The Holy Rosary

“Let us show our love for the Virgin Mary
above all by praying the holy Rosary,
for through this prayer we obtain many graces!”
(Bl. Alphonse Marie Eppinger)

Blessed Alphonse Marie wants to tell us about her veneration of and fidelity to the Virgin Mary. She spread devotion to Our Lady above all through the prayer of the Rosary. Already as a growing girl she obtained permission from the parish priest John David Reichard to pray the Rosary in the parish church every Sunday and feast day in reparation for the offences committed against God in the preceding days. In her visions she saw the Virgin Mary as the mediatrix of graces and was given to understand that all will be saved through Mary and that devotion to her will grow still more. In her visions she received certain instructions from the Virgin Mary which, in her own words, were sublime and full of consolation.

In praying the holy Rosary let us learn together with her to love the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and to call on her for help at every moment of our life, for the Virgin Mary intercedes with her Son for us, especially for the aversion of the disaster of war and of every calamity.

The Holy Rosary with Blessed Alphonse Marie

Let us allow Blessed Alphonse Marie to speak, and let us learn together with her to love the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and to call on her for help at every moment of our life.

What did it mean for Elizabeth, today Blessed Alphonse Marie, to consecrate herself to the Virgin Mary? At the age of 14, right after her First Holy Communion, Elizabeth was firmly resolved to fight against sin and was set on fire with the desire for consecrated life. She turned to Mary in these words: “Virgin Mary, my Mother, protect me! I would like to be your child, I would like to imitate you in your virtues. But how can I do it? Mary, my good Mother, pray for me, that I may serve my beloved Redeemer in a religious community. I want to live so as to work for the glory of God, the salvation of souls and the glorification of your name. I know, my Mother, that I am now asking for something I cannot do myself. But it is enough for you, my Mother, to say to your Son a single word, and I shall receive everything.”

The good God heard her prayers through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and, through the work of mercy in the service of the sick and the poor, led her to holiness. On 9 September 2018, the day of her 204th birthday, the Holy Father Francis entered her among the Blessed. Following her example, let us long to cooperate with the Virgin Mary for the sanctification of ourselves and of the world, also through the prayer of this holy Rosary.

Meditations on the holy Rosary – download

The texts for download are in Slovak.

The Holy Rosary with short thoughts of Bl. Alphonse Marie

The Sorrowful Mysteries:

1. The Agony in the Garden

Blessed Alphonse Marie invites us:
Let us go to the Cross of Jesus to gather his precious Blood, so that none of it may be shed in vain.

2. The Scourging at the Pillar

The Lord Jesus reveals to Blessed Alphonse Marie:
Pray, suffer and bear your cross with me.

3. The Crowning with Thorns

Blessed Alphonse Marie assures us:
The suffering soul finds consolation and strength nowhere else than in the five wounds of Jesus.

4. The Carrying of the Cross

Blessed Alphonse Marie confesses in surrender:
I took the cross in my hands, kissed it, covered it with tears, and meditated on the sufferings of my Redeemer.

5. The Crucifixion of Jesus

Blessed Alphonse Marie asks urgently:
How could one hesitate to embrace the cross and to be nailed completely to it, when our reward is to be eternity?

Meditations on all the mysteries – download