The Secret of the Rosary - Forty-third Rose

Forty-third Rose - Fighting Distractions

WHEN THE ROSARY is well said it gives Jesus and Mary
more glory and it is more meritorious for the soul than any
other prayer. But it is also the hardest prayer to say well and
to persevere in, owing especially to the distractions which
almost inevitably attend the constant repetition of the same
words.
When we say the Little Office of Our Lady, or the Seven
Penitential Psalms, or any prayers other than the Rosary, the
variety of words and expressions keeps us alert, prevents
our imagination from wandering, and so makes it easier for
us to say them well. On the contrary, because of the constant
repetition of the same Our Father and Hail Mary in the same
unvarying form, it is difficult, while saying the Rosary, not
to become wearied and inclined to sleep or to turn to other
prayers that are more refreshing and less tedious. This goes
to show that one needs much greater devotion to persevere
in saying the Holy Rosary than in saying any other prayer,
even the Psalms of David.
Our imagination, which is hardly still a minute, makes our
task harder and then of course there is the devil who never
tires of trying to distract us and keep us from praying. To
what ends does not the evil one go against us while we are
engaged in saying our Rosary against him.
Being human, we easily become tired and slipshod----but the
devil makes these difficulties worse when we are saying the
Rosary. Before we even begin he makes us feel bored,
distracted or exhausted----and when we have started
praying he oppresses us from all sides. And when, after
much difficulty and many distractions, we have finished, he
whispers to us: "What you have just said is worthless. It's
useless for you to say the Rosary. You had better get on with
other things. It's only a waste of time to pray without paying
attention to what you're saying; half an hour's meditation or
some spiritual reading would be much better. Tomorrow
when you're not feeling so sluggish you'll pray better; don't
finish your Rosary until tomorrow." By tricks of this kind the
devil gets us to give up the Rosary altogether or else hardly
say it at all, and we keep putting it off or else change to some
other devotion.
Dear Rosary Confraternity members, do not listen to the
devil, but be of good heart even if your imagination has been
bothering you throughout your Rosary, filling your mind
with all kinds of distracting thoughts----as long as you really
tried hard to get rid of them as soon as they came. Always
remember that the best Rosary is the one with the most
merit, and there is more merit in praying when it is hard
than when it is easy. Prayer is all the harder when it is
(naturally speaking) distasteful to the soul and is filled with
those annoying little ants and flies running about in your
imagination, against your will, and scarcely allowing you
the time to enjoy a little peace and appreciate the beauty of
what you are saying.
Even if you have to fight distractions all through your whole
Rosary be sure to fight well, arms in hand: that is to say, do
not stop saying your Rosary even if it is hard to say and you
have absolutely no sensible devotion. It is a terrible battle, I
know, but one that is profitable to the faithful soul. If you
put down your arms, that is, if you give up the Rosary, you
will be admitting defeat and then, having won, the devil will
leave you alone.
But at the Day of Judgment he will taunt you because of
your faithlessness and lack of courage. "He that is faithful in
that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater."
(Luke 16:10) He who fights even the smallest distractions
faithfully when he says even the very smallest prayer he will
also be faithful in great things. We can be absolutely certain
of this because the Holy Spirit has told us so.
So all of you, servants and handmaids of Our Lord Jesus
Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, who have made up your
minds to say the Rosary every day, be of good heart. Do not
let the flies (it is thus that I call the distractions that make
war on you during prayer) make you cowardly abandon the
company of Jesus and Mary, in whose holy presence you
always are when saying the Rosary. In what follows I shall
give you suggestions for getting rid of distractions.

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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Visiting Our Lady of the Cape on Pilgrimage? What you need to know HERE

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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