A story for every day...

Convinced that the conversion of the Albigensians would be due to the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary, Saint Dominic never ceased to spread it everywhere. One day, while preaching in the presence of the Duke of Brittany, the whole court and a huge crowd of people, he assured them, according to a personal revelation, that no homage, except the Divine Office and the adorable Sacrifice, was so pleasing to Jesus and His Mother as the fervent recitation of the Rosary of Mary. This assertion seemed exaggerated to his numerous audience; but God defended it, and this is how.

After the sermon, Dominic celebrated Holy Mass in the presence of the multitude. And what happened? The Saint was rapt in ecstasy; he was seen to rise above the ground, and to remain suspended in the air for a whole hour, his face ablaze with divine fire. At the consecration, when he raised the holy Host, all the people clearly saw the Virgin Mother with Her divine Child whom She held in Her arms. When he raised the chalice, the Redeemer was seen covered with wounds, pierced, and suffering all the torments of His Passion, just as He had been on Calvary. Towards the end of the mass, a dazzling light surrounded the altar; and in the midst of this splendor, the Lord showed Himself full of the glory of His resurrection, and as if ascending into Heaven.

This vision moved the crowd, and when the sacrifice was over, Dominic went back to the pulpit. He explained to his amazed listeners the meaning of these three apparitions; the Virgin holding the Child Jesus was the figure of the Joyful Mysteries; Jesus suffering signified the Sorrowful Mysteries; and His resurrection, the Glorious Mysteries. He made the whole assembly understand how pleasing to the Lord the devotion of meditating on these mysteries while reciting the one hundred and fifty Hail Marys of the Rosary must be, since He confirmed it by such prodigies. All, princes and peoples, remained convinced and ardently embraced such an excellent practice.