Why pray the Rosary every day for a year?


Each time the Blessed Virgin has appeared-- whether it be to Saint Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes; to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at Fatima; or to Mariette Beco at Banneux-- she has asserted the importance, saving grace, and power of praying the Holy Rosary on a daily basis. Based upon her words, the Rosary is penance and conversion for sinners, a pathway to peace, an end to war, and a powerful act of faith in Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI presented the Rosary as a powerful means to reach Christ "not merely with Mary but indeed, insofar as this is possible to us, in the same way as Mary, who is certainly the one who thought about Him more than anyone else has ever done."

To show us how this is done, perhaps no one has been more eloquent than the great Cardinal Newman, who wrote: "The great power of the Rosary consists in the fact that it translates the Creed into Prayer. Of course, the Creed is already in a certain sense a prayer and a great act of homage towards God, but the Rosary brings us to meditate again on the great truth of His life and death, and brings this truth close to our hearts. Even Christians, although they know God, usually fear rather than love Him. The strength of the Rosary lies in the particular manner in which it considers these mysteries, since all our thinking about Christ is intertwined with the thought of His Mother, in the relations between Mother and Son; the Holy Family is presented to us, the home in which God lived His infinite love."


As Mary said at Fatima, "Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to My Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by Me to adorn his throne."



Our Lady of Banneux: The Final Apparition

Posted by Jacob

“The poor today – and there are many ways of being poor! – feel at home in Banneux. They come here to find comfort, courage, hope, union with God in their affliction. I encourage the pilgrims who come here to pray to her, who, always and everywhere in the Church, reflects the face of the Mercy of God.”


Pope John Paul II proclaimed these words during his visit to Banneux, in reference to Our Blessed Mother, the Virgin of the Poor. Today, March 2, marks the anniversary of the eighth and final apparition of Mary at Banneux, Belgium, to eleven year old Mariette Beco in 1933. The first seven apparitions occurred on January 15, January 18, January 19, January 20, February 11, February 15, and February 20. During these encounters, Mariette saw a woman “made of light” smiling at her through her kitchen window, eventually following the Blessed Virgin, praying with her, and obeying her instructions to claim a small stream of water for her. The Blessed Mother said to Mariette, “I am the Virgin of the Poor” and leading her to a small stream, “This spring is reserved for all nations- to relieve the sick.” The Virgin of the Poor requested that a small chapel be built. She further told Mariette, “I have come to relieve suffering.” Following Mariette’s request for a sign as to who she was, Our Blessed Mother replied, “Believe in me- and I will believe in you.” Finally, in the seventh visitation, the Blessed Virgin implored Marriette to “Pray hard.”

Ten days after the seventh apparition, Mariette was visited by the Virgin of the Poor for the last time. Despite pouring rain, Mariette knelt to pray in her garden as dusk was falling. She was praying her third Rosary when the rain stopped without warning. Mariette was observed to remain silent, but stretched out her arms, stood up, took a single step forward, and then knelt back down.

The Blessed Virgin spoke to her, saying, “I am the Mother of the Savior, Mother of God. Pray much." Mariette said, “yes, yes,” and bowed her head. The Virgin of the Poor laid her hands upon her head, blessing her, and said, "Adieu" (Good bye). Mariette wept, knowing this was her last visit, as on all previous occasions, Mary had ended their time together by saying “Au revoir” (Until we meet again).

Our Lady of Banneux, the Virgin of the Poor, blessed the world by appearing to a humble girl. Her message was simple, and of few words: Pray diligently, have faith, and through her intercession, worldly suffering would be relieved. We humbly implore the Blessed Virgin of the Poor to watch over us, intercede for us with the Lord, and relieve our suffering on earth.

The apparitions at Banneux were investigated by an Episcopal delegation from 1935 to 1937, with their findings submitted to the Vatican for approval. Preliminary approval of the veracity of the apparitions was granted in 1947, with the visitation of Mary ruled as definitive in 1949. By that time, Mariette Beco had married and had several children. Despite being sought out by the thousands of pilgrims visiting Banneux, she remained humble and quiet, content to have the attention of visitors focused on the “Lady made of light,” rather than herself.

 

Blessed Virgin of the Poor, lead us to Jesus, Source of grace.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, save all nations.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, relieve the sick.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, alleviate suffering.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, pray for each one of us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, we believe in you.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, believe in us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, we will pray hard.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, bless us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor, Mother of the Savior, Mother of God, we thank You.

Mary Virgin of the Poor, You lead us to Jesus, source of grace, and you come to alleviate our suffering.
We implore you with confidence: Help us to folow your Son with generosity, and to belong to Him unreservedly.
Help us to welcome the Holy Spirit, who guides and sanctifies us.
Obtain us the grace to look like Jesus everyday more, so that our life will glorify the Father and contribute to the salvation of all.

1 comments:

  1. Caryn Crush said...

    Does anyone know where I can find a statue of Our Lady of Banneux and maybe even some water from the shrine?

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment. If you wish to submit a prayer request, however, please do so above, using the "Contact" tab.