Friends of the Rosary, Christianity and the Catholic Church — the continuation of Christ’s work among us — has existed for almost two thousand years. It’s the longest institution that has ever existed on earth. Without the Holy Spirit and the certainty of the Resurrection — that we celebrate on Easter — our faith would be worthless. "If Christ has not risen," St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:17, "vain is your faith, for you are still in your sins." But "Christ has risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. We will al ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, And He will deliver us from the perils of eternal death, to enjoy the endless happiness of Heaven. We pray today’s Glorious Mysteries from San Diego, CA. By following the example of the risen Christ, we prepare ourselves to imitate His humility. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we might not at first recognize that Christ Jesus is alive and walking with us. But through constant prayer, especially the Rosary of Mary, we will open our minds to Jesus. He will restore the virtues of faith, hope, and joy in us for this earthly life. And He will deliver us fr ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today, on the Third Sunday of Easter, while we celebrate the risen Jesus we pray hard for peace in the Middle East. Yesterday, Iran fired hundreds of exploding drones and missiles in its first direct attack on Israel after years of a shadow war. We invoke Our Lady of Peace, the Blessed Mother, so people open their minds to Jesus and understand the necessity of peace in the world. Jesus, the Prince of Life and Peace, is more alive than ever and is on our side. "Peace be with you," told the apostles when he stood in their midst, as we read in the Gospel today (Lk ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Christ Jesus, who demonstrates his authority over nature, comes to save us, encouraging us not to be afraid. As we read today (Jn 6:16-21), Jesus walks on the stirred sea heading into the boat with the terrified disciples, and says to them: "It is I. Do not be afraid."  In the Scriptures, the sea was something to be feared. Water was a symbol of danger and chaos. The boat, with Peter and the other followers, is evocative of the Church, which moves through all types of storms across history. So Jesus walking on water symbolizes God's control over the elements, includ ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Jesus' multiplication of bread and fish, feeding a crowd of 5,000, is the only one of the miracles included in all four of the Gospel accounts. This miracle greatly influenced the understanding of the first Christians of the Lord's identity and mission. This passage — we read about it today in the Gospel — was followed by Christ's Bread of Life discourse, in which He explained his teaching on the Eucharist to the crowd. He drew the connection between the miraculous feeding and the institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Then and today Christ Jes ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, St. Paul wrote that God's love for us is an excess since it exceeds and surpasses what reason can comprehend and desire. He also calls the love of God "foolishness". This foolishness is reparation for that other foolishness which is sin. In today's Gospel reading, we learn: "The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, (Jn 3:31-36)." "The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, God came into us purely out of love, out of his desire we flourish. The entire universe is moving restlessly toward the unity of the souls with God. And Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s salvific intent. "Creation is nothing but the overflow from the intensity of Trinitarian love," wrote Bishop Barron. "All things flow from and are marked by the Spiritus Sanctus (Holy Spirit). He is their ground, their secret origin, their principle." Christ revealed to us the divine goal: the sharing of the love between the Father, who has given his only Son to the world, and the ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, We celebrated yesterday the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Today, we possess the knowledge Mary didn’t have at the time of the Annunciation — the knowledge about the plans of her Son, the Incarnate Word, would unfold on earth. We are fortified by Mary’s trust in God at the Annunciation and encouraged to trust the Divine Mercy and the Divine Will to be open to God’s redirection of our lives. In choosing to follow God, we trust in Jesus. We surrender to Him to be molded and “changed into his likeness,” as it is necessary for one’s growth in holiness ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the first Joyful Mystery. The Holy Spirit comes through the Archangel Gabriel to Mary and imparts to her the gift of all gifts, a divine Son. In humble acceptance, the Virgin Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). Having been conceived immaculately, Mary's body became the Living Tabernacle of the Lord. Accordingly, she answered in nearly the same words her Divine Son used on many occasions — thy will be done. The Annunciation can be thought of as ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today is the Sunday of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter, and we confidently say: Jesus, I trust in You, have mercy upon us and the whole world. The Divine Mercy Sunday origin is from a revelation to the Polish nun Saint Faustina Maria Kowalska, the mystic of the twentieth century who initiated the Divine Mercy devotion. Between 1930 and 1938 Jesus requested to her numerous times a Feast of Divine Mercy. On May 5, 2000, five days after the canonization of Saint Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would be Divine Mercy Sunday. God the Fathe ..read more