Denver Catholic

In this time of need, let us turn to the power of the Rosary W hen God chose to enter the world to save us, he chose Mary, whose deep faith provided the way for Jesus to come among us. She believed in the words of the angel, "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Lk 1: 37). As she expressed her deep confi dence in the promises of God, the Word became fl esh. In our current time of crisis, our Church, world and our country need faith in God and the protection and intercession of Mary. And so, beginning on August 15, I am launching a Rosary Crusade to ask Mary to urgently bring our needs to Jesus. The last several months of the coronavirus epidemic, the civil unrest that has broken out in diff erent parts of the archdiocese and our nation, and the challenges the Church is facing have made the need for Mary's intercession abundantly clear. Mary is our Mother and desires only our good like the Father. In her appearance to Juan Diego Our Lady reminded him and reminds us today, "Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?" Saint Padre Pio, who was known for his devotion to the Rosary off ers us this advice: "In times of darkness, holding the Rosary is like holding our Blessed Mother's hand." We turn to Mary in our diffi culty because she is our spiritual mother, who with her "yes" to the Lord embraced the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. She is "the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that 'nothing will be impossible with God,' and was able to magnify the Lord: 'For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #273). We know, too, from history that Mary has answered prayers brought to her through the Rosary and that she has personally asked people to pray it for the most serious needs, especially for the conversion of souls. Pope Pius V famously asked all Christians to pray the Rosary in 1571 to prevent Christianity from being overrun by the invading Ottoman Turks, and the Chris- tian naval forces were subsequently victorious in the Battle of Lepanto. In the apparitions at Fatima, Mary identifi ed herself as "The Lady of the Rosary" and asked the shepherd children to whom she appeared to pray a daily Rosary for world peace and the end of World War I. During his pontifi cate, Saint John Paul II spoke of the Rosary as his favorite prayer. In his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, he added, "The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of diffi culty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort" (RVM, 2). This past May, Pope Francis encouraged praying the Rosary, saying, "Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial." BY ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL J. AQUILA Archbishop of Denver the Rosary good like the Father. In her appearance to Juan Diego Our Lady reminded him and reminds us today, "Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?" Saint Padre Pio, who was known for his devotion to the Rosary off ers us this advice: "In times of darkness, holding the Rosary is like holding our Blessed Mother's hand." We turn to Mary in our diffi culty because she is our spiritual mother, who with her "yes" to the Lord embraced the mysterious ways of God's almighty power. She is "the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that 'nothing will be impossible with God,' and was able to magnify the Lord: 'For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #273). We know, too, from history that Mary has answered prayers brought to her through the Rosary and that she has personally asked people to pray it for the most serious needs, especially for the conversion of souls. Pope Pius V famously asked all Christians to pray the Rosary in 1571 to prevent Christianity from being overrun by the invading Ottoman Turks, and the Chris- tian naval forces were subsequently victorious in the Battle of Lepanto. In the apparitions at Fatima, Mary identifi ed herself as "The Lady of the Rosary" and asked the

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