The Secret of the Rosary - Thirty-third Rose

Thirty-third Rose - A Diabolical Possession

WHEN SAINT DOMINIC was preaching the Rosary near
Carcassone[1] an Albigensian was brought to him who was
possessed by the devil. Saint Dominic exorcised him in the
presence of a great crowd of people; it appears that over
twelve thousand had come to hear him preach. The devils
who were in possession of this wretched man were forced to
answer Saint Dominic's questions in spite of themselves.
They said that:
1. There were fifteen thousand of them in the body of this
poor man, because he had attacked the fifteen mysteries of
the Rosary;
2. They went on to testify that by preaching the Rosary he
put fear and horror into the very depths of Hell and that he
was the man they hated most throughout the whole world,
because of the souls which he snatched from them through
devotion to the Holy Rosary;
3. They then revealed several other things.
Saint Dominic put his Rosary around the Albigensian's neck
and asked the devils to tell him who, of all the Saints in
Heaven, was the one they feared the most, and who should
therefore be the most loved and revered by men. At this they
let out such unearthly screams that most of the people fell to
the ground, faint from fear. Then, using all their cunning, so
as not to answer, the devils wept and wailed in such a pitiful
way that many of the people wept also, out of purely natural
pity. The devils spoke through the mouth of the Albigensian,
pleading in a heartrending voice:
"Dominic, Dominic, have mercy on us----we promise you
that we will never hurt you. You have always had
compassion for sinners and those in distress; have pity on
us, for we are in grievous straits. We are suffering so very
much already, so why do you delight in heightening our
pains? Can't you be satisfied with our suffering without
adding to it? Have pity on us! Have pity on us!"
Saint Dominic was not one whit moved by the pathos of
these wretched spirits and told them that he would not let
them alone until they had answered his question. Then they
said they would whisper the answer in such a way that only
Saint Dominic would be able to hear. The latter firmly
insisted upon their answering clearly and out loud. Then the
devils kept quiet and refused to say another word,
completely disregarding Saint Dominic's orders----so he
knelt down and prayed thus to Our Lady: "Oh, all powerful
and wonderful Virgin Mary, I implore you by the power of
the Most Holy Rosary, order these enemies of the human
race to answer me."
No sooner had he made this prayer than a glowing flame
leaped out of the ears, nostrils and mouth of the
Albigensian. Everyone shook with fear, but the fire did not
hurt anyone. Then the devils cried:
"Dominic, we beseech you, by the passion of Jesus Christ
and by the merits of His Holy Mother and of all the Saints,
let us leave the body of this man without speaking further----
for the Angels will answer your question whenever you
wish. After all, are we not liars? So why should you want to
believe us? Please don't torture us any more; have pity on
us."
"Woe unto you wretched spirits, who do not deserve to be
heard," Saint Dominic said, and kneeling down he prayed to
Our Lady:
"Oh most worthy Mother of Wisdom, I am praying for the
people assembled here who have already learned how to say
the Angelic Salutation properly. Please, I beg of you, force
your enemies to proclaim the whole truth and nothing but
the truth about this, here and now, before the multitude."
Saint Dominic had hardly finished this prayer when he saw
the Blessed Virgin near at hand, surrounded by a multitude
of Angels. She struck the possessed man with a golden rod
that she held and said: "Answer my servant Dominic at
once." (Remember, the people neither saw nor heard Our
Lady, but only Saint Dominic.) Then the devils started
screaming:
"Oh you who are our enemy, our downfall and our
destruction, why have you come from Heaven just to torture
us so grievously? O Advocate of sinners, you who snatch
them from the very jaws of Hell, you who are the very sure
path to Heaven, must we, in spite of ourselves, tell the whole
truth and confess before everyone who it is who is the cause
of our shame and our ruin? Oh woe unto us, princes of
darkness:
"Then listen well, you Christians: the Mother of Jesus Christ
is all-powerful and she can save her servants from falling
into Hell. She is the Sun which destroys the darkness of our
wiles and subtlety. It is she who uncovers our hidden plots,
breaks our snares and makes our temptations useless and
ineffectual.
"We have to say, however reluctantly, that not a single soul
who has really persevered in her service has ever been
damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the
Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires
and aspirations of all the Saints.
"We fear her more than all the other Saints in Heaven
together and we have no success with her faithful servants.
Many Christians who call upon her when they are at the
hour of death and who really ought to be damned according
to our ordinary standards are saved by her intercession.
"Oh if only that Mary (it is thus in their fury that they called
her) had not pitted her strength against ours and had not
upset our plans, we should have conquered the Church and
should have destroyed it long before this; and we would
have seen to it that all the Orders in the Church fell into
error and disorder.
"Now that we are forced to speak we must also tell you this:
nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be
damned, because she obtains for her servants the grace of
true contrition for their sins and by means of this they obtain
God's forgiveness and mercy."
Then Saint Dominic had them all say the Rosary very slowly
and with great devotion, and a wonderful thing happened:
at each Hail Mary that he and the people said together a
large group of devils issued forth from the wretched man's
body under the guise of red-hot coals.
When the devils had all been expelled and the heretic was at
last entirely free of them, Our Lady (who was still invisible)
gave her blessing to the assembled company, and they were
filled with joy because of this.
A large number of heretics were converted because of this
miracle and joined the Confraternity of the Most Holy
Rosary.
Notes:
1. This incident is referred to by Saint Louis in his "True
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary" when he explains that
those who love Our Lady are not lost. Cf. paragraph 42. M.B.

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

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