Sunday 30 October 2011

the rosary by st francis coll



As the end of the Rosary month draws near, I would like to share this beautiful reflection by Saint Francis Coll OP, the founder of the Dominican Sisters of the Anunciata and one of the great apostles of the Rosary.


THE ROSARY WELL PRAYED AND MEDITATED IS A VERY EFFICACIOUS MEANS TO REACH HEAVEN

Do you know faithful, what are the means in which we can use to climb that city so elevated? In order to win the forts that seem to be impenetrable and to take over the cities are crowning the high walls, the warlike souls invented various ingenious instruments, and among them the stairs, whose invention was attributed by Vegetius to Capaneus in the conquest of Thebes. The city is a city that is strong and elevated; it is surrounded by some walls that seem to be impenetrable. Who can therefore make this conquest? Who has the power to climb these walls? What remedy must be done in order to conquer the fort of glory? Let us seek a ladder in order to reach heaven.

Jacob saw in his dreams a stairs whose foot was over the ground and its end reachng the heavens, and also the angels of God would go up and down of it [Gn 28,12]. Many interpreters understood that this stairs is the incarnation of the Word who united heaven and earth.

Bede (the Venerable) says that this stairs have 15, and Saint Bernardine of Siena said, that these steps are the mysteries of reconciliation of the creature with the Creator. What are these mysteries but those of the mysteries of the rosary of Mary? Later the most holy rosary in which 15 mysteries are recited, in which are commemorate and meditate the reconciliation of the human nature with God, are the stairs of Jacob, which is going to be represented in the most holy rosary as another stairs to climb heaven. Since this stairs of the most holy rosary is brought by Mary most holy; with his stairs, the difficult conquest of the triumphant Jerusalem: with his stairs persuades all you would begin to climb the stairs to heaven with care and exhorts that all the confraternity members devoutly climb it through meditation, attentively through the 15 steps.

That is why, beloved brothers, pray and meditate with all devotion the holy rosary, because through it you shall win the benevolence of Jesus your tender father and of Mary your amiable mother; and thus your soul would leave your body and climb thestaris of heaven, you shall come out to meet, not to impede you to climb and and enter heaven, but to give you ha hand to facilitate your entrance and say to you: “Come, come and enter the joy of your Father and Mother, whom you greet with the holy rosary”.

In the stairs seen by Jacob, The Lord who was supporting himself on it, said to him: “I am the Lord the God of Abraham your Father and the God of Isaac” [Gn 28,13]. Pray, faithful people, pray with all devotion and possible fervor, and thus your soul shall leave the body and shall also find God Our Lord your beloved Father, and will say to you: faithful soul, who had been faithful in keeping my law and you have praised me with the holy rosary, come, come with me; I am your Father; climb, climb towards heaven and receive the crown of immortal glory which I have prepared for you. Mary shall come out and shall say to you: “I am Mary, your beloved Mother, whom you greet with the holy rosary”. Climb, climb the stairs of glory; the rosaries which you have recited are the steps in order to climb into such a high and elevated city, and where there is eternal happiness; climb, climb, do not be afraid of falling from the stairs, give me you hand, for already this is what my loving Son wanted, come to my company forever.

Oh happy confraternity members of the holy rosary! How great is your joy! So the difficult work of conquest of glory, and you have a means so and is right and well suited, which would help you, like this holy stairs, a spiritual weapon invented through the designs and the efforts of Mary through his apostle, our Father St. Dominic. Pray, thus faithful people, pray this so holy a devotion. Climb, climb which Mary had placed before us so that we may rise to heaven.

First of all, climb oh beloved priests! And climbing through these stairs you shall find the most solid and most perfcect doctrine in his steps in order to excite us to realise with all perfection the obligations which are related with your holy ministry. Priest, I would like to say, sacris datus, sacra dans, et sacra docens. In the steps of this holy stairs, which are the mysteries that compose the holy rosary, in the part of the meditation, you shall find the only begotten Son of the Eternal Father, who gave up everything to the will of His heavenly Father, obeying him till death [Flp 2, 8]. He had given us, not only the sacred doctrine, but also himself and continue to give himself to ys every day. He teaches us about the most perfect maxims of the holy religion, not only with words, but also with actions. And these truths are well meditated in the holy rosary, would this not move us to offer ourselves to all holy things?

Parents, climb, climb the stairs of the holy rosary: in it you shall learn to nurture well your beloved son, because you shall see in them the sacrifices which Jesus our beloved Father had made for saving all. He made the most fervent of prayer and subjected himself to death, and death on the cross.

See my sons, in the stairs of the holy rosary, what examples of obedience that is give to all, subjecting themselves to the will of his eternal Father until giving the last drop of his purest blood.

Pray, thus young people, pray the holy rosary, and in the stairs of the holy rosary you shall learn to be docile, humble and obedient to your loving parents. Climb, young people, climb each day these holy stairs, climb it, old men and women, may all of us climb it; and we may we be certain that we shall go to heaven, to heaven, to heaven where we shall enjoy all the happiness with the saints, with the angels, with Mary and with the Most Holy Trinity, for ever and ever and ever. Amen.

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