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The Secret of the Rosary

'So when you give a sermon, urge people to say my Rosary, and in this way your words will bear much
fruit for souls.'
"Saint Dominic lost no time in obeying, and from then on he
exerted great influence by his sermons."
This last quotation is from the "Book of Miracles of the Holy
Rosary" (written in Italian) and it is also to be found in Justin's
works (143d Sermon).
I have been very glad to quote these well-known authors word
for word in the original Latin 1 for benefit of any priests or other
learned people who might otherwise have doubts as to the mar­
velous power of the Holy Rosary.
As long as priests followed Saint Dominic's example and
preached devotion to the Holy Rosary, piety and fervor thrived throughout the Christian world and
in those religious orders which were devoted to the Rosary. But since people have
neglected this gift from heaven, all kinds of sin and disorder have spread far and wide.

Fourth Rose

Blessed Alan de la Roche

ALL THINGS, even the holiest, are subject to change, especially when they are dependent on man's
free will. It is hardly to be wondered at, then, that the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary only
retained its first fervor for one century after it was instituted by Saint Dominic. After this, it
was like a thing buried and forgotten.
Doubtless, too, the wicked scheming and jealousy of the devil were largely responsible for getting
people to neglect the Holy Rosary, and thus block the flow of God's grace which it had drawn down
upon the world.
Thus, in 1349, God punished the whole of Europe and sent the most terrible plague that had ever
been known into every land. It started first in the east and spread throughout Italy, Germany,
France, Poland and Hungary, bringing desolation wherever it came-for out of a hundred men hardly
one lived to tell the tale. Big towns, little towns, villages and monasteries were almost
completely deserted during the three years that the_ epidemic lasted.

1We have omitted the Latin quotations so as not to encumber the text. English
translations have been given above.

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