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Fatima. Rosary. Lucy's Treatise on the RosaryLucy's Treatise on the Rosary The Message of Our Lady of Fatima: the Daily RosaryOn the twenty-fifth anniversary of the crowning of the Virgin of Fatima, on May 13, 1971, Msgr. Joao Venancio gave the imprimatur to a short text by the seer of Fatima, a commentary on Our Lady’s words about the Rosary. Published by Father Martins dos Reis1, under the title «The Message of Our Lady of Fatima: the Daily Rosary», this text constitutes a short treatise on the Holy Rosary. Here it is in extenso. “Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” (May 13, 1917) All souls of good will can and must recite five decades of the Rosary every day. They can say it in a church, whether the Most Blessed Sacrament be exposed or remain in the Tabernacle. They can also recite it with the family or alone, on the road or on journeys. The prayer of the Rosary is accessible to all, to rich and poor, to the learned and the ignorant. It should be everyone’s spiritual bread. By means of the mysteries we recall at each decade, it nourishes and increases in souls faith, hope and charity. “I want… you to say the Rosary every day.” (June 13, 1917) We must recite the Rosary every day for we all have need of prayer and we are obliged to pray. If we are not saved through innocence, we must needs be saved through penance. To that end, let the small daily sacrifice of the recitation of the Rosary, which we offer to God, be united to this prayer of supplication: “Our Father who art in Heaven… Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” “I want… you to continue saying the Rosary every day.” (July 13, 1917) Our Lady insists on and asks us for perseverance in prayer. It is not enough to pray for a day; we must pray always, every day with faith and confidence, for every day we do wrong and every day we need to have recourse to God, asking Him to forgive us and to help us. “I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day.” (August 19, 1917) Our Lady insists because She knows how inconstant we are in doing good, how weak and needy we are; and, like a Mother, She comes to meet us to give us a hand and support us in our weakness along the path we must follow to be saved. This path is that of prayer; it is there that we shall meet God. That is why She has asked us to say at the end of each decade: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need.” That is to say, those in danger of damnation. “Continue to say the Rosary to obtain the end of the war.” (September 13, 1917) By this insistence, Our Lady indicates that it is crucial to pray in order to obtain the grace of peace between nations, among peoples, families, homes and consciences, and between God and souls. It is only when God’s light, strength and grace penetrate our souls and hearts that we shall truly come to understand one another, to forgive and help one another; that is the only way we shall arrive at a true and just peace. But to obtain it, it is necessary to pray! “I want… you to continue saying the Rosary every day.” (October 13, 1917) The Rosary is the prayer which must bring us close to God on a daily basis. This prayer is not exclusively Marian; it is also a biblical and Eucharistic prayer, addressed to the Most Holy Trinity. At each decade we recite the “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit” and the «Our Father» which Christ taught us to pray so that we might address the Father with confidence. And we recite the «Ave Maria» which is also a prayer of praise and of supplication to God through the mediation of Mary: “Ave Maria, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.” Thus we greet Mary, in the mystery of our Redemption, a mystery which God operated in Her and through which Mary was made the Mother of God, Mother of the Church and Mother of men. That is why Mary was the first Tabernacle in which the Father enclosed His Word; the first Monstrance and the first Altar, where the Lord has remained for ever exposed to our adoration and love. See also
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