One of the proofs of a strong devotion to Mary is a love of the rosary; this the Chinese and their missionaries have surely shown. Father Henry Mulligan, an expelled priest, has written:
“The rosary is more than a chain of beads—it is a chain of hearts – an invisible and invincible chain linking the priest in prison with the Christians crying in the night—crying, pleading, praying that God flash His omnipotence before the mighty onslaughts of those who hate Him. Emaciated fingers of imprisoned priests touch the beads of the rosary (or the knots of cord where rosaries are forbidden and derive the same comfort from the accompanying prayer as is felt by the gnarled and weatherbeaten fingers of loyal Christians in the seclusion of their own homes, or their own cells, as they go from mystery to mystery, watching and praying for the end of their Gethsemane. Linking these persecuted priests with their flock—scattered and scared as they are, but with a faith that no red star can outshine, no sickle sever, no hammer destroy—is that invisible, intangible, mystical chain of love and mutual belief in God.
“Churches have been converted into granaries, altars demolished, crucifixes set up as targets for shooting practice. Christians have been hounded and persecuted and shocked by sacrilege. Crosses and holy articles have been concealed or confiscated. Little in the way of material representation of the God they adore is left to the Chinese Catholics of today…little save the tiny strands of twisted string woven into a rosary. Easily made, easily concealed, it is in many places the last visible relic of a religion that only a few years ago was free and flourishing. It is a relic that recalls the victory of Lepanto and signals the ultimate victory of Catholicism in China."
“In any battle between the beads and bullets, the Aves win.”
