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Arabic edition of St Josemaría’s Holy Rosary launched in Lebanon

November 5, 2007

Tags: books, Holy Rosary, Our Lady
St Josemaría Escrivá’s short book Holy Rosary, which takes the reader through each of the mysteries of the Rosary in a prayerful, contemplative dialogue, is now published in Arabic.

The Arabic edition of Holy Rosary, published by Le Laurier, was launched on October 20, 2007 in Byblos, Lebanon.

The Maronite Archbishop of Byblos, Msgr. Béchara Raïh, gave an address at the launch in which, after following St Josemaría’s detailed description of the Rosary mystery by mystery, he asked: “So why ‘Holy Rosary’?”

He explained that St Josemaría had focused the path to holiness – to God – on three things: prayer, penance and the Eucharist. And, he continued, using St Josemaría’s words, “At the summit of prayer, the Rosary (…) is a powerful weapon. Repentance, through Confession, is a way to bury all your neglect, offenses and sins so as to produce new fruitfulness, just like a farmer who buries the rotten fruit, dead leaves and dry twigs at the foot of the tree. Learn to gain new impetus from your falls, life from death. The Eucharist is bread and word, without which there is no life. When you approach the Tabernacle, think that the Lord has been waiting for you for two thousand years.”

Archbishop Béchara Raïh of Byblos at the launch of St Josemaría’s book "Holy Rosary" in Arabic. Sain
Archbishop Béchara Raïh of Byblos at the launch of St Josemaría’s book "Holy Rosary" in Arabic. Sain
After speaking about the meaning of the sanctification of work, Archbishop Raïh concluded “The recitation of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because of the strength and light it contains, can accompany each of us the world, whatever our situation, so that we can journey towards holiness and apostolate without leaving the world, but raise those temporal realities to the supernatural level. Because the realities of professional work, family, social and national responsibilities, are sanctifiable and sanctifying. That is how St Josemaría attained the summit of holiness. We beg for his intercession, to follow in his steps, so as to attain the goal of our existence: to sanctify ourselves and sanctify the world.”


Full text of the address in French: click here.