St. Louis de Montfort: God Punishes Those Who Oppose the Rosary

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God Punishes Those Who Oppose the Rosary
by St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, 9th and 10th Roses

It is very wicked indeed and unjust to hinder the praying of the Holy Rosary. God has severely punished many of those who have been so benighted as to scorn the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary [established during the time of Bl. Alan de la Roche) and have sought to destroy it.

The Rosary honors the life, death & glory of Christ & His Mother

Even though God has set his seal of approval on the Rosary by many miracles, and though it has been approved by the Church in many papal bulls, there are too many people who are against the Holy Rosary today. Such are free-thinkers and those who scorn religion, who either condemn the Rosary or try to turn others away from it.

It is easy to see that they have absorbed the poison of Hell and that they are inspired by the Devil. For no one can condemn devotion to the Holy Rosary without condemning all that is most holy in the Catholic Faith, such as the Lord's prayer, the Hail Mary and the mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother. ...

St. Bonaventure says in his Psalter that whoever neglects Our Lady will die in his sins. What, then, must be the punishment in store for those who turn people away from devotion to her?

The learned Franciscan Carthagena, as well as several other authors, says that an extraordinary event took place in 1482. The venerable Fr. James Sprenger and the religious of his Order were zealously working to re-establish devotion to the Rosary and its Confraternity in the city of Cologne.

Unfortunately, two priests who were famous for their preaching ability were jealous of the great influence they were exerting through preaching the Rosary. These two Fathers spoke against this devotion whenever they had a chance, and as they were very eloquent and had a great reputation, they persuaded many people not to join the Confraternity.

One of them, the better to achieve his wicked end, wrote a special sermon against the Rosary and planned to give it the following Sunday. But when the time came for the sermon he did not appear. After a certain time of waiting, someone went to fetch him. He was found to be dead, and he had evidently died without anyone to help him.

After persuading himself that this death was due to natural causes, the other priest decided to carry out his friend's plan and give a similar sermon on another day, hoping to put an end to the Confraternity of the Rosary.

However, when the day came for him to preach and it was time to give the sermon, God punished him by striking him down with paralysis which deprived him of the use of his limbs and of his power of speech.

At last he admitted his fault and that of his friend, and in his heart he silently besought Our Lady to help him. He promised that if only she would cure him, he would preach the Rosary with as much zeal as that with which he had formerly fought against it.

For this end he implored her to restore his health and his speech, which she did.

Finding himself instantaneously cured, he rose up like another Saul, a persecutor turned defender of the Holy Rosary. He publicly acknowledged his former error and ever afterwards preached the wonders of the Rosary with great zeal and eloquence.