Pope Benedict Says Rosary Is Not a Relic!!! (Full text with Pics)

The Pope last week went to Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome to pray the Rosary. He also gave a small talk on the Rosary. Thanks to the Ratzinger Forum for the translations as well as the pics!!!!

For those interested in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore go here as well as to the Vatican page on it here

Dear brothers and sisters,

At the end of this moment of Marian prayer, I wish to address my heartfelt greetings to all of you and thank you for your participation. In particular, I greet Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Arch-Priest of this stupendous Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In Rome, this is the Marian temple par excellence, in which the people of the city venerate with great affection the icon of Maria Salus Popoli Romani (Protector of the Roman people).

I gladly accepted the invitation to lead the Holy Rosary here on this first Saturday of May according to a beautiful tradition that I have experienced since I was a child. Indeed, in the experience of my generation, May evenings bring back sweet memories liked to those Vespertine appointments to pay homage to Our Lady. How could one forget praying the rosary together in parish churches or in the courtyards of our homes or in our villages?

Today, we confirm together that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice relegated to the past, nor a prayer from other times which we only think about with nostalgia. The Rosary is, in fact, undergoing a new spring almost.

This is undoubtedly one of the most eloquent signs of the love that the new generations feel for Jesus and for Mary his mother. In the present world that is so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ in the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated in her heart on all that was said about her Son, and on all that he said and did. In reciting the Rosary, one relives the important and significant moments in the story of salvation - we retrace the various stages of the mission of Christ.
With Mary, our hearts are oriented towards the mystery of Jesus, Christ is placed at the center of our lives, of our time, of our cities, through meditating on the holy mysteries of joy and light and sorrow and glory in his life. May Mary help us receive the grace that comes from these mysteries, so that through us, this grace may 'irrigate' society, starting with our daily relationships, and purify it of so many negative forces, opening it up to the news of God.

The Rosary, when it is prayed authentically, not mechanically or superficially, but profoundly, brings peace and reconciliation. It contains the healing power of the most holy name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of every Hail Mary.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank God who has conceded us this evening made beautiful by grace, and in the succeeding nights of this Marian month, even if we shall be apart, each in his own family and community, we will feel ourselves just as close together and united in prayer. Especially during these days which prepare us for the Solemnity of Pentecost, let us stay united with Mary, invoking for the Church a new effusion of the Holy Spirit.

As at the beginning, may the Most Holy Mary help each Christian community to form one heart and one soul. I entrust to you the most urgent intentions of my ministry, the needs of the Church, the great problems of mankind - peace in teh world, Christian unity, dialog among all cultures. Thinking of Rome and of Italy, I invite you to pray for the pastoral objectives of the Diocese, and for the fraternal development of this beloved nation. To the new Mayor of Rome, the Honorable Gianni Alemanno, whom I see here tonight, I express my best wishes for fruitful service towards the good of the entire city. To all of you who are gathered here, and to those who are joined with us through radio and television, particularly the sick and the infirm, I impart the Apostolic Blessing from my heart.