THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Most Holy Rosary 7 October 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

If we were to reduce all of the Catholic teachings and practices to one main or central point we will arrive at the first and greatest commandment: to love God with our entire being. All of this creation around us has been given to us to draw us closer to God. It is the greatest inversion or perversion of right order when we use these creatures to rebel or turn away from God. This, tragically, is exactly where mankind finds himself since the fall of our father Adam. The love of God for us could not allow us to remain hopelessly lost in the darkness of sin; and chose to become one in the flesh with us, not only to redeem us (pay the price of our sins) but, also to show us the right and proper use and understanding of all of creation.

In the Divine Wisdom, God selected and preserved Mary from ever suffering under the darkness of sin. She alone remained free and capable of seeing God’s creations as guideposts pointing consistently back toward Himself. Mary’s heart (full of love) focused always upon God; she was never distracted or led away by the created world around her. Rather than being an obstacle or distraction everything was a reminder and a reference to God. In this state we see she is and always was “full of grace.” The contemplation of Mary’s life therefore is a book open to all who will take it up as to the manner of living and loving free from sin. It is the road map for us all to return to the right order that we lost in sin. If we earnestly take Mary’s life as our guide we will soon begin to see God’s hand in everything; all of creation will sing to us of the: beauty, majesty, power, glory, wonder, etc. of God. In this state we open our hearts to receive Christ into our souls as Mary received Him into her body and soul. We become like Saint Paul who said: “I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal 2, 20)

Mary’s life is the one and only perfect life of all Adam’s children and as such holds many treasures for all who will devoutly contemplate and imitate it. Mary appeared to St. Dominic and asked him to promote devotion to the Rosary. With this Rosary the Dominicans have accomplished great and wonderful things for the Church and the greater honor and glory of God, not to mention an increase in love and devotion to the Mother of God. It was through the Rosary that the Catholics won the decisive battle of Lepanto in 1571. This victory prompted Pope Saint Pius V to institute today’s feast and to decree that the Blessed Virgin may be invoked as: “Help of Christians.”

The Rosary lays out before us the principal parts and mysteries of Mary’s life. When we pray this devotion and contemplate each mystery we are drawn to see God’s love for us and the way and reasons for us to return that love. Her life is the light and guidepost showing us the Way to God and how we may accomplish this journey in our own lives.

What is most frightening is that many repeat these beautiful prayers without ever truly putting them also into their hearts. It is not God’s intention or Mary’s that we should repeat these prayers thoughtlessly. This is not praying but rather insulting to her and God. We also find in the world today a much worse evil than this cold indifference in devotion to Mary; that is, people pretend to devotion and use this as a tool to deceive and lead others away from the Church and therefore away from God and His holy Mother. Deceptive men have and are claiming to promote: the Rosary, Fatima, the wearing of the Carmelite scapular, etc while at the same time promoting disobedience and rebellion alongside heresies and schisms. Catholics have always had to be on their guards against such charlatans but it is even more necessary today because over time the devils have become even more clever than ever in appearing as angels of light. Not everyone who “prays” the Rosary is a Catholic. None of those outside the Church are pleasing to God or Mary no matter how “devout” they appear. The prayers of heretics are not pleasing to God or Mary. They are insults, mockeries etc. We may even go so far as to say that they are idolatries as they have created a false god and a false mother of that god that they now worship and adore. These prayers and sacramentals that honor Mary are turned into superstition and “good luck charms” by these deceived or misguided souls. There is no salvation outside the Church (true Church) no matter how great the “devotion” to Mary. Wearing a scapular in honor of Mary is not a guarantee of entrance into heaven. It is necessary that we also understand and put into practice all that this sacramental religious garb represents. A Roman collar does not make the man wearing it a priest, nor does a scapular or rosary make the person wearing or carrying it a Catholic.

The first Commandment forbids us to pray with heretics. Let us not be trapped into thinking that it will be okay just because they “pray” to Mary. May we rather unite only with true Catholics in this devotion so that we may attain all the graces and merits that these devotions offer us.