The Rosary, the saintly Padre Pio affirmed, is “the right weapon for these times.” 

But how are our Rosary beads a weapon?  

First, to “zoom out” for a moment, to need a weapon at all implies that we are at war. This is a dynamic of life as Christians, surrounded by creature comforts, that we can be tempted to miss. Jesus has won the war against sin and the power of death (1 Cor. 15:57), but the skirmishes here on earth continue on. And spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. The Scriptures often speak of our ongoing battle with the powers of the world, our own fallen inclinations (“the flesh”), and the very real power of the Devil (James 4:1-7), and for this reason we need the armor of God (Eph. 6:11) and spiritual weapons such as the Rosary. 

Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, in his new project with Ascension Press, The Rosary in a Year, is offering a deep-dive into the elements behind this devotion for the coming year. In his accompanying Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, he writes that, “One way it is a weapon is the way it takes down the dissipation and the distraction that bombard us each day.”

Fr. Mark-Mary continues in his Prayer Guide that, “in the midst of this very busy world, there is an attack on our ability to contemplate, to be still, to focus, to receive, and to drink deeply of the truth, including to drink deeply of the truth of the life and love of God. It’s just hard to focus. It’s hard to pay attention. It’s hard to be still. For this reason, the Rosary, with its prolonged meditation and recitation, can feel sort of like physical therapy. It can be hard to do it, but in the difficulty is the renewal and the healing.”

Worship Is A Spiritual Weapon

Worship is a powerful spiritual weapon because we orient ourselves towards God, the one who brings healing and life in abundance (John 10:10). The Rosary especially is a powerful devotion because we contemplate the mysteries of Christ with his Blessed Mother by our side, and she in her humility and virtues bring us closer to her Son, and we make our home a holy fortress against Satan’s assaults. 

There’s also the practical, physicality of the Rosary. We thumb over the beads, using our physical senses in conjunction with our intellect and imagination, as put ourselves in the Biblical scenes. In such an anxious and technologically addicted age such as ours, the Rosary is the perfect weapon against such hurriedness and an amazing tool that allows for us to slow down and enter into mindful meditation on the Lord with greater ease. 

Whether it’s a glow-in-the-dark Rosary or one made out of the finest cedar of Lebanon, the most important element is that we’re praying and unifying ourselves to God, our loving Father, who has called us into existence and never ceases to draw us to himself (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 27). 

Wherever you are in your spiritual life, consider joining Fr. Mark-Mary in this New Year’s opportunity of The Rosary in a Year, which will take you through the Biblical foundations of the Rosary, feature sacred art and opportunities for deeper meditation, and help you grow in relationship with Christ through the Blessed Mother every day.

The Rosary in A Year: Grow in Love with Our Lady

15 Promises Of The Rosary

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-rosary-uwrHLdVS-II