The Virgin of Revelation told us the power of invoking her intercession by praying the Hail Mary saying,
“The Hail Marys that you say with faith and love are like golden arrows to the heart of Jesus.”
At Tre Fontane, as with the other Marian apparitions of the last century, Our Lady emphasised the importance of the Holy Rosary assuring us of her help through this wonderful prayer.
“Never stop saying the Holy Rosary I am always with you to help you”
Our Lady teaches us that a Rosary is like an array of golden arrows to the heart of Jesus – reciting the Holy Rosary is like sending 50 golden ‘prayer arrows’ to His Sacred Heart! The imagery is dramatic. When an archer takes aim he always aims for the centre of the target or the bull’s-eye. Arrows fly quickly directly to their target with no course of deviation. In a similar way, Our Lady directs our prayers directly to the ‘centre’ or loving heart of her Son, Jesus.
Who more than His mother can know the heart of a Son? Indeed, in the Litany of the Sacred Heart we invoke that Heart that is a “burning furnace of charity” for man that consumes itself with love for us and whose light illuminates the darkness of our lives to show us the path through our difficulties. Our Lady’s appeal to her Son at the Wedding Feast of Cana procured the Lord’s first miracle for the couple in need. Similarly, Our Lady’s intercession can guide our prayers and present them to the Heart of Jesus, formed in the sacred tabernacle of her womb, to obtain that what is best for us. Our Lady even reveals to us how to move the heart of the Lord: our prayer must be said with “faith and love”.
To say the Hail Mary with ‘faith and love’ is to turn our intentions over to Our Blessed Mother knowing that she will intercede for us and, like all good mothers, will obtain the best result for us. When we turn to Our Blessed Mother in this way, we also show Her our love and affection. Indeed, Our Lady also assures us that she is very close to us, especially when we pray the Rosary.
The Rosary is a prayer that is favoured by Our Blessed Mother because though this prayer we come closer to Jesus as we meditate on the mysteries of His life, growing in faith and love of Him. Everything Our Lady does brings us to her Son. St John Paul II reminds us that the great prayer of the Hail Mary ‘turns’ on Jesus whose name joins the greeting of the angel in the first part of the prayer with the intercession in the second part (cfr. RVM n33). He is the centre of gravity and this prayer, recommended by Our Lady, intrinsically directs us to Jesus. Therefore, it is not surprising that this prayer is powerful to move His heart towards our needs as it orientates us towards Him through His beloved Mother.
In this month, may we send many ‘golden arrows’ of prayer to the Heart of Jesus that also express our childlike faith and affection for Our Lady, Virgin of Revelation.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place all our trust in you.
Virgin of Revelation Pray for us.