The Evangelizing Power of the Rosary
By Vunda Moutchia
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God is so good to us, all the time. The measure of His goodness, especially in the gift of Mary and the Rosary, cannot be quantified. That is why I always love to begin sharing my experiences on the Rosary with these words from Sister Lucia dos Santos of Fatima:

"The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families...that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary" (http://theholyrosary.org).

For me, this has been an amazing inspiration through the years. Therefore, as we reflect on The Evangelizing Power of the Rosary, let us hope and pray that it will help us deepen our knowledge of the Catholic faith as Christians through the meditation of the Rosary; clothe ourselves with the garments of grace and equip ourselves with the necessary tools for salvation; gain the gifts of the Rosary and use them as tools of Evangelization and thus be of greater service to our families, Parishes and community as a whole.

In the light of the foregoing, it is important to first of all understand why we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, every year. The reason is attributed to the historical Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571 between the Christian forces of the Holy League under Pope Pius V and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The Pontiff placed this particular mission under the special protection of Our Lady and her Rosary. There ensued a five-hour battle on this first Sunday of October 1571 at the Gulf of Patras in the Ionian Sea. The Holy Father saw a vision of the victory to be confirmed a few weeks later due to poor communication facilities. In honor of this victory, the Pope designated October 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. The name was later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto_(1571)). It is also important to note that it was Pope Leo XIII who added the invocation: "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary" to the Litany of Loreto. The victory at Lepanto was in itself an evangelizing outcome of the Rosary.

At this point, a further understanding of the "Hail Mary" with regard to its origin and meaning will help us better place the Rosary in its right context in relation to New Evangelization. Articles 2674 - 2679 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explain the Biblical foundation of the Hail Mary and Our Lady's willingness to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the prayer is centered on Christ. The two-fold movement of this beautiful payer is also explained therein. In the first part, God Himself speaks directly through the Angel, followed by Elizabeth's greeting to Mary. The second part of the Hail Mary was officially added by Pope Pius V (c1569), recommending us poor sinners, to Mary's care and protection, just as Jesus entrusted her to John at the Foot of the Cross, His deathbed.

It is this fullness of grace that Mary shares with us, her children, each time we pray the Rosary, for she is the mother of all believers. To enable us receive this grace entirely, she imparted the Rosary to Saint Dominic in 1214. He had prayed to Mary, asking her to intercede in the fight against heresy and sin during his time. So, about 800 years ago he began to promote the Rosary. The Rosary is an old tradition, but it is still ever fresh as testified by Pope John Paul II in his writings. Hence, the Rosary is a weapon against evil and sin.

But what is the Rosary? Is it just beads? No, it is more than that. It is a form of prayer: both vocal and mental. Vocal when we recite the Our Father and Hail Mary aloud; mental when we reflect on the important aspects of the life of Jesus and Mary. The Rosary is a prayer of love; a way of telling Our Blessed Mother that we love and cherish her, that we are ready to do what Jesus asks us to do. It is equally a sacramental; one of the many sacred signs instituted by the Church as an expression of piety. What's more, the Rosary is our staff of and in life, our weapon against the devil. In fact, it is a way of life. In union with the Church, it is a devotional practice that extends the liturgical life of the Church into daily life.

Let us pause for a while and establish a link with evangelization. As we think about the word "evangelization", another important word stands out: "ANGEL". Now, we know that the word "angel" means "bearer of good news". And so, it was the Angel Gabriel who came at the Annunciation with the Good News of the Savior's birth to Mary Our Mother. In brief therefore, evangelization simply means bringing the Good News to all people. It is transforming the world to Christ beginning from self, for one cannot give what one does not have. Of all creatures then, Mary is the first bearer of this Good News, Jesus Christ, Whom she bore in her womb. Thus, John the Baptist received Jesus at the Visitation and leapt for joy. He was then able to in turn preach about the coming of the Savior. From this perspective then, Mary is the first Tabernacle for she bore the Word in her heart; she is the Ark of the Lord for she bore the Word in her womb. The Church refers to her as the New Eve. Our Blessed Mother is the New Evangelist. We see this at the Visitation, the Wedding Feast at Canaan and today through her many apparitions, bringing Christ to the World - this is the story of the Rosary; the story of the life of Jesus and Mary. Mary, as Mother, reaches out to all the children of God (Foot of the Cross - John 19:25-27). Consequently, as we pray and preach the Rosary, we renew our faith in Christ and bring Him to others.

Each time we say the Hail Mary, we shake Heaven! Graces fall on us and on the world like raindrops. These graces are many and varied. Again Pope John Paul II's words come to mind when we ponder the evangelizing power of the Rosary. He says:

As part of the graces we receive from praying the Rosary, Our Blessed Mother has set down 15 Promises. I have treated this topic in a separate work: The Rosary and Its Graces. But it is important to note that the said 15 Promises are evangelical in nature. They focus on various aspects of the faith and encourage us to pray the Rosary with great devotion. They are promises. Yes. But they can only be fulfilled when we play our own part. Thus, faith goes with action. The Seventh Promise ties us to another powerful source of grace: The Sacraments. It reads thus: "Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church" (Pieta 37).

The gift of the seven Sacraments is a wonderful one. Again, this subject is treated in the above-mentioned work. But it is worthwhile to note that the Sacraments, a fountain of graces for the journeying soul, are made manifest through our unity with God in spirit and with one another. The Sacraments bring Christ to us individually and to our family members, the Church community and the world at large. As a result, we experience a deep sense of peace. Praying the Rosary, confirms our faith in Christ Who endorses our belief in the Sacraments of the Church.

The contents of the mysteries of the Rosary reveal another great source of grace and conversion for the soul. The Rosary and Its Graces dwells on this aspect as well. However, each mystery provides us with a dominant virtue that may have a significant impact in our lives in various ways and how to practically apply these diverse gifts in different life situations, just like Jesus, Mary and Joseph did and just like Christ taught His Apostles and those who came to listen to Him. Today, in praying the Rosary, the Lord touches us in the same way. That is why this wonderful prayer has never lost and will never loose both its freshness and evangelizing power. In sum, with faith, we are bound to "… imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise."

The Evangelizing Power of the Rosary cannot then be overemphasized. Out of Our Blessed Mother's 117 titles, she selected: "I am the Lady of the Rosary" at Fatima. She herself tells us that: "One day through the Rosary and the Scapular I will save the world." (This she said to Saint Dominic.) Both the Rosary and the Scapular were given to the world in miraculous conditions, in response to different difficult situations seemingly beyond human control. Many extraordinary conversions occurred and were reported on the reception and use of the Rosary by Saint Dominic in 1214. The same goes for the Scapular, a garment of grace. The Carmelite Order was saved in 1251 through the reception of the Scapular by Saint Simon Stock from Our Lady. With a gap of only 37 years between their introductions into the world, both the Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable! Pope Paul VI on the use of Sacramentals has this to say: "…And among them we judge well to recall especially the Marian Rosary and the religious use of the Scapular of Mount Carmel" (Soul Magazine 17).

This brings us to summarily appreciate the virtues found in the literal spelling of the words "ROSARY" and "POWER":

ROSARY:
Readiness to accept God's Word
Open our hearts to let God's Word in
Sinking of God's Word in our hearts
Apply God's Word in everyday's life
Radiate to others
Yearn for God's Kingdom

POWER:
Patience in accepting God's will
Optimism - hope in God's Kingdom
Wisdom in the choices we make
Endurance in suffering
Reverence for God

With the foregoing in mind, it will be easier for us to understand Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo's reflection: "The Rosary as Family Prayer" in a document by the Pontifical Council For The Family. In it the Cardinal discusses the Rosary on the following levels: "Domestic church; Family prayer, use the Rosary; Rosary takes us to the heart of the faith; Captures spiritual atmosphere; Serves to neutralize widespread harmful trends; Family education; Revival of Rosary in family will evangelize society.".

This last point of discussion is enhanced by the fact that several Fathers of the Church, saints and lay people have lent their voices in support of the Rosary as both a wonderful and powerful tool for evangelization. For example, Pope Paul VI emphasized the evangelical character of the Rosary as well as its Christocentric inspiration. Saint Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just the Hail Mary. Pope Leo XIII, known as "The Pope of the Rosary", wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary. Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote: "The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who loves His Mother." St. Francis de Sales said, "the greatest method of praying is - Pray the Rosary." St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in hand. "The rosary is the scourge of the devil" by Pope Adrian VI. "The rosary is a treasure of graces" by Pope Paul V. Padre Pio the stigmatic priest, said, "The Rosary is THE WEAPON." In October 2002, Pope John Paul wrote an apostolic letter "On the Most Holy Rosary" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae; RVM) in which he added the five Luminous Mysteries.

At this point, it would be interesting to analyze the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the impact of the Rosary as a tool for evangelization. Obviously, the Strengths speak for themselves. The Rosary is divine in nature and the origin of the Hail Mary is rooted in the Bible in Saint Luke's account of the Gospel. Mary personally handed the present form of the Rosary to Saint Dominic in 1214. It is a well-composed and structured form of prayer for meditation. There is no doubt that it is a strong and powerful prayer as Pope Adrian VI tells us that it is "the scourge of the devil". The Rosary is an unbreakable chain that binds us all in God's love by exposing the life of Christ for us to emulate. It is a summary of the Bible. We learn more about Mary Our Mother.

To this effect, the weaknesses come from outside the Rosary. Many do not know how to pray the Rosary. In addition, it usually comes under attack from outside the Church, though some of the faithful also question devotion to Our Lady. Some find it too long to be able to concentrate, while others find it repetitive.

But then, the opportunities that we have draw from the external weaknesses. For the many who do not know how to pray the Rosary, it is our duty to teach them. By virtue of our Baptism, it is our responsibility to defend the Church and her doctrines whenever she comes under attack. For those who find the Rosary too long, the virtue of patience becomes of vital importance. The Rosary is embedded with love. And for those who say it is repetitive, Jesus asks us to be persistent in prayer, to pray without ceasing. Furthermore, the Rosary is a prayer of unity. Its internal structure is suggestive of this. Praying the Rosary also keeps the family together as we strive to learn more about Our Lady and get closer to God.

The main threat is that there is a loss of faith where our separated brethren use arguments against Mary and the Rosary to pull Catholics away from the Church. But we have to persevere in the faith and open our hearts as Mary did for the will of God to be accomplished in our lives. By so doing, our faith in God will grow and we will be filled with the grace of God. At every Mass, the Lord reminds us of His ever-constant love for us. Praying the Rosary then is also a means of deepening our faith, as it is one of "the four keys to heaven" (Pieta 42). Let us continue then in our resolve in praying the Rosary daily so that all will come to be united in Christ, for St. Louis de Monfort in True Devotion to Mary tells us that

If heaven is our goal, which it sure is, then one of the surest means of attaining it is through the Rosary for as Cardinal Justin Rigali asserts, it is a "…powerful chain that unites earth to heaven" (The Catholic Standard and Times, 25 September 2008, p 25).

One Last Word from Our Blessed Mother:

About the Author

Vunda Moutchia has been deeply involved in Church pastoral ministry since his undergraduate years in the late 1980s. He is presently a member of Saint Francis de Sales Parish, Philadelphia where he is continuing his evangelical work as volunteer Sacristan, Parish Catechist, writer and member of the Liturgical Committee. He is also a leadership development trainer. Vunda Moutchia who holds a Master of Philosophy degree in African Literature is a prospective graduate (May 2010) of the Pastoral Ministry to African American Catholics certificate program and is currently enrolled in the Master of Theology program at the Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Vunda Moutchia can be contacted at: 215.474.3914 (H) and/or vmoutchia@yahoo.com