St. Dominic knew that the culture was in need of healing. All around him and throughout 13th-century Europe, heresies such as Albigensianism were running rampant. This heresy, with its false teaching that the physical world is inherently evil, was corrupting individuals and communities.
Heartbroken by the state of the Faith, St. Dominic prayed for Our Lady’s intercession. Always seeking to aid her children, Our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Dominic and armed him with the most powerful tool that the world has ever seen: the Most Holy Rosary.
At the time, the tradition of praying 150 Hail Marys consecutively was already in practice and referred to as “Our Lady’s Psalter.” These repeated Hail Marys were an incredibly powerful prayer, but in her vision to St. Dominic, Our Lady revealed an additional aspect to the traditional Psalter that would heal her children from the bonds of heresy: the Mysteries of the Rosary.
Santo Domingo de Guzmán, portrait by the Spanish painter Claudio Coello
Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic specific mysteries and events from the life of Christ to correspond with the repeated recitation of the Hail Marys. The mysteries Mary provided were the answer to Dominic’s prayers! Focusing on the Incarnation, Passion, and triumph of Jesus, the mysteries combatted the heresies and helped untangle the knots of sin they wove in the hearts of those they plagued. As the practice of the Rosary and its mysteries spread, so did its miraculous healing and power. The Rosary, along with its mysteries and meditations, has become a cornerstone of Catholicism.
Nearly 600 years after her apparitions to St. Dominic, Pope St. John Paul II then added a fourth set, the Luminous Mysteries, in the year 2002. As he gave us these mysteries, which focus on Christ’s ministry and public life, Pope John Paul recognized that in them “we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God.”
Today we are still afflicted both individually and culturally by the chains of sin and heresy and need the Rosary’s healing power. The beloved book, The Secret of the Rosary, by St. Louis de Montfort—one of the most ardent promoters of the Rosary—is a beautiful way to journey through the Rosary and discover its incredible power. This lovely edition features a blue faux leather cover, intricate embossed details, a yellow ribbon marker, and optional personalization. Get your copy today at The Catholic Company!
