The power of just one rosary

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (Luke 2:22)

This Sunday we have the joy of celebrating Candlemas, also known as the Purification of Mary. It is the presentation of the child Jesus by his parents to offer Him back to God, as was required in Jewish law. But it is much more. It is the return of God to the temple, which had stood without His presence for centuries. Now they had more than just a cloud of smoke; they had the God-Man physically present to them.

 “Mary, I repeat, already knew all the sufferings that her Son was to endure, but in the above quoted words of St. Simon: “And thy own soul a sword shall pierce,” as the Lord revealed to St. Theresa, all the minute circumstances of the external as well as internal sufferings which her Lord Jesus was to endure in his passion, were made known to her. She consented to all with a firmness which made the angels wonder, and pronounced the sentence that her Son should die, and die by a death so ignominious and painful, in these words: Eternal Father, since thou dost will it, not my will, but thine be done” … “There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother … until she saw him expire, and the sacrifice was consummated. And all this to complete the offering which she had already made of him to God in the temple.” (St. Alfonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, p. 463-464).

Mary had to offer her Son to be sacrificed and in doing so, accepting all the pain of it in advance, she made of herself a sacrifice too. 

We pray on this presentation in the fourth joyful mystery of the rosary. A new daily rosary podcast has begun, sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries and led by Fr. David Marcham who is the vice-postulator for the cause of sainthood for Ven. Fr. Patrick Peyton of the famous Rosary Crusades. The podcast also includes a testimony of the power of the rosary in a person’s life. It caused me to think, when have I seen the power of the rosary active in my life?    

When my daughter was 12, we were in a park with Our Lady of the Streets Homeless Ministry providing conversation, compassion, and care packages to the sleeping homeless men and women. The homeless loved to carry prayer cards in their pocket and wear rosaries around their neck. One woman named Josephine was eagerly taking our rosaries and bringing them to the others. But she was so disappointed that every rosary we had did not fit around her head. We had no rosary for her.

Then came that little voice. You know, when your angel is needling you to do something you don’t want to do but know you should. In my pocket was my own rosary. It was hand-knotted, very large, and had been blessed in Medjugorje. It was given to me on my Cursillo. I knew it was the only one we had that would fit. So, I took a deep breath and with a smile gave it to her. It was a perfect fit, of course! 

As we chatted, she was able to open up and confess she had used drugs the night before. Now late morning, she would begin to get that ‘itch’ soon and the drug dealers would be there to supply drugs. As she watched my daughter talking with other homeless people, she told me she had a son too. She had fallen into drug addiction and he was taken from her. When she sobered up and began attending the local community college, she was able to reunite with her son. But sadly, she fell into drug use again, which is how she ended up in this park. Holding her rosary and watching my daughter, she wanted to get her life back. 

I told her that, when the ‘itch’ comes, focus on the rosary’s crucifix. Stare at Jesus and how he suffered for her because He loves her. Rub the knots and focus on how that feels in her fingers; stay focused on that. 

Two weeks later we went back to that park. I inquired with a local drug dealer as to where Josephine was. He told me that she walked up to a local church and said she wanted to clean up. She got off the streets! Then 6 months later we saw Josephine standing outside an apartment complex waiting for the bus–she was still off the streets! We continued to catch occasional glimpses of her at her apartment until we moved 3 years later. 

I have never doubted the power of that blessed rosary in Josephine’s life and pray that she continues to respond to the grace Mary brings to her so that she and her son are carried through life in Jesus’ hands. 

Mary said to her servant Prudentiana Zagnoni, that every year, on this day of the purification, a great mercy would be shown to some sinner. Who knows but one of us may to-day be that favored sinner? (St. Alfonsus Liguori, p. 470)

Believe in miracles, and your eyes will be opened to them all around you. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 😊

(Image: Fresco of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin, by Tempesta and Circignani, Santo Stefano Rotondo, Rome by Alekjds via Wikimedia Commons)