The graces of the family Rosary, Mary: Day 303

The graces of the family Rosary

Praying the Rosary as a family remains a popular household devotion, full of graces. But Venerable Pope Pius XII knows that busy families sometimes need encouragement to lay aside other concerns and turn to Our Lady together.

We affirm that the custom of the family recitation of the holy Rosary

is a most effective means. What a sweet sight, most pleasing to God, when in the evening the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition of praises in honor of the august Queen of Heaven! Then the Rosary, recited in common, assembles before the image of the Virgin, in an admirable union of hearts, the parents and their children, who come back from their daily work. It unites them piously with those absent and those dead. It links all more tightly in a sweet bond of love, with the most holy Virgin who, like a loving mother, in the circle of her children, will be there bestowing upon them an abundance of the gifts of har- mony and family peace.

Then the home of the Christian family, like that of Nazareth, will become an earthly dwelling place of sanctity and, so to speak, a sacred temple. There, the holy Rosary will not only be the particular prayer that every day rises to heaven in an aroma of sweetness, but will also form the most effective school of Christian discipline and Christian virtue. This meditation on the divine myster- ies of the Redemption will teach the adults to admire daily the shining exam- ples of Jesus and Mary, and to draw from these examples comfort in adversity, striving towards those heavenly treasures “where no thief approaches nor moth destroys” (Lk 12:33).

This meditation will bring to the knowledge of the little ones the main truths of the Christian faith, making love for the Redeemer blossom almost spontane- ously in their innocent hearts. While seeing their parents kneeling before the majesty of God, they will learn from their very early years how great before the throne of God is the value of prayers said in common. —Venerable Pope Pius XII, Ingruentium Malorum

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . .  .

Do I pray the Rosary regularly with my family? If I live alone, do I encourage families I know to pray the Rosary together?

CLOSING PRAYER

From a prayer of Francis Cardinal Spellman: O Queen of Homes, by the power of the Rosary we beseech you to embrace all the members of our family in the love of your immaculate heart. May you abide with us, and we with you, praying to you while you pray for us.

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