Page 10 - Faith Connections Issue 3.2

ISSUE 3 OCTOBER 2021

WHAT THE ROSARY AND THE SAINTS

MEAN FOR US

BY KEVIN ARACKAN, GRADE 12

As we near the end of October, we reflect on the Blessed Virgin Mary and All Saints Day,
with emphasis on the Holy Rosary and the Saints, and how they help us in our faith
journey.

The Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary comes from the Latin word Rosaria, which
means “Crown of Roses” or “Garden of Roses,” and is attributed to St. Dominic. The
prayer of the Holy Rosary grew during the 14th Century AD in the Roman Catholic
Church.

The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer, according to the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, as it first summarizes the mysteries of the Catholic faith in the Apostles
Creed, introduces the mysteries with the Lord’s Prayer as mentioned in the Bible, and
then repeats the “Hail Mary'' ten times to allow one to meditate on the mysteries of the
Rosary. The first part of the “Hail Mary” includes the first words that Angel Gabriel spoke
to Mother Mary during the Annunciation and Elizabeth’s first words upon Mary’s visitation
to her home.

The gentle repetition of the Rosary should lead one to contemplative prayer in regard to each mystery, and in doing
so will help us to enter the silence of our hearts, where Christ lies within us. Then, we can improve our relationship
with God and allow our faith, and our devotion to the Most Blessed Mother, to grow.

In the lives of the Saints, we notice the sacred lives of those who have followed God in his footsteps with diligent
faith, have accepted all sufferings and tribulation associated with that path, and now worship God with his angels in
heaven, interceding for all our prayers. In essence, they are the seeds that yielded bountiful fruit for our Lord. There
are currently over 10,000 saints, many of which have debated evidence for their sainthood.

Like many people in this world, saints have come from many different backgrounds, such as St. Peter, our first Pope,
St. Francis, who left his life of riches to rebuild the Church, St. Alphonsa, a saint from India who took all her
sufferings and gave them to Jesus during her life as a nun, and even Blessed Carlo Acutis, who was a gamer, a web-
designer, and a devout Christian, who especially used technology to preach the word of God.

Through the lives of the Saints, we can ask for their intercession, find inspiration for holiness through the examples
of the Saints, and use their lives as blueprints for how we can and should live our lives as truly devout Catholic
Christians in this world, to prepare our souls to meet God in His divine kingdom.

PAGE 10 ROSARY & ALL SAINTS EDITION | ISSUE 3