Today's Rosary | Holy Rosary University

Friends of the Rosary: Today, on the Fourth Day in the Octave of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of Holy Innocents, Martyrs. We remember the mass murder of the small children in the neighborhood of Bethlehem put to death the by wicked monarch Herod. Precious in the sight of God, these innocent victims bear witness to Christ who was persecuted from the time of His birth by a world which...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, on the third day of Christmas, the universal Church honors the apostle and evangelist St. John (d. 101), the beloved disciple of Jesus and author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Apocalypse. He is the evangelist of the divinity of Christ and His fraternal love. On Christmas Day, we read his passages on the pre-existence of the Word, who by His Incarnation...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, on the Second day in the Octave of Christmas, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. His story comes from the Acts of the Apostles. Stoned outside the city wall of Jerusalem two years after the death of Christ, he died like his Master praying for his executioners. He was one of the seven deacons who helped the apostles; he...

Friends of the Rosary: We rejoice today by celebrating the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, the Birth of Jesus Christ, and the First Day in the Octave of Christmas. Christmas time begins on December 24 with the first Vespers of the feast and ends on the feast of the Baptism of Christ, January 7th. On a day like this two thousand years ago, the Eternal Word was made flesh and dwelt among. For...

Friends of the Rosary: Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve. Through the shorter Advent season this year, we have prepared for Jesus’ first and second coming. John the Baptist and the Immaculate Mother appeared throughout the season announcing and foretelling the coming of the King of Glory. We hear today in the Gospel that Christ, the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trin...

Friends of the Rosary: This year marks the 800th anniversary of the first Nativity scene established by St. Francis of Assisi in a cave in the Italian town of Greccio. The saint staged the Nativity in the year 1223 as a way to spread the story of Christmas. St. Francis wanted to highlight the amazement, joy, and humility of the Lord in the grotto of Bethlehem. The spirit of sobriety and humility o...

Friends of the Rosary: In today's reading, Luke 1:46-56, we hear the Magnificat — the Virgin Mary's hymn to praise the Lord. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on thos...

Friends of the Rosary: Worldly pursuits are far from providing lasting fulfillment. A journey of faith looking for the light of Christ is needed to avoid falling into despair and hopelessness. And we have to ask for divine grace in prayer. Embracing the light of God leads to a transformation of the heart and mind. And transformation — which is a process of becoming more Christ-like — is necessary...

Friends of the Rosary: Advent and Christmas are a time for spiritual enlightenment and renewal. The light of Christ comes to defeat the darkness of sin, despair, and confusion. With His eternal word, the Savior of the world provides the clarity and direction needed against the world's evil powers. The deeper we go in our friendship with Jesus the fullest we will experience the sense of life. J...

Friends of the Rosary: Only in God do we find the light of life. Our minds and souls are illuminated by Him, who is the ultimate source of all life and light. The Gospel of John states, "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind" (John 1:4). Life and light emanating from God are intrinsic to His nature. In a world clouded by sin, confusion, and despair, God provides the...

Friends of the Rosary: Serving Christ Jesus is a cause for joy. Yesterday, we celebrated Gaudete Sunday, meaning Rejoice Sunday. And as Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts. The Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His kingdom. In the chant of the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54), the Blessed Mother proclaimed, “My soul rejoices in m...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, on the Third Sunday of Advent, we are invited, in the words of St. Paul ( 1 Thes 5:16-24 ), to: "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil." In...

Friends of the Rosary: The Son of God came from Heaven, healing and forgiving people, and even sacrificed His own life in atonement for our sins. But Christ Jesus was rejected and insulted. As we read yesterday in Matthew 11:16-19, they said: 'He is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' The evil powers of the world and the majority of political and religious le...

Friends of the Rosary: While imprisoned and tortured in a small Carmelite monastery's dungeon in Toledo, Spain, the 16th-century mystic Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591) wrote poetry filled with love and joy. He vividly described the soul's journey from dark night to mystical union with the Absolute Being. Saint John of the Cross endured much suffering, often at the hands of other Cathol...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), a 16th-century Spaniarch Carmelite mystic and priest best known for reforming his order together with Saint Teresa of Avila, and for writing the classic spiritual treatise "The Dark Night of the Soul." A great contemplative and spiritual writer, he also wrote "The Ascent o...

Friends of the Rosary: The Aztecs had dark beliefs in their pagan religious center of Tenochtitlan. They offered human blood to their divinity by killing people. They thought that sacrifices were necessary to keep the sun moving across the sky and preserve their lives, otherwise, the world would end. We despise these barbaric beliefs today. However, many dominant ideologies in our secular society...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady appeared to an Indian convert named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531, in a miracle that changed history. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego. And She told him: "Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of...

Friends of the Rosary: Christ Jesus came to bring order to chaos. The powers of the world — dominated by darkness — sentenced the Author of Life and the Creator of All Things to death on the cross. Today, twenty centuries later, they continue to reject Christ and His followers. In the Western Hemisphere, those secular powers engineer ideologies and false doctrines that, sadly, a vast number of peo...

Friends of the Rosary: As our journey of conversion continues and we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Christ, on this Second Sunday of Advent we also celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto. The title of Our Lady of Loreto refers to the holy little house in Nazareth in which Mary was born and took place the Annunciation — the Incarnation when the Word became Flesh. Tradition says that a b...

Friends of the Rosary: On December 9th, we celebrate St. Juan Diego, the indigenous Aztec pagan convert whose encounter with the Virgin Mary in 1531 began the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Juan Diego was hurrying to Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In the native Aztec dialect, a radiant heavenly woman announced herself as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, December 8th, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this feast, we celebrate with great joy God’s gift to humanity in Mary. From the very moment of her conception, in the womb of her mother Anne, Mary received the grace of salvation in Christ. She was conceived free from original sin. The Holy Virgin was granted this extraordinar...

Friends of the Rosary: The well-known hymn “Joy to the World,” captures the essence of Advent beautifully: Joy to the world, the Lord has come Let Earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing. "I am the light of the world," Christ Jesus revealed. And the best person we can turn to for help during the time of waiting Advent is Mary Our Mother. She awa...

Friends of the Rosary: Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra, one of the most popular saints in the Western world. He was born in Lycia in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and was a 4th century saint and Bishop of Myra. He was know for practicing spiritual and corporal works of mercy, helping the poor and disadvantaged, and working tirelessly to defend t...

Friends of the Rosary: Advent is a spiritual journey to prepare us for the arrival of Christ. The meaning of the word advent is arrival. Preparation makes the solemnity of the Nativity (Christmas) more meaningful. Easter has Lent and Christmas has Advent.  The four Sundays leading up to Christmas are an invitation to reflect on the holy event of the birth of baby Jesus and why He came back. In the...

Friends of the Rosary: Advent is the time for a fresh start. We are invited to strengthen our friendship with Christ Jesus by setting time aside for Him. God becomes man — one of us, dwelling with us in our daily lives. His light flows into our sinful existence to illuminate it and remind us of the need to live in the service of others. By remembering Christ’s first coming at Bethlehem, our mind i...