Devotion to the Holy Rosary: the sowing of graces
The Holy Rosary: the sowing of graces
We know that Our Lady can save us not only from spiritual death, but also from physical death; we do not know, however, how many times in fact, and how she has saved us and saves us. We know with certainty, however, that, to save us, she also uses a means as simple as the crown of the Rosary. It has happened many times. The episodes are truly amazing. Here is one that serves to make us understand also the usefulness of having and carrying the crown of the Holy Rosary on us or in our purse, pocket or car. This is a piece of advice that costs little, but can bear fruit, even the salvation of physical life itself, as the following episode teaches.
In the years of the Second World War, in France, in a city in the North, occupied by the Nazis, who persecuted the Jews to exterminate them, lived a young Jewish woman, recently converted to Catholicism. The conversion had taken place mainly thanks to the Madonna, as she herself said. And she had, out of gratitude, an intense devotion to the Madonna, also nourishing a cult of special love for the Holy Rosary. Her mother, however, displeased with the conversion of her daughter, remained Jewish and was determined to remain so. On one point he had adhered to an insistent desire of his daughter, that is, to the desire to always carry the crown of the Holy Rosary in his purse.
Meanwhile, it happened that in the city where the mother and daughter lived, the Nazis intensified the persecution of the Jews. For fear of being discovered, the mother and daughter decided to change both the name and the city where to live. Moving elsewhere, in fact, for a good period they did not suffer any nuisance or danger, having also eliminated everything and objects that could betray their belonging to the Jewish people.
But the day came when two Gestapo soldiers showed up at their home because, on the basis of some suspicions, they had to carry out a severe search. Mom and daughter felt distressed, while the Nazi guards began to get their hands on everything, determined to rummage everywhere to find some sign or clue that betrayed the Jewish origin of the two women. By the way, one of the two soldiers saw Mum's purse, opened it and spilled all the contents out. The crown of the Rosary with the Crucifix also came out, and at the sight of that crown of the Rosary, the soldier was stunned, he thought for a few moments, then took the crown in his hand, turned to his companion and said to him: «Let's not lose more time, in this house. We were wrong to come. If they carry this crown in their purse, they are certainly not Jews ... »
They said goodbye, also apologizing for the inconvenience, and left.
Mom and daughter looked at each other no less surprised. The crown of the Holy Rosary had saved their lives! A sign of the Madonna's presence was enough to protect them from an imminent danger, from a terrible death. What was their gratitude towards Our Lady?
We always carry it with us
The teaching that comes to us from this dramatic episode is simple and luminous: the crown of the Holy Rosary is a sign of grace, is a sign of reference to our Baptism, to our Christian life, is an eloquent sign of our faith, and of our purest and most authentic faith, that is faith in the divine mysteries of the Incarnation (joyful mysteries), of the Redemption (painful mysteries), of eternal Life (glorious mysteries), and today we also had the gift of the mysteries of the Revelation of Christ ( bright mysteries).
It is up to us to understand the value of this crown of the Rosary, to understand its precious grace for our soul and also for our body. Carrying it around your neck, carrying it in your pocket, carrying it in your purse: it is always a sign that a testimony of faith and love to the Madonna can be worth, and it can be worth thanks and blessings of all kinds, as well as the same salvation from physical death can also be worth.
How many times and how often do we - especially if young - not carry trinkets and small objects, amulets and lucky charms with us, which only know of vanity and superstition? All things that for a Christian become only a sign of attachment to earthly vanities, distracting from the things that are worth in the eyes of God.
The crown of the Rosary is really a "sweet chain" that binds us to God, as Blessed Bartolo Longo says, who keeps us united to the Madonna; and if we carry it with faith, we can be sure that it will never be without some particular grace or blessing, it will never be without hope, above all of the salvation of the soul, and perhaps even of the body.