Hello Rosary lovers! In today’s post we will ask: what is the connection between the Rosary and spiritual enlightenment?
Uniqueness of the Rosary
The Rosary is one of the most powerful prayers the Catholic Church offers the world. It is a devotion given to us from Mary herself, and she has often referred to it as ‘my Rosary’ in her appearances in history.
It has been called ‘the Psalter of the New Covenant’. This gives the idea that whilst the Book of Psalms was for the Old Covenant, the Rosary is Mary’s special ‘Book of Psalms’ for the New Covenant. (Of course, this is not to suggest that the Psalms aren’t still massively important in the Church, which they ARE.)
Enlightening Power of the Rosary
There are saints who became saints by doing little more than faithfully reciting the Rosary daily. St Bernadette is a terrific example of this.
St Bernadette was an extremely simple saint. She didn’t know much about the Catholic faith and was perceived by others to be an unintelligent young woman.
Yet St Bernadette prayed the Rosary all the time. Mary appeared to St Bernadette at Lourdes in France in the mid-1800s. Mary chose this poor, young girl, who had almost no theological or Catholic education.
But St Bernadette was MIGHTILY used by Christ and his Mother to spread devotion to Mary all over the world.
She eventually joined a convent, but died only aged 35 of a horrific case of tuberculosis.
She died praying the Rosary!
One of the most magnificent inspirations we see in the life of St Bernadette is that we do NOT need to be theologians, we do NOT need to know the Catholic faith well from an intellectual perspective. We can become extremely holy and saintly by simply doing one thing: praying the Rosary.
The Rosary Teaches all Wisdom
The Rosary teaches us all things. It is the Book of Wisdom for the New Covenant age. We learn everything from it: humility, obedience, poverty of spirit, desire for holiness, hope for heaven, faith, devotion to Mary, penance, and all the other virtues.
The whole point of Christianity is to become holy. If we know the entire faith from back to front intellectually, yet don’t have holiness, it’s of no use at all to us.
You might have read every catechism you can get your hands on, but without the virtues, you won’t have any wisdom at all to offer yourself or the world.
Wisdom is much more a part of virtue and love than it is a part of intellectual know-how. This is why the Psalmist says: ‘I know far more than my teachers and elders BECAUSE I OBEY your precepts.’
Obedience to God and his law IS true wisdom. ‘Wisdom,’ Jesus said, ‘is justified by her deeds.’
So we can all receive spiritual enlightenment and spiritual insight and spiritual knowledge and all the treasures of wisdom. This is accessible to everyone, but especially to those who pray the Rosary daily.
You will learn all you need to know by praying the Rosary daily. St Pope John XXIII said: ‘The Rosary is a school of true Christian perfection.’
Alone in the Cell of the Heart
The Desert fathers used to say: ‘Go to your cell, and your cell will teach you all you need to know.’ This proverb means that by sitting in silence and quiet in your cell, you will come to know yourself truly and God truly.
God is found and your soul is found in silence and isolation. This why monastics are often so given to solitude.
We are not all called to literal solitude and isolation from the world, but we can be committed to spiritual solitude and silence. We can do this by praying the Rosary daily and meditating on the mysteries quietly in our hearts.
It is here that we can meet God. In finding God, we will find true Wisdom and Knowledge: the knowledge of LOVE, the wisdom to LOVE.
St Thomas Aquinas and True Enlightenment
St Thomas Aquinas is a great saint, he is the Angelic Doctor of the Church. He wrote so much theology and his works are praised so much even today. Personally, I adore his writings.
And yet, just before he died, he had an incredible experience of the living God during Mass. His eyes were opened and he saw God like he had never seen him before.
From that moment on, St Thomas NEVER wrote anything ever again, and he even said that everything he had ever written was ‘straw’ in comparison to what he had experienced.
Here is the greatest intellect the world has ever known, the most intelligent man ever in the world perhaps. And yet, even he proclaims that all the intelligence and knowledge in the world is nothing compared to really seeing God and seeing yourself.
St Padre Pio’s Secret
St Padre Pio is regarded as one of the greatest saints of all Church history. He lived only last century, and died in the 1960s. His miracles and the testimonies about him are enough to make a believer out of many an atheist.
What was the secret to St Padre Pio’s profound holiness and supernatural abilities? He vowed when he was young to pray 5 rosaries a day.
St Padre Pio kept this promise, and eventually prayed 30+ rosaries daily. Sometimes as many as 50! Absolutely unbelievable.
The man was soaked in prayer, soaked in the Gospel, soaked in Mary, soaked in love for God and soaked in spiritual enlightenment. He was so wise that people came from all over the world to go to Confession with him and to talk to him about their problems. Often he would read their minds without them telling him.
Conclusion
Hopefully that’s enough to show the connection between the Rosary and spiritual enlightenment. Clearly, the Rosary is one of the great keys to spiritual enlightenment.
Praying just 1 Rosary a day for years will give you FAR more wisdom and enlightenment than reading hundreds and hundreds of books, even spiritual books.
If you have any questions about this post or about anything else, feel free to get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
God bless you through Mary, Immaculate Seat of Wisdom!