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(LifeSiteNews) — September is the month dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, and while people may know about the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, not many may know about the Seven Sorrows Rosary that Our Lady asked to be prayed during the apparitions at Kibeho.

Immaculée Ilibagiza, author of the new book A Blessing in Disguise: Miracles of the Seven Sorrows Rosary, once again joins me on today’s episode of The John-Henry Westen Show to discuss the Seven Sorrows Rosary.

Ilibagiza met one of the visionaries of Kibeho, Marie-Claire Mukangango, who was asked by Our Lady to spread the Seven Sorrows Rosary, as it had become a “forgotten” devotion. Describing the Rosary itself, Ilibagiza explains that it doesn’t replace the daily Rosary as given to St. Dominic, but that it is “a new gift she’s giving us for new blessings.”

Explaining how to pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary, Ilibagiza goes through the prayers it consists of, namely seven Hail Marys per decade and seven total decades, one for each sorrow. She also offers meditations for some of the Sorrows.

“[Our Lady] said, ‘Don’t rush through these Sorrows.’” Ilibagiza stresses. “When you pray through the Seven Sorrows, always put yourself in her shoes, so then you are able to feel [what she felt]… The genius about this Rosary in so many ways… is that you open your heart. You think about her, what she felt. And then you start to think about what is going on in the world,” she continues.

She also tells me that praying the Seven Sorrows Rosary has helped her to forgive, since it entails meditating on the Passion of Our Lord, seeing what He and Our Lady went through for the salvation of the world. “Many people suffer because they don’t know how much they are loved,” she explains. “But it is through those Sorrows that you realize, ‘Wow, somebody loves me to death.’”

Ilibagiza explains that she has seen many miracles linked to the Seven Sorrows Rosary, from the healing from addiction to the miraculous conception of a child. Discussing the many promises of the Seven Sorrows Rosary, she says “one that comes to mind is that… [Our Lady] would hear our prayers more than ever,” that “we will be able to defeat the infernal enemy, the devil,” that we can obtain all that we wish, provided it does not contradict God’s will, and that Our Lady will take those who propagate this devotion to heaven.

Later in the episode, we discuss suffering itself, and how one can find joy in suffering, especially in light of potential persecution. Noting that suffering is unavoidable in this vale of tears, Ilibagiza says that people should not be worried about dying, and that they should unite their sufferings to Jesus and Mary and suffer well.

“Dying is not the worst thing, not even suffering,” Ilibagiza declares. “The worst thing is to die without a God, to live without a God… Hold on to Our Lady, whatever [comes], as long as we… hold onto God, we’ll be fine, even if it is in death, then we’ll be able to face it, like the saints have done it.”

For more from Immaculée Ilibagiza on the Seven Sorrows Rosary, tune in to this episode of The John-Henry Westen Show.

The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.

You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].

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John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.

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