The Monthly Note
Octobre 2010
Today
What place does the Rosary have in my life today?
by Jacques Sylvestre, O.P.
The Rosary, a Dominican devotion? Its origins are from a distant past. All that we know is that it is probably the story of a humble Cistercian brother from the XII century. Every time he passed in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary in the monastery, he had the habit of making a deep bow while whispering the words of the angel: «Hail Mary, full of Grace». He would rarely miss adding his tribute one of the glories of Mary: «Hail Mary, full of Grace, daughter of the Heavenly Father, mother of Jesus, Wife of the Holy Spirit…Hail, full of Grace who has given birth to our Saviour, who has accompanied Him all the way to the Cross, you who heeded His words and put them in practice». This little monk, banned from the choir Office because he could neither read nor write, occupied, along with his brothers, a place in the abbey church, but apart from the others. They prayed what was then called « the Psalter of Our Lady»: they recited many Ave.
As for the Dominican Order, history tells us that Dominic, its founder in the XIII century, fit in some Ave in his preaching. The legend adds that during the battle of Muret fought by Count Simon of Monfort against the heretics in 1213, Dominic supported him by his Marian prayer.
Alain de la Roche, author of a book on the life of Saint Dominic, tells us that Saint Dominic, seeing how mankind’s crimes were obstacles of the conversion of souls, entered in a forest close to Toulouse to spend three days in prayer and penance. The Virgin Mary appeared before him: «Dominic, do you know with which weapon the Holy Trinity used to reform the World? The Angelic Psalter (the Rosary)That is why if you want to win over these hardened hearts over to God, preach my Psalter». We owe Brother Alain de la Roche, XV century Dominican, the spreading of the Rosary and also the division of the three fifty Ave in 15 mysteries: the joyous, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. He also established the Confraternities of the Rosary.
Many are tempted, if not already done, to brush aside from their devotions this prayer under the pretext that it is only a repetition of Ave. The Rosary is the most beautiful prayer there is. The Ave are there to give us time to meditate the important moments of the life of Jesus and Mary. We have already assigned to each decade a mystery of their life: nothing keeps us from meditating other memorable events, like the institution of the Eucharist, the Transfiguration: the luminous mysteries. The Rosary also permits us to think of others. On her death bed, mother confided to us that she prayed the rosary thinking of each of her children. All the great intentions have their place in that prayer, without having any distraction. At Fatima, the Virgin Mary recommended the Rosary to protect the World against Communism.
When we love someone, can we cease to say and repeat: I love you. It is these divine words that the Archangel Gabriel put on our lips with the first words of the Ave: « Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with you». And the Church added: « Pray for us now and at the hour of our death». Let us take time to pray like this because one day, «now» will be the last of our days.
