Roses are said to be our Holy Mother's favorite flower. Every time we pray the Hail Mary prayer we give our Holy Mother a rose, and every time we pray a decade of the rosary (1 Lord's prayer and 10 Hail Mary's) we give her a bouqet of roses. Each time we pray a full set of mysteries of the rosary (5 decades) we give her a crown of roses. Each time we pray the rosary Our Jesus Christ lends His power to our Holy Mother which enables her to crush the head of the serpent (Satan) which she will continue to do until the end of time when Our Lord returns and defeats him for the final time.
There is a certain stigma connected to the rosary that it is somehow meant for old ladies and funerals, but this is not the case. EVERYONE should pray the rosary as often as possible. It is one of our most powerful weapons of spiritual warfare against the works and forces of darkness. We ALL have demons who seek to lead us into sin and ultimately destory our souls, but each time we pray the rosary in a earnest and heartfelt manner we defeat those same demons. But the demonic army is vast and thus more will come. This is why steadfastness and faithfulness to the power of the rosary is so important. Faithful devotion to the rosary literally has to power to change our lives, to resist sin, to avoid temptation, and draw us closer to our Holy Mother, and ultimately to Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, in this day and age it can be hard to find time to pray a full set of five decades let alone the entire set of 15 decades (which is ideal). A full five decades takes about 15-20 minutes, the entire fifteen takes about 45 minutes to an hour. This can be difficult on anyone's schedule on certain days of the week for any number of reasons, but even just one decade is better than none. What ever you have time for, with an honest and sincere effort to reflect on the mysteries of the holy rosary you will be at the results. With hard work and devotion to this practice you can literally transform you life both spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
For anyone interested in more information about the rosary, how to pray, and the benefits of devotion to the rosary there are many good websites, I'll just offer one of them to you: http://www.rosary-center.org
In Christ,
Matthew Stephen Abraham
