The Secret of the Rosary - Eleventh Rose
SECOND DECADE
The surpassing merit of the Rosary as seen in the prayers
which compose it.
Eleventh Rose - The Creed
THE CREED or the Symbol of the Apostles which is said on
the Crucifix of the Rosary is a holy summary of all Christian
truths. It is a prayer that has great merit because faith is the
root, foundation and beginning of all Christian virtues, of all
eternal virtues and also of all prayers that are pleasing to
Almighty God. "He that cometh to God, must believe . . ."
(Heb 11:16) Whosoever wishes to come to God must first of
all believe and the greater his faith the more merit his prayer
will have, the more powerful it will be, and the more it will
glorify God.
I shall not take time here to explain the Creed word for word
but I cannot resist saying that the first few words "I believe
in God" are marvelously effective as a means of sanctifying
our souls and of putting devils to rout, because these three
words contain the acts of the three theological virtues of
faith, hope and charity.
It was by saying I believe in God that the Saints overcame
temptations, especially those against faith, hope or charity---
--whether they came during their lifetime or at their death.
They were also the last words of St. Peter, Martyr; [1] a
heretic had cleft his head in two by a cruel blow of his sword
and St. Peter was almost at his last gasp, but he somehow
managed to trace these words in the sand with his finger
before he died.
The Holy Rosary contains many mysteries of Jesus and Mary
and since faith is the only key which opens up these
mysteries for us we must begin the Rosary by saying the
Creed very devoutly, and the stronger our faith the more
merit our Rosary will have.
This faith must be lively and informed by charity; in other
words, to recite properly the Rosary, it is necessary to be in
God's grace, or at least in quest of it. This faith must be
strong and constant, that is, one must not be looking for
sensible devotion and spiritual consolation in the recitation
of the Rosary; nor should one give it up because his mind is
flooded with countless involuntary distractions or one
experiences a strange distaste in the soul and an almost
continual and oppressive fatigue in the body. Neither
feeling, nor consolation, nor sighs, nor transports, nor the
continual attention of the imagination are needed; faith and
good intentions are quite enough. "Faith alone suffices." [2]
Notes:
1. Saint Peter of Verona, O.P. 1206-1253, was a Dominican
priest who fought heresy courageously and zealously. He
had the honor of receiving the habit from the hands of Saint
Dominic himself. He was appointed Inquisitor for
Lombardy, and it was in discharging his duties that he gave
his life for the Faith.
2. From the Pange Lingua.
The Canada54 National Novena includes a daily reading from the Secret of the Rosary.
There are exactly 54 readings.- A white rose for priests;
- A red rose for sinners;
- A mystical rose tree for devout souls;
- A rosebud for little children;
- Plus 50 roses representing each Hail Mary recited during 5 decades of the Rosary
JesusMarie.com - Le Secret du Rosaire - ICI
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A priest discovers a pig chewing on a Rosary. What he does next transforms his dying parish into a National Shrine!
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