This is about a father's love for his son.
Who said the Rosary is just for saints?
I saw an article on HuffPo about Joe Biden wearing a bracelet made from his son Beau's rosary which he held as he was dying. I also saw Biden talking about it on Colbert - and I posted about it on Facebook. I love Biden, always have. I know his politics are at odds with Catholic teaching, just like many Catholics in the Church and politics today. Some even in our own families. That said, we still love them - I hope. As Christians, if we are called to love our enemies, certainly we should love members of our Family and Church.
Imagine my surprise when I read Deacon Kandra's post on the HuffPo story and read comments from Catholics attacking Biden on the Aleteia Facebook page. These people miss the point of the story. It is about a father's love for his son who held the rosary in his hands as he was dying. (I have my mother's rosary which she held as she lay dying.) It's like a relic - and in Beau's case, very much so.
Several online think wearing a rosary is a fashion statement, or that there is something impious about it. To those who think you can't wear a rosary, you are wrong. M. Teresa's nuns put rosaries around the necks of dying patients, P. Pio encouraged people to wear the rosary, likewise there used to be indulgences for doing so, which is why religious men and women always wore one on their belt. ("Those who openly wear the Holy Rosary out of devotion and to set a good example may gain one hundred days' indulgence." - Secret of the Rosary: Confraternity Privileges.)
What is more, Catholics should take note of the 6th promise of Our Lady to those who pray the Rosary includes the following assurance: The sinner shall convert.
Biden is not politicizing this - Catholics are. Biden has made it clear in the past that he prays the rosary. Even if he doesn't, the fact he carries a rosary to pray in his pocket is a sign of devotion. He's a Catholic man who doesn't pretend to be holier than the Pope or the Church, unlike his critics who are often so quick to prove they are more Catholic than the Pope.
In St. Louis De Montfort's day these same issues arose. He tells the story of the Spanish King Alphonso who always wore a large rosary on his belt to encourage his servants in devotion to Our Lady by praying her rosary. Though at the time the king never prayed the rosary himself, his servants did. The king fell ill and experienced a vision of his sins - it was shown to him that all the rosaries prayed on account of his example of simply wearing the beads outweighed his sins. The king recovered and spent the rest of his life continuing to propagate the rosary and prayed it faithfully every day. De Montfort has many other such stories about the graces received by those wearing a blessed rosary.
Catholics should read St. Louis De Montfort in order to learn true devotion to Our Lady. Catholics ought to be encouraged not only to have devotion to the Rosary, but to pray the Rosary as well.
St. Teresa of Avila informs us, "Prayer is the trap door out of sin." We are all sinners and we all need to pray. Through the Rosary Our Lady converts us, promising:
The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy. - Third Promise
I am so glad you are reminding us all once again about the importance of the rosary. Gracias.
ReplyDeleteI am happy too that Archbishop Joseph Naumann has been elected chairman of the conference's committee on pro-life activities rather than Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago. Gracias a Dios y a la Madre de Dios.
Joe is full of the blarny. I think his time has past and he should retire. I am so tired of all professional politicians. God spare us from them all.
ReplyDeleteYou said it, not me. ;p Let's keep praying for him though because if he were to retire from politics and he was brought to see the beauty of defending life according to what our Catholic faith teaches us, I bet he would make for a rousing defender of the unborn instead of the swill he spills when he claims "I accept my church's position on abortion but I refuse to impose it on others."
DeleteSorry, you can't have it both ways ... none of us can for that matter not if we call ourselves believers.
Yaya, you continue to impress me with your solid Christian/Catholic attitude. God bless you and thank you for a fine example.
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DeleteI do sometimes forget that our own prayers can merit the graces of conversion for others. At least that’s what I read, I’m just getting started on the spiritual life but it makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteYes Michael prayer has the power of conversion. We see that in St Monica's heroic example with her son, St Augustine. Never should we underestimate the power of prayer to release great graces.
DeleteI prayed all day for Joe and his son. I don't pray for this or that - just for them and Our Lady's intentions for them - she know how to untie knots.
ReplyDeleteI'm an example of someone who converted due to the prayers of others. I believed everything secular society believes in especially birth control. Thanks to everyone that prayed for me 15 years ago I experienced a change of heart and assenting to everything else the Church teaches was easier after hurdle was crossed. But I didn't "read myself" into the Church and it wasn't an emotional thing - it was the PRAYERS of OTHERS. Don't underestimate what God can do when you unleash the power of prayer!
ReplyDeleteOur parish prayed the Rosary every Tuesday after Mass. This went on for many years. Then we engaged in 40 Days for Life this spring and a decision was made to pray the Rosary every day for the protection of the unborn and for those praying at our local hospital. After 40 days we felt renewed and reinvigorated. The question was asked - can we pray the rosary every day from May to October in honor of Our Lady of Fatima and the Centennial. Yes! The anniversary of the final apparition has passed but we continue to pray the Rosary daily. It's become an integral part of parish life. Sometimes there are only 5 or 6 of us. Sometimes there are 40 people. Even if there were only 2 of us we'd keep doing it - where 2 or 3 are gathered...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this, Terry. It means a lot. People have the right to question his politics, but not his piety. Unlike some in leadership he has no personal scandals and an extensive history of caring for the common person. No one can ask for more than that in a public servant.
ReplyDeleteI do not for one moment question his piety. I agree with most of his politics. For me he is part of the dysfunctional professional politician click whose time has past. I want all of them to go away and enjoy their families and leave room for some younger honest people to clean up the mess we are in.
ReplyDeleteA friend just sent me an old NYT's article on Cardinal O'Connor and his outspoken stand on all the issues of the day - remember when Geraldine Farraro was on the ticket? He publicly called her out for her position on 'choice' citing her stance as incompatible with Catholic teaching. He was a great Cardinal Archbishop. He said he would abdicate his position rather than fail to teach the Catholic faith.
DeleteMy post here has nothing to do with Biden's politics. I like the man. His 'blarney' has made me laugh. I'm just not a political animal.
This is a comforting reminder. I carry my rosary in my pocket w/me every day (and several others in my backpack; because you never know when you might need to share one) but don't actually pray it every day. As Coco Peru says, "that bothers me." I'm a work in progress.
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