Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/556

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Queen of the Rosary. We find instances in history where the Christian soldier, defeated in his struggle for faith and fatherland, has turned the tide of battle by an appeal to Mary of the Rosary. We see the great O'Connell wincing under the fiery eloquence of his opponent, but preparing himself by reciting the Rosary for that grand effort of his which procured hope for the country he loved full well, and freedom for the Church he loved better still. Besides these victories, who will recount its spiritual conquests, the hardened hearts moved to repentance, the despairing souls it has snatched from the edge of hell and returned to God! In fine, it is the badge of the noblest of God's creatures, of the gentle Sisters of Charity on the battlefield and in the hospital, and of the intrepid missioners in the wilderness.

Brethren, do we appreciate the full value of this devotion? Are we its friends or are we its enemies? We are, you say, its friends, But alas! as many a man will say: "I am a Catholic, but I cannot say I practice my religion," so many of us will have to say: "I approve of the Rosary, but I cannot say I practice it," To each I say equally: " Stuff and nonsense; there is no Catholic but a practical Catholic, and there is no friend of the Rosary but he who practices it often and well." " He that is not with me is against me," is not less true of Christ than it is of the Church and the Rosary. Your Protestant friend refuses the honor due to the Queen of the Rosary and you resent it, but if you practice not this devotion your action is inconsistent, for the Protestant