The Power of the Rosary from the Perspective of a Former Messianic Jew
I'm going to make an attempt at trying to express why I think the rosary is so important, and why it is the most powerful spiritual tool in all of existence. My hope is that by expressing this, more Catholics will be motivated to pray it each day.
#The Psalms are Powerful but the Hail Mary is Greater
In Judaism, the psalms are pretty much a cure-all for all spiritual, physical, emotional, and material problems. Whenever anyone has any problem, it is recommended that they sit down and recite all 150 psalms, even if it takes all day. It erases sins, it heals the sick, it turns back harsh decrees, it allows a person to repent and get their sins forgiven even if they committed a sin that causes excision (to be cut off from God and destined to Hell...think "mortal sin"), it provides safety and protection from physical and spiritual enemies, it grants provision for one's needs, it brings about desperately needed miracles, it makes a person into a tzaddik ("righteous one") and promises them a place in the World To Come. It is said that one who recites the entire book of psalms each day, it is as if he fulfilled the whole Torah(Divine Law of God).
> If you only knew the power of verses of Psalms and their effect in the highest Heavens, you would recite them constantly. Know that the chapters of Psalms shatter all barriers, they ascend higher and still higher with no interference; they prostrate themselves in supplication before the Master of all worlds, and they effect and accomplish with kindness and compassion.
> – Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (Tzemach Tzeddek, 1789-1866)
The writings on the power of the psalms are virtually endless.
- The Emeq HaMelekh writes (pg. 15) that the book of Psalms declines many stumbling blocks and some damages from him and his household members, and his family as well. It makes great blessings goodness and merits to him.
- The Midrash in Pinhas writes that whatever a person needs, he should recite Psalms for it.
- "Whoever recites Psalms every day, it is as if we fulfilled the entire Torah (Rabenu Efraim, Parashat WeZot HaBerakha)."
- One who wants to have a connection with Hashem (God), should recite Tehilim (Shala, Nazir 257).
- The Noam Elimelekh writes that Psalms have the possibility to make drastic changes and there is no adversary or obstacle stopping them.
- Rabbi Haim Palagi also writes that this worlds stands upon Tehilim(Psalms), and one redeems themselves from any damages, and redemption will come through the recitation of Psalms (Haqdama, Kol HaKatub LeHaim).
- One who recites Psalms daily merits to be under the Kise HaKabod (Chair of Honor). We have nothing greater than the Psalms because they contain everything (Shala).
- The Baal Shem Tov stated that if Psalm 119 is said every day, a person will be able to enter into a meditative state when talking to another and receive deep perceptions about that person. ("Rabbi Nachman's Tikun Haklali" by Daniel A. Elias.) This is because the Psalms draw down the Holy Spirit, as King David wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
- Peleh Yoetz says, “One who routinely says Tehillim is protected from all harm befalling his house, his family etc. One who wishes to attach himself to Hashem and His praises should be connected to sefer Tehillim. We have a tradition that one who has a problem, or pain, or is going on the road, should read the entire Tehillim all day without stopping, with kavana and humbleness. He will see wonders. This tradition has been tried and tested (and works)."
- Recitation of the Psalms protects you in this world and in the next.
- One who says Tehilim for forty days is saved from harmful events.
- For more promises associated with the Psalms in Judaism, see [All About Tehillim](https://thehalacha.com/wp-content/uploads/Vol11Issue4.pdf?utm_content=sreviewch@gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Click%20here%20to%20download%20%26quot;All%20About%20Tehillim%26quot;.&utm_campaign=All%20About%20Tehillim).
At a later point in history, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was given revelation from Heaven about the 10 Psalms, called Tikkun HaKlali (The General Remedy. There are 10 types of songs in the Psalms and the Tikkun HaKlali contains all of them. When said in order, (16,32,41,42,59,77,90,105,137, and 150) it causes such miraculous effect in all of heaven and in one's soul that it is like praying all 150 of the psalms. Many people who recite the 10 psalms regularly attest to how it has healed their depression, stopped sins of lust and nocturnal emissions, and helped them to become close to God in a way that makes them almost of saintly character
**YET**
The Hail Mary (The Angelic Salutation) is more powerful than all of this and merits more or equal blessings.
The original 150 Hail Mary's correspond the the 150 Psalms.
St. Louis Marie De Montfort writes in *Secrets of the Rosary*:
- the Angelic Psalter bears a nobler fruit, that of the Word incarnate, whereas David's Psalter only prophesies his coming
- Just as the real thing is more important than its prefiguration and the body surpasses the shadow, so the Psalter of our Lady is greater than David's Psalter, which did no more than prefigure it;
- The Angelic Salutation, or Hail Mary, is so heavenly and so beyond us in its depth of meaning, that Blessed Alan de la Roche held that no mere creature could ever understand it, and that only our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, can really explain it.
- By the Angelic Salutation God became man, a virgin became the Mother of God, the souls of the just were delivered from Limbo, the empty thrones in heaven have been filled, sin has been pardoned, grace been given to us, the sick been made well, the dead brought back to life, exiles brought home, the Blessed Trinity has been appeased, and men obtained eternal life.
Please let this sink in: One properly said Hail Mary is more powerful than the Psalms and has great power in heaven.
> Whatever you do, do not be like a certain pious but self-willed lady in Rome, so often referred to by speakers on the Rosary. She was so devout and fervent that she put to shame by her holy life even the strictest religious in the Church.
> Having decided to ask St. Dominic's advice about her spiritual life, she made her confession to him. For penance he gave her one Rosary to say and advised her to say it every day. She excused herself, saying that she had her regular exercises, that she made the Stations of Rome every day, that she wore sackcloth as well as a hair-shirt, that she gave herself the discipline several times a week, that she often fasted and did other penances. Saint Dominic urged her over and over again to take his advice and say the Rosary, but she would not hear of it. She left the confessional, horrified at the methods of this new spiritual director who had tried so hard to persuade her to take up a devotion for which she had no taste.
> Later on, when she was at prayer she fell into ecstasy and had a vision of her soul appearing before the Supreme Judge. Saint Michael put all her penances and other prayers on one side of the scales and all her sins and imperfections on the other. The tray of her good works were greatly outweighed by that of her sins and imperfections.
> Filled with alarm, she cried for mercy, imploring the help of the Blessed Virgin, her gracious advocate, who took the one and only Rosary she had said for her penance and dropped it on the tray of her good works. This one Rosary was so heavy that it weighed more than all her sins as well as all her good works. Our Lady then reproved her for having refused to follow the counsel of her servant Dominic and for not saying the Rosary every day.
> As soon as she came to herself she rushed and threw herself at the feet of Saint Dominic and told him all that had happened, begged his forgiveness for her unbelief, and promised to say the Rosary faithfully every day. By this means she rose to Christian perfection and finally to the glory of everlasting life. (Secrets of the Rosary by St. Louis Marie De Montfort)
St. Louis Marie De Montfort also writes, "There is an old hymn and a new hymn: the first is that which the Jews sang out of gratitude to God for creating them and maintaining them in existence, for delivering them from captivity and leading them safely through the Red Sea, for giving them manna to eat, and for all his other blessings."
He calls the Angelic Salutation the "new song/hymn" that David fortold in his Psalms, saying, "I will sing to the Lord a new song."
#The Shema is Great but the Apostles' Creed is Greater
The Shema is the declaration of Jewish faith that every Jew is all too familiar with. It comes directly from Scripture and is commanded by God to be recited every morning and night upon waking up and falling asleep.
In its entirety, the Shema consists of three paragraphs: Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 11:13–21 and Numbers 15:37–41.
Of pious Jews, it is often recited upon death, even if it is only the first line: "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu. Adonai Echad." (Translation: "Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God. The Lord is One.")
The Shema recounts the story of who God is, how He brought the Jews out of Egypt, and how they are to live in response to Him.
It goes:
> Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
> And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
> You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
> The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”
Kriat Al Shmita (Bedtime Shema) is probably considered one of the most important recitations during the day. Rav Yitzchak say, “If one recites the Shema before bed, demons are kept away from him” (Berakhot 5a). The general consensus of the rabbis from the time of the Talmud to the time of the halakhic (legal) codes is that reciting this Shema offers not only praise of God, but a request of God’s protection from dangers and demons that may emerge at night.
Our Declaration (The Apostles' Creed) is greater. It is shorter, and like the Angelic Salutation compared to the Psalms, it points to something greater. It is the substance over the shadow. The Jewish people pray and wait for the Messiah all day long, but we know who He is and His Spirit lives in us. We proclaim all the works of Christ when we say the Apostles' Creed and we also are protected by it, just Kriat Al Shmita protects the Jewish people who recite it before bed.
St. Louis Marie De Montfort writes in "Secrets of the Rosary", "I shall not take time here to explain the Creed word for word, but I cannot resist saying that the first words, "I believe in God," are wonderfully effective as a means of sanctifying our souls and putting the devils to rout, because these words contain the acts of the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. It was by saying these words that many saints overcame temptations, especially those against faith, hope or charity, either during their lifetime or at the hour of their death."
#Shemoneh Esrei is Great but The Our Father is Greater
The Shemoneh Esrei (18 Benedictions) were written by The Men of The Great Assembly. Some notable members were Haggai, Zechariah, Ezra, Daniel, Hananiah(Shadrach), Azariah(Abednego), Mishael(Meshech), Nehemiah, Mordechai(cousin of Queen Esther) and Zerubabel. These prayers were written by very holy men of God, many of who wrote the books of our Bible and were notable prophets, but none of them were God Himself. They were not the Son of God, that's why I say the Lord's Prayer (The Our Father) is greater than the 18 Benedictions.
This prayer is referenced maybe twice in the New Testament. It's also called the "Standing Prayer" and would have been what the disciples were praying when they were standing at the Temple. It is prayed shacharit(morning), mincha(afternoon), and maariv(evening); in accord with when the perpetual sacrifice was burning on the altar in the Temple. It is still prayed to this day.
The "Our Father" nicely encapsulates all the prayers of the 18 Benedictions in a few short words. This is a summary of the blessings and petitions that are prayed in the Shemoneh Esrei:
1. Bless God for the patriarchs and that He will someday bring the promised Messiah.
2. Bless God for His great power and that He will someday raise the dead.
3. Bless God for He is all holy and everything about Him is holy.
4. Bless God for giving knowledge, understanding, and revelation.
5. Bless God who grants us perfect repentance.
6. Petition for forgiveness, and blessing that God forgives.
7. Petition to speedily redeem Israel.
8. Petition to heal from sickness and save from death.
9. Prayer for rain and prosperity. Bless God for blessing the years with prosperity.
10. Petition to bring back exiles and grant freedom to Israel. Bless God beforehand knowing He will do this.
11. Petition for restoration of judges and bringing about a time of peace. Blessing God who loves righteousness and justice.
12. Petition to bless all the righteous and pious, including scholars and converts. Bless God who is assurance of the righteous.
13. Petition for God to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it, also to establish the throne of David. Bless God who rebuilds Jerusalem.
14. Prayer for the coming of the "seed of David". Bless God who brings salvation.
15. Petition for mercy that all prayers will be heard and granted. Bless God who hears prayer.
16. Another petition for mercy that all prayers will be heard and granted, and that He will return to Zion. Bless God who returns to Zion.
17. Thanking God that His miracles, wonders, and favor are always with us.
18. Petition for all goodness, grace, kindness, blessings, etc. on the Jewish people (including converts) and that He will be with them at all hours and times. Bless the Lord who gives peace.
The Our Father is succinct and short. It praises God as Holy. It asks for His Kingdom to Come (the return of our Lord,the Messiah, and the restoration of Israel which will bring about times of peace for the whole world). It asks for His daily provisions and that our needs will be met. It asks forgiveness of sins, and to be protected from "evil/the Evil One" which means calamity, illness, and all misfortune. It asks for our protection from temptation, which the Shemoneh Esrei lacks (note: this was Jesus' command to His disciples "pray that we may not enter into temptation, for the Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak."). The blessings and petitions of the Shemoneh Esrei are summed up in the Our Father. On each mystery, we meditate and then pray the Our Father, and we are asking for all the blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei in a mere few words, and these words are extremely powerful because it is the prayer that Christ, the Son of God, God Himself in the flesh, gave us.
#Lastly, The Virtue of Meditation
St. Louis Marie De Montfort writes:
> St. Augustine assures us that there is no spiritual exercise more fruitful or more useful than the frequent reflection on the sufferings of our Lord. Blessed Albert the Great, who had St. Thomas Aquinas as his student, learned in a revelation that by simply thinking of or meditating on the passion of Jesus Christ, a Christian gains more merit than if he had fasted on bread and water every Friday for a year, or had beaten himself with the discipline once a week till blood flowed, or had recited the whole Book of Psalms every day. If this is so, then how great must be the merit we can gain from the Rosary, which commemorates the whole life and passion of our Lord?
> Few saints have reached the same heights of prayer as Saint Mary Magdalene, who was lifted up to heaven by angels each day, and who had the privilege of learning at the feet of Jesus and his holy Mother. Yet one day, when she asked God to show her a sure way of advancing in his love and arriving at the heights of perfection, he sent the archangel St. Michael to tell her, on his behalf, that there was no other way for her to reach perfection than to meditate on our Lord's passion. So he placed a cross in the front of her cave and told her to pray before it, contemplating the sorrowful mysteries which she had seen take place with her own eyes.
#15 Promises For Those Who Devoutly Say The Rosary Everyday
1. You will receive signal graces.
2. You will receive the greatest graces.
3. You will receive a powerful armor against Hell, the destruction of your vices, decrease your sins, and defeat heresies.
4. You will flourish in good works: obtain the abundant mercy of God, withdraw from the love of the world and vanities, and desire Eternal Things.
5. Your soul will not perish.
6. You will never be conquered by misfortune, never be chastised by God, and will not perish by an unprovided death. You will become worthy of Eternal Life if you are just.
7. You will not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. You will receive the Light of God during life and death and plentitude of God's graces and participation in the merits of the saints in Paradise at death.
9. You will be delivered from purgatory.
10. You will receive a high degree of glory in heaven.
11. You will obtain all that you ask for.
12. You will be aided in your necessities.
13. You will obtain from Jesus intercessors of the entire Celestial Court.
14. You will become a child of Mary and brother/sister of Jesus.
15. Reciting your rosary everyday will be a great sign of predestination for you.
For your sake, for Mary's sake, for the sake of the world, God, and Christ; please pray your rosary everyday. It is the one thing Mother Mary stressed in all her apparitions. We are capable of bringing peace to the world, the salvation of souls, and the turning back of judgment(the end of the world) if we would only pray our rosary everyday.We have many reasons to take up this devotion everyday, even if we originally only do it out of self-interest (needing money, healing, a spouse to come back, to get a job/house/car/etc.). Even if you only pray 1 Hail Mary or 1 decade to start off, it will be efficacious and Mary will help you to build up to praying the whole rosary everyday. I started out only praying the opening prayers, then one bead of a mystery, now I am praying 4 sets of mysteries a day (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious).
*Mother Mary, I doubt anyone took the time to read all of this, but for those who have, I pray you would shower them with the graces that you are willing to give that no one asks your intercession for. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Yeshua. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.*
