Vienna, Austria. After World War II, Austria was divided between four countries: America, France, United Kingdom and Russia, which was still communist. The section of Austria controlled by the communists was the richest, and included the city of Vienna. The Viennese were subject to all the atrocities and tyrannies of communism.
With all his country’s problems weighing heavily on his heart, Capuchin Fr. Petrus Pavlicek made a pilgrimage to Mariazell, the principal Marian Shrine in Austria. While deep in prayer before the miraculous image of Our Lady above the shrine’s high altar, he was told by an interior voice: “Do as I say and there will be peace.” To obey this inspiration of Our Lady, Fr. Pavlicek founded the Holy Rosary Crusade of Reparation in 1947. This Crusade consisted of the Viennese faithful coming out of their homes in order to participate in a public Rosary procession in the streets of the city. The intentions of the Rosary were for the end of communism in their country and the world. Father traveled throughout Austria with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima promoting the Rosary crusade. At first, the processions were miniscule, but in time they grew to staggering proportions. The Prime Minister and other members of the Austrian government soon joined the ranks, along with all the nation’s bishops.
In 1955, after eight years spreading the word about the Crusade throughout Austria, the Rosary processions would reach the size of half a million people, about one-tenth of the Austrian population. Finally, through the help of Our Lady, the Soviet forces pulled out of Austria in October of 1955, leaving the country for good. Each year on September 12th, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, thousands gather in Vienna to thank the Mother of God for her intercession in freeing their country from communist domination!
“He who prays shall be saved. He who prays not shall be condemned. One of the greatest pains of the damned is that they could have saved themselves so easily by prayer, and neglected to do so.” –St. Alphonsus de Liguori
“To pray is the easiest thing man can do on earth, and God has tied up salvation to this very easy thing. All those in hell either did not pray or did not pray enough. Especially to her who is the Mother of Christ, whose name we never pronounce. Devotion to her rescues numberless souls from the devil which sin would infallibly give to him.’’ – Cry of a Lost Soul. Story can be found on the internet. Or olrl.org
Mary, Why Are you weeping? Bit.ly/9HTBYS
To Jesus through Mary: “We go to Jesus through Mary because that is the way He came to us, and He said, ”As I have given you an example, so do you also.” St. John 13:15
‘’Receive not the grace of God in vain,’’ St. Paul says. All those in hell did not correspond with God’s grace. All those in heaven did!”
The Foolish Woman – 26th Rose, The Secret of Rosary
“Whatever you do, do not be like a certain pious but self-willed lady in Rome, so often referred to when speaking about the Rosary. She was so devout and so fervent that she put to shame by her holy life, even the strictest religious in the Church. Having decided to ask St. Dominic’s advice about her spiritual life she asked him to hear her confession. For penance he gave her one whole Rosary to say and advised her to say it every day. She said she had no time to say it, excusing herself on the grounds that she made the Stations of Rome every day, that she wore sack-cloth and also a hair shirt, that she gave herself the discipline several times a week, that she carried out so many other penances and fasted so much. St. Dominic urged her over and over again to take his advice and say the Rosary, but she would not hear of it. She left the confessional, horrified at the tactics of this new spiritual director, who had tried so hard to persuade her to take on a devotion that was not at all to her liking.
Later on when she was in prayer she fell into ecstasy and had a vision of her soul appearing before Our Lord’s Judgement Seat. St. Michael put all her penances and other prayers on to one balance of the scales and all her sins and imperfections on to the other. The tray of her good works was greatly outweighed by that of her sins and imperfections.
Filled with terror she cried for mercy, imploring the help of the Blessed Virgin. Her gracious advocate, who took the one and only Rosary that she had said for her penance and dropped it on the tray of her good works. This one Rosary was so heavy that it weighed more than all her sins as well as all her good works. Our Lady then reproved her for having refused to follow the counsel of her servant Dominic and for not saying the Rosary every day.
As soon as she came to herself she rushed and threw herself at the feet of St. Dominic and told him all that had happened, begged his forgiveness for her unbelief and promised to say the Rosary faithfully every day. By this means she rose to Christian perfection and finally to the glory of everlasting life. (Mary’s 15th promise to those who say the Rosary she says, will have a high degree of glory in heaven).
You who are people of prayer, learn from this how tremendous is the power, the value and the importance of this devotion of the Most Holy Rosary when it is said together with meditation on the mysteries.
Few saints have reached the same heights of prayer as St. Mary Magdalene who was lifted up to heaven each day by angels, and who had the privilege of learning at the feet of Our Lord himself and His Blessed Mother. Yet one day when she asked God to show her a sure way of advancing in his love and of arriving at the height of perfection, He sent her St. Michael the Archangel to tell her, on his behalf, that there was no other way for her to arrive at perfection than to meditate on Our Lord’s Passion. So he placed a cross in the front of her cave and told her to pray before it, contemplating the Sorrowful Mysteries which she had seen take place with her own eyes.
The example of St. Francis de Sales, the great spiritual director of his time, should spur you on to join the holy confraternity of the Rosary, since, great saint that he was, he bound himself by oath to say the whole Rosary every single day as long as he lived. Saint Charles Borromeo said it every day and strongly recommended the devotion to his priests and to the ecclesiastics in the seminaries and also to all his people.
Saint Pius V, one of the greatest popes to ever rule the Church, said the Rosary every day. St. Thomas of Villanova, Archbishop of Valence, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, St. Francis Borgia, St. Teresa and St. Philip Neri as well as many other great men whom I Have not mentioned were deeply devoted to the Holy Rosary. Follow their example, and your spiritual directors will be pleased, and if they are aware of the benefit that you can derive from devotion, they will be the very first to urge you to adopt it.’’ – St. Louis de Montfort.
If we want to please our Blessed Mother in the best possible way, and gain the greatest grace, hear what she told St. Mechtilde: “I want you to know that no one can please me more than by saying the rosary.’’ Do you want a high degree of glory in heaven. “The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.” Our Lady’s 10th rosary promise.
If you have found this article helpful, please consider sharing it with others. You might share it with your pastor or even the bishop, and encourage them to initiate massive rosary campaigns, and reconsecrate our country to the Immaculate Virgin. Because all the bishops of Portugal consecrated their country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sr. Lucia said their country was preserved from being drawn into the 2nd world war. Shouldn’t we do the same?
If our bishops and priests don’t start leading us in the practice of the holy rosary, then you can expect persecution to follow since the state has forbidden the Mass. Why has the state forbidden the Mass but not going to Wal-Mart? Why don’t you write your governor and mayor and ask them?