Pope Francis: rediscovering the beauty of the rosary

Pope Francis invited Catholics to rediscover the beauty of praying the rosary this month by encouraging people to carry a rosary with them in their pockets.

“Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. I invite everyone to rediscover, especially during this month of October, the beauty of the prayer of the rosary, which has nourished the faith of the Christian people through the centuries ", Pope Francis said on 7 October at the end of the Wednesday audience in the Paul Hall. YOU.

“I invite you to pray the rosary and carry it in your hands or pocket. The recitation of the rosary is the most beautiful prayer we can offer to the Virgin Mary; it is a contemplation on the stages of the life of Jesus the Savior with his Mother Mary and is a weapon that protects us from evils and temptations ”, he added in his message to the Arabic-speaking pilgrims.

The pope said that the Blessed Virgin Mary urged the recitation of the rosary in her apparitions, "especially in the face of the threats looming over the world."

“Even today, in this time of pandemic, it is necessary to hold the rosary in our hands, praying for us, for our loved ones and for all people”, he added.

This week Pope Francis resumed a Wednesday catechesis cycle on prayer, which he said was interrupted by his decision to dedicate several weeks in August and September to Catholic social teaching in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prayer, the Pope said, is "letting ourselves be carried away by God", especially in moments of suffering or temptation.

“On some evenings we can feel useless and alone. It is then that prayer will come and knock on the door of our hearts, ”he said. “And even if we have done something wrong, or if we feel threatened and frightened, when we return before God with prayer, serenity and peace will return as if by a miracle”.

Pope Francis focused on Elijah as a biblical example of a man with a strong contemplative life, who was also active and "concerned about the events of his day," he pointed to the passage in Scripture when Elijah faced the king and queen after Naboth killed to take possession of his vineyard in the first Book of Kings.

“How much we need believers, zealous Christians, who act in front of people who have managerial responsibilities with the courage of Elijah, to say: 'It must not be done! This is murder, '”Pope Francis said.

“We need Elijah's spirit. It shows us that there must be no dichotomy in the life of those who pray: one stands before the Lord and goes towards the brothers to whom he sends us “.

The pope added that the true "proof of prayer" is "love of neighbor", when one is driven by confrontation with God to serve one's brothers and sisters.

“Elijah as a man of crystalline faith… a man of integrity, incapable of small compromises. His symbol is fire, the image of God's cleansing power. He will be the first to be tested and will remain faithful. It is the example of all people of faith who know temptation and suffering, but do not fail to live up to the ideal for which they were born, ”she said.

“Prayer is the lifeblood that constantly nourishes his existence. For this reason, he is one of the most dear to the monastic tradition, so much so that some have elected him the spiritual father of life consecrated to God ”.

The pope warned Christians against acting without first discerning through prayer.

“Believers act in the world after having first kept silent and prayed; otherwise, their action is impulsive, it is devoid of discernment, it is hasty without a goal, ”he said. "When believers behave in this way, they do so much injustice because they did not go first to pray to the Lord, to discern what they should do".

“Elijah is the man of God, who stands as defender of the primacy of the Most High. Yet he too is forced to deal with his own frailties. It is difficult to say which experiences have been most helpful to him: the defeat of the false prophets on Mount Carmel (cf.1 Kings 18: 20-40), or his bewilderment in which he discovers he is 'no better than [his] ancestors' (see 1 Kings 19: 4), ”Pope Francis said.

“In the soul of those who pray, the sense of their own weakness is more precious than moments of exaltation, when it seems that life is a series of victories and successes”.