Antenna to Heaven by Brian K. Kravec

An antenna is a rod or wire for radiating or receiving radio waves (Merriam Webster’s). I can’t explain how sound is transmitted invisibly through the air but I know it works when I turn on the stereo and tune in my favorite station. The strength and clarity of the signal reception depends on the quality of your antenna. A fixed, highly placed antenna is much better than a flimsy antenna running through the car window or taped to the back of the entertainment center.

As our faith is concerned, God designed and created the perfect antenna for receiving the "signals" of abundant grace merited by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Her name is Mary, the Blessed Virgin, and she is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix (CCC 969).

For crystal clear reception of God’s graces we must fix a true devotion and love for His Mother in the highest place of our heart, home and life and avoid sin, the "bad weather" in the soul, which disrupts the signals of grace. Remember that if storms move in, reception is best restored in the Sacrament of Confession.

St. Louis de Montfort wrote extensively of the necessity of having a true devotion to Mary: "To find the grace of God, we must discover Mary. God chose her to be the treasurer, the administrator and the dispenser of all his graces, so that all his graces and gifts pass through her hands." "Therefore, if we wish to go to him, seeking union with him, we must use the same means which he used in coming down from heaven to assume our human nature and to impart his graces to us" (The Secret of Mary: No.1:10, 23)

There is no other Marian prayer richer in scripture and tradition, more Christ-centered, more devotional or loving through which the faithful can invoke the aid of the Mother of God than her Most Holy Rosary.

Pope Leo XIII wrote in his 1891 encyclical on the Rosary: "…may it also be affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ. Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. How great are the goodness and mercy revealed in this design of God!"

Generations of Supreme Pontiffs agree.

"We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that we put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils that afflict our times." -  Pope Pius XII

"Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been favored by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary." -  Pope Pius XI

"The Rosary is the compendium of the entire Gospel."                                                                                                 - Pope Paul VI quoting Pope Pius XII

"There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family . . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary." -  Pope Pius XII

"The Rosary marks the rhythm of human life, bringing it into harmony with the rhythm of God’s own life." -  Pope John Paul II

"Through her [The Blessed Virgin’s] intercession we can obtain any kind of help."                    - Pope Benedict XVI

"Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world" - Our Lady of Fátima.

http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/rosary/how_to.htm

+JMJ+

Copyright 2010 Brian K. Kravec