Our Lady’s Help Through the Rosary

By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

While travelling this summer, I spoke with a young lady in the airport during a long flight delay. Let’s call her ‘Rose’. She wanted to tell me about a special favor she received from Our Lady and Our Lord while deeply concerned about her recent marriage to a young man who said he had an annulment from a previous marriage but, in fact, revealed prior their Church wedding, that he did not have the annulment. They married civilly under the circumstances, but Rose confessed that it was torture for her to go to Mass as was her custom and not receive the Holy Eucharist!

A pious cousin who had been with Opus Dei made a pact with her to pray 50 rosaries, each asking our Lady of Guadalupe (to whom Rose had great devotion) to show Rose what she should do and to give her the courage to do what she was advised. So Rose prayed many rosaries a day for some time until she had completed the 50 and came to the conclusion that she should tell her new husband that they should live like brother and sister until he obtained his annulment and then be married in the Church. At first, the husband did not like the idea at all, but Rose was adamant and, with courage from Our Lady, insisted on it for their spiritual good.

Once this arrangement was in place, Rose went to Confession and, upon leaving the confessional, knelt before a crucifix in which Our Lord’s arms were stretched in a large “V”. Before the Lord, Rose started her prayer with a heartfelt “I’m sorry” to the Lord and instantly heard back from the Lord in front of her, “I’ve waited here with My arms outstretched to receive you!”. Astonished and moved to tears, Rose attended a Mass in the Church and at Communion time just as she arose to get in line, she felt Our Lady place her mantle on her shoulders and say very joyfully to her, “We did it!”.

Rose finished her wonderful story, saying that she and her cousin and her husband (who also had gone to Confession and is now living his Faith), discovered other friends whose marriages were somehow irregular and started a 50-rosary-intercession with and for each of them to help with their marriages. The group is growing in numbers and Rose and her companions have helped validate several marriages while praying many rosaries each day so that our Lady of Guadalupe may tell them too, “We did it!” 

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Pray for us!