Friends of the Rosary,Today, Sunday’s message across the Bible's readings points to two intertwined truths: God’s mercy is wider than our boundaries; persistent faith can open the door to grace.Isaiah says that foreigners who love and serve the Lord will be brought to His holy mountain.Paul states that even to those who disobey, God’s mercy is shown.In the main reading (Matthew 15:21–28), the Canaanite woman keeps asking Jesus for help. Her faith is humble, bold, and persistent, and Jesus praises her: "O woman, great is your faith!. Let it be done for you as you wish.""And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour."Friends, we don’t give up praying when the answer feels delayed. We ask the Lord Jesus to give us the humble courage of the Canaanite woman.Today, August 16, is also the Optional Memorial of Saint Stephen of Hungary, though Sunday takes liturgical priority. His life reminds us that faith should shape leadership, family, and public life, not just private prayer.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 16, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today, August 15, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which honors the Christian belief that the Virgin Mary was taken body and soul into heavenly glory at the end of her earthly life.Assumed into heaven, Mary reveals our own destiny.Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “Precisely because Mary is with God and in God, she is very close to each one of us. While she lived on Earth, she could be close to only a few people. Being in God, who is actually within all of us, Mary shares in this closeness of God.”She “knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness. She always listens to us, and, being Mother of the Son, participates in the power of the Son and in his goodness. We can always entrust the whole of our lives to this Mother.” As Msgr. Ronald Knox said: “That transformation of our material bodies to which we look forward one day has been accomplished—we know it now for certain—in her.”On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII officially defined the dogma of the Assumption in his apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus:“For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 15, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, "a martyr of love," as St. Pope Paul VI described him, whooffered his life in exchange for the life of a husband and father of two sons, on August 14, at the German Nazi concentration and death camp of Auschwitz in Poland. The Polish 47-year-old Franciscan Conventual priest was killed by the Nazis with a lethal injection on August 14, 80 years ago.St. Kolbe, the founder of the worldwide evangelization movement, Militia Immaculatae, and a missionary in Japan in the 1930s, faithfully followed the path of Christ’s sacrifice and His words in John’s Gospel: “No one has a greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends” –that we read today.The priest was arrested in February 1941 on charges of aiding Jews and the Polish underground and was imprisoned in Warsaw. He was deported to the death camp of Auschwitz, Poland, where he was stripped of his Franciscan habit and assigned prisoner number 16670. He was forced to do the most humiliating jobs, such as carrying dead bodies to the crematorium. Nevertheless, he continued his charity and priestly ministry, for which he was subjected to violent beatings by the guards.At the end of July 1941, when a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz, in retaliation, the deputy camp commander picked up 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife! My children!", Kolbe volunteered to die in his place, arguing he was a Catholic priest and older than Gajowniczek, 41. The deputy commander accepted the offer.The Polish priest and others were thus locked up in the "starvation bunker" without food and water. There, Kolbe led the prisoners in prayer. Prison guards found him standing or kneeling in the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After they had been starved and deprived of water for two weeks, only Kolbe remained alive.The prison authorities administered him a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Kolbe is said to have raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection. Before dying, he pronounced the two words, “Ave Maria”, the final pledge of a life entrusted to the Immaculate Conception. His remains were cremated on 15 August, the feast of the Assumption of Mary.During his visit to Poland in 2016, Pope Francis visited the " starvation bunker " on July 29, where Kolbe breathed his last in Auschwitz. After a moment of silence and reflection, he left, signing the visitors' book with a brief prayer: “Lord, have mercy on your people, Lord, forgive us for so much cruelty”.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 14, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today in the Gospel of Matthew (18:21–19), Peter asks how often he must forgive:"Lord, if my brother sins against me,How often must I forgive him?As many as seven times?Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times."The Lord’s answer: Forgive with overflowing mercy.Our Heavenly Father forgives us first, but at the same time invites us to forgive our brothers and sisters from the heart.The same measure that we apply to others will be applied to us!Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 13, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,In the Gospel today (Matthew 18:15–20), Jesus teaches how to correct a brother with patience and charity. Correction is meant to restore communion. It's fraternal correction.Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, the saint of today, lived this deeply: after suffering widowhood and many family trials, she let grief become holiness. She founded the Visitation Order with Saint Francis de Sales.The Lord is always calling us to reconciliation, not resentment.Let's stay faithful and seek peace without pretending sin does not matter, separating the sin from the person. All of it by telling the truth, and always with the hope of winning the person back.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 12, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today, August 11, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi (1194-1253), a virgin and a most perfect follower of St. Francis of Assisi, who practiced a life of entire poverty.At the wish of St Francis, she established a community of nuns in the small convent of San Damiano — the Order of Poor Clares — and acted as their superior for forty-two years — her own life serving as a constant sermon for her sisters to emulate.Their Rule included austerities, walking barefoot, sleeping on the ground, keeping perpetual abstinence, and making poverty the basis of their lives. St. Clare died on August 11, 1253, and was canonized two years later.The Breviary says of her:"When the Saracens were besieging Assisi and were preparing to attack the convent, St. Clare asked to be assisted as far as the entrance, for she was ill. In her hand she carried a vessel containing the blessed Eucharist as she prayed: O Lord, do not deliver over to beasts the souls that praise You! (Ps. 73). Protect Your servants, for You have redeemed them by Your precious Blood. And in the midst of that prayer, a voice was heard, saying: Always will I protect you! The Saracens took to flight."Heroic in suffering (she was sick for twenty-seven years), she was canonized only two years after her death.In our twentieth century, there still remain large areas with millions suffering under extreme poverty. Poverty in itself is no virtue, but it should be made into a virtue. Christ was poor. His entrance into the world and His departure from it took place in circumstances of greatest need. He had no house wherein to be born, no crib; no house wherein to die, no deathbed. Poverty stood watch at birth and remained to see His death. "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matt. 3:20).At least, we can be moderate and frugal, and thereby find the way to the spirit of Christian poverty. St. Clare, help us, pray for us!Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• August 11, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,The Catholic Church celebrates today, August 10, the feast of Saint Lawrence (d. 258), a deacon of the Church in Rome, known for serving the poor and for giving his life as a heroic martyr.He was arrested under Emperor Valerian in 258, laid upon a gridiron, and slowly roasted to death. In the midst of excruciating pain, he prayed: "Lord Jesus Christ, God from God, have mercy on Your servant!"At a certain point, the soldier Romanus exclaimed: "I see before you an incomparably beautiful youth. Hasten and baptize me." He had observed how an angel dried the wounds of Lawrence with a linen cloth during his passion.Lawrence died praying for the conversion of the city of Rome, in the hope that from it the faith of Christ might spread throughout the world. From that time, idolatry began to decline in Rome.This young deacon and heroic martyr is counted among the saints most highly venerated by the ancient Roman Church. Next to the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, that of St. Lawrence ranked highest in the Roman sanctoral cycle.During the persecution of Emperor Valerian (253-260), Sixtus II and his four deacons were martyred.Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• August 10, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,In the Gospel today (Matthew 14:22-33), Peter walks on the water toward Jesus, doing what seems impossible, as he keeps his eyes on the Lord. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened;and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” We see in this passage how, when Peter noticed the wind, fear trapped him, and he began to sink.That is very human. We begin with faith, but then fear gets loud: problems, weakness, uncertainty, family worries, money, health, temptation, the future. Peter’s prayer is simple: “Lord, save me.” And Jesus reaches out immediately.When fear starts to pull us under, let's call on Jesus. Faith is not pretending the storm is not real.God often comes quietly, and faith means keeping our eyes on Jesus when fear rises.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 9, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today, August 8, is the feast of St. Dominic of Guzman, founder of the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans, in 1215. He received the Rosary from the Blessed Mother in the woods of Toulouse, in France.This 13th-century Spanish priest, born in Caleruega, Burgos, in 1170, emphasized scholarship and poverty. His mission was simple but demanding: preach the truth of the Catholic faith with clarity, holiness, poverty, and love for souls.He lived during a time when many people were confused by false teachings, especially in southern France. Dominic did not want preachers who loved winning debates more than saving souls. He wanted men formed by prayer, study, humility, and sacrifice.Dominic's instrument for saving souls and bringing people back to Christ through Mary was the Rosary—through meditation on the mysteries of salvation and preaching rooted in prayer.St. Dominic is a saint for times of confusion. He reminds us that when the world is noisy, the Church needs clear minds, clean hearts, disciplined prayer, and courageous love.He died on August 6, 1221, in Bologna, Italy.St. Dominic, preacher of truth, pray for us!Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• ⁠August 8, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Friends of the Rosary,Today, memorials of Saint Cajetan, Priest, and Saint Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr, and his Companion Martyrs, the Lord reveals to us powerful truths (Matthew 16:24-28):“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.What profit would there be for one to gain the whole worldand forfeit his life?Or what can one give in exchange for his life?For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,and then he will repay each according to his conduct.”In this passage, Jesus makes the lesson plain: following Him is not just admiring Him, believing correct things about Him, or enjoying moments of spiritual light. It means taking up the cross with Him.“Deny yourself” means dethroning the false self: pride, comfort, control, resentment, vanity, the need to win, the need to be seen.That line, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” contradicts the extended idea, even in Christianity, that life is not about preserving comfort at all costs. It is about giving yourself away in love, obedience, humility, and fidelity. The paradox is that this surrender does not destroy us. It restores us.Today, once again, we pray this Holy Rosary from Las Vegas, Nevada.Ave Maria!Come, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• August 8, 2026, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET