The Realness of the Rosary

The month of October is dedicated to the Rosary. 'If there were one million families praying the Rosary every day, the entire world would be saved.' ~ Pope St Pius X

From Crisis

By J.T. Noyes

The Mysteries of the Rosary upon which we meditate work to re-tether us to a reality that we are so often detached from in our modernist, post-Christian, hyper-worldly society.

Until recently, I was not a significant devotee of the Rosary. Faithfully praying the Rosary was for me, at best, sporadic. That was the case until earlier this summer when my wife informed me that she was pregnant with our fourth child.

Although happy, of course, I was also struck with an anxiousness that I had not necessarily felt with our previous three children. As I tried to do what I am sure many young fathers have done to mitigate this anxiousness—I began the process of planning and fretting over the dollars and cents of raising another child—Our Lord and Our Lady seemed to be, at the same time, leading me to the Rosary as a sort of counterbalance to the stress and worry that has come with preparing for another child.

For example, when I began nail biting about whether or not our vehicle would be sufficient enough for the (soon-to-be) six of us, I found myself meditating deeply on the Visitation and the means of travel available to Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph during their journey to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s. Needless to say, I am sure they would’ve appreciated a used SUV with slight hail damage.

Or whenever my concerns start to grow about affording the hospital bills we will inevitably receive this spring, considering even briefly what it would’ve smelled and felt like in the space around the manger on that first Christmas is enough to make me appreciate the modern medical care my wife and newborn child will receive. Further still, when I am disquieted by the increasingly grim state of this country wherein my children will grow up, I am sobered by the thought of Our Lady at the foot of the Cross and how she must’ve felt looking up at her beloved son and seeing in each blood-filled scar and wound what pain and evil the world has always been capable of inflicting.

The Mysteries of the Rosary upon which we meditate work to re-tether us to a reality that we are so often detached from in our modernist, post-Christian, hyper-worldly society. Everything in our culture, from food to movies to politicians and even Church leaders, seems increasingly processed and artificial as opposed to real and authentic. Take, for example, the current race for the White House. Both candidates seem to be competing more in a cringy pandering contest than they do in a serious election for the highest office in government. Although, it would be hard for one to argue that this is a new phenomenon in American presidential politics.

As we Catholics wade our way through a sea of insincerity, unoriginality, deceit, half-truths, lies, empty promises, “impossible burgers,” and all the other phony-baloney swirling around us, the Rosary offers us a place of solid ground to stop, stand on, and recharge. It is, for us, the spiritual building material of hardwood floors and marble in a world of paneling and vinyl. Thus is the reason why the Rosary is such a treasured sacramental that has been promoted, praised, and prayed by so many saints throughout the centuries. Indeed, it was Our Lady herself, who, at Fatima, clearly stated we should, “pray the Rosary daily.”  

Other saints have testified to the “realness” of the Rosary in their descriptions of it. St. Padre Pio referred to the Rosary as the “weapon for our times.” St. Louis de Montfort described the Rosary as “a priceless treasure inspired by God.” And St. Francis de Sales went as far as to say that “the greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.” Whichever saintly attestation you choose to place your confidence in, the facts remain, the evidence is in, and the jury is no longer out: as Catholics, the Rosary should be a standard in our prayer life, especially considering the counterfeit culture we presently find ourselves in.

Perhaps providentially, October is both the month of the Rosary and the last month before the election. If things haven’t been crazy enough already, we have good reason to believe they will get even crazier as we approach the first Tuesday in November. One option this October is to be easily swept away in following the election incessantly, doomscrolling through endless opinions and insights on social media, and making politics the topic of our every conversation. However, another option this month is to dedicate ourselves to praying the Rosary—with its roots grounded in Pope St. Pius V’s establishment of a feast day in 1571 commemorating the Holy League’s victory over the larger Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The latter is the October we ought to observe more robustly as Catholics.

For some, this observation may simply mean continuing to pray their daily Rosary and offering it for our country. Perhaps, for others, it may be a chance to read a good book about the Rosary and deepen their understanding of it. In other cases, this October could be a great opportunity to begin praying the Rosary as a family, gifting a rosary to a friend, or making a consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Whatever the case may be, we need the realness of the Rosary in our lives right now.  

We need a weapon to fight against the powers of darkness preying on the difficulties in our homes, communities, country, and Church. We need to unearth and unleash this spiritual treasure to oppose the fool’s gold and snake oil being peddled to us by the media, politicians, celebrities, and the like. We need to remain hopeful and remind ourselves of the words of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who said: “the power of the Rosary is beyond description.” This is certainly not lip service by the late archbishop. No. This is a statement of fact. A call to arms. A testament to the realness of the Rosary.