The following is taken from the 'The Universal Living Rosary Assoc. of St. Philomena', which is based in Texas, and promotes the Living Rosary, and this group has helped thousands by praying the Rosary. If you go to the site: , you can sign up to recite one decade of the rosary. They will give you which decade. By doing this, the entire Rosary is said numerous times during the day. I have stated in previous posts, that I personally don't think that it is the number of Rosaries that are being recited, but the number of people reciting them.
Anyway, in a mailing I received today, there is a Bishop in Nigeria who is standing up to the Boko Haram. (we need more like him) Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme, head of the Diocese of Maiduguri in Nigeria's Borno State, was in a chapel praying before the Blessed Sacrament last December when, he says, something extraordinary happened: Jesus Christ appeared holding a sword, which He offered to the prelate.
According to Bishop Dashe, the moment he took the sword from Jesus' hands, it transformed into Rosary beads. He then heard Christ repeat three times: "Boko Haram is gone."
The Bishop recalls, "I didn't need any prophet to give the explanation. It was clear that with the Rosary we would be able to expel Boko Haram."
Boko Haram is the Islamic group that's been massacring Christian civilians in Nigeria and beyond for several years. (This doesn't include all those who have been kidnapped, mutilated, and sold into slavery). It originally was tied to Al Quaeda, but now formally pledges allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Bishop Doeme says he's seen the size of his diocese cut in half since Boko Haram started ramping up its violent activity in 2009. Most fled for safer grounds.
"Despite all this," the Nigerian prelate says, "we do not give up or public witness to our Faith." He affirms, "I wear my episcopal robes publicly, because on the day I agreed to be Bishop I knew I was signing my death sentence."
Boko Haram has reportedly been used in the recent past as a bargaining tool by the United States. Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo, Nigeria, states, "The United States actually said it would help Nigeria with Boko Haram only if we will modify our laws concerning homosexuality, family planning and birth control."
Bishop Dashe also has problems with the West, which he notes isn't free of problems itself. "In Europe and America you have your own demons: abortion, homosexual pseudo-marriage and secularism."
The Bishop hesitated in the beginning to tell anyone about the apparition, but soon began getting strong urges from the Holy Spirit to share its message. So he started to tell priests in his diocese what happened. Eventually, he announced it at a Catholic event in Spain supporting Christian victims of Islamic violence.
He's since gone on a 'consolation tour' through diocesan communities, promoting prayer, forgiveness and persistent Faith. He believes Jesus wants him to advocate praying the Rosary in order to assist them in these efforts. "Our Faith is unwavering. Even when we suffer killings, Christians still go to Church, and Christian activities in ublic life continue. they can destroy our buildings and our lives, but they cannot destroy our Faith in Christ."
He continues: "Boko Haram is evil, demonic, and can only be removed through prayer."
Citing Jesus' words in the apparition, he insists that no matter how long it takes, with faith in the Most Holy Rosary, "Boko Haram is gone."
I'm going to end, since this is Saturday in honor of our Blessed Mother, with this quote from Father F.W. Faber, written on November 21, 1862.
"Devotion to Mary must be the prominent characteristic of our religion. Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all our wants and blights. It is at the root of our decline! If Mary were but known how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly we would and how much more we would be living images of Our Lord and Savior, her dearest and most Blessed Son!"
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