The Rosary, Ark of Salvation

"The Rosary, the Ark of Salvation" is one of the existing works on this particular theme of the Year of the Rosary 2002-2003, proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in order to entrust the Church and the world more to the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary.

With clarity, precision and relevance, Bernard Balayn explains throughout his book, with supporting ecclesial documents, the origin and formation of the Rosary, from the Salutation of the Archangel to the renewal of John Paul II; the meaning of this prayer, the manner of saying it, its purpose in a world filled with both anxiety and hope; its pastoral ministry in the service of the new evangelization desired by the Holy Father, bearing assuredly the same fruits as in the past, in the light of the great witnesses, not least the Pope.

At the end, some significant pontifical texts illustrate in depth this exceptional work, a true compendium of practical Marian doctrine, intended to facilitate the use of the Holy Rosary, to make it accessible to all and to show its capital role as a means of salvation.

Among these texts are those of John Paul II, from the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater and the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae to the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia.

This is why the cover photo shows us Mary, the first living Monstrance, showing the world the Face of her divine Son, a striking illustration of the Rosary that leads us to Him.

"Your work, dear Mr. Balayn, is magnificent; it is based on your faith and on very thorough documentation. I appreciate not only its doctrinal correctness, but also its parallel between the Rosary and the Eucharist (with John Paul II's last encyclical on this subject), as well as the pastoral significance of the powerful means of re-evangelization that is this prayer, an objective that is so dear to him.

Moreover, it is good to have situated the mystery of the Rosary in the history of salvation.

Your book will therefore help my priests, as it will help many others, as well as all Christians, to make the Rosary the absolute weapon of the spiritual conquests of the twenty-first century.

Thank you for your zeal, your fidelity to the Church, your total trust in her who is the Star we must look to, the Mother we must invoke in times of trouble, fear and storm."

(Mgr Maurice Gaidon, Bishop of Cahors)

Bernard Balayn, Le Rosaire, Arche du Salut, Editions du Parvis, Switzerland, 2004.

Bernard Balayn's name is now associated with his masterly biography of the Holy Father, crowned by the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of the Institut de France, entitled "John Paul II the Great, Prophet of the Third Millennium". This time he is dedicating a work to the Rosary, at the close of the Year of the Rosary desired by the Holy Father. With clarity and precision, Bernard Balayn explains, with supporting ecclesial documents, the origin and formation of the Rosary, from the Greeting of the Archangel to the "aggiornamento" desired by John Paul II; the meaning of this prayer, the manner of reciting it, its purpose in a world marked by both anxiety and hope; and its pastoral care in the service of the new evangelization desired by the Holy Father. At the end of the book, several significant pontifical texts illustrate in depth this reflection, which is also intended to be a practical manual to facilitate the use of the Holy Rosary, to make it accessible to all and to show its essential role as a means of salvation.

Source: L'osservatore Romano, number 16, 20 April 2004.