Gospel. Luke 1. 26-38. At that time the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the Angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the Angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the Angel : How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the Angel answering, said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren; because no work shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word."
Of all the practices of devotion with which we honor the Blessed Virgin, the most beautiful, the most dear to her is certainly the recitation of the Rosary. Mary herself instituted that form of prayer, and when she gave the Rosary to St. Dominic she said to him: " My son Dominic, preach the Rosary everywhere; it is the form of prayer which I love best! Let us see in what its excellence consists, and how we should recite it, so that it may be acceptable to the Blessed Virgin and of benefit to ourselves.
To recognize the excellence of the Rosary it is enough for us to think of the beautiful prayers of which it is composed; it is made up of the Our Father, a greater prayer than which is not known, for it was taught us by Christ Himself, composed by the Son of God to His Father. This prayer contains petitions for every necessity of life. Then follows the Hail Mary, the salutation to the Mother of God, by the archangel Gabriel, the words of which were placed in his mouth by God Himself who inspired them; afterward a part was added by St. Elizabeth at the visit which Mary paid to her, after the Annunciation, and, lastly, the
Church also puts in a few words. St. Bernard says: "Heaven smiles, the angels rejoice, the devils fly, hell trembles whenever we say a devout Hail Mary."
To these great prayers we join a meditation on the mysteries of our holy religion, the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ in its principal points at least. With the angel we go to Nazareth and contemplate the Annunciation, and the Word made flesh without ceasing to be the Son of God. From there we hasten over the mountains with the Blessed Virgin to visit her cousin St. Elizabeth; then we wander to Bethlehem where Our Lord is born in a poor stable; and afterwards we go with the Virgin to offer her divine Son in the Temple, where our Saviour was manifested for the first time to Simeon and to Anna the prophetess; then we see Him living a quiet life in Nazareth.
Now begins the public life of Our Lord; we meditate on His Passion and death; His Resurrection and Ascension, the coming down of the Holy Ghost, the crowning in heaven of Mary the Mother of Jesus. When we offer these meditations to God, united with the Hail Marys, they certainly will have more power than if we composed a prayer of our own and said it ever so piously. Of course this devotion is acceptable to Mary only when it is recited properly and devoutly.
Do you think that we honor Mary when we recite the Rosary with wilful distractions? That is no prayer; such prayers do honor to no saint. When St. Stanislaus said the Rosary, his face showed that he was sunk in affectionate devotion; it seemed as if the Blessed Virgin were before him, seated on a throne and he were kneeling at the foot of it. What a great advantage it would be to us if we recited the Rosary in a faultless manner. With great generosity will Mary scatter her graces upon our bodies and souls, and beg blessings for our temporal, but especially our spiritual, affairs. Mary will defend us against all our enemies, she will cast her mantle over us; if we are still innocent she will preserve our innocence for us; if we have been wicked she will obtain for us the grace of conversion. In our hands the beads may be the means of converting many from sin; we may lead back to the Church the renegade from his religion; the poor sinner that is steeped in vice will find strength and better counsel; the drunkard will be able to reform. Blessed are the young people who live in families where the Rosary is said every evening just before retiring for the night. There must be a special blessing on them. The blessing of Jesus and Mary will enrich those families with temporal and spiritual blessings; there will be found peace and happiness; crime will find no place there. "The fear of the Lord is his treasure."
The custom of reciting the Rosary in a family shows that it is a good and pious family, where there will be heard no curses, discord, or blasphemies; the vice of impurity will not dare to enter there. God governs that household, and God is enthroned there by the united
praying of the Rosary. You may say that you should like to say the Rosary sometimes, but your parents never ask you to say it, and so it is omitted. Do not throw the fault on others; have a Rosary of your own, carry it as scrupulously as you wear the Scapular; never be without it, but keep it in your pocket, and when you occasionally touch it, you will be reminded to recite it.
It would be good to introduce it in your home on the feast of the Rosary or on some other appropriate feast. Your parents ought to be glad to have such a practice proposed by you, for it will prove that your religious training has had some effect on you. For the love of the Blessed Virgin, say the Rosary, say it in her honor, think of God, and of prayer; when you recite it, do not simply run off a large number of Hail Marys. Love the Rosary, therefore, my dear young people, it is a precious thing; recite it every evening, as Leo XIII, the Holy Father, advises, and no doubt this devotion will bring to you such spiritual benefits that you will gain a high place in heaven. St. Dominic tells us that no one will be lost who recites the Rosary with devotion.
Source: Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900
Of all the practices of devotion with which we honor the Blessed Virgin, the most beautiful, the most dear to her is certainly the recitation of the Rosary. Mary herself instituted that form of prayer, and when she gave the Rosary to St. Dominic she said to him: " My son Dominic, preach the Rosary everywhere; it is the form of prayer which I love best! Let us see in what its excellence consists, and how we should recite it, so that it may be acceptable to the Blessed Virgin and of benefit to ourselves.
To recognize the excellence of the Rosary it is enough for us to think of the beautiful prayers of which it is composed; it is made up of the Our Father, a greater prayer than which is not known, for it was taught us by Christ Himself, composed by the Son of God to His Father. This prayer contains petitions for every necessity of life. Then follows the Hail Mary, the salutation to the Mother of God, by the archangel Gabriel, the words of which were placed in his mouth by God Himself who inspired them; afterward a part was added by St. Elizabeth at the visit which Mary paid to her, after the Annunciation, and, lastly, the
Church also puts in a few words. St. Bernard says: "Heaven smiles, the angels rejoice, the devils fly, hell trembles whenever we say a devout Hail Mary."
To these great prayers we join a meditation on the mysteries of our holy religion, the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ in its principal points at least. With the angel we go to Nazareth and contemplate the Annunciation, and the Word made flesh without ceasing to be the Son of God. From there we hasten over the mountains with the Blessed Virgin to visit her cousin St. Elizabeth; then we wander to Bethlehem where Our Lord is born in a poor stable; and afterwards we go with the Virgin to offer her divine Son in the Temple, where our Saviour was manifested for the first time to Simeon and to Anna the prophetess; then we see Him living a quiet life in Nazareth.
Now begins the public life of Our Lord; we meditate on His Passion and death; His Resurrection and Ascension, the coming down of the Holy Ghost, the crowning in heaven of Mary the Mother of Jesus. When we offer these meditations to God, united with the Hail Marys, they certainly will have more power than if we composed a prayer of our own and said it ever so piously. Of course this devotion is acceptable to Mary only when it is recited properly and devoutly.
Do you think that we honor Mary when we recite the Rosary with wilful distractions? That is no prayer; such prayers do honor to no saint. When St. Stanislaus said the Rosary, his face showed that he was sunk in affectionate devotion; it seemed as if the Blessed Virgin were before him, seated on a throne and he were kneeling at the foot of it. What a great advantage it would be to us if we recited the Rosary in a faultless manner. With great generosity will Mary scatter her graces upon our bodies and souls, and beg blessings for our temporal, but especially our spiritual, affairs. Mary will defend us against all our enemies, she will cast her mantle over us; if we are still innocent she will preserve our innocence for us; if we have been wicked she will obtain for us the grace of conversion. In our hands the beads may be the means of converting many from sin; we may lead back to the Church the renegade from his religion; the poor sinner that is steeped in vice will find strength and better counsel; the drunkard will be able to reform. Blessed are the young people who live in families where the Rosary is said every evening just before retiring for the night. There must be a special blessing on them. The blessing of Jesus and Mary will enrich those families with temporal and spiritual blessings; there will be found peace and happiness; crime will find no place there. "The fear of the Lord is his treasure."
The custom of reciting the Rosary in a family shows that it is a good and pious family, where there will be heard no curses, discord, or blasphemies; the vice of impurity will not dare to enter there. God governs that household, and God is enthroned there by the united
praying of the Rosary. You may say that you should like to say the Rosary sometimes, but your parents never ask you to say it, and so it is omitted. Do not throw the fault on others; have a Rosary of your own, carry it as scrupulously as you wear the Scapular; never be without it, but keep it in your pocket, and when you occasionally touch it, you will be reminded to recite it.
It would be good to introduce it in your home on the feast of the Rosary or on some other appropriate feast. Your parents ought to be glad to have such a practice proposed by you, for it will prove that your religious training has had some effect on you. For the love of the Blessed Virgin, say the Rosary, say it in her honor, think of God, and of prayer; when you recite it, do not simply run off a large number of Hail Marys. Love the Rosary, therefore, my dear young people, it is a precious thing; recite it every evening, as Leo XIII, the Holy Father, advises, and no doubt this devotion will bring to you such spiritual benefits that you will gain a high place in heaven. St. Dominic tells us that no one will be lost who recites the Rosary with devotion.
Source: Sermons for Children's Masses, Imprimatur 1900
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