Why pray the Rosary every day for a year?


Each time the Blessed Virgin has appeared-- whether it be to Saint Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes; to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at Fatima; or to Mariette Beco at Banneux-- she has asserted the importance, saving grace, and power of praying the Holy Rosary on a daily basis. Based upon her words, the Rosary is penance and conversion for sinners, a pathway to peace, an end to war, and a powerful act of faith in Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI presented the Rosary as a powerful means to reach Christ "not merely with Mary but indeed, insofar as this is possible to us, in the same way as Mary, who is certainly the one who thought about Him more than anyone else has ever done."

To show us how this is done, perhaps no one has been more eloquent than the great Cardinal Newman, who wrote: "The great power of the Rosary consists in the fact that it translates the Creed into Prayer. Of course, the Creed is already in a certain sense a prayer and a great act of homage towards God, but the Rosary brings us to meditate again on the great truth of His life and death, and brings this truth close to our hearts. Even Christians, although they know God, usually fear rather than love Him. The strength of the Rosary lies in the particular manner in which it considers these mysteries, since all our thinking about Christ is intertwined with the thought of His Mother, in the relations between Mother and Son; the Holy Family is presented to us, the home in which God lived His infinite love."

As Mary said at Fatima, "Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to My Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by Me to adorn his throne."



January 3, 2013: Saint Daniel of Padua

Posted by Jacob


Today, January 3, we celebrate the feast of a lesser known saint and martyr, Saint Daniel of Padua (died, 168).  Saint Daniel is invoked by many, include women whose husbands are at war, those suffering confinement or imprisonment, and for those in search of lost objects.  While many are aware that Saint Anthony of Padua intercedes in the event of lost objects, few remember to pray to the saintly Daniel from the same region, who came more than a century before Saint Anthony.

Saint Daniel was the companion to, and deacon of, Saint Prosdocimus, the first bishop of Padua.  Jewish by descent, Daniel converted to Christianity, and assisted Bishop Prosdocimus in the evangelization of northeastern Nava.
The Martyrdom of Saint Daniel of Padua

During his courageous witness, Daniel was martyred via crushing, although holy legend is unclear as to why.  His body was discovered nearly 1000 years later, and his relics were translated to the church of Saint Sofia, in Padua, on January 3, 1064.


In art, Daniel of Padua is often depicted holding a towel and laver, signifying his diligent service to Bishop Prosdocimus, as well as the Church.  These symbols also remind us of his life of service to others, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.

While we know little of the daily life of Saint Daniel of Padua, we recognize in him the call of the Lord, conversion, service, and courageous martyrdom for the faith.  We pray for the courage and faith to live our lives as boldly as the holy men and women who came before us.

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