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    Happy Pentecost Week - Feliz Semana de Pentecostés

    Welcome to Holy Rosary Shrine - Bienvenidos al Santuario del Santo Rosario

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Come, Contemplate with Mary the Face of Christ

Holy Rosary Shrine is dedicated to fostering union with Jesus through Our Blessed Mother and her Holy Rosary. Central to our mission is beautiful and reverent worship, preaching His Word, devotional and evangelization events, and service to those in need. Staffed by the Franciscans of the Poor Christ, we offer extended hours for the Sacrament of Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, retreat days and Franciscan and Marian spiritual formation. The Shrine has a rich history of being home to many different ethnic groups in the "Immigrant City" of Lawrence, Massachusetts which continues to this day.

Confession Times

Confession Times

Information about confession times and days and how to make a good confession.

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How to Pray the Rosary

How to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary Center & Confraternity. Promoting devotion to the Rosary for more than 500 years.

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Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Letter from St. John Paul II about the importance of the Holy Rosary.

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From the Friars: The Coming Consecration

Last November the Bishops of the United States voted to consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This will be done on June 11th, the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, as part of the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence. We will join in the prayer of consecration here at Holy Rosary Shrine and in the prior novena.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord has a long rich history but is especially associated with the apparitions of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. It highlights how, in the Incarnation, God now loves us with a human heart and He longs for our response. In this Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, we should remember that on October 4th, 1686, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary with St. Francis at His side and told her, “this is the saint who most loves my Sacred Heart.” In 1224, prior to receiving the stigmata, St. Francis had prayed to share the pain that Jesus felt on the cross, and the love He had in His heart.

Stained glass with the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Wilfredor – Own work, CC0, Link

This consecration is not just a nice act of piety. It should have significant historical consequences. In 1689 St. Margaret Mary sent a message to King Louis XIV of France that Our Lord wanted him to consecrate the country to His Sacred Heart. He did not do it. Exactly one hundred years later, on June 17, 1789, the Third Estate proclaimed themselves the National Assembly in defiance of royal authority, and this was the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1792 King Louis XVI composed an act of consecration while in prison but it was too late and he was beheaded the following year.

This consecration will be a public proclamation that Jesus Christ is King and Lord of all. It is an act of reparation for the many offenses against His Sacred Heart throughout our history. Today abortion, human trafficking, greed, corruption, racism, pornography and countless sins against chastity continue. And the infinite Love that He has for us is met with indifference and even contempt.

May Our Blessed Mother help us to love her Son as she does, and to help others to discover this greatest of treasures.

Amen.
Fr. Peter