Saint Dominic & the Rosary
Thanks for joining me again! Like I said on the previous page, I want to tell you about my favorite Saint. His name is Dominic. Saint Dominic is going to help us understand the power of the Rosary and why it's important to pray our Rosary decades every single day.
Dominic was born in the twelfth century. We live in the twenty-first century and a century equals one hundred years so that gives you an idea just how long ago Dominic lived. Even though it was a long time ago, people back then had many of the same problems that we have today.
Dominic was a priest from Spain and he loved Jesus very much. He wanted to tell everyone about Jesus! Before Dominic was born, his mother had a dream about her son. She saw Dominic born under the appearance of a white and black dog, holding in his mouth a torch which illuminated the world! Then on the day of Dominic's baptism, his godmother saw him, in a vision, with a brilliant star gleaming over his head!
Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.
oMark 16:15
Illustration by Elise Faurote
Now there was a group of people who lived at the same time as Dominic who were teaching something we call the Albigensian Heresy. A heresy is believing something different from what Jesus and His Church says is right and true. The Albigensian Heresy got it's name from a town in France called "Albi" where it was very first taught.
The Albigensians taught some awful things. They thought a person's body was bad! They thought that killing sick people and old people was okay! They thought that marriage was bad! They even thought that having babies was bad!
They also rejected many things that we know are true. They didn't believe in the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They didn't believe in the Incarnation (when Jesus, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, became a baby in Mary's womb.) They didn't believe that Jesus was truly a man or that Mary was truly the Mother of God. They said that the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus was fake and they rejected anything to do with the Cross!
You are probably wondering how in the world could people listening to the Albigensians believe the things that they taught? Well, the Albigensians lived very strict lives with very little comfort. Many people noticed this and mistakingly thought that the Albigensians must be really holy because of the way they lived. Because of this, people assumed what the Albigensians taught must be true.
THE APOSTLE'S CREED
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
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I decided to put the Apostle's Creed here as a reminder of what we believe!
Isn't what the Albigensians taught awful? Well, Dominic thought it was pretty awful. He wanted people to understand that what the Albigensians taught was very wrong. It was a heresy! He knew that he needed to help people understand the error in this way of thinking. So Dominic traveled to France to preach against this heresy. However, even though Dominic was a very gifted preacher, hardly anyone listened. They rejected what Dominic said about the way that Jesus wanted them to live. He tried and tried but his efforts gained very few people changing their hearts and minds.
Dominic became discouraged. He had never come up against such resistance and stubbornness!
So in the year 1208, Dominic decided to go deep into a forest near Toulouse, France to pray. He went there to beg God for help. Dominic asked God to provide him with what exactly was needed in order to overcome the terrible Albigensian Heresy.
Dominic spent three whole days praying and fasting in the forest. After three days, Dominic looked up into the sky and saw three mighty Angels along with a ball of fire! As he watched in amazement, the Angels disappeared and then our beautiful Blessed Mother appeared! Our Lady told Dominic that he must preach her Psalter in order to succeed in his struggle to overcome the Albigensians.
Our Lady's Psalter is the Rosary!
The Blessed Mother told Dominic which Mysteries should be preached. The particular stories or Mysteries of Jesus that she told Dominic would correct the errors of the Albigensians by focusing on the Incarnation, Death and glorious Resurrection of her Son!
Dominic had his answer! Now he knew how to overcome the Albigensian Heresy!
My mom told me about a book she read that was written by a super smart Dominican priest named Father Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange. Father Reginald said, "What the word of the preacher was unable to do, the sweet prayer of the Hail Mary did for hearts." Mom said that the "sweet prayer" that Father Reginald was talking about was the Rosary! She said the Rosary led to countless conversions (people who turned from their errors and followed Jesus) and great miracles!
Jesus sent Mother Mary to tell Dominic the solution! Dominic was able to bring tons of people back to following the true teachings of Jesus through the Rosary!
THE ORIGINAL 15 MYSTERIES
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Nativity
4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption of Mary
5. The Coronation of Mary
By the way, the picture was created by an unknown artist who drew the Child Jesus & Mother Mary very beautifully, don't you think? They are pictured with Saint Catherine of Siena and our Saint Dominic. (Did you notice the star?)
I hope the story of Saint Dominic and the Rosary helped you to better understand why it's super important to pray your Rosary decades every single day. It sure is easy for people to get off the track as we learned in the story, isn't it? We really need to stay connected to Jesus, our Savior! We really need to stay connected to Mary, our loving mother!
And there are so many people I can think of who also really need our prayers right now. Honestly, the Rosary is such a powerful prayer that if every single kid in the world prayed just one decade every day, the entire world would be completely changed for the better!
I just love the story of Saint Dominic and the Rosary! The Rosary really and truly is an amazingly powerful spiritual weapon, isn't it? It's a gift from Heaven!
Now I want to tell you how to pray your Rosary decades. Come with me over to the next page by clicking the big BLUE button below. Not only will I explain how to pray your decades but you will find all the Rosary Videos there and a "surprise music video" featuring someone you know!