ROSARY PROGRAM
MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AT SMU
TIMES VARY
Schedule
MONDAYS - 1:00
TUESDAYS - 2:30
WEDNESDAYS - 10:30
THURSDAYS - 2:30
Why pray the Rosary?
Imagine a distant land where a castle sits at the top of a hill. In this castle lives a good king, and beneath the hill, a peasant walks up towards the castle, covered in dirt after working in the fields all day. He walks with an apple in his hand that he wishes to give to the king to show his love and appreciation for all the king has done for him and his people. The peasant could knock on the castle door and give the apple to the king, and the king would love it and appreciate it. This is good, but it would be better if, after knocking on the door, the peasant presented the apple to the queen, and the queen then took the apple and put it on a golden tray and presented it to the king on behalf of the peasant. The queen took the gift from the peasant and enhanced it to make it worthy for a king.
This is what Mary does with all of our prayers; she enhances them and brings them to her Divine Son on our behalf. This is why the rosary is such a powerful and important form of prayer.
Where does the Hail Mary come from?
The Hail Mary is a prayer comes straight from the Bible. In Luke 1:28, when the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, she greeted her by saying “Hail, full of grace”. To say “Hail” to someone means to greet them with enthusiastic approval. The angel then said, “The Lord is with you!” A few verses later, in Luke 1:42, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary arrived, Elizabeth, being filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out, “Blessed, are you among woman, and blessed it is the fruit of your womb!” This gives us the first half of the Hail Mary prayer.
The second half just exclaims the desire that longs in our hearts, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.” We are asking her to go directly to her Son Jesus, and she asks him to help us. We know that Jesus listens to her, which was shown to us during the performance of his first miracle, the wedding feast of Cana. In John 2:3-5, when the wine ran out, Mary asked for Jesus to intervene, and he agrees. The important thing is what follows. Mary then says to the servant, “do whatever he tells you.” We ask for Mary’s help, and she brings her petitions to her Divine Son. Jesus listens to his mother, and Mary guides us to follow Jesus.
The Power of the Rosary
St. Padre Pio famously said that the rosary was “a weapon against evil”. He also said that “all graces given from God passed through the Blessed Mother.” Christ merits all grace, but just as he chose to enter the world through Mary, so has he chosen to distribute graces and gifts through Mary.