• Attend Mass on the First Friday of each month for 9 consecutive months. You must receive Holy Communion in reparation for those who do not receive Jesus, who do not love Him, and who wound Him by their sinful lives. (See 12th promise above)
• Attend Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart (The Friday after the Feast of Corpus Christ which falls on the Second Sunday after Pentecost or June 3 in the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy)
  • Words of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary..."I ask that the Friday after the Feast of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special feast to honor My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to it by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which it has received during the time it has been exposed on altars. I promise you that My Heart shall expand itself to shed in abundance the influence of its divine love upon those who shall thus honor it and cause it to be honored"
• Make a Holy Hour of Reparation (weekly Adoration)
• Consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Any act of Consecration will suffice. Below is one composed by Pope St. Leo XIII.

  Consecration to the Sacred Heart

  Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be. But, to be more surely united with Thee, behold, each of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy Most Sacred Heart. Many, indeed, have never known Thee. Many, too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Kind, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee. Grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: "Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation-to It be glory and honor forever!" Amen.

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Calendar Of Upcoming Feast Days

June - 2010

June 3rd - Feast of Corpus Christi (Traditional)

June 6th - Feast of Corpus Christi (USA)

June 11th - Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 12th - Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

June 24th - Solemnity of Birth of St. John the Baptist, cousin of Our Lord

June 29th - Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, apostles

July - 2010

July 4th - Feast of the Precious Blood, Independence Day (USA)

July 16th - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel "One day through the Rosary and Scapular I will save the World." Our Lady's words to St. Dominic

July 22nd - St. Mary Magdalene

July 26th - Sts. Joachim and Ann, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Resources

Rosary Gift Resources

• www.battlebeads.com
• Sacred Heart of Jesus Rosary Box - This wonderful little rosary box (or pill box) features an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the top and is made of shiny brass. Imported from Italy.
• Sacred Heart Sterling Silver Rosary - This beautiful Sacred Heart Sterling Silver rosary is made of only the finest materials - sterling silver pins, chains, medals and clasps. This rosary features a traditional sterling crucifix and a Sacred Heart sterling center piece. Comes is a nice velour presentation gift box. Made in the U.S.A.
• Chaplet of the Precious Blood - This devotion consists of 7 mysteries in which me meditate on the 7 principal sheddings of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. The chaplet has 6 groups of 5 red glass beads each, a medal of the Holy Face and a crucifix. It comes with a prayer card and instructions.

Books And Spiritual Reading

• Precious Blood - The Price of Our Salvation by Fr. Faber -Why do we honor the Precious Blood of Jesus? Because it is, as Father Faber indicates by the subtitle of this book, "The Price of Our Salvation." Our Lord died on the cross from loss of blood. Hence His Precious Blood is in truth the instrument of our salvation. With this thought being central to his book, Father Faber explores, in his inimitable manner, all the implications of the Precious Blood of Jesus in our lives-its mystery and necessity, its history and prodigality, the devotion we should have toward it, and the sway of its empire. For "it is from the Precious Blood of Jesus alone that our salvation comes." The Precious Blood by Father Faber is therefore actually a study in our salvation, but, as with all of his books, it is more; it is also a resume of our faith and of our religion from the standpoint of this dominant insight. After this book, the reader will conclude with Father Faber that "it is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celibacies, austerities, heroic charities and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity."

• Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. Croiset, S.J. - Appearing in print during the first year after the Saint's death, the book was an instant success and was translated into all the European languages except English. For 13 years it was the primary vehicle for making universally known the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But then, through a technicality, it was placed on the "Index of Forbidden Books," to go into obscurity until modern times, when the Bishop of Sarajevo (Yugoslavia) discovered this treasure and asked the Sacred Congregation of the index to reexamine it. They did, and approved it without change, thus fulfilling St. Margaret Mary's prophecy that it would become forgotten for a time but then would come to light again.

  This present translation is the first in English of the unabridged book and contains Fr. Croiset's full sketch of the Saint's life, as well as all her prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart, and a complete list of the Promises of the Sacred Heart, which number many more than the famous "12 Promises."

  In all, Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. John Croiset, S.J., rather than a boring book on a dry subject, is the best explanation of the central devotion of the Catholic Church and in the process is a challenge to every Catholic to raise himself to that level of the spiritual life Our Lord expects and requires of him and which alone will enable him to become a great saint.

Miscellaneous

• Sacred Heart of Jesus Framed Print - Reproduced from the originals of leading religious artists including the the world famous Simeone, this line is produced with 13in. x 16in. linen prints in a 2in. under glass antique gold wood frame with a linen liner. Overall size is 16in. x 20in.

• Our Lady of Fatima Statue - This beautiful hand-painted statue of Our Lady of Fatima is made in Portugal. It has glass eyes and measures approximately 16.5 inches tall - height includes the crown. Made from a chalk compound.

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Important Links

• www.battlebeads.com

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Testimonials

We love to hear from our visitors. Here is what a recent visitor had to say about How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com

"I really love the website. I am very happy to have come across it...The Rosary can be truly encouraged to others when they surf this site. Keep up the good work and I pray that you'd have billions of viewers who would comment and share their thoughts and stories here." -Justine

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Meet This Month's Rosary Promoter!

Who:

Mary from Battlebeads.com. Mary, a retiree who has been making affordable rosary beads since July 2009, takes great pride in craftsmanship and perfection. Mary's motto is: "I always do my best to accommodate requests!"

How did you get started in the rosary making business?

Well, I had a bout with cancer in the fall of 2008 that did not have a bright outlook, given my other conditions and disability. Before surgery, my Pastor told me not to worry, because I 'had a work to do for our Lord' when I got back home. I had been thinking about phoning and/or emailing sick and elderly in nursing homes (being I couldn't visit due to my disability), I wanted to do something useful for others and committed to some activity if Father was right.

When making rosaries first came into my mind, I pushed it away as ridiculous because my work in life had been in human services basically with paper work. I had never worked with my hands in any kind of trade or mechanical fields so I didn't think this was even a good idea for me. After several months of vacillating about beginning this endeavor, I finally succumbed to it after buying a rosary that had an additional Our Father bead and extra spacing. I don't know why I bought the rosary .. I had many already, but when I saw the error, first think out of my mouth was: "I can do better than THIS!" I began looking around online for parts and supplies and before I knew it, I was ordering enough for a small army!

Your business has a great name. Would you like to share how you came up with it?

Sure ... I had developed a devotion to Padré Pio (along with St. Therese and St. Rita). I liked when he'd call for his "weapon" when he wanted his rosary brought to him. I had been putting Ephesians 6:12 on signatures and things for a while and my dear Mother had a love for the rosary and our Lady. Had been thinking that there really IS a war going on between good and evil these days and the rosary has stopped wars as well as mitigate chastisements. Thinking about all these things one day looking for parts and wondering if I should even buy a domain for this new hobby, the word "BATTLE BEADS" just popped into my head. It made sense to me because we are fighting a battle here and rosary beads are a weapon against it. I didn't think in a million years that that name would be available, but when it WAS, I thought perhaps it meant I should buy the domain and really put up a site to make it easy and affordable for the average person to get nice rosaries, chaplets and other related items. I wanted to make beautiful rosaries befitting to our Lady and enticing enough that folks would WANT to pick them up and pray. I look for unusual beads and always try to do something a little different or put some kind of twist on things to make them more interesting.

In what ways are you assisting Our Lady's efforts to get people to pray the Rosary?

I'm trying along with many others, to get the word out. Hopefully also, my prices are an incentive for folks to buy and pray more. I try very hard to keep the prices low .. I'm not in this for the money. This is really more an apostolate. The main objective is getting folks to realize that God's really there and we should give Him at LEAST the time in prayer, that we give to hobbies and recreation! I mean, how can we say we love God if we never have time for Him?! We can say we love icecream and give more time and attention to that than to our Glorious Triune God! It saddens me that many folks just call on God when something's wrong and not to share their daily activities as we do with friends. I have other websites as well that deal with Catholicism and the world in which we live. (mine:www.starkvisions.com/again - one I share with a partner: www.alwayscatholic.com) I have prayers and meditations on Battlebeads Website and articles on the Battle Beads Blog. But I talk to everyone that will listen about prayer and the power of praying the Scriptures on beads.

Your craftsmanship is really remarkable, how is it you are able to keep your rosaries so affordable?

Thanks very much. I'm actually quite surprised at it all myself really. As I said, I never worked with my hands before and when I began this, I didn't know a gauge from a millimeter or the difference between glass, stones, crystals or looping with wire etc. Now, I can make corded, flex wire, wire wrapped or the traditional wire linked rosaries. I've learned a great deal in the last year and there's always room for more! I have many rosaries and chaplets already made up on the website, but I also get many special custom orders as well. When parts come in, I get right to work and turnaround time is generally within 24 hrs. It can be a daunting task to try to find good prices when you can't buy in bulk, have no tax exempt number or any of the other things the 'big boys' in real business have. But I've been fairly lucky with meeting the right folks at the right time. Sometimes, I just cover my costs and postage, but that's ok. This is not a business to make a living on .. it's the business of making lives better and bringing them closer to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts!

From getting to know you, it is clear you feel the world is in serious need of prayer. For what intentions are you encouraging others to pray?

Oh Gosh .. you don't have enough room in this article for all my petitions! LOL Suffice it to say that in my daily 3pm prayers (Hour of Mercy with the Divine Chaplet kicks it off ... very special time to pray!), sometimes it takes a half hour or more just for the petitions BEFORE I actually begin praying itself! I've been asked this before though and I think I will publish most of my petitions in the very near future. But these are some of the main peitions that I've asked folks to join me in:

I always beg these two things to begin with: 1. That every heartbeat, breath, joy, sorrow, tear, step, utterance, action and reaction for every living being in the universe be united to the Perfect Passion of Jesus and offered in reparation for the sins, offenses and blasphemies committed against the Holy Trinity and Our Lady. I very much like uniting our every day actions to the Passion of Jesus because, in my mind, this makes everything we do a constant prayer even when we're not thinking of it. It reminds me of when Jesus spoke of praying without ceasing. In this, I also make this offering for the Intentions of the Trinity, Our Lady, all the angels and saints and for the Pope's intentions and his safety and strength.

2. I always ask too, that the pain and suffering of the souls in purgatory be united to Jesus' Passion, so that purgatory can be emptied into heaven daily during the hour of Mercy. Just a drop of His Precious Blood can do anything, so I ask for the release of souls, especiallly the lost and forgotten there.

We need to pray for all priests, religious and clergy to be given the graces needed to be the servants Jesus calls them to be. I pray for the sick, unborn, dying, the world leaders, those that don't know how much they need God ... the list is very long. Another cause near to my heart are the fallen away Catholics that need to come home. Whether they remain "Catholic" in name only and don't practice or those that actually left the Church for another denomination. Where we have the fullness of Faith with all 7 Sacraments, I personally feel very sad that they traded (in my eyes) Majesty for mediocrity. Lots more petitions, but as I said, I'll put a list out soon :)

We love the fact that you are a patriotic American. Please tell us about the USA Chaplet.

I have never been a politically oriented person and always found politics particularly distasteful. However, I have been very saddened with the state of the nation of late and the direction it seems to be headed. Considering the many prophecies that have been spoken in the last decades, it appears that we're spiriling down a very slippery slope. The enemies of the Church are no longer merely on the outside, but efforts are thwarted from the inside as well now. In an effort to not offend, we have become entirely too complacent. I found myself thinking and praying about this even in dreams. The chaplet itself was months in the making. The first prayer that came to me was the "Sweetest Jesus, for the sake of those that love You, by merit of Your Holy Passion, lift not Your Protective Hand from us and please save the USA!" (Ulitmately, this was the prayer my Bishop suggested a change of a word and rightfully so, in retrospect, he was spot on with it. He had me change it to BLESS the USA rather than SAVE the USA.) Often, just as I was either awakening or falling off to sleep, other prayers or sentences would come to me .. sometimes during my prayer time. I began to write them down. I have many such writings over the years of thoughts, quotes, musings and prayers that have popped into my head from no where out of the clear blue sky and sometimes when deep in prayer or medatation.

Then, this past January, I was feeling very antsy about sitting on all this for the past 3 or 4 months, not knowing what (if ANYTHING) I was supposed to do with it. I mentioned it to my Pastor who came for Confession one day .. showed him a brief scribbling of the prayers and outline I had so far and he saw nothing wrong with it and encouraged me to send it out for other expert opinions. I should mention here that I was not without trepidation in compiling this new devotion. We all say our own private prayers and pray from the heart, but this was something much more than that and much more formal and ordered than private prayer. I had never known anyone that made up a chaplet ... wasn't even sure if lay folks were ALLOWED to do this! Well I prayed hard and asked for guidance. I went to check my email ... then all of a sudden (never DID get to that email!), it was like it was placed before me .. the colors of the beads, how the prayers should be ordered, how many beads/prayers for the chaplet ... it was like it was all being layed out and I had a hard time keeping UP! lol What was really surprising was the closing prayer .. that came totally out of the blue as I was finishing up and it was literally as if I was taking dictation. I heard no voices or anything, but it was like I was reading the words for the first time as I was writing them. I receive the Nihil Obstat from the Bishop in early April of this year, so it's a formally approved devotion now for the Catholic world.

Besides rosary beads, what other items do you make?

Chaplets, rosary bracelets, rosary necklaces, key chains, decade trees, peace wheels ... just about anything that you can do with beads, crosses, medals and wire or cord, I'll do. I particularly like designing things that folks dream about. I've had more than a few folks actually write and ask if I'd be open to trying to duplicate an item from a dream or an old memory. It's nice to work with someone and help design a unique piece .. literally a dream come true! :) Have also made a few other rosary designs with all the prayers, but perhaps hanging Pater's or decades 'fingers' .. you can find them on the Unique & Unusual page.

What spiritual benefits can your customers expect when they purchase a rosary from you?

When an order comes in, I immediately say a prayer for the person. I also have monthly Masses said for all my customers at the Seraphic Mass Association. In addition to this, every rosary and chaplet is touched to a 1st class relic of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos which was given to me by a total stranger shortly after I began making rosaries. Where it came to me out of the blue, I felt I should share it with others and I was sure it was related to the rosaries. Here's a variation of the prayer I say as I touch each item to the relic: "Blessed Francis Seelos, please hear my plea, bring us closer to Jesus through devotion to thee. If it be the will of our Glorious Triune God, pease heal whoever touches this rosary/chaplet in mind, body and soul according to the perfect Will of God for His honor and glory. Give those that pray these beads an ardent love of the Sacraments and deeper devotion to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts."

How has praying the Rosary brought peace and serenity to your life?

I think prayer is like anything else. It requires discipline. It's very important to develop a pattern I think. I have a short prayer time in the morning and evening. My major prayer time is the 3pm hour of mercy when Jesus died on the cross. I say the Divine Mercy Chaplet, USA Chaplet, Servite Rosary, Regular Rosary along with some other traditional prayers and other small chaplets to saints and angels. The Rosary transforms a person. You meditate on Scripture every day .. how can it not change a person and give peace and serenity? Sometimes the degree of peace and joy overwhelms and it feels like you are going to burst for not being able to contain it all ... I think this is a little taste of heaven :) I doubt very much if we, in our physical bodies, could survive even a small degree of the real joy of the Lord that we'll experience in heaven as we read in 1 Corinthians 2:9 : "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for those who love Him." We need to shake the fence that our family and friends have been comfortably sitting on for waaaay too long and encourage them by our example and with much prayer, to recommit their hearts and lives to Almighty God and our Lady!

If we would only devote half the time to meditating on the mysteries of the rosary that we do to recreational activities, we'd transform our lives, families, communities, countries and eventually, the world!

Some people have a hard time learning to meditate. Could you give them some advise on how to "see" and "feel" each mystery?

Just try to recall perhaps movies of Jesus or the bible you have seen and then actually get a 'feel' for the time and step into it, imagining the sites, sounds, smells and environment of the time and event. Each time I can almost always find something else I haven't thought of before. I think of the mystery and what they could have been thinking and feeling along with the before and after emotions/actions of the specific event. Here's some thoughts on the joyful mysteries taken from my site:

Meditation tips:

When meditating on the mysteries of the most holy rosary, try to put yourself in the picture. Watch Gabriel make his announcement to Mary as she humbly accepts God's Will. Imagine what she's thinking. A young unmarried girl in Israel being pregnant was no small matter .. it meant death by stoning. Yet Mary trusted in God and gave her obedient "YES".

Follow along as she travels to her cousin Elizabeth .. a long arduous journey in those days. Again, her humility abounds as she cares for her elderly cousin's maternity needs while she herself carries the Savior of the world!

See Mary & Joseph's frustration and weariness as they attempt to find lodging during a busy time in Bethlehem; having to settle for an animal shelter for Mary to give birth. Hear the animals rustling about as the angels sing praises. Watch as the shepherds are told and as the 3 kings bring gifts, remember Herod's jealousy over the Child.

Obedient to the Law, Joseph and Mary bring the Infant Jesus to the Temple and hear the prophecies of Simeon and Anna. In humility, they offer 2 doves for their own purification.

Imagine the terror in the hearts of Joseph & Mary upon realizing that Jesus was not among their caravan after traveling a whole day. See their Joy in finding Him and the puzzlement of His Words that He was about His Father's Business.

Any last comments you would like to add?

Thanks very much for your time in this .. I very much appreciate getting the word out about the new chaplet devotion because our country and the world, is so much in need of prayer. If we can encourage each other as well as our clergy (Bishops and priests alike) to pray and do penance .. perhaps even public penance, we may be able to mitigate some of the judgement that will certainly befall us shortly from all our decades of extremely bad choices and pleasure seeking.

Many pray but not as much as we should and most have forgotten penance completely, sadly ... even many of the clergy. I think the Bishops should set the example, backed up by the priests, religious, all clergy and filtering down to the laity by setting aside at least a quarter hour a week to do public penance (15 solid contrite minutes of prostrate prayer) before the Blessed Sacrament to beg mercy and call down grace to help fix the wounds of the Church, our world and our eternal souls. I would like to see a national movement begin with this spark and set the country ablaze with new vim and vigor for God, our country and each other.

Funny, that we live like this world is the be all and end all when it's ETERNITY that will last forever, huh? God bless!

Please take a minute to check out www.battlebeads.com and support Mary.

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If you would like to be highlighted as the Rosary Promoter of the Month, use the Rosary Promoter Submission page on How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com and write us asking for a Rosary Promoter application. If you know someone that promotes the Rosary and should be featured as a Rosary promoter, by all means pass this along to them or send us their information and we'll contact them.

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Q&A

This question was taken from our Ask A Rosary Question Section at How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com

When I pray the Rosary, I want to consistently feel that nice feeling before, during and after prayer. How important is this "feeling"? When the feeling is not present my mind is not focused and I am simply uttering words. This makes me worry that the prayer may not be as pleasing to the Blessed Virgin Mary. So is "feeling" the Rosary very important?

That "feeling" you are referring to is not at all important while praying the Rosary. Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God (Baltimore Catechism). Uniting with God in prayer will always produce happiness and often times will be accompanied by pleasure (or this good feeling you are speaking of). But you must not confuse the two. Happiness and pleasure are not the same thing and do not always go hand in hand. The Catholic understanding of happiness is perfect union with God. You will not be truly happy until you are eternally in His presence in Heaven. While on earth, the things that bring about this happiness are not always associated with pleasure the way we would think. Things that bring about happiness are often not pleasurable: sacrifice, suffering and even at times prayer.

When you are new to something like praying the Rosary, you may experience good feelings, but don't forget the purpose of praying the Rosary is to draw you closer to God not to bring about pleasure. Just keep praying. The benefits are the same whether you feel good about it or not. And Our Lady is pleased just to have you try your best and persevere.

Here is one more point taken from the Baltimore Catechism that may put your mind at ease: "Distractions in our prayers are not displeasing to God, unless they are willful."

Please visit Ask A Rosary Question Section - Where you are encouraged to answer questions and add comments to questions that have been posted there.

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What's New

A Glimpse Into Next Month's Newsletter

Next month's Newsletter - How To Hold On To The Final Weeks Of Summer

Please note: Because this issue was late getting out, June/July will be sent as one issue in July. We plan to get back on our regular monthly schedule thereafter. Sorry for the inconvenience. We know many of you look forward to these newsletters and we do our best getting them to you in a timely manner. We run on a bare bones volunteer only staff and your donations are greatly appreciated. Click here to make your donation today. Thank you.

New On The Site

A page about the purpose of prayer was recently added to the site. Check it out by clicking here...

Coming soon - Our recommended reading list in an all new Rosary Books section!

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Thank You!

Thank you for reading! Keep visiting www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com and remember we love hearing from you. Please use the "contact us" page to leave any and all suggestions or comments.

I hope your Summer is filled with peace and blessings from God.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

To Jesus through Mary,

Kathleen Bowen and The Rosary Team

P.S. If you like this newsletter and are looking for an easy way to promote the Rosary, please "email it forward" to someone you know who might appreciate it. If a friend did forward this to you and you like what you read, please subscribe now!

As our site and community grows, I hope that you drop me a line and tell me how the Rosary is working in your life! Did a personal transformation take place in your life that was inspired by something on our site? Share it with the rest of us! Often, having a support community really keeps you going.

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