st
among adversaries. And as the thorn, on the other hand, guards, so do
wicked surroundings protect the just against sin by demonstrating to
them the destructiveness of sin."

The life of Mary was interwoven with many sorrows and she is justly
called "a rose among thorns." St. Brigid says: "The Virgin may suitably
be called a blooming rose. Just as the gentle rose is placed among
thorns, so this gentle Virgin was surrounded by sorrow."

The rose obtains its life through the stem, to which it is closely
united. A rose broken from the stem will soon wither. So Mary received
all her graces from Jesus, with whom she was united through the
liveliest faith and ardent love.

Mary is in truth a spiritual, a mystic rose. The rose therefore is a
fitting symbol of the virtuous life of the mother of God. As mystical
rose she deserves our admiration and veneration, and she must be our
example and model in all Christian virtues, the model of a true
spiritual life.

The name rosary, therefore, is well suited to this devotion. For it is
a wreath of spiritual roses, as it were, which we place at the feet of
Mary, in order to show our love and veneration.

The rose has, moreover, been at all times regarded as a symbol of love.
It was already the custom of the early Christians to adorn on feast
days the pictures and statues of the saints with wreaths of roses,
especially on feast days of the Blessed Virgin.

St. Dominic, inspired and instructed by Mary, formed from the beautiful
and efficacious prayers, the Our Father and the Hail Mary, together
with the principal mysteries from the lives of Jesus and Mary, a
beautiful wreath, and called it the "Rosary."

The threefold mysteries represented in the devotion again give it a
resemblance to the rose. The green of the rose is the color of hope and
confidence. It is represented in the glorious rosary. The thorns are
represented in the sorrowful rosary. The beautiful red petals of the
rose, finally, are represented in the joyful rosary, in the glories of
Jesus and Mary.

Thus is shown therefore the deep and significant meaning of the name
rosary. And as the rosary reminds us of all the virtues, the spiritual
beauty and sublimity of Mary, and as it is a worthy manifestation of
our love and veneration for the mother of God it is meet that we hold
the rosary in high esteem. And Mary finds delight in this devotion, for
it reminds her of all the good God did for her, and for which all
nat