WHY OUR LADY
OUR LADY'S PROMISES
The Rosary
St. Louis de Montfort wrote: “If you say the rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory.’ Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul... if--- and mark well what I say--- if--- you say the Rosary devoutly every day of your life..."
Our Lady’s Fifteen Promises for Saying the Rosary
1. “Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.”
2. “I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary”.
3. “The Rosary shall be powerful armor against hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.”
4. “It will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God. It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.”
5. “The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.”
6. “Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice. He shall not perish by an unprovided death. If he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life”.
7. “Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church”.
8. “Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plentitude of His graces. At the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.”
9. “I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.”
10. “The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.”
11. “You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.”
12. “All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.”
13. “I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.”
14. “All who recite the Rosary are my sons and brothers of my only Son, Jesus Christ.”
15. “Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.”
Five First Saturdays Devotion
On December 25, 1925, Our Lady said to Lucia: "My daughter, look at My Heart encircled with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you at least try to console Me and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep Me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to Me."
Three Hail Marys Devotion
One of the greatest means of salvation and one of the surest signs of predestination is the Three Hail Marys devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin. All the holy doctors of the Church are unanimous in saying with St. Alphonsus of Liguori: “A devout servant of Mary shall never perish.” This devotion is a simple lifeline to love and holiness. The chief thing is to persevere faithfully until death in this devotion.
Numerous examples show how agreeable the three Hail Marys Devotion is to the Divine Mother and what special graces it draws, during life and at the hour of death, on those who never omit it for a single day.
This practice was revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th century) while she was beseeching Our Blessed Mother to assist her in her hour of death. Our Lady appeared to her and said: “I will, certainly. But I also want you to say three special Hail Marys to me every day.” Why three? One for each person of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“The first Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, Whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature that after God I have the greatest power in heaven and on earth. In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from you.”
“The second Hail Mary will be said in honor of the Son of God, Who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me. In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled.”
“The third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost, Who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight.”
Our Blessed Mother also revealed to St. Gertrude the Great: “To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.”
Brown Scapular
It was Saint Dominic that prophesied that the Blessed Mother will give the Carmelite Order a devotion known as the Brown Scapular, and to the Dominicans a devotion that will be called the Rosary. Further he prophesied that one day Our Lady will save the world through the Rosary and the Scapular.
On the morning of July 16, 1251, Our Lady appeared suddenly to St. Simon Stock with the habit of the Carmelite Order in her hand and said: "Receive, my beloved son, this habit of thy order; this shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire....It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace. Whoever dies (piously) clothed in this Scapular will not suffer eternal fire."
In addition to the special grace of eternal salvation connected with the Brown Scapular, Our Lady gave another which became known as the Sabbatine Privilege. On March 2, 1322, Our Lady appeared to Pope John XXII, communicating to those who wear her scapular, "As a tender mother, I will descend into Purgatory on the Saturday after their death and will deliver them to the holy mountain, into the happy sojourn of life everlasting."
At both Fatima (1917) and Garabandal (1961-1965), Our Lady appeared with the Brown Scapular in her hand. When asked why she thought Our Lady appeared with the Scapular in her vision, Sister Lucia replied: "That's because Our Lady wants everyone to wear the Scapular, and this is why the Rosary and the Scapular, the oldest, most privileged universal and valuable Marian sacramentals are more important today than in any past period in history."
Seven Sorrows Devotion
According to St. Alphonsus de Liguori (The Glories of Mary) it was revealed to Saint Elizabeth that at the request of Our Lady, Our Lord promised four principal graces to those devoted to her Sorrows:
1. Those who before death invoke the divine Mother in the name of her Sorrows will obtain true repentance of all their sins;
2. He will protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and will
protect them especially at the hour of death;
3. He will impress on their minds the remembrance of His Passion;
4. He will place such devout servants in Mother Mary’s hands to do with them as she wishes and to obtain for them all the graces she desires.
In addition to the four graces above, there are also seven promises attached to the practice of daily praying seven Hail Mary’s while meditating on Our Lady’s Tears and Sorrows. These seven promises were revealed by Our Lady to St. Bridget of Sweden:
1. “I will grant peace to their families.”
2. “They will be enlightened by the divine mysteries.”
3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”
4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the
adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”
5. “I will defend them in the spiritually battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant in their lives.”
6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.”
7. “I have obtained (This Grace) from my divine Son, that those who propagate
this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.”