Mary's Heart
And why it's good to leave the familiar from time to time
Perhaps you’ve heard it.
But perhaps not.
I only heard it last week at a Mass I never intended to attend.
I was traveling to a job and running late, so I opened the Masstimes app and looked for a Mass I could catch along my route.
I wound up in Fort Lee, NJ at the Church of the Holy Trinity. A small parish church right smack on a major thoroughfare. You could hear and feel the truck traffic as it passed by.
At the conclusion of the Mass, there was a visiting Deacon who decided he was going to convince everyone in attendance that we should pray the Rosary.
He listed the Saints who relied on it.
Miracles that were attributed to it.
And his personal connection to this powerful prayer.
But it was this short anecdote he ended with that sold it.
It goes like this.
“Jesus and St. Peter were walking around Heaven one day, and Peter noticed a person that he didn’t remember letting into Heaven. He quickly checked to see if he had the keys to Heaven’s Gate, and seeing that he did, he turned to Jesus and excused himself.
He checked the gate, which was firmly secured, and returned, puzzled, to Jesus. Jesus, seeing that Peter was perturbed, asked what was wrong, to which Peter replied, “Lord, I know I locked the Gate, but I saw someone from purgatory who I know I didn’t let in!”
Jesus smiled and replied,” Ah, Peter, don’t you know that every time you lock the gate, Mary opens a window and lowers her Rosary Beads so people can climb up?”
Of course, it’s just a story, but it does have merit.
As countless saints attest, the Rosary is one of the most powerful and efficacious prayers in the Catholic arsenal.
In beseeching Mary’s intercession while praying the Gospels, God’s Grace heals and strengthens us.
So, in keeping with the spirit of the good Deacon’s speech, I’ll offer the same pitch.
Why don’t you pray the Rosary if you have a chance today?
Who knows— the soul you save might be your own :-)
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