The Catholic Defender: The 15 Promises Our Lady gave for the Rosary. The Third Promise
3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. What a great sign of predestination for those who are devoted to the Rosary. A promise coming from the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus offering the Rosary as a "powerful armor against hell".
St. Padre Pio, the stigmata priest, exclaimed that the Rosary is the "Weapon". At Fatima Portugal, Our Lady encouraged the three children of Fatima to pray the Rosary for the conversion of sinners. Consider what St. Paul writes to the Ephesians:
"Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-17
I used to work at a warehouse that I would make a whole day of meditating on the Rosary. I would travel several miles a day gathering pallets with a hand jack to take back to the Receiving department so semi-trucks could be off loaded and forklift drivers could place them in the warehouse. I would largely be on my own as the warehouse was about the size of three football fields.
My work day would begin at 7:00 A.M. and would go until 3:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. I would pray and meditate the 1st mystery from 7:00 until 9:00 break. After a ten minute break, I would pray the 2nd and third mystery until lunch time at 11:30. After lunch I would begin the 4th mystery of the Rosary until the next break at 2:00 P.M. I would finish the 5th mystery of the Rosary continuing until the work day was completed. I felt as if I was praying on the Bible every day and this had a great impact on me ever since.
I cherish the memory of when I was able to make a day of prayer like that and it truly did help me grow in my Catholic faith. I would see myself in the lives of Our Blessed Lord and His holy Mother especially the Sorrowful mysteries. I recognized myself because of my sin to have increased the suffering of the Lord because of my pride, my ignorance, and my weaknesses. Those were powerful meditations as through the day I would keep the Receiving full of pallets. The bad part of that is I was so good after 5 years I could never advance in the company and the opportunity to join the military offered me much more. Another blessing was that I was in tremendous shape and I benefited greatly there as well. I was always an athlete and when I joined the United States Army, I never looked back. God had other plans for me.
1 Timothy 4:7-9 states, "Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion, for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance." The Rosary is a powerful devotion, the queen of devotions and what a promise Our Lady gives to those who have made such a commitment to devotional prayer.
During those early days beginning with my senior year in college and the time I pulled a hand jack gathering pallets, I was challenged many times by many different people. I had Protestant ministers attempt to challenge me on the Catholic faith. Sometimes they would come knocking on my door wanting to debate and offer their bible studies to get me to see the "error" of my ways. Through this time, we witnessed several conversions to the Catholic faith as I never turned down an opportunity. The Rosary, if you are dedicated to praying it, our Lady promises to defeat heresies. I believe that to be true, at least for me it is. The truth of the Catholic faith becomes crystal clear as you build yourself on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
Against vice and sin the Rosary has been a life savor for me. St. Paul warns, "Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:19-23) If you are dedicated to the Rosary, it is like a shield that the Lord uses to help you grow and the Holy Spirit will ultimately help kill off the temptations and the lure of sin. The Rosary can be a weapon against evil and can help families grow together.
The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the faithful Catholic who is following the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are living in a time when apostasy is rampant. In the United States 1 out of 10 Americans statistically is a fallen away Catholic. The vast majority of those who have fallen away were never devoted to the Rosary. The battle lines are being drawn between good and evil, the Rosary is Heaven's peace plan to save many if we are willing to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.
