Our Spiritual Weapon: The Rosary

In the year of the COVID 19 Pandemic
Sunday, April 26, 2020

I have been praying about this topic for a few days now and I was doubting myself and my ability to encourage you to commit to this form of prayer every day. I put my trust in Jesus and will write about the Rosary and it's value as a powerful weapon against Satan.

So... this is the beginning of a forum post where the Rosary will be the focus and why praying the rosary is paramount in turning to Jesus through his Blessed Mother Mary. My posts will continue on the same subject noted in the post subject line. So for now what I write about will about are examples of the Rosary as a weapon. As I write I will credit the source of the material so that you the reader can authenticate what is written is fact and decide for yourself.

Before I begin to write about the first example there is a very basic question that needs to be establish the why.

Why?
Ephesians 6:12-13 "For our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, against the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. (12) Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, hold your ground. (13)
(New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). All passages quoted in this and following posts will use this reference.)

God's word defines our enemy as unseen evil spirits and describes our struggle with terms used for battle "armor", "resist" and "hold your ground". Our battle is against spiritual powers of evil. Because the battle is unconventional against an unseen enemy what are we to do? Pray.

Ephesians 6:18 " With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones."

If you are like me you do not use the word supplication in your everyday speech. I like this definition as described in vocabulary.com Dictionary: Think of supplication as a sort of prayer, a request to a deity. The word carries a sense of awe and adoration with it, suggesting something tentative, even servile, a respectful appeal to a higher power.

"Boko Haram is gone"
On April 21st 2015, Alan Holdren, wrote an article for the Catholic News Agency (CNA) website describing an incident that occurred to a Nigerian Bishop named Oliver Dashe Doeme while he was praying the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament in 2014. As told to CNA on April 18, 2015 that he was praying Jesus appeared to him and extended a sword toward him.

That is amazing! Jesus appears with a sword. A weapon of battle to fight an enemy. Who was this enemy? For the Diocese of Magiduguri located in northeastern Nigeria, which is led by Bishop Dashe, the enemy is Boko Haram. Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State, is responsible for 6,000 deaths since 2009. These two groups and others of their kind have twisted the faith of Islam and follow unseen evil.

Bishop Dashe reached out for the sword and immediately it turned into a Rosary. Then Jesus spoke these words: "Boko Haram is gone, Boko Haram is gone, Boko Haram is gone."

Bishop Dashe has told CNA that "prayer, particularly the prayer of the rosary, is (what) will deliver us from the claws of this demon of terrorism." But why would Jesus offer this weapon of the rosary? Bishop Dashe believes that Jesus was asking that the devotion to the rosary be spread.

So the Rosary is truly a weapon, our weapon against the unseen evil in the world that you and I do battle with every day. As Paul writes in Ephesians put on your armor, resist and hold your ground.