Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/414

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Let us conclude this chapter with some special reflections on the Rosary. In the Litany of Loreto the Church calls Mary, "Queen of the most holy Rosary." In his beautiful and instructive sermon on the solemnity of the most holy Rosary, the Very Rev. D. T. McDermott says: "Why is the devotion called the most holy Rosary? The Church carefully weighs her words. She selects terms to convey her meaning as precisely as it is possible for language to express it. However language, in its poverty, may fail to express fully her meaning, the Church never indulges in exaggeration. Yet she calls the devotion of the Rosary - most holy. And most holy it shall be found to be in its origin, in its prayers, in its object, and in its effects."

The word Rosary, as applied to this devotion, means Garden of Roses. It is, of course, figurative, and is intended to impress upon all that they will be able to gather, flowers of piety and the fruits of every virtue from this devotion.

In Sacred Scripture, our prayers and good works, because of an analogy they bear to them, are likened to material things. For example, our pious deeds are compared to light, in the following text: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Good example is likened to the perfume of precious ointmentet: "Let