“I will tell you the story of how he received it, which is found in the
very well-known book De Dignitate Psalterii, by Blessed Alan de la
Roche. Saint Dominic, seeing that the gravity of people’s sins was
hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest
near Toulouse, where he prayed continuously for three days and
three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh
penances in order to appease the anger of God. He used his
discipline so much that his body was lacerated, and finally he fell
into a coma…
“At this point our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three
angels, and she said, ‘Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the
Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?’ ‘Oh, my Lady,’
answered Saint Dominic, ‘you know far better than I do, because
next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief
instrument of our salvation’…
“Then our Lady replied, ‘I want you to know that, in this kind of
warfare, the principal weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter,
which is the foundation-stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if
you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God,
preach my Psalter (Rosary)’.”
7
St. Dominic then proceeded to preach the Holy Rosary and its popularity
spread rapidly. However, due to the subsequent laxity of the people, it
slowly fell out of popular use. It was not until the fifteenth century after
Blessed Alan de la Roche received a heavenly vision, that the use of the
Holy Rosary was revived. In two separate revelations from Our Lord and
Our Lady, Blessed Alan was told of the great power that the Holy Rosary
possessed to convert people and cultivate virtue. Our Lord clearly teaches
that a tree is known by its fruit (St. Luke 6:44). Nobody can deny that the
greatest Catholic saints since then were those who faithfully recited the
Holy Rosary.
Sixth objection: “The Catholic Church admits that the Rosary was
invented by St. Dominic in the thirteenth century. However, how is
this consistent with the Church’s teaching that there cannot be any
new revelation after the death of the last Apostle?”
7
Ibid.
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