The word Rosary means Crown of Roses that is to say that every time people pray the Rosary devoutly they place a crown of 153 red roses and 16 white roses upon the heads of Jesus and Mary. Being heavenly flowers these roses will never fade or lose their exquisite beauty. Our Lady confirmed her approval of the name Rosary in the following way:
The chronicles of St Francis tell of a young friar, who had the praiseworthy habit of praying the Rosary every day before dinner. One day, for some reason or another he did not manage to say it. The refectory bell had already been rung when he asked the superior to allow him to say it before coming to the table, and having obtained his permission he withdrew to his cell to pray.
After he had been gone a long time the Superior sent another Friar to fetch him, and he found him in his room, bathed in a heavenly light facing Our Lady who had two Angels with her. Beautiful roses kept issuing from his mouth at each Hail Mary; the angels took them one by one, placing them on Our Lady's head, and she smilingly accepted them.
Finally two other friars who had been sent to find out what had happened to the first two saw the same lovely scene, and Our Lady did not go away until the whole Rosary had been said.
The rose is the Queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is therefore the most important one.
The life of Blessed Hermann (of the Premonstratensian Fathers) tells that at one time when he used to pray the Rosary attentively and devoutly while meditating upon the mysteries Our Lady used to appear to him resplendent in breathtaking majesty and beauty. But as time went on his fervour cooled and he fell into the way of saying the Rosary hurriedly and without giving his full attention. Then one day Our Lady appeared to him again-only this time she was far from beautiful and her face was furrowed and drawn with sadness. Blessed Hermann was appalled at the change in her and then Our Lady explained: This is how I look to you, Hermann, because in your soul this is how you are treating me; as a woman to be despised and of no importance. Why do you no longer greet me with respect and attention meditating on my mysteries and praising my privileges ?
2 comments:
One beautiful story about the Rosary, that needs to be spread and let everyone know how important it is to recite the Rosary.
We need any and all encouragements to say the rosary and to present a bouquet of flowers to Her in its best form as a result of fervent prayer. But the idea of a rose for every Hail Mary - Wow!
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