The rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies. It will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
I used to play a lot of video games when I was younger. Even to this day I enjoy taking a five-minute break to play a quick arcade game. There is something called a “score multiplier” in many classic video games. What these do is increase your score the longer you do something good or difficult. For example, you may start to achieve a higher score in a racing game the longer you go without crashing. Or in the famous puzzle game Tetris you are awarded more points if you clear multiple rows at once rather than individually. Well, in life the rosary acts as our virtue and good works multiplier.
The more you pray the rosary, the more benefits your good works will have. For starters, you will be more likely to perform more good works because you are listening to God through rosary prayer and responding to His call. Secondly, your desire to live virtuously and do good works will be genuine and more likely to rub off on others. You won’t have to force people into praying and living virtuously. Rather, others will sense some sort of internal peace or happiness in you and subconsciously want to imitate you. They might turn to rosary prayer and focus on their faith and become that catalyst for someone else. You praying the rosary and living a virtuously may start a chain of influence on others to do the same. From one person, many good works can flourish.
Mary promises that the rosary will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies. We all make mistakes in life and commit sins. But not only will the rosary put you into a state where you commit fewer sins, you also receive abundant mercy for those sins you do commit. Are you off the hook completely? No. The rosary isn’t a magical “get out of jail free” prayer. But those who pray the rosary are more likely to understand the importance of divine mercy and ask God for it. And He’ll be more than happy to give it to those who ask.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I like that the rosary draws my heart away from worldly pursuits and keeps me focused on eternal things. I find it so easy to get caught up in the here and now that without regular rosary meditation I would neglect my spiritual needs. I think the rosary is similar to some sort of worldly detox treatment. We fill our hearts, minds, and souls with so much junk. It may be sin and vice (lust, drugs, greed, envy, etc.) but also benign or even good things (work, relationships, hobbies, etc.). But when we fill our hearts with all these worldly pursuits we too often leave no room for God’s grace. Mary promises that those who pray the rosary will find it easier to make room for God in their lives.
The best example I have about clearing my soul of “junk” was cutting back on TV. There were many television shows that I used to follow closely. I would be sure to tune in every week to watch Law and Order, CSI, Amazing Race, Next Iron Chef, and many others. But in a way they also weighed me down because I felt obligated to watch them out of a fear I might miss something important. But then I got busy with work, family, RosaryMeds articles, etc. and missed a few episodes. I had them recorded on my DVR but I just stopped caring about watching those missed episodes to catch up. Eventually, those shows that I watched religiously just fell off my radar and it didn’t bother me in the least.
Phasing out television reminds me of how the rosary affects our worldly wants and desires. After praying the rosary routinely, those things you thought you couldn’t live without suddenly don’t seem too important. You start to see them as the distractions they are and learn not to let the hustle and bustle of this life worry you too much. There really is nothing worldly that is so important that it needs to to be prioritized ahead of our spiritual needs. In other words, Mary promises us that rosary prayer will give perspective on what’s really important. It’s not wanting things you can buy on Black Friday, but the eternal happiness of Heaven.
Now that we are in Advent, take some time to pray the rosary every day. I think we need to have faith in this rosary promise especially because Christmas is a time where we need to have perspective, virtue, and good works. The 2nd reading from the first Sunday of Advent ties in well to this promise. If you forgot it or didn’t pay attention to it, read it below and think about how the rosary will help you rise above “works of darkness” and “desires of the flesh” and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
Related articles
- 15 Promises of Rosary Prayer (rosarymeds.com)
- Mary’s Rosary Promise #2 (rosarymeds.com)
- Mary’s Rosary Promise #3 (rosarymeds.com)
- “Excellent Medicine for the Heart, No Side Effects” (prayers4reparation.wordpress.com)
- 5 Unexpected Places to Pray the Rosary (relevantcatholic.wordpress.com)
- Pope hands out rosaries as medicine (skynews.com.au)
- ‘Pharmacist’ pope hands out rosaries as spiritual medicine (news.yahoo.com)
