Today's Rosary | Holy Rosary University

Friends of the Rosary, Today, Wednesday of Holy Week, is traditionally known as Spy Wednesday, as we are reminded of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal. Today’s Gospel, on the eve of the Paschal Triduum, prepares us for the dramatic developments of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The forces of darkness are closing in on the Light of the world, as the Lamb of God is going to celebrate his last Passover. “He...

Friends of the Rosary, Today’s Gospel (John 13:21-33, 36-38) presents the sad scene of betrayal at the Last Supper. The troubled Lord announces that one of the Twelve will betray Him. The Lord, in sovereign command of the situation, knew that Satan had tempted this disciple. We see how "after Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him." When the betrayer had left, Jesus said, "Now is...

Friends of the Rosary, In today’s Gospel (John 12:1–11), Mary of Bethany anointed the feet of Jesus with costly perfume as an anticipation of his death and burial, when the three Marys (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) visited the tomb of the Lord. Today’s liturgy presents the characters of Mary of Bethany and Judas, along with the plot to kill Jesus and Lazarus. Mary and Juda...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 29, is Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, the beginning of Holy Week. This feast commemorates Christ's entry into Jerusalem. Following the Jews' example, we proclaim Christ as a Victor over death and sin, taking us with Him into the kingdom of His Father in heaven. We say Hosanna to the Messiah, the Son of God, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of...

Friends of the Rosary, The plot by the Jewish leaders against Lord Jesus continues to mount as we approach Palm Sunday and His sorrowful passion, according to today’s main Gospel reading (John 11:45-56). The Pharisees knew Jesus’ work was supernatural, but they prioritized their earthly prideful interests, planning to kill him. Picture the scene: the dominant Church of that time against the Author...

Friends of the Rosary, The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy and attempted to stone him, as we read today (John 10:31-42). The Lord defended His identity, saying: "If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.&quot...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 26, we pray the Luminous Mysteries at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. In today's reading (John 8:51-59), Jesus Christ reveals, avoiding the Jews' traps, that  "It is my Father who glorifies me." "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus t...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 25, is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, a feast that forecasts the event of Christmas and commemorates the most sublime moment in history, the moment when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity assumed human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It’s a feast of Mary and also of Jesus. At midnight, when the holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in pray...

Friends of the Rosary, As we read today (John 8:21-30), Jesus warned the Pharisees that they would die in their sin for having rejected Him. He explained, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” Trapped...

Friends of the Rosary, We’ve started the fifth and final full week of Lent. In most dioceses, crosses and statues in churches were veiled at this time to mark Passion Time. Now, day after day, the liturgical readings tell of the storm clouds that next week will break open. Today’s Lenten main reading (John 8:1-11) teaches the episode of the adulterous woman, that every sin is adultery to God, and...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, formerly known as "Passion Sunday," marks the beginning of Passiontide, a deeper time within Lent. It's the final Sunday of Lent, and the Liturgy of the Word (John 11:1-45) speaks of resurrection and new life. The Church invites us to turn our attention to the death of a loved one. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been he...

Friends of the Rosary, Today in the Gospel (John 7:40-53), we see how even enemies of the faith can be conquered by the truth of Christ. The guards sent to arrest Jesus returned empty-handed: they were overwhelmed by the power of His words. "Never has anyone spoken like this man," they said. Meanwhile, the prideful Pharisees appealed to their own authority rather than examining the truth...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 20, a day after the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is the memorial of St. John Nepomucene (1340-1393), a priest of Bohemia who was martyred by King Wenceslaus IV because he refused to break the seal of confession. In the Gospel, it’s shown that the enemies of Christ have increased hostility, becoming more violent and more determined to kill the Author of Life. Our L...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 19, is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the legal father of Jesus (nutritor Domini). Teresa of Ávila wrote, "To other saints our Lord has given power to help in one sort of need, but this glorious saint, as I know by experience, helps us in every need." In 1870, Pius IX declared Joseph to be the patron and protector...

Friends of the Rosary, In the main reading of the Gospel today (John 5:17-30), we see Jesus answering the Jews: "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, So also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, But he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not h...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, March 17, is the Memorial of St. Patrick, a bishop chosen by God 1.500 years ago to preach His glory by bringing Christianity to Ireland, a little country which would be converted from their pagan gods to the one true God. Today, Irishmen venerate him as their father in the Faith. Sf. Patrick was born about 385 in the British Isles. In Roman Britain, when he was 16, w...

Friends of the Rosary, Christ the Lord is the healer, and in today’s reading (John 4:43–54), He cures the son of a royal official. In Jesus, divinity and humanity meet. “His purpose is to set right a world gone wrong, out of every pore of his body, Jesus expresses the healing love of God,” Bishop Barron said. Jesus’s ministry of healing shows God’s ultimate intention and hints at that world to com...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is Laetare Sunday, a Sunday of joy. As in Advent we had  Gaudete  Sunday, so in Lent we have a Laetare Sunday. The Church’s liturgy, with the celebrant priest in Mass wearing rose-colored vestments, gives a foretaste of Easter joy, inviting us to focus on the Risen Christ. In today’s reading, we learn how Christ Jesus takes onto Himself all...

Friends of the Rosary, In today’s reading (Luke 18:9-14), we see two types of prayer: the self-centered prayer of the Pharisee and the God-centered prayer of the tax collector. A prayer to ourselves — as yoga and mindfulness suggest today — is wrong as it simply confirms our ego-driven attitude, with God being relegated to be an idol. Christ the Lord invites us to meditate upon the prayer of the p...

Friends of the Rosary, Good Friday is three weeks away. As the third Week of Lent draws to an end, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders intensifies. The answer given by Lord — love of God and love of neighbor — shows that the conflict with the Pharisees grows sharper. In today’s Gospel (Mark 12:28-34), Jesus is asked by one of the scribes which is the first of all the commandments....

Friends of the Rosary, We see in today's Gospel (Luke 11:14–23) Christ the Lord driving out a demon from a possessed person. Rather than praising the Lord, cynical crowds concluded that Jesus was "driving  out demons by the prince of demons." Jesus’s response was laconic: "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against him...

Friends of the Rosary, In the verse before the Gospel, St. John reminds us of two fundamental truths: "Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; You have the words of everlasting life." Meanwhile, in the main reading (Matthew 5:17-19), Christ the Lord, through the disciples, is telling us: "Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called...

Friends of the Rosary, We continue praying our Holy Rosary from Austin, Texas. In today’s main reading of the Gospel (Matthew 18:21-35), Jesus tells a parable that illustrates God’s compassion and mercy — misericordia, in Latin and Spanish, signifying the suffering of the heart. It is  the  characteristic of the infinite love of God, as He never forgets his offspring. The whole mystery of the divi...

Friends of the Rosary, Without God, we are inevitably destined to dissatisfaction. It's impossible to reach joy, hope, and peace — the living water Jesus spoke of with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:13-14). She represents the existential dissatisfaction of one who does not find what he seeks. Man is able to provide affection, money, power, human glory, honor, career, but the endless joy only belong...

Friends of the Rosary, Today’s Today, the Third Sunday, the Catholic Church begins the second phase of Lent with the Gospel of “living water” (Jn 4:13-14): the intense dialogue of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, a foreigner from whom He asks a drink of water. Christ the Lord said to her,  “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thi...