The Secret of the Rosary - Fourth Rose

Fourth Rose - Blessed Alan de la Roche

ALL THINGS, even the holiest, are subject to change,
especially when they are dependent on man's free will. It is
hardly to be wondered at, then, that the Confraternity of the
Holy Rosary only retained its fervor for one century after it
was instituted by Saint Dominic. After this, it was like a
thing buried and forgotten.
Doubtless, too, the wicked scheming and jealousy of the
devil were largely responsible for getting people to neglect
the Holy Rosary, and thus block the flow of God's grace
which it had drawn down upon the world.
Thus, in 1349, God punished the whole of Europe and sent
the most terrible plague that had ever been known into
every land. It started first in the east and spread throughout
Italy, Germany, France, Poland and Hungary, bringing
desolation wherever it came----for out of hundred men
hardly one lived to tell the tale. Big towns, little towns,
villages and monasteries were almost completely deserted
during the three years that the epidemic lasted.
This scourge of God was quickly followed by two others: the
heresy of the Flagellantes and a tragic schism in 1376.
Later on when these trials were over, thanks to the mercy of
God, Our Lady told Blessed Alan to revive the ancient
Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. Blessed Alan was
one of the Dominican Fathers from the monastery at Dinan,
in Brittany. He was an eminent theologian and was famous
for his sermons. Our Lady chose him because, since the
Confraternity had originally been started in this province, it
was most fitting that a Dominican from the very same
province should have the honor of re-establishing it.
Blessed Alan began this great work in 1460 after a special
warning from Our Lord. This is how he received His urgent
message, as he tells it himself:
One day when he was saying Mass, Our Lord, Who wished
to spur him on to preach the Holy Rosary, spoke to him in
the Sacred Host:
"How can you crucify Me again so soon?" Jesus said.
"What did You say, Lord?" asked Blessed Alan, horrified.
"You crucified Me once before by your sins," answered Jesus,
"and I would willingly be crucified again rather than have
My Father offended by the sins you used to commit. You are
crucifying Me again now because you have all the learning
and understanding that you need to preach My Mother's
Rosary, and you are not doing so. If you only did this you
could teach many souls the right path and lead them away
from sin----but you are not doing it and so you yourself are
guilty of the sins that they commit."
This terrible reproach made Blessed Alan solemnly resolve
to preach the Rosary unceasingly.
Our Lady too spoke to him one day to inspire him to preach
the Holy Rosary more and more:
"You were a great sinner in your youth," she said, "but I
obtained the grace of your conversion from my Son. Had
such a thing been possible I would have liked to have gone
through all kinds of suffering to save you because converted
sinners are a glory to me. And I would have done this also to
make you worthy of preaching my Rosary far and wide."
Saint Dominic appeared to Blessed Alan as well and told
him of the great results of his ministry: he had preached the
Holy Rosary unceasingly, his sermons had borne great fruit
and many people had been converted during his missions.
He said to Blessed Alan:
"See the wonderful results I have had through preaching the
Holy Rosary! You and all those who love Our Lady ought to
do the same so that, by means of this holy practice of the
Rosary, you may draw all people to the real science of the
virtues."
Briefly, then, this is the history of how Saint Dominic established the Holy Rosary and of how Blessed Alan de la Roche restored it.

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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