The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.
I once heard a talk on YouTube from a priest named Fr. Josh Waltz. Fr. Waltz was addressing an audience of men who were attending a Catholic men’s conference. At the beginning of his talk, he was driving home the need for them to get to know Jesus.
“Yes, you go to weekly Mass and and you do all of these external “things”. But do you really KNOW him?”
He went on to describe the terrifying scene of coming face to face with Christ at the end of our lives, where we are trying to convince Jesus Christ that we did live to serve him.
“Lord, don’t you remember me? I went to Mass every week and I did all these things in my life to serve you.” To which Jesus replies,
“I’m sorry. I do not know you. Depart from me.”
He then said with absolute clarity, “Fellas, that should shake you to your core. That thought should terrify you. You HAVE TO GET TO KNOW JESUS. And to get to know him, you have to spend time with Him.”
Fr. Waltz’s point was that we can go through the motions of living an outwardly holy life, but it is our interior relationship, or lack thereof, which will determine where we ultimately choose to spend eternity. So how exactly do we get to know Jesus? Our Blessed Mother has given us one spectacular way.
By praying the Rosary daily, we are constantly reminded and reflecting on the life of Jesus. All of the mysteries, when meditated on, reveal and unfold the utter magnificence of His incarnation. They teach us about His life, the miraculous things He did, the horrific way He suffered and died and the glorious way He rose from the dead, exactly as the prophets described. To contemplate on these things every day is to have God at the forefront of our thoughts and deeds. It is the logical conclusion, then, that anyone who reflects on the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus every day will know Him and know Him well. Their lives will reflect that friendship and how could such a soul perish?
Of course, the assumption of this promise is that we aren’t distractingly uttering the prayers of the Rosary while thinking of everything BUT the life of Christ and just using it as some sort of eternal insurance policy. The goal is to enter into the mysteries as we pray. This is not to say that our efforts are always easy or perfect. On the contrary… in fact, I find the Rosary one of the most difficult devotions to pray well. It is hard to stay focused and hard to commit to saying it daily. I cannot tell you the number of times I have started and stopped. But there is power in the knowledge that the Rosary is an awesome weapon in the very real spiritual battle for our souls. Of course it would be hard! Satan HATES the Rosary!! He is terrified of its power. He knows that those who say it and try to say it well are clothed and protected in unbreakable armor. There will be many distracted days and that is ok. Keep saying it and keep bringing yourself back each time you find your mind wandering. Remember to ask our Blessed Mother to help you and like the loving Mother she is, Mary will lovingly shepherd her children back to task at hand while they pray.
