Nativity Catholic Church in Hollywood shared a message from their pastor in the Oct. 18 bulletin on the importance of the Rosary.

“In 1951, Pope Pius XII released a letter to all the Christian faithful of the world exhorting them to increased devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in particular through recitation of the Holy Rosary,” the Very Rev. David Zirilli said.

Even though he spoke 70 years ago, Pope Pius XII’s address holds a great deal of wisdom and power today. The Rosary is a highly useful tool for us to grow closer to God, Jesus Christ and Mary and to help us glean lessons from the virtues within the prayers.

“Moreover, Pius XII regarded the Rosary as the spiritual weapon of choice in healing the evils of our times, comparing the Rosary to the sling David used to confront Goliath,” Zirilli said.

As the times are growing increasingly challenging in a number of ways, we need to pray more than ever and the tool of the Rosary can help us greatly. Zirilli opined that if the world needed the prayers of the faithful that much in 1951, how much more important it must be today.

“Pius XII concludes his letter by invoking the prayers of the Virgin Mary: ‘May the very powerful Mother of God, moved by the prayers of so many of her children, obtain from her only Son— let us all beseech her— that those who have miserably wandered from the path of truth and virtue may, with new fervor, find it again; that hatred and rivalry, which are the sources of discord and every kind of mishap, may be put aside; and that a true, just and genuine peace may shine again upon individuals, families, peoples and nations,” Fr. Zirilli said.

Let us remember to pray the Rosary, for it is highly effective.