The Scourge of the Devil

I PERSONALLY HOLD that next to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which is the source and summit of our Christian life, the next most beautiful and efficacious prayer is, of course, the holy rosary of the Blessed Virign Mary - the Scourge of the Devil.

The sweetness of this prayer, in my own view, derive from the sweetness of she from whose nearness and grace we are caught up and enraptured in a journey of the soul to the timeless events in salvation history which are, in reality, the only events in human history worth remembering and thinking about.

One must remember when praying the rosary that the roasry has both a body and a soul. The body of the rosary are the vocal prayers that we say with each bead and the soul of the rosary is the contemplative journey that we take with Mary, the Mother of God and Queen of All Hearts, as she accompanies us right into the very heart of Christ, so full of treasures, wonders, virtues and gifts of the Spirit.

The soul of the rosary is, like the soul of man, the more noble part of the prayer without which there is little to no life that flows from the Font of all life as grace into our souls through prayer.

There is no prayer that strike more terror into the wicked heart of the Devil, who is the serpent of faded Eden, the same dragon, the beast of war, than the holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is what it is to me, the Scourge of the Devil, and I believe also that the more rosaries that are said, the more power is given to our Immaculata and her children of light to crush the head of the serpent who is the Devil, the ancient enemy of men, angels and God and bring our world into a new era of peace and renewal for all mankind.

Remember when praying the rosary to meditate - not to think hard but to think deeply and without much exertion - and know from me, beloved of God, that there is so much more to Jesus Christ, infinitely more, always infinitely more, than we can ever comprehend here on earth with our thimble capacity for the truth. Even in heaven the souls of our Saints longing for the resurrection of the body at the Last Day which is the Day of General Judgment, already glorified and confirmed in goodness and charity can not fully know of the infinite perfections of the Lord our God. Beloved of God, Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Eternal Word of God and is ininite excellence, infinite wonder, and infinite virtue, holiness and glory - He is the Treasure that once found will cause us to lose all for All - to us He is heaven itself - and His mother is my own way toward Him, for I can not bear to even imagine to be with Christ without Mary, a mere nothing beholding the infinite Everything and what's worst, a great sinner who has caused - and is causing - so much trouble, pain, offense, dishonor and humiliations to the Lord Who is my All and all those who love and obey Him in His holy Angels and his great Saints. Beloved of God, who can brave all this without, gentle, sweet, kind, chaste and clement Mother? For I cannot.

Besides, getting to know the truth of the reality and the excellence and perfections of God and getting to know the sweetness and the gentleness of the Holy Mother of God and the grace of God that we from the proper recitation of the rosary obtain there are also these fifteen promises given to those who shall say the rosary - body and soul.

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people 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.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

All of this is a sure sign of the generosity of Divine giving - but let us remember too that the Cross is also a sign of the workings of the Divine, therefore, our praying will require effort, sometimes much, much effort - but Christian love, I am sure, makes it all worthwhile.

Beloved of God, I just want to share this with you remebering that one of the three pillars of Lent is prayer, so why not begin today to make a habit out of this prayer for the season of Lent and then continue on to learn to become sufficient with this great and wonderful way back safely Home to Jesus - the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the Scourge of the Devil?

Lastly, I shall part with you with this most relevant saying: "When we sow a thought, we reap an act. When we sow an act, we reap a habit. When we sow a habit, we reap a character. When we sow a character, we reap a destiny".

Please prayerfully meditate on it.

Glory to God in the highest, peace to men of goodwill.

Always to always - In Christ through Mary,

- EJ San Miguel