The Feast of the Assumption and what it means for you

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven was declared dogmatic on November 1, 1950 under Pope Pius XII's MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS

Growing up, I can remember almost nothing about what was taught to me about Mary except that she was Jesus’ mother on earth and that we call her the Mother of God.

Now, having a better understanding of the faith and its teachings (Mostly because of age, maturity and experience), I am ashamed I did not receive better Catechesis from my CCD or religious education teacher. I can only imagine how many other men and women that are out there that feel the same one.  It is amazing how much we feel like children again (Wanting more) when we begin to learn more about our faith!  Don’t forget the words of Our Lord,

“At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Who thinkest thou is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them, And said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven. And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.” (Matthew 18: 1-5)

One of the wonderful things that someone will learn about in their Catholic faith (So long as they remain vigilant!) is that they actually have a spiritual mother!  “But wait a second…” you might say…”I don’t need a spiritual mother.”  Really?  Well, then may I ask you if you believe Jesus Christ IS the son of God? You would of course say “Yes”.  Did Jesus say he was The Way, The Truth, and The Life? (John 14:6)  Again, you would of course say “Yes”. Well if Jesus the Son of God and he is The Way, The Truth and The Life, then Mary must be the Mother of God, The Mother of Truth and the Mother of Life.  Pretty simple huh? (See The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, #495)

The Immaculate Conception

This isn’t rocket science.  The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of all the living children on Earth.  This isn’t my opinion.  This is our faith, the faith of the Catholic Church.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, #966:

“Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.”508 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

‘In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.’

It was Pope Pius XII’s MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS that declared Mary was immediately assumed into Heaven both body and soul right after her death on earth and that there should also be a feast day in her honor.  It was this writing that promulgated the above mentioned writing in the Catechism.

So in closing, we can now see and come to realization, that Mary IS IN FACT our spiritual mother.  Every time we pray the Angelic Salutation (The Hail Mary), we our honoring our Mother in Heaven. Let us not despair in difficult moments in our lives.  Let us not become despondent with useless and frivolous worries or concerns. Instead, let us beseech our Mother in Heaven for strength and courage.  Let us call upon her to help with our concerns and troubles of the day.  Let us honor her, by picking up the Rosary and praying in devoutly with meditation on the Life, Passion and Death of her beloved Son.  If for some reason you do lose confidence and become inundated with problems in your life, recall the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, #974 – 975:

974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.

975 “We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ” (Paul VI, CPG # 15).

References

1. Douay–Rheims Bible, http://drbo.org/

2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

The 3 Demons

Just shortly after the fall of the angels from the kingdom of heaven, Satan decided to get to work and teach his fellow fallen angels the best way to separate man from the love of God. Satan very quickly started to recruit young demons to his cause by offering a Degree in Temptation and Chaos to any demon who successfully graduates Summa Cum Laude (With highest honors) from his school.

Eventually Satan had found the cream of the crop.  He found the most devout, the most loyal, and certainly the most clever of all demons and began to teach them. The school lasted for centuries (On Earth) and only a very few amount of demons still remained as the student body, all of which were still competing for the Summa Cum Laude title.

As the school was getting closer to graduation, there were three demons in particular who had the greatest chance of success with the highest Grade Point Average in the entire course.  Satan decided to make it interesting and crown the demon who can answer just one final question correctly instead of final exam full of erroneous and futile little questions.  The one question was this…Satan asked, “If there was one thing you that you can say to God’s children, so as to deceive them and make them turn their backs on him and turn towards me, the father of lies, what would it be?”

The first demon, who was named Luxuria or Lust, said “I know!  Why don’t we tell them that God really doesn’t exist”.  Satan replied, “Very Good Luxuria!  However, there are many of men and woman who simply would refuse to believe such a lie.  For example, the beauty of the sunrise and sunset, the clouds of the sky, the rain from Heaven and of course the miracle of Life.  After the rains, The Most High still keeps his promise of the covenant between him and his people by revealing to them his bow in the clouds.  These people are truly heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven and would rather die a painful death on earth than turn away from the Lord and spend eternity here in Hell with us, poor miserable creatures of sin.” Lust turned a sour face.  Satan continued, “Alas, I cannot award you the title Summa Cum Laude.  You have failed!”

The second demon, who was named Ira or Wrath, said “I have it!  Why don’t we tell them that you, Satan, father of lies, a murderer from the beginning, simply doesn’t exist!  Satan replied, “Very Good Ira!  However, there are many of men and woman who simply would refuse to believe such a lie.  For example, the presence of murder and greed throughout the world.  The existence of drugs, prostitution, pornography, adultery and death is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that evil really exists.  Every time a baby is killed inside the womb of it’s mother by the hands of another human being, this gives way to a barrage of proof that I, the master of evil most certainly do exist.  They will not fall for this.”  Wrath, who was the most cunning of demons, had also turned a sour face.  Satan then said “Alas, I cannot award you the title of Summa Cum Laude.  You have failed!”

Satan turned to the last of all the demons left with a very grim and heavy smirk.  “So…”  sighed Satan, “What about you?  What would you say to God’s children, so as to deceive them and make them turn their backs on him and turn towards me, the father of lies?” The last demon who was named Superbia or Pride, hollered “Aha! This is it!  Why don’t we tell them that they have plenty of time!”  Satan smiled and then chuckled.  “Congratulations.   You have said well. I designate you Summa Cum Laude and Maxima daemoniorum, which meas the greatest among demons. Now go! I send you out amongst the nations to deceive, lie and create chaos to the ends of the earth!”

The one thing that separates life in eternity (Heaven, Purgatory or Hell) from life on earth is time. We do not know when exactly our end or the end will be. As Saint Peter once said,

“But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up.” (2 Peter 3:10)

The instant God created the Angels and revealed his plan to them that he would assume a human nature and take it to the cross, every Angel had to make a decision whether to serve God or not.  Those who made their decision, made it for all of eternity.  Lucifer, called the Angel of Light, who was considered one of the most perfect of Angels, said “Non serviam!” or “I will not serve!”  He was then thrown out of Heaven into the Abyss, again for all eternity.

Angels have already made their decision. Only man has time to make his decision. Every day we either move one step closer to God or one step further away.  Every time we willingly commit a Mortal Sin, we extinguish the flame of God’s grace in our soul. There are no plains on the spiritual battlefield.  It is either a steep climb up or a steep climb fall down.

As we look around the world today, with the wars,fights and uprisings in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, etc.) the proliferation of Homosexuality throughout our society, the advancement of contraception in our healthcare system, the continued increase in abortions throughout our country and the world, we see that the evil in this world is thick and as dark as smoke.

Remember what Saint Paul said,

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

In order to fight this good fight, we as Catholics, must take up our weapon, The Holy Rosary. The Rosary is our sword, our spiritual weapon which is sharpened each time we pick it up.  You may ask why so much emphasis on this object which swings from people’s rear view mirror’s?  Listen to what Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort writes in his book “The Secret of the Rosary”:

Thirty-Fifth Rose [108]

“As we have seen, the devils have an overwhelming fear of the Rosary. Saint Bernard says that the Angelic Salutation puts the devils to flight and makes all Hell tremble.

Blessed Alan says that he has seen several people delivered from Satan’s bondage after taking up the Holy Rosary, even though they had previously sold themselves to him in body and soul by renouncing their Baptismal Vows and their allegiance to Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Incredible! Never think that we have plenty of time.  Never think for one minute that the we are too busy, or too tired, or too stressed, or we don’t have the time to pray the rosary.  This is what the enemy wants from us.  He wants us to let our guard down and believe that there will be no attack.  Not even on a Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 would the enemy even think to attack us.  Nay!

As we close, let these words of Saint Louis from “The Secret of The Rosary” resonate through your soul:

Forty-Third Rose [125]

“Even if you have to fight distractions all through your whole Rosary be sure to fight well, arms in hand: that is to say, do not stop saying your Rosary even if it is hard to say and you have absolutely no sensible devotion. It is a terrible battle, I know, but one that is profitable to the faithful soul. If you put down your arms, that is, if you give up the Rosary, you will be admitting defeat and then, having won, the devil will leave you alone.

But at the Day of Judgment the devil will taunt you because of your infidelity and lack of courage. “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater..” (Luke 16:10)

He who fights even the smallest distractions faithfully when he says even the very smallest prayer he will also be faithful in great things. We can be absolutely certain of this because the Holy Spirit has told us so.

So all of you, servants and handmaids of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, who have made up your minds to say the Rosary every day, be of good heart. Do not let the flies (it is thus that I call the distractions that make war on you during prayer) make you cowardly abandon the company of Jesus and Mary, in whose holy presence you always are when saying the Rosary. In what follows I shall give you suggestions for getting rid of distractions.”

Time is running out. If you have a rosary, pick it up and pray it!  If you don’t know how to pray the rosary, then learn! (Or stick around and we will show you how).  We cannot afford to stand before the Lord one day and have him ask why we let so many souls go to hell simply because we didn’t know or care.

References:

1. Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort, “The Secret of The Rosary”, Catholic Book Publishing Corp., N.J., 2004

2. Douay–Rheims Bible

The Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Dominic today

Today, in the Catholic Churches Liturgical Calendar marks the Feast of Saint Dominic. Dominic was born in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain. He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos, who is said to be the patron saint of hopeful mothers, astronomers, and the Benedictine Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, a few miles north of Caleruega.

Saint Dominic is the Patron Saint of Astronomers and is the founder of the Dominican Order. Dominic arrived in Rome and was granted written authority in December 1216 and January 1217 by the new pope, Honorius III for an order to be named “The Order of Preachers” (“Ordo Praedicatorum”, or “O.P.,” popularly known as the Dominican Order). This organization has as its motto “to praise, to bless, to preach” (Latin: Laudare, benedicere, praedicare), taken from the Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Missal. Saint Dominic passed away on August 6, 1221 after having living a life of charity, humility and poverty. He was Canonized a Saint by Honorius III in 1234.

Saint Dominic also received the Holy Rosary from the Blessed Virgin Mary. As is stated in the book The Secret of The Rosary by Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort,

The Second Rose [11]

“But it was only in the year 1214, however, that Holy Mother Church received the Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today. It was given to the Church by Saint Dominic who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a powerful means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners.

I will tell you the story of how he received it, which is found in the very well-known book De Dignitate Psalterii by Blessed Alan de la Roche. Saint Dominic, seeing that the gravity of people’s sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh penances in order to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his discipline so much that his body was lacerated, and finally he fell into a coma.

At this point Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three Angels, and she said:

“Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?”

“Oh, my Lady,” answered Saint Dominic, “you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation.”

Then Our Lady replied: “I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.”

So he arose, comforted, and burning with zeal for the conversion of the people in that district he made straight for the Cathedral. At once unseen Angels rang the bells to gather the people together and Saint Dominic began to preach.

At the very beginning of his sermon an appalling storm broke out, the earth shook, the sun was darkened, and there was so much thunder and lightning that all were very much afraid. Even greater was their fear when looking at a picture of Our Lady exposed in a prominent place they saw her raise her arms to Heaven three times to call down God’s vengeance upon them if they failed to be converted, to amend their lives, and seek the protection of the Holy Mother of God.

God wished, by means of these supernatural phenomena, to spread the new devotion of the Holy Rosary and to make it more widely known.

At last, at the prayer of Saint Dominic, the storm came to an end, and he went on preaching. So fervently and compellingly did he explain the importance and value of the Holy Rosary that almost all the people of Toulouse embraced it and renounced their false beliefs. In a very short time a great improvement was seen in the town; people began leading Christian lives and gave up their former bad habits.”

The Third Rose [12]

THIS MIRACULOUS WAY in which the devotion to the Holy Rosary was established is something of a parallel to the way in which Almighty God gave His law to the world on Mount Sinai and obviously proves its value and importance.

Inspired by the Holy Ghost, instructed by the Blessed Virgin as well as by his own experience, Saint Dominic preached the Holy Rosary for the rest of his life. He preached it by his example as well as by his sermons, in cities and in country places, to people of high station and low, before scholars and the uneducated, to Catholics and to heretics.

The Holy Rosary which he said every day was his preparation for every sermon and his little tryst with Our Lady immediately after preaching.

Saint Dominic fervently prayed the rosary everyday and often had visions of the Blessed Mother who said she delighted in him spreading true devotion to praying the Rosary and teaching others how to pray the rosary.

Let us all be like Saint Dominic and devote ourselves to not only praying the Rosary but teaching others how to pray the Rosary.  It is a spiritual weapon that has put down heresy and heretics throughout the centuries. There is just as much if not more heresy in the church today and we need get rid of the weeds.  Grab your Rosary, pray to Saint Dominic and ask for his help in combating the evils that loom in the Church today.

References:

1. http://www.catholic.org

2. Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort, “The Secret of The Rosary”, Catholic Book Publishing Corp., N.J., 2004

3. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org

Welcome to Live The Rosary!

We are so glad you stop in to check us out!  Live the Rosary is a culmination of personal experiences along with reading and studying to bring you a one stop shop for praying and living the rosary.  You see, there are hundreds and maybe even thousands of websites on the internet that tell you “How to” pray the rosary.  They have free mp3 downloads and a PDF file you can download that “Shows” you how to pray the rosary.

However, just because you plant the seed, this does not mean you will yield a flower or tree.  You have to care for it and nurture it.  You have to give it water, plenty of sunlight and certainly room to grow.  Plants often times wither and die because they simply have no room to grow.  The same is with praying the rosary.

You have to know the history of the rosary and why pray the rosary.  You have to know the fruits that it has bared over the centuries.  This is very important.  It is also like a relationship or even marriage.  How do you eventually fall in love with that special someone?  You spend time with them of course!  You need to spend time learning about and praying the rosary.  The more you immerse yourself with this, the more you fall in love with doing it.

This is why Live The Rosary came to be.  Over the next few weeks and months (And hopefully years!) we hope you will stay with us as we educate and motivate Catholics and Non-Catholics all across American and hopefully into other parts of the world, to pick up their spiritual weapon once again (Or even for the very first time!) and wield it fervently against the enemy of our salvation…….Satan and all of his demons who wander throughout the world seeking the complete destruction of souls.

Don’t just hang it from your rear view mirror, Live it!  Don’t just read about the rosary, Live it!  Don’t just pray the rosary, Live The Rosary!