoroughly explain this devotion to them, which, in less than two weeks, spread so rapidly that an unbelievable number of devout persons receive Holy Communion every first Friday. And it has been said that it is going to be established in all the houses of the reverend Jesuit Fathers, who even have the young fathers who do not say Mass receive Communion every first Friday..." St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Stained Glass Window -Sacred Heart Church, Honolulu

 Photo by Esther G.

Excerpts from Saint Margaret Mary by Msgr. Leon Cristani,  St. Paul Editions

Santa Teresa de Jesús

St. Teresa of Avila Writing by Antonio Acisclo Palomino

Picture source

"I know of a person to whom Our Lord wished to show what a soul was like when it committed mortal sin.  That person says that, if people could understand this, she thinks they would find it impossible to sin at all, and , rather than meet occasions of sin, would put themselves to the greatest trouble imaginable..." -excerpt from First Mansions Chapter Two

Picture source

"Humility must always be doing its work like a bee, making its honey in the hive:  without humility all will be lost." - excerpt from First Mansions Chapter Two

Picture source

On God calling us:  "...His appeals come through the conversations of good people, or from sermons, or through the reading of good books; and there are many other ways, of which you have heard, in which God calls us.  Or they come through sicknesses and trials, or by means of truth that God teaches us at times when we are engaged in prayer;  however feeble such prayers may be God values them highly..." excerpt Second Mansions Chapter One

Picture source

"Oh, humility, humility!  I do not know why I have this temptation, but whenever I hear people making so much of their times of aridity, I cannot help thinking that they are somewhat lacking in it..." - excerpt from Third Mansions, Chapter Three

Photo source

"...If we have not progressed as far as this, then, as I have said, let us practice humility, which is the ointment for our wounds; if we are truly humble, God, the Physician, will come in due course, even though He tarry, to heal us." - excerpt from Third Mansions, Chapter Two

Picture source

..."Perhaps we do not know what love is:  it would not surprise me a great deal to learn this, for love consists not in the extent of our happiness, but in the firmness of our determination to try to please God in everything and to endeavor, in allpossible ways, not to offend Him, and to pray Him ever to advance the honor and glory of His Son and the growth of the Catholic Church..." excerpt from Fourth Mansions, Chapter One

Picture source

..."The really essential thing, sisters, is that you should speak to your confessor very plainly and candidly- I do not mean here in confessing your sins, for of course you will do so then, but in describing your experiences in prayer.  For unless you do this, I cannot assure you that you are proceeding as you should or that it is God Who is teacing you.  God is very anxious for us to speak

St. Teresa protecting the 21 Carmelite Nuns
by Juan Pedro López

Picture source

Picture source

Source: Interior Castles by Teresa de Ávila

Giving Thanks to God

"The picture of miner Johny Barrios put on an image of Our Lady of Fatima at La Esperanza encampment, beside the San Jose mine, near Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago."

You can see two other photos at Helen's blog CatholicSeeking.

If it weren't for the Catholic news coverage, we would not be aware that Faith played a vital part in this miracle.

John Paul II to be beatified possibly within a year

EWTN Live - Fatima - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR...

Dear Lady of Fatima

Practicing Holy Indifference

Baby Jesus

"Holy indifference must be practiced in things that concern natural life, such as health, sickness, beauty, ugliness, weakness, and strength; in things concerning civil life, such as honors, rank, and wealth; in the various aspects of the spiritual life, such as dryness, consolation, delight, and aridity; and in actions, and in sufferings - in sum, in every even of every kind."- St. Francis de Sales

Finding God's Will for You. Published by Sophia Press.

October 13, 1917 - The Sixth Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima

WAF Blue Army Shrine - Our Lady of Fatima

"We left home quite early, expecting that we would be delayed along the way. Masses of people thronged the roads. The rain fell in torrents. My mother, her heart torn with uncertainty as to what was going to happen, and fearing it would be the last day of my life, wanted to accompany me.

Picture source

One the way, the scenes of the previous month, still more numerous and moving, were repeated. Not even the muddy roads could prevent these people from kneeling in the most humble and suppliant of attitudes. We reached the holmoak in the Cova da Iria. Once there, moved by an interior impulse, I asked the people to shut their umbrellas and say the Rosary. A little later, we saw the flash of light, and then Our Lady appeared on the holmoak.


"What do you want of me?"

"I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes."

" I have many things to ask you? the cure of some sick persons, the conversion of sinners, and other things..."

"Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins."

Looking very sad, Our Lady said:

"Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended."

Then, opening her hands, she made them reflect on the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself.

Picture source

Here, Your Excellency, is the reason why I cried out to the people to look at the sun. My aim was not to call their attention to the sun, because I was not even aware of their presence. I was moved to do so under the guidance of an interior impulse."

St. Joseph and Baby Jesus

Picture source

After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it was Our Lady of Dolors. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel."

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Picture source

Our Lady of Sorrows

Picture source
- Sister Lucia
Excerpt from World Apostolate of Fatima Spiritual Guide for the Salvation of Souls and World Peace, WAF USA

Purgatorian Archconfraternity

The practice of recommending to God the souls in Purgatory, that He might mitigate the great pains which they suffer, and that He may soon bring them to His glory, is most pleasing to the Lord and most profitable to us...

...But, if we wish for the aid of their prayers, it is just, it is even a duty, to relieve them by our suffrages. I say, it is even a duty: for Christian charity commands us to relieve our neighbors who stand in need of our assistance. But who among all our neighbors have so great need of our help as those holy prisoners?...

A Christian Duty by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

To learn more about the Purgatorian Archconfraternity, please visit them here.

Thank you very much for sharing Terry at Idle Speculations via Twitter.