The Holy Rosary is an enormous source of grace and spiritual protection, and one of the most powerful sacramentals of the Catholic Church.
Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the children to whom Our Lady appeared at Fatima, once said:
“There is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”
In particular, Our Lady has made fifteen specific promises to those who faithfully pray the Rosary throughout their lives. We should yearn for these special graces—and you can read the exact promises below.
But more than that, we should first remember that the Rosary is a clear and easy path to sanctity.
The Rosary Helps Us Grow in Holiness
After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Rosary is the prayer most pleasing to Our Lady.
Why is it so pleasing to her? Because it brings us closer to Jesus.
That is the single most important reason we should pray the Holy Rosary: through it, we grow closer to Our Lord.
In fact, this spiritual growth is an “automatic” benefit of praying the Rosary: one cannot recite the Rosary without growing in holiness—at least in small ways. Over time, consistent recitation of the Rosary is a guaranteed way to become the saint God want you to be.
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. For even if you are now on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil…sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul. If—you say the Rosary devoutly every day of your life.
St. Louis de Montfort
If you strive to pray the Rosary daily and devoutly, one of two things will happen: either you will sin less and less, becoming more like Christ—or you will give up on the Rosary.
In this way, devotion to the Rosary is a direct battle between grace and sin within us. If we persevere in the Rosary, Mary will prevail.
The Fifteen Promises of the Rosary
Over the course of the Rosary’s history, Our Lady has appeared to saints and mystics to encourage devotion to her and her Son, especially through the Rosary. In addition sending us a torrent of grace through faithful recitation of the Rosary, Mary has also made fifteen particular promises to those who pray the Rosary.
We’d like to share those fifteen promises with you now.
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
[A signal grace may be a simple sign in daily life that answers a question made in prayer or points towards God’s will. For example, seeing a rose after finishing a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux could be considered a signal grace. Signal graces are often subtle or seemingly coincidental.]
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
3. The Rosary shall be a 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.
[In other words, anyone who faithfully prays the Rosary and asks for Mary’s intercession will not go to hell.]
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered and never overwhelmed by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life. [An unprovided death means dying while not in a state of grace (that is, in dying with unconfessed mortal sin in the soul). The Blessed Mother promises that anyone who regularly prays the Rosary, and earnestly tries to live according to God’s will, will be spiritually prepared when their time of death comes.]
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 plenitude 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 daughters, brothers and sisters of my only son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. [That is, devotion to the Rosary is a good indication that the devotee is on the path to Heaven.]
Start Praying. Don’t Miss Out!
It is amazing to realize how much grace and heavenly help we can receive by an act so simple as praying the Rosary regularly. And it only takes fifteen minutes to pray!
Set aside time alone, with your family, or with some friends and start reciting a daily Rosary. If you don’t think you have time, try praying on the way to work in the morning. You will surely notice the graces it brings into your life, just as Our Lady promised!
This post is adapted from the daily readings in our series Full of Grace. Sign up here to take this spiritual journey, and unlock the power of the Rosary in your life.
