In dialogue with Chiara Lubich
Rocca di Papa, Rome, 28 June 1978
Chiara Lubich to the youth of the Focolare Movement in answer to their question: “Can you tell us what the Rosary means for you?”
“In order to explain this answer, I would like to share with you something that once happened to me. I was in Assisi together with a group of Lutherans. In front of the Basilica, where St Francis is buried, there was a small niche with a rosary, so I showed it to my Lutheran friends, who asked me: ‘Chiara, what meaning does the Rosary hold for you? Why do you keep repeating ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you … Hail Mary, full of grace … Hail Mary, full of grace …”.
I answered: When you love someone, you want to continue saying: I love you, I love you, I love you. You have this desire to write it down for them, or to send a message with someone to tell them so. You might even say it through a gift, or through a kiss. Think of your mother – you want to keep saying to her: ‘I love you’.
So I said: we Catholics love Mary, Our Mother, very much, which is why we repeat: ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; Blessed are you among women; Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus,’. This is the prayer of the Rosary. We like to say it over and over again because we love Her. They replied: ‘Now we understand the Rosary.’ “
Source: Chiara Lubich Centre website
