By Karen Edmisten

     It was November, just before Thanksgiving and I was at the doctor’s office.  I was pregnant, and cautiously hoping I would carry this baby to term.  Though we had two beautiful children, after multiple miscarriages I took nothing for granted.  The image on the ultrasound screen was not what it should have been.      

     “I’m concerned it may be an ectopic pregnancy,” said my obstetrician, “but this early, an ultrasound can fool us.”  He told me to come back in five days: “A few days can make a huge difference in what we see.”  He did his best to assure me that all would be well.      

     I left the office feeling frightened and terribly sad.  I was seven weeks along; we should have seen a heartbeat.  The possibility that all was well seemed remote.  I prayed; I hoped; but I feared.

     Five days later, the picture did look different.  There was no sign of trouble in the fallopian tube, and the baby was indeed in the womb.  Still, we could not detect a heartbeat.  My doctor wanted to try one more ultrasound in a few more days — couldn’t we have miscalculated the date of conception, he wondered?  Not likely, I said, for a couple who knows the fine points of Natural Family Planning as well as we do. Given my history, I feared the worst.  I reported the news to my closest friends with great sadness.  “No heartbeat,” was all I could say.  My friends offered me prayers, comfort and shoulders to cry on. 

     But I had one friend who remained upbeat.  “Hang on until the next ultrasound,” she urged.  “We have no idea what God has in store for your little one.  Pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the protector of the unborn.”     

     Of course — Our Lady of Guadalupe! And so began the rosaries, asking for her intercession.  A few days later, I received a beautiful rosary in the mail — it was a gift from a pro-life organization to which we had donated, and it bore the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  My heart jumped, and I dared to hope this was a sign of an impending miracle.     

     The next day, on our way out of the house to go to the doctor’s office, my four year old begged to hold the pretty rosary.  I handed it to her as we drove to the home of a friend who would watch the kids during my appointment.  When we arrived at my friend’s, the rosary was in pieces.  “I’m sorry, Mama,” my little girl said.  “It broke.”  She clutched a few beads and links and looked at me sadly.      

     “It’s okay,” I told her.  “Things break.  You didn’t mean to.”

     But inside, I feared that my “sign” had broken too.  I had been hoping and trusting in my prayers to Our Lady of Guadalupe and now the rosary, that unexpected gift that prompted me to hope for a miracle, was in pieces.    

     Later, at the doctor’s office, the final news came.  No growth… no heartbeat… no sign of life.  Blood tests over the next week confirmed that the levels of pregnancy hormone had dropped; the baby had died.    

     In my grief, I forgot for a time about my broken rosary, but then a strange thing happened.  Though I mourned our lost child, circumstances surrounding the miscarriage led to some resolution regarding an old and very painful emotional wound.   In other words, had I not miscarried, I would not have been healed of this old wound.  What an amazing grace, I thought, and I thanked God for what He had done for me through the short life and the death of my child.      

     It was then that I remembered the rosary.  As I pieced it back together, I found that I had been able to save nearly all of it.  One decade was missing two beads, and my tinkering with the links left it looking a bit crooked, but it was repaired.     

     Gazing at it, I was struck by the incongruity.  This once-perfect thing was now bent, crooked and imperfect, yet still beautiful.  It was like us, like our lives.  Though we were made in the perfect image of God, we are bent and crooked with original sin; even after baptism we are still crippled by its after-effects.  We stumble through this life tarnishing the perfect image, while our Lord repeatedly tinkers with us, repairs us, and heals us.       

     I remembered my sinking feeling when I saw that the rosary had been broken, how I felt all my hopes instantly dashed.  I had imagined that the gift of the rosary meant that I would receive the gift of my baby.  What I received instead — the healing — was a great gift that I could not have predicted.  I couldn’t have known how beautifully the Lord would use my child to heal me; I couldn’t have known how this unexpected rosary would become the symbol of God’s work in a  broken part of my life. Now, when I pray with my broken rosary, I think of my baby and I know that my friend was right — we had no idea what God had in store for my little one.  He is always, ineffably, and so unexpectedly, making crooked ways straight.

At various times in history, the rosary has been cited as a decisive factor in the outcome of significant battles. The fight for control of the Mediterranean and the conquest of Europe was one of them. The Battle of Lepanto, in 1571, would be the largest naval engagement since the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C. To the mind and eyes of the world, it seemed as if the Turks, or Moslems, would have a decisive victory. Pope Pius V, a former aesthetic and devout Dominican monk, blessed the mission fleet led by Don Juan, the half brother of Philip II of Spain, instructing him to take no evil sailors and requested that the faithful pray the rosary unceasingly.

When Don Juan heard that Cyprus had fallen to the Moslems and that all prisoners were being tortured and executed, he pulled up anchor and headed directly to the Gulf of Lepanto to engage the enemy. Ali Pasha commanded the Turkish fleet of 330 ships, reinforced by Uluch Ali, the notorious leader of the Moslem corsairs (pirates), infamous for terrorizing Catholic ships in the Mediterranean. Don Juan commanded about 300 ships consisting of Venetians, Genoese, Spanish, Knights of Malta and the Papal States.

At dawn, October 7, 1571, the two fleets clashed. Don John commanded his flagship and galleys. Iron rams were removed from the Christian ships, as the plan was for boarding and close quarter fighting. At the same time, Pope Pius V, accompanied by a group of the faithful, entered the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray the Rosary and ask Our Lady to intercede for a Catholic victory. The prayers continued in Rome as the Catholic and Moslem fleets battled. Later in the day, the Pope is said to have suddenly interrupted his business exclaiming, “A truce to business! Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Catholic army.”

The Pope declared October 7 the feast day of “Our Lady of Victory.” Years later, the feast was renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary” by Pope Clement XI. In 1712 Pope Pius V was canonized.

Rosarium in Latin from fshcm.com

If you know of any others, then please leave a note in the comments and we will include it.

En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.

CREDO DE LOS APOSTOLES (Apostles Creed in Spanish)

Creo en Dios Padre Todopoderoso, Creador del Cielo y de la tierra, y en Jesucristo su Único Hijo, Nuestro Señor, que fue concebido por obra y gracia del Espíritu Santo; nació de Santa María Virgen, padeció bajo el poder de Poncio Pilato, fue crucificado, muerto y sepultado, descendió a los infiernos, al tercer día resucitó de entre los muertos; subió a los cielos, está sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre Todopoderoso; desde allí ha de venir a juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos. Creo en el Espíritu Santo, en la Santa Iglesia Católica, en la Comunión de los Santos, en el perdón de los pecados, en la resurrección de la carne, y en la vida eterna. Amén.

EL PADRE NUESTRO (The Our Father in Spanish)

Padre nuestro, que estás en el Cielo, santificado sea Tu nombre; venga a nosotros Tu Reino; hágase Tu Voluntad, así en la tierra como en el cielo.

Dános hoy nuestro pan de cada día; perdona nuestras ofensas como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden; no nos dejes caer en tentación y líbranos del mal. Amén.

EL AVE MARÍA (Hail Mary in Spanish)

Dios te salve María, llena eres de Gracia, El Señor es contigo, bendita Tú eres entre todas las mujeres, y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.

Santa María Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros los pecadores, ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte. Amén.

EL GLORIA

Gloria al Padre, y al Hijo y al Espíritu Santo.

Como era en el principio, es ahora y siempre por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.

LA SALVE

Dios te salve, Reina y Madre, Madre de Misericordia, Vida y dulzura y esperanza nuestra. Dios te salve, a ti clamamos los desterrados hijos de Eva. A Ti suplicamos gimiendo y llorando en este valle de lágrimas. Ea, pues, Señora abogada nuestra. Vuelve a nosotros esos Tus ojos misericordiosos, y después de este destierro muéstranos a Jesús, fruto bendito de Tu vientre. ¡Oh clemente! ¡Oh piadosa! ¡Oh dulce Virgen María!

L. Ruega por nosotros, santa Madre de Dios
R. para que seamos dignos de alcanzar las promesas de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Amén.

Después de cada decena, diga la siguiente oración pedida por la Virgen María en las apariciones de Fátima:

O Jesús mío, perdona nuestros pecados: libranos del fuego del infierno, conduce nuestras almas hacia el cielo, especialmente aquellas más necesitadas de Tu Misericordia.

This is a memory I will always treasure:
Many years ago, as my then eight and ten year old daughters and I were in a public restroom, a dispenser on the wall displaying a picture of a circle with a cross caught my daughter’s eye. Curious, she  asked her older sister what it was for. As I watched and listened, the older child seemed to grow an inch and beaming with pride she informed her younger sister that, “That’s where you can buy rosaries.”… and she believed it too.  Needless to say, I quickly headed for the door as I could not contain my laughter.

Sign of the Cross

Sa ngalan ng Ama, at ng Anak, at ng Espiritu Santo. Amen.

Apostles Creed

Sumasampalataya ako sa Diyos Amang makapanyayari sa lahat, na may gawa ng langit at lupa. Sumasampalataya naman ako kay Hesukristo, iisang Anak ng Diyos, Panginoon nating lahat. Nagkatawang-tao Siya lalang ng Espiritu Santo; ipinanganak ni Santa Mariang Birhen. Pinagpakasakit ni Ponsio Pilato; ipinako sa krus, namatay at ibinaon. Nanaog sa mga impiyerno; nang may ikatlong araw nabuhay na mag-uli. Umakyat sa langit; naluluklok sa kanan ng Diyos Amang makapangyayari sa lahat. Doon magmumula’t pariritong huhukom sa nangabubuhay at nangamatay na tao. Sumasampalataya naman ako sa Diyos Espiritu Santo, na may Santa Iglesya Katolika; may kamsamahan ng mga Santo, may ikawawala ng mga kasalanan; at mabubuhay na mag uli ang nangamatay na tao, at may buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.

Our Father

Ama namin, sumasa-langit Ka. Sambahin ang ngalan Mo. Mapasa amin ang Kaharian Mo. Sundin ang loob Mo dito sa lupa para nang sa langit. Bigyan Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin sa araw-araw. At patawarin Mo kami ng aming mga sala, para nang pagpapatawad namin sa mg nagkakasala sa amin. At huwag Mo kaming ipahintulot sa tukso, at iadya Mo kami sa dilang masama. Amen.

Hail Mary

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya, ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo, bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat at pinagpala naman ang iyong Anak na si Jesus. Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos, ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan, ngayon at kung kami y mamamatay. Amen.

Glory Be

Luwalhati sa Ama at sa Anak at sa Espiritu Santo. Kapara nang sa una, gayon din ngayon at magpakilan pa man sa walang hanggan. Amen.

Oh My Jesus

O Jesus ko, patawarin Mo ang aming mga sala. Iligtas Mo kami sa apoy ng impiyerno. Hanguin Mo ang mga kaluluwa sa purgatoryo. Lalong-lalo na yaong mga walang nakakaalaala.

Hail Holy Queen

Aba Po Santa Mariang Hari, Ina ng Awa. Ikaw ang kabuhayan at katamisan; Aba pinananaligan ka namin. Ikaw nga ang tinatawagan namin, pinapanaw na taong anak ni Eva. Ikaw rin ang pinagbunbuntuhang hininga namin ng aming pagtangis dini sa lupang bayang kahapis-hapis. Ay aba, pintakasi ka namin, ilingon mo sa amin, ipakita mo sa amin ang iyong Anak na si Hesus. Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos, maawain, maalam at matamis na Birhen. V. Ipanalangin mo kami, Reyna ng kasantusantuhang Rosaryo. R. Nang kami’y maging dapat makinabang ng mga pangako ni Hesukristo.

Final Prayer

Panalangin. Diyos at Panginoon namin, na ang bugtong na Anak Mo ay siyang ipinapagkamit namin ng kagalinga’t kabuhayang walang hanggan sa pamamagitan ng kanyang pagkakatawang-tao, pagkamatay at pagkabuhay na mag-uli; ipagkaloob Mo, hinihiling namin sa Iyo, na sa pagninilaynilay namin nitong mga misteryo ng Santo Rosaryo ni Santa Mariang Birhen ay hindi lamang matularan namin ang mga magagaling na hamimbawang nalalarawan doon, kundi naman makamtan namin ang mga kagalingang ipinangako sa amin; alang-alang kay Hesukristong Panginoon namin; na kapisan Mo at ng Espiritu Santo nabubuhay at naghahari magpasawalang hanggan. Amen.

On the Sunday after Easter, the Catholic Church commemorates Divine Mercy.  In one sense, this is a recent devotion, having been established by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the same day he canonized Sister Faustina Kowalska as the first saint of the Great Jubilee Year.  St. Faustina had visions of our Lord, who revealed to her His desire for people to turn to and trust in His Mercy.

The doctrine of Divine Mercy, however, is not new, but is rooted in Holy Scripture and the faith that we have received through the apostles and their successors.  The Old Testament contains numerous references to God’s mercy.  King David, in Psalm 50, begging forgiveness for his sins of adultery and murder, cries out to the Lord:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy;

And according to thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity”

We read, in Psalm 24, that “All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth,” while Psalm 135 contains the frequent refrain, “His mercy endureth forever.”  When Moses went to Mount Sinai with two tablets on which the Lord inscribed the Ten Commandments, God proclaimed that He was “a merciful and gracious God.”  Even when God exercised Divine Justice in bringing on the flood as a punishment for man’s sins, He displayed Divine Mercy in telling Noah to build an ark so that Noah and his family might be saved, thus giving mankind a second chance.

The early church celebrated the Resurrection, the clearest manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus, with eight days of commemoration, which St. Augustine referred to as the “days of mercy and pardon.”  The octave began with Easter Sunday and concluded with Dominica in Albis, or Sunday in White, which Augustine referred to as “the compendium of the days of mercy.”

The revelations to St. Faustina, therefore, do not present new teachings, but rather provide a reminder of God’s love and compassion.  The messages were recorded in Sister Faustina’s Diary, a document she wrote at the behest of her spiritual director.  God’s desire for the world is made clear in His recorded words:

“I am Love and Mercy itself.  When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls”…”I do not wish to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful Heart.  I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice.  Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy.”  (Diary, 1074, 1588)

Divine Mercy is the result of God’s love for us extended in our time of anguish or adversity, whether caused by sin, suffering or the death of another.  Pope John Paul II, in his 1994 Regina Caeli Address, rhetorically asked:

“What is mercy if not the boundless love of God, who confronted with human sin, restrains the sentiment of severe justice and, allowing himself to be moved by the wretchedness of his creatures, spurs himself to the total gift of self, in the Son’s cross?”

As a visual reminder for us, our Lord asked St. Faustina to create an image of Himself, standing with mercy radiating from His heart as two large rays, one of red and the other pale, symbolizing the blood and water He shed for us.  The image is to bear the words, “Jesus, I trust in you.”  The image, the chaplet, which repetitively requests God’s mercy and is said on the beads of the Rosary, and the commemorative Sunday are means for us to personally recall and proclaim the love of God.

At the present time, we are confronted with movements throughout the world that defy the teachings of our Church.  Abortion, euthanasia, the redefinition of marriage, genetic manipulation and other abominations against human dignity are daring God to release His justice.  Pope John Paul II, in 2002, concerned about the future of mankind, consecrated the world to Divine Mercy.  Today, our request, both as individuals and as a community of believes, for God’s mercy and our declaration of trust in Jesus, who already paid the price for our salvation through the cross, are essential.  Our Lord told St Faustina, “mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy.” (Diary, 300)  The directive is clear; the response desired is prescribed

For those who live in or visit Maryland, there is a special opportunity to express your gratitude for our Lord’s Divine Mercy.  The final miracle that elevated Sister Faustina to sainthood involved Father Ronald Pytel, the now-deceased pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Baltimore,  Father had a very serious and worsening heart ailment that made it difficult for him even to mount the steps of the altar.  Through the intercession of Sister Faustina, he was miraculously cured, totally and rapidly, without medical intervention   Holy Rosary Church now contains a shrine to Divine Mercy that is well worth visiting at any time, but especially on Divine Mercy Sunday, when usually well over a thousand people participate in the church’s liturgical celebration.  This is a wonderful way for you and your family to express your gratitude for God’s love.

A slightly modified version of this article appeared in numerous publications of the Knights of Columbus in Maryland.  For further information, contact the author at

The Rosary is a powerful prayer that has proven to be effective numerous times throughout history.  Our Lady has often interceded with Our Lord to alter the course of events when people have asked for her assistance through this invocation.  One of the earliest, history-altering incidents affected by the Rosary occurred on October 7, 1571.  The Mohammedan Ottoman Empire, which then was at the peak of its naval power and threatening to overrun Christian Europe, sent a fleet of some 300 galleys into the Gulf of Lepanto.  A smaller fleet of about 200 galleys was formed in defense.  In the weeks preceding their engagement, Pope Pius V had ordered all churches and monasteries to offer the Forty Hours Devotion, with public processions and recitation of the Rosary for a Christian victory.  The resulting battle was decisive, as the invaders lost some 25,000 men and most of their ships.  Never again was the Ottoman Empire a threat in the Mediterranean Sea.  The Venetian Senate declared that it was not the might of arms that brought victory, but the Blessed Virgin’s intercession.  In thanksgiving, the Pope designated October 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

In 1683, Christian Europe again was under assault by Turkish Muslims; this time by land.  The invading army of 140,000-180,000 men put Vienna under siege.  As an opposing force was being assembled, Pope Innocent XI called for a Christendom-wide recitation of the Rosary for its victory.  The city was about to fall when King Jan Sobieski of Poland, who had placed his kingdom under the protection of Our Lady of Czestochowa, arrived at the head of an army of 85,000 men.   The Turks were totally routed, losing about four times as many men as the Christians.  In tribute, the Pope designated September 12, the day of the victory, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

On August 6, 1945, Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the world’s first use of this horrendous weapon.  For miles in every direction buildings were leveled, people were burned beyond recognition, and bodies littered the streets.  Eight blocks from the epicenter was the Church of Our Lady’s Assumption, with an adjoining residence where eight Jesuits missionaries from Germany lived.  The Church was severely damaged by the blast, but the residence was intact.  Although some 50,000 people were killed by the blast and another 20,000 died soon after from radiation exposure, the priests were unharmed.  None suffered radiation sickness, blistering from the heat, loss of hearing, or other bomb-related illness, and all lived for several more decades.  Fr. Hubert Schiffer, one of the survivors, attributed the miracle to the group’s devotion to the Blessed Mother and their faithfulness in praying the Rosary every day.

At the end of World War II, Austria, a country strategically located between East and West, was divided among the victorious allies.  Soviet Russia took the most important quarter, which included Vienna, and subjected it to the oppression of Communism.  Fr. Petrus Pevlicek, obeying a voice he heard at a Marian Shrine, founded the Holy Rosary Atonement Crusade in 1947 to pray for thee nation’s freedom.  The faithful began saying the Rosary almost continuously, and on the 13^th of each month paraded through the streets praying to Our Lady of Fatima for independence.  The marchers grew in number, reaching in 1955 about 500,000 people, one tenth the population of Austria.  Then, on May 13, 1955, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, the Russians unexpectedly withdrew.  Inspired by Austria’s independence, Hungary, in October 1956, demanded similar freedom from the Soviets.  Instead of prayer, however, Hungary relied on tens of thousands of Freedom Fighters and mass demonstrations.  In less than three weeks, the Soviets suppressed all public opposition.  The Rosary succeeded, while reliance on arms failed.

When Nikita Khrushchev visited the United Nations in October, 1960, he pounded the desk with his shoe shouting that the Soviets “would bury” America.  This was no idle threat, as the Soviets were completing development of the R-16 Inter Continental Ballistic Missile.  Pope John XXIII instructed the Bishop of Leiria (whose see includes Fatima) to write to the bishops of the world, asking them to unite with the pilgrims of Fatima on the night of October 12, 1960, in prayer and penance for Russia’s conversion and world peace.  That evening, about a million pilgrims at Fatima spent the night outdoors in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and some 300 dioceses throughout the world joined with them.  On October 26, as the final test launch was in progress, the ICBM exploded killing some 250 people, including the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces and the chief designer of the R-16, setting the Russian nuclear missile program back many years.  Again, the Rosary prevailed.

On March 1, 2008, a crisis between Colombia and its neighboring states, Ecuador and Venezuela arose.  The President of Columbia had ordered a military raid into Ecuador’s territory against a rebel camp used by Marxist guerrillas to launch terrorist strikes.  In response, Ecuador’s President cut all diplomatic relationships with Colombia, while Venezuela, Ecuador’s political ally, ordered a massive military surge to the Colombian border.  On March 5, as tensions increased, Columbia’s President invited all officials to pray the Rosary in the chapel at the Presidential Palace.  It was offered to Our Lady of Chiquinquira, Our Lady of Coromoto and Our Lady of Mercy, respectively the patronesses of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.  Two days later, Columbia’s President apologized and the presidents of the three countries shook hands ending the crisis.

These are just a few of many examples of how public devotion to the Rosary has affected world events.  Jamie Cardinal Sin speaking of the effect of the Rosary in the overthrow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, said: “All the ends of the earth have seen the Power of the Rosary, the Power of prayer, the Power of GOD…More Powerful than funds are Prayers. More effective than strategic planning are ‘fasting and sacrifices.’ Mightier than military force is the mighty Power of a vigilant people. Indeed when we give our best to the Lord, and leave the rest to His Providence, the Lord always responds.”

As Catholics, we have a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin.  She has demonstrated the power of the Rosary numerous times, and at Fatima asked that it be said for world peace.  It is not very difficult to carry the Rosary with you always, and say it as often as you can.  The world will be a better place if the Rosary is the weapon of choice.

A slightly modified version of this article appeared in numerous publications of the Knights of Columbus in Maryland.  For further information, contact the author at