Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena Facts

NOVENA FOR THE CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA

Our Lady, July 13, 1917 said:

If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, (1) know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.

To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.

Today, we see disorder all around us, as Western Civilization (once known as Christendom) continues the process of decay.  Our Lady PROMISED to turn this situation around, and as we see in her message of 1917, she will do so when her requests are answered. Our Lady asks us to offer Communions of Reparation on the First Saturdays, and in all her appearances to the children of Fatima, to PRAY THE ROSARY.  To fulfill the requests of our dear Mother, we will be praying a 54-Day Novena for the Consecration of Russia by the Pope in union with the Bishops, beginning August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.

ORIGIN OF THE NOVENA AND PROMISES OF THE QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY

 The novena originated when Fortuna Agrelli, a girl of Naples, had suffered intense pain for 13 months. Fortuna was very sick with three distinct incurable diseases, and doctors told her family that her case was hopeless.  With great faith, on February 16, 1884, young Fortuna and her family began a novena of Rosaries for her recovery.

Upon the completion of the Novena, finding pleasure in the petition of Fortuna and her family, Our Lady appeared to her on a throne, holding the Infant Jesus, and holding a Rosary. Accompanying Our Lady and the Holy Child were Sts. Dominic and Catherine of Siena.

Fortuna pleaded with the Mother of God: "Queen of the Holy Rosary, be gracious to me, restore me to health." The Blessed Virgin replied, ". . . You have invoked me by various titles and have always obtained favors from me. Now, since you have called me by the title so pleasing to me, 'Queen of the Holy Rosary,' I can no longer refuse the favor that you petition; for this name is most precious and dear to me. Make three novenas, and you will obtain all." 

On March 3, 1884, after Fortuna was cured, Our Lady appeared again. This time she said, "Whosoever desires to obtain favors from me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition and three novenas in thanksgiving." Holy Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared to her once more and said: “Whoever desires to obtain favors from Me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition, and three more in thanksgiving.”

The miracle is said to have made a very deep impression on Pope Leo XIII, who urged all Christians to love the Rosary and say it fervently. 

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE 54-DAY NOVENA

[1] The Novena is actually a series of six novenas: three in petition, and three in thanksgiving. Thus, we make three nine-day novenas of petition, totally 27 days of petition, and three nine-day novenas of thanksgiving, also totally 27 days for a total of 54 days.

[2] The three novenas of thanksgiving are always prayed, whether or not one has received an answer to the petition. We can be assured that Our Lady has heard our prayer, and with confidence, we thank her.

[3] Our Lady gave the Novena to Fortuna Agreli in the following format: First day, recite the Joyful Mysteries, second day, the Sorrowful, and third day the Glorious Mysteries. This pattern is repeated throughout the 54-Day Novena;

[4] The Novena will be posted here according to the exact instructions of the Queen of the Holy Rosary. That is, the sequence of Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious will be followed. The Luminous Mysteries will not be included, as it is not part of the Novena as Our Lady gave it. Also, the sequence of the Mysteries prayed will be different from what is customary, simply because this is the way Our Lady gave it.

[5] In order to follow the Mysteries that correspond to the particular day of the Rosary Novena, you may consult the blog or the Facebook group.  Also, we provide this handy guide:

[6] To do the novena properly, one must pray the Rosary for 54 consecutive days, without missing a day, and must pray the particular Mystery indicated for that day following the correct sequence. 

[7]  HOWEVER, there are several different ways you may participate. If you include the intention of the Conversion of Russia in your daily Rosary, you may do it that way, for instance. AND if you miss a day, do not abandon the Novena. Any Rosaries you contribute to the cause of the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary said with devotion will hasten the day of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

[8] This Novena is for the Consecration of Russia, but you may add your own intentions. For those who have children and grandchildren who have fallen away from the Faith, the Miraculous 54-Day Novena for them is HIGHLY recommended. 

 [9] Perseverance in prayer makes our prayer more powerful. Do not miss a day if possible, but if you do, pick right back up the next day. Missing one day is the next best thing to the completion of the Novena.

[10] Some of us who habitually say the whole fifteen decades a day will say a Rosary daily dedicated to the cause of the Consecration of Russia. That is desirable, but certainly not necessary.

At Lepanto, the Christian Forces won a miraculous and decisive battle over the Muslim forces and saved Christian civilization. Our Lady told St. Dominic and reiterated the same promise to Sr. Lucia that "One day through the Rosary and the Scapular, I will save the World."  Let us pray the Rosary, THE weapon against the diabolical forces of our day.

Day 54, Feast of St. Charles Borromeo, November 4

We customarily begin and end our novenas on important feasts of Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother or an important saint. We call to Our Lord, Our Lady under their title honored in the feast, or take the Saint as our patron.  The novena that is ending today on the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, one of the great lights of the Counter-Reformation.  To demonstrate his relevance to our time, we include the following story that is taken from the Saint of the Day feature in the Tradition In Action website.  St. Charles Borromeo teaches something about true humility that is often lost in our present day.

A Cardinal, as you know, is supposed to dress with pomp, grandeur, and solemnity to glorify Our Lord Jesus Christ before men. In addition to being a Prince of the Church, St. Charles Borromeo was a temporal Lord in Milan, born into a great and noble Italian family. In his 20s, he was entrusted with the responsible post of Papal Secretary of State. Therefore, he used to dress and appear in great style.

Once his carriage was on its way to one of his appointments when a simple friar, who was walking on the road, approached it. St. Charles Borromeo ordered the driver to stop the vehicle. The friar greeted him and said:

“Your Eminence, how nice it must be to live the life of a Cardinal, to wear such splendid clothes and travel in a magnificent carriage! Surely it is much more agreeable than to be a simple friar like me, and walk by foot.”

Cardinal Borromeo kindly invited the friar to accompany him. The friar seated himself next to the Cardinal and the journey re-commenced. Shortly the friar began to cry out in pain, because the beautiful cushions of the benches were placed over a board of sharp iron nails of penance that the Cardinal normally used to mortify himself. The pain became more acute with every movement of the vehicle. The friar could not support such mortification, and begged that the carriage stop for him to get out. Relieved, he returned to his "walk by foot."

That is to say, the silks and crystals of the luxurious carriage were meant to be seen by the people to glorify God and the dignity of his post. Underneath the splendid appearance of a Cardinal, the Saint continued to practice penance for his sins and those of his flock.

We can ask St. Charles Borromeo to intercede with Our Lord and Our Lady for several things on his feast day:

for the reform of today’s Bishops who so often are very different from the model he represented,

for the restoration of the seminaries, so immersed in bad morals and false doctrine,

and finally, for the restoration of the entire Holy Catholic Church today as he helped to restore her in his times.

For ourselves personally, we might ask him to give us his vigilance against heresy and his heroic sense of sacrifice.

Day 51, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, November 1, Feast of All Saints

Empires break; industrial conditions change; the suburbs will not last for ever. What will remain? I will tell you. The Catholic Saint will remain." ~ GK Chesterton
from the Facebook page GK Chesterton

"WHO talked of such folly?" asked MacIan disdainfully. "Do you suppose that the Catholic Church ever held that Christians were the only good men? Why, the Catholics of the Catholic Middle Ages talked about the virtues of all the virtuous Pagans until humanity was sick of the subject. No, if you really want to know what we mean when we say that Christianity has a special power of virtue, I will tell you. The Church is the only thing on earth that can perpetuate a type of virtue and make it something more than a fashion. The thing is so plain and historical that I hardly think you will ever deny it. You cannot deny that it is perfectly possible that tomorrow morning, in Ireland or in Italy, there might appear a man not only as good but good in exactly the same way as St. Francis of Assisi. 

Very well, now take the other types of human virtue; many of them splendid. The English gentleman of Elizabeth was chivalrous and idealistic. But can you stand still here in this meadow and be an English gentleman of Elizabeth? The austere republican of the eighteenth century, with his stern patriotism and his simple life, was a fine fellow. But have you ever seen him? have you ever seen an austere republican? Only a hundred years have passed and that volcano of revolutionary truth and valour is as cold as the mountains of the moon. And so it is and so it will be with the ethics which are buzzing down Fleet Street at this instant as I speak. 

What phrase would inspire the London clerk or workman just now? Perhaps that he is a son of the British Empire on which the sun never sets; perhaps that he is a prop of his Trades Union, or a class-conscious proletarian something or other; perhaps merely that he is a gentleman when he obviously is not. Those names and notions are all honourable; but how long will they last? Empires break; industrial conditions change; the suburbs will not last for ever. What will remain? I will tell you. The Catholic Saint will remain."

~G.K. Chesterton: from "The Ball and the Cross," Chap. VIII.─An Interlude of Argument.

Artwork: St. Francis in Ecstasy, by Caravaggio. Oil on canvas, c. 1595; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford.

Day 50, SORROWFUL MYSTERIES, Saturday October 31

Over all was poured the soft light of the paschal moon, hanging low in the western heavens, as if it were the light escaped from Mary’s heart which was making all the scene so deeply sad, so sadly beautiful! Slowly they went, and in silence as soft as the foot of midnight itself. If they had sung psalms, the restless city might have heard. But in truth what psalms were there which they could sing? Not even the inspired harp of David could have shed sweet sounds fit for a dirge for such a funeral. No one spoke in all that company. What should they say? What words could have expressed their thoughts? “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” But there are times when the heart is over full, and then it cannot speak. So was it with that procession. A deeper shadow of sorrow had never fallen upon men, than the gloom which fell on those who now were wending from the top of Calvary to the garden tomb.

There was grief enough to have darkened a whole world in Mary’s singular heart. Human suffering is not infinite, but it is near upon it, and she had come now to its very uttermost extremity. There was only one sacrifice she could make now, and she was in the very act of making it. She was going to put away from herself and out of her own power, to hide in a rocky tomb and let Roman soldiers come and keep watch over it, that Body which though it was dead, was more than life to her. Then, indeed, she would stand upon the highest pinnacle of evangelical poverty, to which God had promised such mighty things. She would only keep for herself that which she could not part with, and would not have parted with if she could, a broken heart utterly submerged in such waters of bitterness as had never flowed round any living creature heretofore. There never would have been joy on this planet again, if her accumulated woe had been divided into little parcels, and distributed to each child of Adam as he comes into the world.

Faber, Fr. Frederick William (2015-02-14). The Foot of theCross with Mary: or The Sorrows of Mary (Kindle Locations 5494-5504). KIC.Kindle Edition.

Day 49, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Friday October 30

First Joyful Mystery, The Annunciation

Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word!

Let us follow the example of Our Lady who in this very act of submission to the holy will of God, united with the Redemptive act of Christ Our Lord, repaired the sin of Eve. 

Day 48, GLORIOUS MYSTERIES, 29 October 2015

First Glorious Mystery ~ The Resurrection

“In Thy resurrection, O Lord,” sings the Church, “the heavens and the earth rejoice.” Mary’s joy as she clasps Jesus again in her arms is the first-fruits of the universal rejoicing of all creation in the resurrection of God its Redeemer from the dead. “Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, saith the Lord, and the former things shall not be in remembrance” (Isa. lxv. 17).

The earth has been sprinkled with the blood of the Just One, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. And Mary rejoices to see in spirit the fulfilment of His promise, “If He shall lay down His life for sin, He shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in His hand” (Isa. liii. 10). In the glorified presence of her Divine Son, she has an earnest of the fulfilment of these words, “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I make to stand before Me,” saith the Lord, "so shall your seed stand before Me, and your name” (Isa. lxvi. 22).

Mary’s joy as she clasps Jesus in her arms is a joy that succeeds to an intensity of grief. A moment ago, and she was the Mother of Sorrows, now the first-fruits of the rejoicing of all creation at its restoration to justice are hers. Can she then fail to call to mind the words of consolation addressed in a figure to the holy Job, “Thou shalt forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away, and brightness like that of noonday shall arise to thee in the evening, and when thou shalt think thyself consumed, thou shalt rise as the daystar” (Job xl. 16).  “According to the multitude of the sorrows that were in my heart,” exclaims holy David in a figure of Mary, “Thy comforts have given joy to my soul” (Ps. xciii. 19). If only some such thoughts as these may have passed through the mind of Mary on the morning of the resurrection, can they fail to commend themselves to the heart of the pious Christian who shall stop to contemplate mystery of His Faith— the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the victory of creation over death!

“Death is swallowed up in victory,” each one who names the name of Christ may now say. And he who had the power of death, to whom all by reason of their fear of death were subject, that is the devil, is now overcome by One stronger than himself. Can any thought be more full of consolation for one who knows that it is appointed to him once to die? The devil, who before this held men subject to him by the fear of death, has, thanks be to God! had this power of the terror of death taken out of his hands. Jesus, by submitting Himself to death, and by rising from the dead, has shown us that death is no longer to be feared. “Glory be to God!” therefore is the Christian’s cry: “The net is broken, and we are delivered” (Ps. cxxiii. 7).

Formby, Rev. Henry (2015-10-16). The Book of the HolyRosary: A Preservative Against Unbelief (Kindle Locations 3031-3051). KIC.Kindle Edition.  Available at Amazon.com 

Day 46, JOYFUL MYSTERIES, Tuesday October 27

The beginning ✠ of the holy Gospel according to John.
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Joann. 1, 1-14. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made: in Him was life, and the life was the Light of men; and the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through Him. He was not the Light, but he was to testify concerning the Light.
That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him to them He gave power to become sons of God, to them that believe in His Name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Here all kneel. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.