Purgatory and the Saints

Based on numerous accounts of mystical experiences on purgatory as shown in the lives of some particular saints, we can glean from them the importance of understanding what Purgatory is and why we should offer prayers and good works for the suffering souls languishing there. Praying for the dead is a spiritual act of mercy. Helping these poor souls now will surely redound to our favor when it's our time to depart this life and face the judgment seat of God.


When I look at God, I see no gate to Paradise, and yet because God is all mercy he who wills enters there. God stands before us with open arms to receive us into His glory. But well I see the divine essence to be of such purity, greater far than can be imagined, that the soul in which there is even the least note of imperfection would rather cast itself into a thousand Hells than find itself thus stained in the presence of the Divine Majesty. Therefore the soul, understanding that Purgatory has been ordained to take away those stains, casts itself therein, and seems to itself to have found great mercy in that it can rid itself there of the impediment which is the stain of sin.

No tongue can tell nor explain, no mind understand, the grievousness of Purgatory. But I, though I see that there is in Purgatory as much pain as in Hell, yet see the soul which has the least stain of imperfection accepting Purgatory, as I have said, as though it were a mercy, and holding its pains of no account as compared with the least stain which hinders a soul in its love. I seem to see that the pain which souls in Purgatory endure because of whatever in them displeases God, that is what they have willfully done against His so great goodness, is greater than any other pain they feel in Purgatory. And this is because, being in grace, they see the truth and the grievousness of the hindrance which stays them from drawing near to God.

-- St. Catherine of Genoa, Treatise on Purgatory Chapter VIII

-oOo-

I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call her "The Star of the Sea." She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice] which said, "My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it." Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls.

- St. Faustina Kowalska (Diary 20)

-oOo-

Saint John Massias, known as the "Helper of the Poor Souls", offered three rosaries every night for the souls in Purgatory, praying for them on his knees despite bodily fatigue. Saint John also sprinkled holy water on the ground several times a day for their relief. He also offered hundreds of short ejaculations("sudden short exclamations, especially brief pious utterances or prayers") as he went around his regular work, applying the merit of these little prayers to the Holy Souls. Not a day passed that St. John didn't unite himself with the priest at the altar begging the Heavenly Father to grant all the souls eternal rest through the merits of Christ's death on Calvary.

The Holy Souls often appeared to him begging his powerful intercession, "Give us prayers", they cried with one voice. "Oh brother John, you are the friend of the poor and sick! Be our friend too! Help make us worthy to be with God and His Blessed ones."

- St. John Massias by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, page 89, 1972, Tan Books, Rockford IL,

-oOo-

Father Stanislaus’s three mystical experiences of the sufferings in Purgatory have been well documented.

First, in 1675 when he was in the Ukraine as the army chaplain during the war against the Turks -- he received a vision of deceased soldiers asking for his intercession before the Lord. Upon his return to the Korabiew Forest he called his companions to pray, make acts of contrition, and perform works of mercy for the intention of the deceased, especially victims of war.

The next incident took place at the Karski’s courtyard, after he had already initiated the communal life in the Korabiew community. Fr. Papczyński had a vision of Purgatory during the meal that followed the Holy Mass. In the presence of many people, he fell into ecstasy (eyewitnesses corroborated this during the Informative Process), after which, deeply shaken, he immediately returned to the monastery. He said to his confrères, surprised by his unexpected return: “I beg you, brothers, pray for the souls in Purgatory, because they suffer unbearable tortures.” After this he remained for several days in his cell, fervently praying and fasting for the deceased.

Finally, the third experience of the mystery of Purgatory was granted Fr. Papczyński at the shrine of Our Lady in Studzianna, in 1676, where he made a pilgrimage with the goal of begging for the personal grace of good health. While he stayed there at the monastery of the St. Philip’s Fathers his health worsened. There was fear that he might die. Precisely then -- being in ecstasy -- he was transported to Purgatory. He saw there the Mother of God praying for him, that he would receive a healing in order that he could further assist the dead. At the end of the vision, he quickly recovered strength and in the Studzianna Church he delivered a long sermon to the faithful on the need to assist the departed brothers and sisters. Finally, on February 11 of that same year, he accepted as one of the goals of his Order, that assistance be provided “with utmost diligence, piety, and zeal” for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, especially soldiers and victims of epidemics.

- Blessed Stanislaus of Jesus and Mary Papczyński

-oOo-

Padre Pio told this story to Padre Anastasio. “One evening, while I was alone in choir to pray, I heard the rustle of a suit and I saw a young monk that stirred next to the high altar. It seemed that the young monk was dusting the candelabra and straightening the flower vases. I thought he was Padre Leone rearranging the altar, and, since it was supper time, I went to him and I told him: “Padre Leone, go to dine, this is not the time to dust and to straighten the altar”. But a voice, that was not Father Leone’s answered me”: “I am not Padre Leone”, “And who are you?“, I asked him. “I am a brother of yours that made the noviciate here. I was ordered to clean the altar during the year of the noviciate. Unfortunately many times I didn’t reverence Jesus while passing in front of the altar, thus causing the Holy Sacrament that was preserved in the Tabernacle to be disrespected. For this serious carelessness, I am still in Purgatory. Now, God, with his endless goodness, sent me here so that you may quicken the time I will enjoy Paradise. Take care of me.” I believed to be generous to that suffering soul, so I exclaimed: “You will be in Paradise tomorrow morning, when I will celebrate Holy Mass”. That soul cried: “Cruel!” Then he wept and disappeared. That complaint produced in me a wound to the heart that I have felt and I will feel my whole life. In fact I would have been able to immediately send that soul to Heaven but I condemned him to remain another night in the flames of Purgatory.”

- St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina

-oOo-

Saint Gertrude had a deep empathy for the Church Suffering, the Holy Souls in Purgatory. At every Holy Communion she beseeched Jesus for His mercy to be bestowed on them. During one Holy Communion she experienced the descent into Purgatory with Our Lord. She heard Him say: "At Holy Communion I will permit thee to draw forth all to whom the fragrance of thy prayers penetrates." After Holy Communion Our Lord customarily delivered more Souls than she had dared to ask for.

One time when Gertrude was praying with great fervor for the Holy Souls, she asked Our Lord how many souls His mercy would release, He answered: "My love urges Me to release the Poor Souls. If a beneficent king leaves his guilty friend in prison for justice's sake, he awaits with longing for one of his nobles to plead for the prisoner and to offer something for his release. Then the king joyfully, sets him free. Similarly, I accept with highest pleasure what is offered to Me for the Poor Souls, for I long inexpressibly to have near Me those for whom I paid so great a price. By the prayers of thy loving soul, I am induced to free a prisoner from Purgatory as often as thou dost move thy tongue to utter a word of prayer!"

Our Savior taught Gertrude for whom she should most ardently pray for. On the day when the community commemorated in common the death of their parents, Gertrude saw the happy souls ascend the darkness of Purgatory like sparks from a flame. She asked Our Lord if all these were relatives. He answered: "I am thy nearest relative, thy father and thy mother. Therefore, My special friends are thy nearest relatives, and these are among those whom I have liberated."

Gertrude was asked by someone, that when she offered to God all the gratuitous gifts with which He had favored her, to request that she might have a share in their merit. "As she prayed thus, she perceived this person standing before the Lord, Who was seated on His throne of glory, and held in His hand a robe magnificently adorned, which He presented to her, but still without clothing her in it. The Saint, being surprised at this, said to Him: 'When I made a similar offering to Thee, a few days since, Thou didst at once take the Soul of the poor woman for whom I prayed to the joys of Paradise; and why, most loving Lord, dost Thou not now clothe this person with the robe which thou hast shown her, and which she so ardently desires, through the merits of the graces Thou hast bestowed on me, though so un worthy of them?' Our Lord answered: 'When anything is offered to Me for the faithful departed, I immediately use it for them, according to My natural inclination to show mercy and pardon, either for the remission of their sins for their consolation, or for the increase of their eternal felicity, according to the condition of those for whom the offering is made.'

The Prayer of St. Gertrude, below, is one of the most famous of the prayers for souls in Purgatory. St. Gertrude the Great was a Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. According to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

- St. Gertrude the Great

-oOo-

Reproaches which the souls in Purgatory make to people in the world.

And so that blessed soul, seeing the aforesaid things by the divine light, said: "I would fain send up a cry so loud that it would put fear in all men on the earth. I would say to them: 'Wretches, why do you let yourselves be thus blinded by the world, you whose need is so great and grievous, as you will know at the moment of death, and who make no provision for it whatsoever?'

"You have all taken shelter beneath hope in God's mercy, which is, you say, very great, but you see not that this great goodness of God will judge you for having gone against the will of so good a Lord. His goodness should constrain you to do all His will, not give you hope in ill-doing, for His justice cannot fail but in one way or another must needs be fully satisfied.

"Cease to hug yourselves, saying: 'I will confess my sins and then receive plenary indulgence, and at that moment I shall be purged of all my sins and thus shall be saved.' Think of the confession and the contrition needed for that plenary indulgence, so hardly come by that, if you knew, you would tremble in great fear, more sure you would never win it than that you ever could."

- Treatise on Purgatory Chapter XV

March of Saints 2014

If you're looking for a Christ-centered alternative to Halloween, please consider attending The March of Saints 2014 on Friday, October 31. The Eucharistic Celebration will be presided by His Excellency Most Rev. Bernardino C. Cortez, DD, Auxilary Bishop of Manila at 3 p.m., Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila to be followed by the March of Saints.

Forwarded invitation.

Dear PWHS members and friends,

The PRAYER WARRIORS OF THE HOLY SOULS - will be having the MARCH OF SAINTS on Friday, October 31, 2014 from the Manila Cathedral to Fort Santiago.

We would like to extend this invitation to your family and friends to witness this first-ever alternative to Halloween activity in the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Manila, Immaculate Conception Cathedral-Basilica (Manila Cathedral).

Kindly forward this ad and share it with your family members and friends, most especially to those who are in Manila on the said date. Please confirm your attendance for the pre-registration thru this email address (info@pwhs.ph) or any of these PWHS contact numbers: (02) 531-0391 / 532-2831 loc 100&101 or hotline text messaging 0918-9290603.

Other dioceses/provinces will also be having the March of Saints in their respective parishes as endorsed by their Bishops. If you happen to know parishes that will be having this activity anytime this October and November, kindly inform us the name of the parish, parish priest and its contact number as we gather data of those who celebrated the March of Saints.

Thank you and may God bless us in all our endeavors.


Sincerely,

Chita G. Monfort
Executive Director

Responding to the Pirola Argument

The media is abuzz once again regarding a couple who gave a rather controversial advice in the ongoing Synod for the Family in Vatican. I am only going to tackle here what they said about the topic of homosexuality. If you wish to read the whole text of their speech, you can find it here. The following text is an excerpt from Ron and Mavis Pirola, co-directors of the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council.

"As the Instrumentum Laboris suggests, the domestic church has much to offer the wider Church in its evangelizing role. For example, the Church constantly faces the tension of upholding the truth while expressing compassion and mercy. Families face this tension all the time.

Take homosexuality as an example. Friends of ours were planning their Christmas family gathering when their gay son said he wanted to bring his partner home too. They fully believed in the Church’s teachings and they knew their grandchildren would see them welcome the son and his partner into the family. Their response could be summed up in three words, ‘He is our son’.

What a model of evangelization for parishes as they respond to similar situations in their neighbourhood! It is a practical example of what the Instrumentum Laboris says concerning the Church’s teaching role and its main mission to let the world know of God’s love."

After reading this part I said to myself, "Here we go again!" There are other controversial topics raised in the Synod for the Family but we will just limit ourselves on the topic of homosexuality. Fortunately, a sacred servant of God faithful to the Magisterium of the Church in the person of His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, has responded to the issue with pastoral sensitivity and clarity. Below is the full transcript of this exclusive interview conducted by LifeSiteNews.com:


LifeSiteNews: How should Catholic parents deal with a difficult situation like this:

When planning a Christmas family gathering with grandchildren present, parents are asked by their son, who is in a homosexual relationship, if he can come and bring with him his homosexual partner?

Applying these principles, how should parishes deal with open homosexual couples who approach to receive Holy Communion and who seek leadership roles within the parish?

Cardinal Burke: This is a very delicate question, and it's made even more delicate by the aggressiveness of the homosexual agenda. But one has to approach this in a very calm, serene, reasonable and faith-filled manner. If homosexual relations are intrinsically disordered, which indeed they are — reason teaches us that and also our faith — then, what would it mean to grandchildren to have present at a family gathering a family member who is living [in] a disordered relationship with another person?

We wouldn’t, if it were another kind of relationship — something that was profoundly disordered and harmful — we wouldn't expose our children to that relationship, to the direct experience of it. And neither should we do it in the context of a family member who not only suffers from same-sex attraction, but who has chosen to live out that attraction, to act upon it, committing acts which are always and everywhere wrong, evil.

And so, families have to find a way to stay close to a child in this situation — to a son or grandson, or whatever it may be — in order to try to draw the person away from a relationship which is disordered.

And we know that with time, these relationships leave the person profoundly unhappy. And so it's important to stay [as] close as one can. But, that particular form of relationship should not be imposed upon family members, and especially upon impressionable children. And I urge parents or grandparents — whoever it may be — to be very, very prudent in this matter and not to scandalize their children or grandchildren.

There's so much in our society today which is giving the message that any form of sexual relationship, if it somehow pleases you — or you’re attracted to it — is alright, is correct. And we don't want our children to get that impression, by seeming to condone gravely sinful acts on the part of a family member.

It certainly is a source of great suffering, but striving to do what is right and good always involves suffering. And in this case, it surely will. But that suffering will indeed be redemptive in the end.

LifeSiteNews: Applying these principles, how should parishes deal with open homosexual couples who approach to receive Holy Communion or who seek leadership roles within the parish?

Cardinal Burke: Now with regard to parishes, the situation is very similar because the parish is — I believe it was Saint John Paul II who once said — a ‘family of families.’ And so, if you have a parish member who is living in public sin in a homosexual relationship, well, the priest should try to stay close to that individual — or to both the individuals if they’re Catholic — and try to help them to leave the sinful relationship and to begin to lead a chaste life. The pastor [should] encourage them also to pray and to participate in Sunday Mass and other appropriate ways of trying to overcome grave sin in their lives.

Those people [who] are living in that way certainly cannot have any leadership role in the parish, because it would give the impression to parishioners that the way they are living is perfectly alright. Because, [when] we lead in a parish, in a certain way, we are giving witness to a coherent Catholic life. And people who are not coherent with their Catholic faith aren’t given leadership roles. They are not asked, for instance, to be a lector at the Holy Mass — or [to] assume some other leadership position — until they have rectified their situation and gone through a conversion of life and then are ready to give such leadership.

On the one hand, it certainly gives scandal to parishioners with regard to a very essential part of our life, our sexuality, [and] what it means. On the other hand, it's not good for the two people involved in the disordered relationship because it also gives them the idea that the Church somehow approves of what they're doing.

-oOo-

Cardinal Burke has nailed it on the head. True compassion is always grounded firmly on truth; otherwise, it is really just a 'misguided' form of compassion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly makes the distinction on homosexual acts, homosexual inclination, and the homosexual person. The Catechism describes homosexual acts as "acts of grave depravity and intrinsically disordered". These acts are against the natural law and under no circumstances can they be approved. On the other hand, the Catechism describes homosexual inclination as "objectively disordered" meaning they are not sinful in and of itself and that they constitute for people struggling with it a trial, a cross. Furthermore, the Catechism acknowledges that there are many men and women who are struggling with same-sex attraction and that they must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.

In a separate interview with Aleteia, Rev. Fr. Paul Check, Executive Director of Courage International, offers this piece of advice full of pastoral wisdom:

We can never be more pastoral than Jesus. Good God that He is, He knows well the weaknesses to which we are prone, especially in matters relating to love and affection. But He also sees the dignity in every human heart, because He placed it there. And He sees the potential for great nobility in each heart, too, because He knows the transforming power of His grace. The Communion of Saints bears witness to the goodness of God at work in the humble and trusting human heart.

“Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived,” writes the Pope Emeritus in his last encyclical. “Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality.” God is both Agápe and Lógos, Pope Benedict reminds us.

To love people with same-sex attractions is to love them for their God-given and Christ-redeemed dignity. They are not less than any of the Father’s children. Like everyone, they deserve more than sentimentality. They deserve compassion … compassion founded on the truth of their humanity.

-oOo-

In light of the ongoing confusion in the Synod, let us recite this Prayer to Uphold the Holy Word of God

O Dear Lord, my beloved Jesus Christ,

Hold me.

Protect me.

Keep me in the Light of Your Face, as my persecution intensifies, when my only sin is to uphold the Truth, the Holy Word of God.

Help me to find the courage to serve you faithfully at all times.

Give me Your Courage and Your Strength, as I fight to defend Your Teachings against fierce opposition.

Never desert me, Jesus, in my time of need and provide me with everything I need to continue to serve You,

through the provision of the Holy Sacraments and Your Precious Body and Blood, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Bless me Jesus.

Walk with me.

Rest in me.

Stay with me.

Amen.

The 15 Promises of the Rosary Explained

It's the Rosary Month once again and I encourage everyone to rediscover the spiritual treasures attached to propagating and praying the Holy Rosary. Below is a brief explanation of each of the 15 Promises of the Rosary. I hope and pray that all of us will continue to say this excellent prayer even beyond October because the world needs our prayer. I would like to enjoin everyone to offer rosaries especially for the persecuted Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Besides the indulgences attached to the Rosary, Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche additional benefits for those who devoutly pray the Rosary. Our Lady’s promises are shown in blue text. Note that the Rosary is the prayer (non-liturgical) with the most published Magisterial/Papal documents expounding its excellence. Vatican II’s summary on Our Lady is contained in Lumen Gentium, chapter VIII.


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

Signal graces are those special and unique graces which help sanctify us in our state in life. St. Louis de Montfort states emphatically that the best and fastest way to union with Our Lord is via Our Lady [True Devotion to Mary the book, chapter 4].

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

Our Lady is our Advocate and the channel of all God’s grace to us. Our Lady is promising that She will watch especially over those who pray the Rosary. (See Lumen Gentium, Chapter VIII – Our Lady #62.) [A great more detail is available on this topic in True Devotion to Mary, chapter 4, by St. Louis de Montfort.

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

This promise, along with the next, is simply the reminder on how fervent prayer will help us all grow in holiness by avoiding sin, especially a prayer with the excellence of the Rosary. An increase in holiness necessarily requires a reduction in sin, vice and doctrinal errors (heresies). If only the modernists could be convinced to pray the Rosary! (See Lumen Gentium, chapter V – The Call to Holiness #42.) St. Louis de Montfort states, “Mary alone crushed all heresies, as we are told by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary)…” [True Devotion to Mary #167].

4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

This promise, along with the previous ones, is the promise of help to live in virtue. Becoming holy is not only avoiding sin, but also growing in virtue. (See Lumen Gentium, chapter V – The Call to Holiness #42.)

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

Since Our Lady is our Mother and Advocate, She always assists those who call on Her implicitly by praying the Rosary. The Church reminds us of this in the Memorare prayer, “…never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided…”

6. Whosoever 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.

This promise highlights the magnitude of graces that the Rosary brings to whoever prays it. One will draw down God’s mercy rather than His justice and will have a final chance to repent (see promise #7). One will not be conquered by misfortune means that Our Lady will obtain for the person sufficient graces to handle said misfortune (i.e., carry the crosses allowed by God) without falling into despair. As Sacred Scripture tells us, “For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:30)

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

This promise highlights the benefits of obtaining the most possible graces at the hour of death via the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Extreme Unction Anointing of the Sick). Being properly disposed while receiving these sacraments near death ensures one’s salvation (although perhaps with a detour through purgatory) since a final repentance is possible.

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

Our Lady highlights the great quantity of graces which can be obtained through praying the Rosary. These graces assist us during life and at the moment of death. The merits of the saints are the gift of God’s rewards to those persons who responded to His grace that they obtained during life, and so Our Lady indicates that She will provide a share of that to us at death. With this promise and #7 above, Our Lady is providing the means for the person to have a very holy death.

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

Should one require purgatorial cleansing after death, Our Lady will make a special effort to obtain our release from purgatory through Her intercession as Advocate.

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

This promise is a logical consequence of promises #3 and #4 since anyone who truly lives a holier life on earth will obtain a higher place in Heaven. The closer one is to God while living on earth, the closer that person is to Him also in Heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states. “Spiritual progress tends toward ever more union with Christ.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2014)

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

This promise emphasizes Our Lady’s role as our Advocate and Mediatrix of all Graces. Of course, all requests are subject to God’s most perfect will. God will always grant our request if it is beneficial for our soul, and Our Lady will only intercede for us when our request is good for our salvation. (See Lumen Gentium, chapter VIII – Our Lady #62.).

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

If one promotes the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady emphasizes Her Maternal care for us by obtaining many graces (i.e., spiritual necessities) and also material necessities (neither excess nor luxury), all subject to the will of God, of course. Our Mother Queen of Peace Times is dedicated to the propagation of the most Holy Rosary. Everyone who contributes time, money and prayers is included in this promise by Our Holy Mother.

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.

Since Our Lady is our Advocate, She brings us additional assistance during our life and at our death from all the saints in Heaven (the Communion of Saints). (See paragraphs 954 through 959 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)

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

Since the Rosary is a most excellent prayer focused on Jesus and His life and activities in salvation history, it brings us closer to Our Lord and Our Lady. Doctrinally, our Lady is our Mother and Jesus is our older brother, besides being our God. (See Lumen Gentium, chapter VIII – Our Lady #62.)

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

Predestination in this context means that, by the sign which is present to a person from the action of devoutly praying the Rosary, God has pre-ordained his salvation. Absolute certainty of salvation can only be truly known if God reveals it to a person because, although we are given sufficient grace during life, our salvation
depends upon our response to said grace. (See Summa Theologica, Question 23 for a detailed theological explanation.) Said another way, if God has guaranteed a person’s salvation but has not revealed it to him, God would want that person to pray the Rosary because of all the benefits and graces obtained. Therefore, the person gets a hint by devotion to the Rosary. This is not to say that praying the Rosary guarantees salvation – by no means. In looking at promises #3 and #4 above, praying the Rosary helps one to live a holy life which is itself a great sign that a soul is on the road to salvation. (See also paragraphs 381, 488, 600, and 2782 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.) In fact, St. Louis de Montfort says even more strongly that “an infallible and unmistakable sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God’s true friends is that the hardened sinners and heretics show nothing but contempt and indifference to Our Lady…” [True Devotion to Mary, #30]

Reminder: These promises mean that, by faithfully and devoutly praying the Rosary, Our Lady will obtain for us the necessary Graces to obtain said promises. It is still up to each individual soul to respond to those graces in order to obtain salvation.

Special Note: The Sacrifice of the Mass is the most important prayer in the life of a Catholic. The Holy Rosary Prayer is very powerful but it is second to the Holy Mass. One should pray and concentrate during Holy Mass on the good news for the day, the words of consecration, Holy Communion; every part of the Mass is so important. One should not pray the Rosary during Holy Mass. Praying the Rosary before or after Holy Mass is most advantageous.


[Side note: I just found out in my back office that this post about the Rosary was my 666th post! What a coincidence! The Rosary is indeed a formidable weapon against the powers of hell. Let us heed our Lady's request at Fatima to pray the rosary every day to obtain world peace, conversion of sinners, and the salvation of souls.]

[Source: Our Mother Queen of Peace Times]