A Shower of Roses

A few years ago, I was attending Mass with my family. There was a retired visiting priest saying Mass that Sunday. It was an intensely sunny day. The sunlight was beaming into the window near the ceiling at the front of the church and shinning directly on the altar and the priest. It was so beautiful and peaceful. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I closed my eyes and was meditating on the prayers of the Consecration. Then I had a vision: There was a bright white light surrounding the altar. It was a color of white I have never seen before. It was pure. It had no earthly source. I believe it was the light of grace from our Lord, through Mary. Even though it was so intensely white, it was not blinding. I could look directly at it with no discomfort. As the priest lifted the host, as it became the Body of Christ, roses began to fall all around the altar. The roses were different colors: deep pink, white, and pale pastels of yellow and pink. The roses did not hit the ground with a thud, but they floated down like feathers and landed on the floor without a sound. I heard the words, "Gather the roses and make me a crown." I understood that the person speaking to me was the Blessed Mother. I tried to be patient, but asked her many times what this meant. I made her a physical crown of roses for the statue of Mary in our home, but I felt that she meant something more than making a physical crown. Many days later, Mary told me that, one day, I will know what this vision means.

Roses are symbolic for prayer and graces, in particular, for the Rosary. Here is a section taken from this website: http://www.theholyrosary.org/index#howtopray - Ever since Blessed Alan de la Roche re-established this devotion, the voice of the people, which is the voice of God, gave it the name of the Rosary, which means "crown of roses." That is to say that every time people say the Rosary devoutly they place on the heads of Jesus and Mary 153 white roses and sixteen red roses. Being heavenly flowers, these roses will never fade or lose their beauty. Our Lady has approved and confirmed this name of the Rosary; she has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose, and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. So the complete Rosary is a large crown of roses and each chaplet of five decades is a little wreath of flowers or a little crown of heavenly roses which we place on the heads of Jesus and Mary. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of devotions and the most important one

by Saint Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort

Here is a quote from another website, catholic365.com, about the symbolism of the rose: the rose and the chalice share the same symbolic meaning. In Latin, chalice means calyx or “cup,” and so is named the cup-like sepals of the flower. Both of these represent accepting Divine Grace as it is poured down from heaven.

Roses represent the Rosary, but the flowers in my vision did not contain any white or red roses. It couldn't have meant to begin praying the Rosary, because I was already doing that. It might have meant to join the Children's Rosary at our church, which I eventually did. I'm not satisfied that this is what the vision meant. The roses appeared at the time of consecration. So, it could be that the roses represented "accepting Divine Grace as it is poured down from heaven." What this vision means for me personally, I'm still waiting to know. Maybe this vision has meaning for some of you who read it.

Prayer brings graces. Our dear Lord is so ready to shower us with graces.

Besides formal prayers, pray always. Make everything a prayer. It really matters. Your prayer is effective even if you can't see the results. Our Lord wastes not a speck of what you do. He loves you immensely.