“Messengers from Eden”

These days I have become increasingly intentional about carving out more time for God because it’s so easy to lose it when we give the world and its ways the car keys and let it drive us.

As I explore my adoptive country, I now use the ferries mostly to go between the islands; so rather than a one- hour journey at 900 miles per hour in an aluminium tube at 30 thousand feet, my most recent trip was 60 hours at a steady 19 knots with no WiFi, mostly no cell service, an audio book about eternity and my rosary beads.

It was wonderful and as each day unfolded I was surrounded with messengers from Eden as reminders of who we are and our destiny. On the seas, aside from the vessel I was stood on, there were no man made objects to be seen; everything else pointed to heaven. The sun rose over calm endless seas, the sky and clouds moving toward a far horizon, blazing sunsets and thunderstorms displaying the majesty of God and his creative energy. And the moon and stars are a finale. All new every morning and as my soul settled into it I could feel the ache in the heart at what we lost in Eden and a great hope for what was yet to come in eternity, when all things are made new (Rev 21:5 Then the one who sits on the throne said, "And now I make all things new!")

I heard a speaker ask an awkward question once after he quoted a scripture from Peter 3:15 ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have’. And then he asked, “when was the last time someone came up to give in the supermarket, grabbed you by the arms and demanded to know the reason for your hope ? I have never been asked either. We don’t often think about what it is we hope for. Forgiveness, a not too unpleasant death perhaps, but eternity is a long haul, what then ? Often times we feel that life has passed us by, missed opportunities or maybe no opportunities, unable to follow a particular dream or develop a particular talent, the many losses we take as we see loved ones die or friendships end. Well the good news is we get everything we lost back, better then ever, perfected and permanent and a mansion in heaven !

We will do everything we were born to do, and whilst our minds cannot contain such thoughts it will be good, it will be worth the wait, worth the current and future sufferings. What awaits us is Eternal Joy when the voyage is over.

Will I go to Heaven ?

                                     

Last week a couple of acquaintances, a brother and sister, were found to be COVID -19 positive, although fortunately asymptomatic thus far. Faced with the sudden possibility of death people often have a change of outlook, re-evaluate their lives in the light of a realization of their mortality. 

My thoughts went to the children of Fatima and particularly Jacinta and Francisco who died very young during the last global pandemic of Spanish flu a century ago. As I recall the story, Our Lady had told them that she would be taking them soon and they asked if they would be going to heaven. The answer was ‘yes’ but in Francisco’s case he would have to ‘pray many rosaries’. 

What is interesting is his wholehearted response. He stopped schooling and rid himself of all trivial pursuits even the play natural for children, and devoted himself to prayer and making sacrifices. It is hard to imagine someone that young having much to atone for – how much more for those of us whose lives have been many times as long as his already! The need for atonement and sanctification must be very great indeed. 

Another thing that makes Francisco’s witness very compelling is that the children had all seen Heaven, Hell and Purgatory in a vision and I imagine this too must have prompted such a resolute response. 

In the last few months more than half a million people have died of this virus, I bet none of them expected to die this year anymore than the ones who will join them between now and December do. If we can draw a lesson from the pandemic I think it’s to ‘be prepared,’ take a moment to reassess the important things in life, consider what happens if … and focus on making atonement for our sins and through prayer to seek the sanctification we need.

 

To the ends of the Earth ..

On entering the Radio Maria Philippines HQ in Tarlac in central Luzon, I was greeted by the familiar image of Our Lady of Tihaljina on their logo and immediately knew the quality of their mission. The focus is almost entirely on prayer, both the Mass and Rosary broadcasts daily coupled with the prayer of the church and solid Catholic teaching.

Each Radio Maria station in the world has its own special role to play in bringing the Gospel to the people. Here the terrestrial coverage is limited to a few regions of the country but it struck me that it’s real potential was way beyond that. 

In Yellow, Fr, Raymund Cruz, Station Director with some of many volunteers

We have reached a stage in human history where we can almost ‘proclaim the gospel to every creature’ by partnering with technology. The station is also available through internet and an App for IOS and Android smart phones and can be heard all over the world. This is particularly important for Filipinos because the work force is so mobile. More than 2 million are OFW’s (Overseas Foreign Workers) and are often employed in some of the most inhospitable countries where the faith is restricted or outlawed entirely but via Radio Maria they can now stay connected to their faith and join in unity with this huge praying community and in their own language. 

Another enormous potential audience are the seafarers. Somewhere between 30-40% of the world’s seamen are Filipinos as Maritime schools have flourished here for many decades. It can be a lonely and isolated life spending months at sea without much to feed the soul, but now they can listen in and join together in prayer as they plough the ocean and sea roads.

Most of the funding comes from the pennies of the poor: parishes and school children filling tins with coins to keep the station running and volunteers provide most of the content as well. A class of school kids might be leading the Rosary on air today, a group of college students from another town tomorrow so it’s really a grassroots and providential undertaking. 

Before I left, the station Director Fr. Raymund Cruz told me news that quickened my spirit even more. They are just starting a new station in one of the darkest corners of Europe…England.

In my mind’s eye, I could see the angels gearing up for this Marian invasion of my homeland. It’s almost a thousand years since the apparitions of Our Lady in Walsingham, at one time a shrine almost as popular as Jerusalem or Rome; such was the strength of faith and Marian devotion in those days. Perhaps the Mother of God is set to reclaim England which in ancient times was referred to as the ‘dowry of Mary’ How wonderful to live in such days of restoration!

Walsingham ... The Ancient Shrine

A glimpse of Walsingham below  and a soundtrack called Mary's Garden by Paul Lisney

Mary's Garden from maxtmh on GodTube.

To download the Radio Maria App to your phone go here to their website:- https://www.radiomaria.ph/

“Does Prayer Work?”

Unanswered prayer is something that everyone struggles with at times, but it may not be that mysterious after all. Particularly with hindsight, when I consider life backwards I am rather relieved that He didn’t answer some prayers and even more relieved that He didn’t answer prayers said for me by others or I may have been peppered with lightning bolts and drenched in lashings of Greek Fire long ago! Fortunately He is irritatingly patient with sinners. 

Our Prayer life goes hand in hand with our evolving or developing relationship with God. From follower to disciple to servant to friend and then to son (or daughter) and at each point there is a different attitude to prayer, a different level of intimacy with God and often a quite different result as our hearts are brought into closer harmony with His. 

Sadly, many stop praying when they discover that God is not Santa Claus and not there to cater to our whims or often selfish demands. He has so much more to offer than mere trifles. Perseverance is certainly a part of the training in prayer and some things can take months or years of prayer but listening is also crucial, asking the right questions in order to refine your prayer until it becomes in line with His desires. As C.S. Lewis noted ‘prayer does not change Him, it changes me.’ 

Perhaps this underlines too the usefulness of seeking the intercession of the saints, as when we pray the Rosary for example, as we offer our prayer through Mary who is uniquely related to God as daughter, mother and spouse, she can ‘correct the grammar’ and perfect the prayer as she would be aware of what is needed more precisely than we would. 

With time, practice and an open heart, prayer will become a joy, a dynamic two-way street and as He changes our hearts more and more, we will be more attuned to know the right things to pray for and answered prayer will become as normal as breathing. 

We have a tradition in our prayer group where at the end of the year, we have a prayer of thanksgiving for the year that passed and petitions for the next, which we record and review. There are very few unanswered or delayed, nowadays.

Civil Disobedience ... Arrest outside Abortion Clinic for Praying ...

The American philosopher Henry Thoreau wrote an essay entitled ‘Civil Disobedience’ after spending a night in jail for refusing to pay his taxes as a protest against slavery. One line reads “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.” 

Earlier this year, a man (in a wheelchair) was arrested outside the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Ealing, London for praying for an end to abortion and for the mothers and babies inside. This followed a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which bans ‘engaging in any act of approval / disapproval towards abortion outside the facility- including prayer.’ The charges were later dropped. 

This is a new phase in the hardening of intolerance towards Christianity and the Pro-life movement, one that we should be greatly encouraged by though. In trying to ban prayer the face of the industry is further unmasked. On the days when pro-lifers are praying outside an abortion clinic, women turn back and go home, both mother and child are spared the horror of abortion and the clinic loses its revenue. 

It is an abuse of power to arrest people who are praying, but even under this PSPO there must be clarity that an offence has been committed before an arrest can be made, so perhaps it can be countered by raising a reasonable doubt. A group of people standing outside without photos or placards, remaining silent and retaining their composure, rosaries concealed in their pockets perhaps, showing no approval or disapproval to the activities going on inside cannot be legitimately moved on or arrested. And I doubt if anyone could prove they were praying other than by the miracles that proceed forth. 

The Muslim civil rights leader Malcolm X was successful because his congregation was so disciplined; controlling their emotions, and acting as one with an almost military precision. As he pointed out ‘for one to control one's thoughts and feelings means one can actually control one's atmosphere and all who walk into its sphere of influence.’ 

One thing was quite disturbing though. Christian Hastings, the man arrested outside Marie Stopes, was the only one. Where were the rest of the Parishioners from his church? Where were the rest of the parishioners from his Diocese?

A Walking Weapon

Whilst praying the Rosary this morning, I had an unexpected insight.

I had been reading an article on the Israeli self-defense system Krav Maga and a phrase had stayed with me that a ‘well-trained practitioner of Krav Maga is basically a walking human weapon” My insight was that praying the Rosary was our equivalent in the realm of the spiritual life.

Many of the traditional martial arts are primarily defensive; derived from a philosophy or observations in nature and tend to take many years to master; it becomes a way of life. They also tend to be quite precise and elegant in movement. Transplanting them to western culture it becomes competitive with tournaments and grades and so on.

Krav Maga on the other hand was developed out of necessity by a Jewish chap in Slovakia to protect their communities from fascist anti-Semitic thugs who attacked them in the run-up to the second world war. It is the ‘blunt force trauma’ of martial arts, which has only one objective- to neutralize an attack (with multiple attackers in mind) and render them unable to continue. It is easily learned and improved with practice. 

Within the church we do have our own experts in the martial arts of prayer; like the desert fathers who spent their whole lives in fasting and contemplation and today’s monks and religious sisters whose life of prayer is derived from that and continue to hold the world together by their intercession and holiness and inflict great violence on the enemy. 

For the ordinary man in the street though; we have the Rosary, our means to weaponise our prayer life; to neutralize the attacks of the evil one on our own lives on a daily basis. The reality is that we are all in this fight, like it or not, acknowledge it or not, and to protect ourselves and our families is essential. Particularly for men; the heads of families need to enter into this. Let your sons see you praying the Rosary so they will learn it too and become “well trained practitioners; walking weapons.”

A Rosary Miracle ... Sr Emmanuel (Medjugorje)

During the Second World War, my father was arrested by the Gestapo for his activities in the Resistance. He spent three years in a cell with 10 other resistance fighters in concentration camps in Germany. As a great lover of Our Lady, he prayed the Rosary often. His mother, whose only son he was, had no news of him over those years, but she was heroically trusting in Mary, and kept believing that he would return, praying rosary after rosary.

One day when my father was exhausted and starving like all his fellow prisoners, the SS in faction asked the prisoners to carry stones from a quarry to the place where they planned to build something. Each prisoner was given a stone to carry. When my father saw the stone he was given, he understood that his last hour had come, for it was impossible for him to lift it even an inch as it was so large. He also knew that if he didn't carry it, the dogs of the SS would jump on him and the guards would finish him off like a beast. He had seen this happen before.

Standing by his stone, in his distress, he looked up. He then saw a simple house close by, and on its façade was a small alcove in which stood a statue of the Blessed Mother. When my father saw the statue, he exclaimed inwardly, "Mary, save me!" At that very moment, the heavy stone became weightless! My father used to say, "It became lighter than confetti!"

Of the 10 men in his Resistance cell, he was the only one to come back alive (thanks to which I was born!). Needless to say, my father never failed to pray his rosary every day!

Vanquish the Enemy

"It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this on which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons."

Anyone seeking to live a Christian life will discover that our adversary will quickly move from anonymity to bullying and intimidation. But we have been given a wonderful gift, as Catholics, in that we have at our disposal a means to counter whatever comes, Mary, the mother of God. She is charged with the task of ‘crushing the head of the serpent’ (Gen 3:15).

Protestant churches have been robbed of this knowledge and struggle on without this important heavenly help, perhaps not understanding why the Lord delegated in this way.

Fr Amorth, a prolific exorcist from Italy, noticed that whenever he invoked the name of Mary during an exorcism the person became more agitated and violent; having authority over the evil one, he questioned him about it.

He asked why he seemed more afraid at the name of Mary than the name of Jesus Christ: He replied that ‘I am more afraid when you say the Madonna’s name, because I am more humiliated by being beaten by a simple woman, than by Him..’ Her power over him is such :- “Because she always defeats me, because she was never compromised by any taint of sin!”

It’s analogous to a school bully who terrorises everyone and is then laid out cold by a punch from the smallest girl, in front of everyone. God makes his humiliation fitting to his pride.

When Fr Amorth questioned further it was revealed that ‘every hail Mary makes hell tremble’ and the most noteworthy point I think was that ‘if Christians knew the power of the Rosary, it would be the end of me!’

No wonder the greatest saints were champions of the Rosary; with this weapon we can protect ourselves and Our Lady can vanquish the enemy.

A song for David ... a story from Medjugorje

Since 1988, Medjugorje has become a spiritual lifeline to our family. David, our second son, was born April 17, 1981, on Good Friday, a few weeks before the apparitions began in Medjugorje; a significant day, as from them onwards his life would pivot closely around Good Friday. David was born with a hare lip and during the early months and years of his life it became apparent that he had multiple problems, including paralysis affecting his left hand side and, more seriously, a diagnosis of severe aplastic anaemia, a rare bone marrow disease. Children with this disease seldom survived beyond their teenage years, alternating between endless blood transfusions to stabilise their condition to keep them alive in the short term, and then experiencing brief periods of remission.

In 1988 we had returned from Lourdes. My husband Bryan, although an agnostic, travelled to Lourdes with us. He enjoyed his week but spiritually he returned the same, much to my frustration. However, God has his own timing and ways of accomplishing his plan in our lives. I then decided to pray a nine-day novena to Our Lady for Bryan and surrendered him totally into her maternal care. During the novena I came to hear about the apparitions taking place in Medjugorje. Excitedly I shared the information with Bryan and said that I would love to visit the place.A few days later Bryan asked me where exactly Medjugorje was in what was then Yugoslavia and expressed an interest in going there one day. I was totally surprised by this sudden interest and had still not completed the novena I was saying for him. I continued to pray and then decided to book a surprise pilgrimage to Medjugorje for Bryan. I made the arrangements in faith, and then informed him. To my amazement he was delighted and six weeks later I packed his case. Before I shut the suitcase I remembered that I had bought some Rosary beads in Lourdes as a gift for Bryan and had put them in a drawer until I felt it was a suitable time to give them to him. I quickly found the brown wooden beads and placed them on top of his clothes. 

Whilst Bryan was away, our son David had a profound spiritual experience. Because of his poor health he had been allowed to make his First Holy Communion a few months before, at the age of seven. As usual, one evening, at the same time the apparitions took place in St James Church, I lit a candle and placed it in the centre of the kitchen table. I gathered my three children with Hannah, the youngest, on my knee, and began to pray the Rosary with them.I didn't particularly feel in the mood for prayer that evening. I was exhausted at the end of the day and just wanted to put the children to bed. As we began to make the Sign of the Cross, David became rather excitable and seemed absolutely fascinated with the candle. Mummy, mummy, just look at the candle. It's flashing three lights! he exclaimed. We all looked at the candle and it was no different to any other evening it had been lit. We began to pray, and as I glanced up I noticed that David, normally such a fidget, had his eyes gently closed and sat perfectly still without joining in. 

After prayers he continued to sit quietly before eventually opening his eyes. He's gone, he pronounced simply. David, who's gone? I asked. Jesus is gone. After the three flashes of light from the candle, I saw a mist. As the mist cleared, Jesus was standing beside the candle. Do you mean a Child Jesus or a Daddy Jesus, I asked. A Daddy Jesus. He wore a white robe and had wounds on his hands and feet. He then spoke to me and said, You are to pray the Rosary for you are a son of Mary. Jesus then showed me the world of Medjugorje. It was like a moving picture. I saw a church with two high steeples. I then saw Jesus standing beside my daddy. Daddy was wearing a necklace around his neck with a cross. When he comes home he will be leading the Rosary in our family. 

David's prophetic words came true. Bryan had a profound conversion experience in Medjugorje. As he stood listening to Vicka, one of the young visionaries, describe her experiences with the Blessed Mother, he just knew that she was speaking the truth. When he returned home, he was wearing around his neck the brown Rosary beads I had packed in his suitcase. David just pointed to the necklace that he had seen. Bryan was received into the Catholic Church exactly one year later, on the Feast of St Therese of the Child Jesus. Bryan took David to Medjugorje two years later. He was, by this time, quite a sick little boy. He had a wonderful time. He especially loved climbing the big mountain by torchlight. It was the last holiday that David had.

He died from a brain haemorrhage on April 9, 1991. Mummy I don't want to be attached to this drip on my birthday. The Lord heard and answered his prayer. He was in heaven for his tenth birthday. The following year his birthday fell on  Good Friday.

A crown of Roses ... (from the Secret of the Rosary)

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 ?

Keep it simple ,,,,,,,,,,Heavenly advice

(from The secret of the Rosary)

Our Lady appeared to St Dominic and said "My son, do not be surprised that your sermons fail to bear the results that you had hoped for. You are trying to cultivate a piece of land which has not had any rain. Now when Almighty God planned to renew the face of the earth He started by sending down rain from heaven-and this was the Angelic Salutation. In this way God made over the world."

"So when you give a sermon urge people to say my Rosary and in this way your words will bear much fruit for souls" St Dominic lost no time in obeying and from then on he exerted great influence by his sermons.

Another time Jesus appeared to him and said "Dominic, I rejoice to see that you are not relying upon your own wisdom and that, rather than seek the empty praise of men, you are working with great humility for the salvation of souls". 

"Many want to preach thunderously against the worst kinds of sin at the very outset, failing to realise that before a sick person is given bitter medicine he needs to be prepared by being put in the right frame of mind to really benefit from it ..before doing anything else, ...try to kindle a love of prayer in people's hearts and especially a love of my Angelic Psalter (the Rosary) ."

"If only they would all start saying it and would really persevere, God, in His mercy, could hardly refuse to give them His grace. So I want you to preach my Rosary"

A weapon against evil...more Rosary stories

 (from the Secret of the Rosary St Louis de Montfort)

While Saint Dominic was preaching the Rosary in Carcasone, a heretic made fun of the miracles and the fifteen mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and this prevented other heretics from being converted. As a punishment God suffered fifteen thousand devils to enter the man's body.

His parents took him to Father Dominic to be delivered from the evil spirits. He started to pray and begged everyone who was there to say the Rosary out loud with him, and at each Hail Mary Our Lady drove out one hundred devils out of the heretic's body and they came out in the form of red hot coals.

After he had been delivered he abjured his former errors, was converted and joined the Rosary Confraternity. Several of his associates did the same, having been greatly moved by his punishment and by the power of the Rosary.

The learned Franciscan, Carthagena, as well as several other authors, say that an extraordinary event took place in 1482: The Venerable James Sprenger and other religious of his order were zealously working to re-establish devotion to the Holy Rosary and also to erect a Confraternity in the city of Cologne.

Unfortunately two priests who were famous for their preaching ability were jealous of the great influence they were exerting through preaching the Rosary. So these two Fathers spoke against this devotion whenever they had a chance, and as they were very eloquent and had a great reputation they persuaded many people not to join the Confraternity.

One of them, bound and determined to achieve his wicked end, wrote a special sermon against the Rosary and planned to give it the following Sunday. But when it came time for the sermon he never appeared and, after a certain amount of waiting somebody went to fetch him. He was found dead, and evidently had died alone without any one to help him and without seeing a priest.

After convincing himself that death had been due to natural causes, the other priest decided to carry out his friend's plan and hoped to put an end to the Confraternity of the Rosary. However, when the day came for him to preach and it was time to give the sermon God punished him by striking him down with paralysis which deprived him both of the use of his limbs and of his power of speech.

At last he admitted his sin and likewise that of his friend and immediately, in his heart of hearts, he silently besought Our Lady to help him. He promised her that is she would only cure him he would preach the Holy Rosary with as much zeal as that with which he had formerly fought against it. For this end he implored her to restore his health and speech which she did, and finding himself instantaneously cured he rose up like another Saul, a persecutor turned defender of the Holy Rosary. He publicly acknowledged his former error and ever after preached the wonders of the Most Holy Rosary with great zeal and eloquence.

"The Rosary is the 'weapon' for these times." Padre Pio

To enroll in the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary , the oldest prayer group in the world.. click link:-

Enrol in the Rosary Confraternity

My Immaculate Heart will Triumph........... a story from Spain

(from the Secret of the Rosary by St Louis de Montfort)

In 1481 our Lady appeared to the Venerable Dominic, a Carthusian devoted to the holy Rosary, who lived at Treves, and said to him: "Whenever one of the faithful, in a state of grace, says the Rosary while meditating on the mysteries of the life and passion of Christ, he obtains full and entire remission of all his sins."

She also said to Blessed Alan, "I want you to know that, although there are numerous indulgences already attached to the recitation of my Rosary, I shall add many more to every five decades for those, who free from serious sin, say them with devotion, on their knees. And whosoever shall persevere in the devotion of the holy Rosary, with its prayers and meditations, shall be rewarded for it; I shall obtain for him full remission of the penalty and the guilt of all his sins at the end of his life.

"And let this not seem incredible to you; it is easy for me because I am the Mother of the King of heaven, and he calls me full of grace. And being filled with grace, I am able to dispense it freely to my dear children." St. Dominic was so convinced of the efficacy of the Rosary and its great value, that when he heard confessions, he hardly ever gave any other penance.

Father Jean Amat, of the Order of St. Dominic, was giving a series of Lenten sermons in the Kingdom of Aragon one year, when a young girl was brought to him who was possessed by the devil. After he had exorcised her several times without success, he put his rosary round her neck. Hardly had he done so when the girl began to scream and cry out in a fearful way, shrieking, "Take it off, take it off; these beads are tormenting me." At last, the priest, filled with pity for the girl, took his rosary off her.

The very next night, when Fr. Amat was in bed, the same devils who had possession of the girl came to him, foaming with rage and tried to seize him. But he had his rosary clasped in his hand and no efforts of theirs could wrench it from him. He beat them with it very well indeed and put them to flight, crying out, "Holy Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, come to my help."

The next day on his way to the church, he met the poor girl, still possessed; one of the devils within her started to jeer at him, saying, "Well, brother, if you had been without your rosary, we should have made short shrift of you." Then the good Father threw his rosary round the girl's neck without more ado, saying, "By the sacred names of Jesus and Mary his holy Mother, and by the power of the holy Rosary, I command you, evil spirits, to leave the body of this girl at once." They were immediately forced to obey him, and she was delivered from them.

These stories show the power of the holy Rosary in overcoming all sorts of temptations from the evil spirits and all sorts of sins, because these blessed beads of the Rosary put devils to rout.

Persevering Prayer..a story from France

Blanche of Castille, Queen of France, was deeply grieved because 12 years after her marriage she was still childless. When St Dominic went to see her he advised her to pray the rosary everyday to ask God for the grace of motherhood, and she faithfully carried out his advice. In 1213 she gave birth to her eldest child Philip, but he died in infancy.

The Queen's fervour was not dulled by this disappointment; on the contrary she sought Our Lady's help more than ever before. She had a large number of rosaries given out to all members of the court and to people in several cities in the kingdom, asking them to join her in entreating God for a blessing that this time would be complete. 

Thus in 1215, Saint Louis was born-the prince who was to become the glory of France and the model of all Christian Kings.

Unite with the heavenly host ...a story from France

(from Secrets of the Rosary)

Father Dominic, a Carthusian, who was deeply devoted to the holy Rosary, had a vision in which he saw heaven open and the whole heavenly court assembled in magnificent array.

He heard them sing the Rosary in an enchanting melody, and each decade was in honour of a mystery of the life, passion, or glory of Jesus Christ and his holy Mother. Fr. Dominic noticed that whenever they pronounced the holy name of Mary they bowed their head, and at the name of Jesus they genuflected and gave thanks to God for the great good that he had wrought in heaven and on earth through the holy Rosary. 

He also saw how our Lady and the Saints present to God the Rosaries which the Confraternity members say here on earth. He noticed too that they were praying for those who practice this devotion. He also saw beautiful crowns without number, which were made of sweet-smelling flowers, for those who say the Rosary devoutly. He learned that by every Rosary that they say they make a crown for themselves which they will be able to wear in heaven.

This holy Carthusian's vision is very much like that the Beloved Disciple had, in which he saw a great multitude of angels and saints, who continually praised and blessed Jesus Christ for all that he had done and suffered on earth for our salvation. And is not this what the devout members of the Rosary Confraternity do?

It must not be imagined that the Rosary is only for women, and for simple and unlearned people; it is also for men and for the greatest of men. As soon as St. Dominic acquainted Pope Innocent III with the fact that he had received a command from heaven to establish the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, the Holy Father gave it his full approval, urged St. Dominic to preach it, and said that he wished to become a member himself. Even Cardinals embraced the devotion with great fervor, which prompted Lopez to say, "Neither sex nor age nor any other condition has kept anyone from devotion to the Rosary."

http://rosaryconfraternity.org/ to join the oldest prayer group in the world !

‘A Living God’

My wife and I were travelling recently in the Mountain Province in the north of the country. It’s still a mission territory but even though there is not always a priest around the people gather every evening for the rosary after they come in from the fields.

We joined them and couldn’t help but notice that most were old and most were women. This is a common sight here as in the western world to see mostly elderly women stoically bolstering the church. I wonder why ?

Clearly the problem cannot be our origin. It is the church started by the Lord Himself. It’s Pope and Bishops successors of Peter and the Apostles. We don’t cater to the shifting sands of public opinion but retain authentic and unchangeable teachings.

The thing is though, faith cannot really be taught, it must be caught. And you can only catch it from someone who has it in the first place. The early days of the church set the tone for this :- ‘These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.'’(Mk 16:17) The Acts of the apostles lead us into this demonstration of faith, confirmed by heaven through wonderful signs and wonders of His love and mercy.

Would anyone leave that church? Those early Christians showed that Jesus was a living God, the source of everything we need, not just salvation but everything. Faith became the very centre of their lives, a living faith, an active one, a life of miracles. After all it would be inaccurate to preach a God who is merely a historical figure, or a reclusive or remote Being.

After the Rosary we shared some testimonies about miracles we had seen over the years and my wife gave a talk about praying for healing and we prayed over many who were sick. After that the participants couldn’t wait to go and pray for their sick friends and relatives: an immediate domino effect. I think God is waiting as patiently to be introduced as His people are waiting to hear more about and receive Him!

Hide me in the shadow of your wings...a story from Japan

During the Second World War, an atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. A mile around the place of the impact, there was not a soul alive. A desert of death! Yet one house made of a straw thatched roof was left standing near the parish church, 8 blocks from the epicenter of the explosion. As incredible as it may seem, that house remained absolutely intact!

It was the Rectory of the Jesuits. Eight priests lived there. None of them were physically or psychologically affected by the bomb. Not only did they come out of the tragedy alive, but they were in perfect health. They died at an old age many years later. Father Hubert Schiffer, one of the Jesuits, was 30 years old when the bomb exploded. He lived 33 more years in good health before he died in Frankfurt in 1982. In July 1976, at the Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia (USA), he publicly witnessed the whole story. I happened to be there. At the time, the 8 members of the Jesuit community were still alive.

Experts looked into this enigma for years and years, using with the best of instruments and searching with passion the best clues for a hidden force in the construction of the house. How could the house, having nothing special and looking like a simple Japanese house, have possibly resisted such a cataclysm? Also the Jesuits were examined by over 200 scientists. The conclusion was always the same, they did not understand how these men could have survived in the middle of the hecatomb when all the other living beings had perished by the thousands. As for them, the Jesuits knew! But though they kept on saying the truth and proclaiming it from the rooftops, no one would believe them. Their answer was not a "scientific"one! Father Hubert explained that he owed this protection to the Blessed Mother since he and his brothers had put into practice what she had asked for in Fatima (1917).He declared to the experts, "I was in the center of the atomic explosion and I am still alive, safe and sound. I was not touched by the bomb." "In our house,", he said, "There was only one thing different from the other houses: each day, we would gather and recite the Rosary together!".

Reestablish the Rosary !.... a story from France

Blessed Alan was one of the Dominican Fathers from the onastery at Dinan, in Brittany. He was an eminent theologian and was famous for his sermons. Our Lady chose him because, since the Confraternity (of the Holy Rosary) had originally been started in this province, it was most fitting that a Dominican from the very same province should have the honor of re-establishing it.

Blessed Alan began this great work in 1460 after a special warning from Our Lord. This is how he received His urgent message, as he tells it himself:

One day when he was saying 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 so. If you only did this 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.

This terrible reproach made Blessed Alan solemnly resolve to preach the Rosary unceasingly. Our Lady too spoke to him one day to inspire him to preach the Holy Rosary more and more:"You were a great sinner in your youth." she said, "but I obtained the grace of your conversion from my Son. Had such 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 this also to make you worthy of preaching my Rosary far and wide."

Saint Dominic appeared to Blessed Alan as well and told him of the great results of his ministry: he had preached the Holy Rosary unceasingly, his sermons had borne great fruit and many people had been converted during his missions. He said to Blessed Alan:"See the wonderful results I have had through preaching the Holy Rosary ! You and all those who love Our Lady ought to do the same so that, by means of this holy practice of the Rosary, you may draw all people to the real science of the virtues.

Grace of Conversion ..a story from Spain

(from the secret of the Rosary)

Alphonsus VIII, King of Aragon and Castille, had been leading a disorderly life and therefore had been punished by God in several ways, one of these being that he was worsted in battle and had to take refuge in a city belonging to one of his allies.

St Dominic happened to be in this city on Christmas day and preached on the holy Rosary as he always did, pointing out how great are the graces that we can obtain through it. He mentioned, among other things, that those who prayed the Rosary devoutly would overcome their enemies and would regain all that they had lost in warfare.

The king listened attentively and sent for St Dominic to ask if what he had said about the Rosary was really true. He assured him that nothing was more true, and that if only he would practice this devotion and join the confraternity, he would see for himself. The king firmly resolved to pray the rosary every day and persevered for a year in doing so. The very next Christmas Our Lady appeared to him at the end of his rosary and said Alphonsus, you have served me for a year by saying my rosary devoutly every day, so I have come to reward you: I have obtained the forgiveness of your sins from my Son. And I am going to give you this Rosary; wear it, and I promise you that none of your enemies will ever be able to harm you again.

Our Lady vanished leaving the King overjoyed and greatly encouraged; he immediately went in search of the Queen to tell her about Our Lady's gift and the promises that went with it. He held the rosary to her eyes (she had been blind for some time) and her sight was instantly restored.

Shortly afterwards the king rallied some troops with the help of his allies and boldly attacked his enemies. He forced them to give back the territory that they had taken from him and to make amends for their other offences against him, and put them completely to rout. In fact he became so lucky in war that soldiers rushed from all sides to fight under his standard because it seemed that whenever he went to battle the victory was sure to be his.

This is not surprising because he never went to battle without firstly saying his rosary devoutly on his knees. He made certain that all the members of his court joined the confraternity of the most Holy Rosary and he also saw that his officers and servants were devoted to it. 

The Queen joined and started praying the Rosary and she and her husband persevered in Our Lady's service and lived holy lives.

Those who are forgiven much, love much ..a story from Korea

Recently I visited Fr. Raymond Spies in Anyang. He told me that, when one goes to Naju, he should not go just to see the Blessed Mother's tears and tears of blood but to reform his life based on her messages. I would like to introduce one soul who has become a new person thanks to the messages from the Blessed Mother of Naju.

I first learned about Naju through the Blue Army in 1987. It was before the Chapel was built. I wanted to do some good work and guided one poor soul to Naju. She was a 17 year-old girl by the name of Theresa. She quit school during her senior year in the junior high school (9th grade) and began leading a dissolute life. She not only smoked and drank but was into narcotics also. She was suffering from severe hallucinations. She became a prostitute. Her parents spent every day with tears and pains. People were avoiding her and deserting her as a delinquent person. I brought her into my house, thinking that she was Jesus or the Blessed Mother.

After we came back from a visit to Naju, we were reading the messages together. She asked me what sacrilegious communion (mentioned in the message on June 5, 1988) meant. I explained it in detail and asked her to examine herself. She said that sometimes she hid some of her sins during Confession because of shame and received Communion sacrilegiously. She shed tears of repentance. She has been reading the messages every day and makes frequent confessions. Before, when I asked her to pray the rosary together, she was trampling the rosary down. Now, she prays fifteen decades for the conversion of sinners. She is changing every day through the messages. She says that everything has changed 180 degrees.

Before, she almost went to jail several times for stealing, but now she refuses to take gifts of money, saying that she is afraid of committing sins if she had money. She does not watch TV or video any longer. She says that she promised to the Lord and the Blessed Mother not to watch TV or video. She is leading a life of offering up beautiful roses to the Lord and the Blessed Mother by making sacrifices and reparations, saying that she had more sins than anyone else. She is making strenuous efforts to practice the Blessed Mother's messages. She prays the rosary fervently for the teenage girls who are committing sins as prostitutes without knowing that they are committing sins. She says that she will spread the Blessed Mother's messages to those girls, too.

Gabriella Chang, Inchon