The Transformative Power of the Daily Rosary

On May 13th, 1917, three lowly children of Fatima, Portugal, Lucia (10), Jacinta (9), and Francisco (7), received an apparation from the Blessed Virgin Mary, as “a lady dressed in white, shining brighter than the sun, giving out rays of clear and intense light,” sending messages of peace, repentance, and the necessity of prayer, and promising to visit the children on the 13th of every month.

Through these following apparitions, Our Lady bestowed upon these children her 15 promises to Christians who fervently prayed this holy devotion; a beautiful indication of the deep love Our Lady has for all of her children who turn to her through the Rosary. Mary also underlined the value of the Rosary as a way to achieve grace, mercy, and divine intervention in a broken world corrupted by sin.

Satan's attempts at the corruption of today's society are so evident in all the darkness that has been normalised by the secular world around us, including racial strife, abortion, pornography, and the glorification of our material posessions. But the remedy for all of this darkness can be found in the daily recitation of the rosary, because Mary's intercession magnifies the Lord's light.

Why do we ask for Mary's Intercession?

Our Lady is so powerful in this way (John 2) because she is Jesus' Blessed Mother... and Jesus declares her as the New Eve, the woman who bears the seed to bring about this ultimate victory (John 12:31-32); which is why it is proclaimed, "death through Eve, life through Mary".

In Genesis 3:15, (which has come to be known as the 'protoevangeluim' or the 'first gospel'), God responds to the serpent, alluding to his first promise of redemption after the fall, by saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.” This promise indicates the struggle that will follow, resulting in the overcoming of Adam and Eve's original disobedience (Revelation 12), and the serpent's defeat through the seed of the Woman.

Since Eve was created without sin, in a state of grace, Mary's state of grace must be equal to Eve's (at least). An allusion to Mary's Immaculate Conception is thus present here; a Church Teaching that does not suggest Mary does not need a saviour, but rather one that speaks to the particular and distinctive method in which her son saves her (that is, that Jesus rescued her before she entered a state of sin).

Later in Genesis 3:20, Eve is also described as “the mother of all the living”. Therefore, through the Lord's abounding grace, Mary not only becomes the Mother of God, but the mother of all the living, and hence, our mother.

How the Rosary Transforms Our Lives?

• Spiritual warfare is real, and Satan is constantly planting temptations in your path to try and lead you astray, but the recitation of the rosary is the most effective spiritual weapon, increasing your willpower, desire for goodness, and decreasing your desire to sin.

• This daily recitation directs our attentions towards the heavenly treasures awaiting us in the Kingdom of God, rather than the earthly desires we hold that will not give us the peace we are yearning for... a perfect peace that is only found in Christ.

• We are granted peace, assurance, and guidance in times of despair and hopelessness.

• Satan hates our capacity to love one another because that capacity is what makes us most like Christ. His goal is to try and destroy our love for others. The rosary reverses these efforts by increasing our capacity to love ourselves, others, and ultimately the Lord, as well as our humanity, intensifying our empathy, compassion and tolerance towards those around us.

• Meditating on the Holy mysteries of the Rosary each day turns our sights upon the Lord, His character, love, mercy, grace, and promises to us. It brings us closer to Him, and into the comforting protection of His arms.

• Our discernment will increase profoundly, allowing us to distinguish His Holy Will from the evils Satan is tempting us with. It also creates fulfillment, and meaning, helping us to understand what God's purpose for our lives is.

Overall, this glorious prayer to Our Lord through the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary has the power to transform our hearts and change our entire lives. Asking for this daily intercession not only invites the blessings and graces of heaven into our hearts and allows us to encounter Mary in a more intimate sense, but also to experience the sacred mysteries of Jesus Christ, our King, transforming our spiritual journey and drawing us closer to God.