NGUYEN: Saying ‘I love you’ never gets old
October 24, 2023
The greatest joy and happiness for mothers is to hear their children say, “I love you.” Similarly, the Blessed Virgin Mary smiles down from heaven when we pray the Rosary. As we honor her in doing so, each and every Hail Mary we utter declares our love for her.
October is one month of the year when we are reminded to pray the Rosary. Many inspirational stories over the years have recounted the torrent of graces granted to individuals due to their devotion to this form of prayer. Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic (1170-1221) and later, Blessed Alan de la Roche (15th century), Fifteen Promises of the Rosary. The following narratives give examples of three of those promises:
Against evil bondage
Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) of Italy fell away from the faith, practiced spiritualism and the occult, and became a priest of Satan.
Eventually, he experienced substantial spiritual, psychological and emotional problems, which led him to seek help. Fortunately, he met Father Alberto Radente, a devout Dominican priest, who introduced Bartolo to the Rosary. With the power of the holy Rosary, the bondage of Satan was broken forever. As a result, Bartolo started promoting the Rosary and established the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii, Italy. He was beatified by then-pope St. John Paul II as Blessed Bartolo Longo on Oct. 26, 1980.
Special protection from harm
A young college woman in Tallahassee, Florida, was saved from being raped and killed by the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy on the evening of Jan. 15, 1978. Before his execution in 1989, Bundy admitted that he broke into a sorority house and brutally assaulted and killed two co-eds, except one. As he approached the third young woman’s room, a mysterious force prevented him from entering her dorm room.
Police records filed a decade before confirmed his death-row confession: The woman testified to police on the scene that she was awakened by Bundy, and yet only saw him standing in her doorway before he fled. Asking to speak to a priest soon after the horrible event, the woman also told Monsignor William Kerr that Bundy suddenly dropped his weapon and ran.
She was then reminded that before she left home for college, she had promised her mother to pray a Rosary every night before going to bed. That particular night, while she was praying her Rosary, she had fallen asleep with the rosary in her hands, which protected her from harm.
Obtaining great grace of conversion
St. Louis de Montfort narrates that King Alphonsus (1171-1230) of Leon and Galicia always wore a large rosary on his belt, but unfortunately, he never prayed it himself. By wearing it, however, his courtiers were encouraged to pray the Rosary.
One day, the king fell seriously ill. He had a vision where he saw many devils accusing him of all the sins he had ever committed. Before receiving God’s judgment, the Blessed Mother entered his dream and requested a pair of scales to be brought forth. Placing the king’s sins on one side and his large rosary, along with the prayers by his courtiers, on the other, the Rosary prayers far outweighed his sins.
Looking at him with great kindness, our Blessed Mother said, “As a reward for the little service you did for me in wearing my rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from my Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. Spend these years wisely and do penance.”
When the king regained consciousness, he cried out, “Blessed be the Rosary of the most holy Virgin Mary, by which I have been delivered from eternal damnation.” He spent the rest of his life committed to praying the Rosary faithfully every day.
Sister Maria Goretti Thuy Nguyen, OP, is an associate director with the Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.
(Photo by James Ramos/Herald)