Bartolo Longo

One

Bl. Bartolo Longo was born on Italy's Adriatic coast in 1841. At the age of ten, his mother died and Bartolo began to lose his way. During his time in Law School at the University of Naples, he completely gave up his faith. 

In his confusion and emptiness, without God to turn to, he began to visit some of Naples’ infamous mediums. That was his introduction to the occult. Soon, his thirst for the supernatural led him into outright Satanism, where after a period of intense study and rigorous fasting, he was consecrated a satanic priest and promised his soul to a demon. For the next year, he began to preside over satanic services and to preach more boldly against God and the Church, treating them as the real evils.

Under the demonic influence, both his physical and psychological health deteriorated rapidly. In his despair, he heard the voice of his deceased father urging him to "Return to God! Return to God!"

Two

Conversion

One of his professors, who happened to also be a faithful Catholic, Vincent Pepe, persuaded Bartolo to meet with a Dominican Priest who was consecrated to Mary and dedicated to the Rosary. 

Over time and patiently, this priest worked to develop a genuine friendship with Bartolo and then confronted him about his obvious declining mental and physical health, which they both knew, in this particular situation, resulted from the demonic possession. After weeks of lengthy conversations, on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bartolo went to Confession which drove the devil and demons out of His soul, flooding him once again with the life of the Most Holy Trinity.    

But, even though God had forgiven him, Bl. Bartolo could not forgive himself.  

One evening, as he walked near the broken-down Church at Pompeii, he had a profound mystical experience. He wrote, “As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my head of the voice of the Dominican Priest, repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!” Falling to my knees, I exclaimed: ‘If your words are true that he who propagates your Rosary will be saved, I shall reach salvation because I shall not leave this earth without spreading your Rosary.'”

Three

Blessed Bartolo Longo had the habit of meditating on the whole life of Jesus and all of His teachings that are found in the Catechism while praying the Rosary - not limiting his meditation to the 15 traditional mysteries…Hmm… sound familiar….It was this practice of Bl. Bartolo that inspired St. John Paul II to add the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary. 

In his letter on the Rosary the Pope said, “even with the addition of the luminous mysteries, the mysteries of the Rosary do no more than outline the fundamental elements of the life of Christ, they should easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection.” Rosarium 29

Bartolo Longo saw the daily Rosary as a spiritual journey with two friends, Jesus and Mary. As we spend time with them, day after day in the Rosary, we start to become like them, little by little. 

John Paul was captivated by the idea of the the Rosary as a spiritual journey with friends and so he wrote, “Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding conversation with Jesus and Mary, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, (that is, in friendship with them) we can become, to the extent of our openness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”. Rosarium 15

Four

For the remainder of his life, Bartolo and his wife Mariana spread the Rosary. And this is exactly what Our Lady is asking all of us to do: to spread the Rosary and to form Rosary groups.

How?

Tell Mary that you are willing to help her. Then ask her who she wants you to invite and pay attention. Then invite that small group of people to your home for a very simple time of friendship, to pray the Rosary and to have some good conversation. Then invite this small group of your family or friends to do this regularly – once a week or once a month, in person, over Zoom or whatever. Just like Pauline Jaricot did.

Then do what Jan Tyranowski did for 2-3 of the people in his Rosary group. Outside of that time he would get together with them for a coffee or a walk and he got to know them better. That was the key success – this one two combination of getting together regularly as a small group for friendship, good conversation and the Rosary, and then meeting outside of this periodically with one or two to deepen the relationship. 

Our Lady is seeking to mobilize the forces of change and she needs you. It’s time. 

Five

Overcoming Difficulties 

I realize this whole idea of starting a Rosary group can be overwhelming. It can be difficult because you probably don’t feel like you know enough or that you are good enough and we are afraid to invite people to something that sounds too “religious.” I get it.

So, instead invite them to something everyone wants. Everyone wants to be known, loved, and cared for. Everyone wants a nice meal, good conversation and friendship. Everyone wants to be delighted in. Do that for people.

Choose 1 to 10 people to invite. Pick some dates and then Invite by using a helpful tool like Doodle or Google Forms with Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook or Evite which allows people to select a date, rsvp, and receive a reminder. 

Decide on the hospitality – there are lots of options – make a meal, do take-out or delivery or a casserole or cold food or potluck. I love to cook in a sous vide because no matter what time the guest arrives and we eat, its ready. Or don’t do any food at all. People just want to be together. In a world of isolation and loneliness they just want friendship.

Remember to move around. Start in the kitchen around the island. Then move to the table for something to eat. Then move to the living or family room or deck or porch for the Rosary and good conversation. Play the Podcast or read the transcript and pray or just pray the Traditional Mysteries. It really doesn’t matter. But don’t pray and go. Pray and talk. It’s about friendship and friendship deepens by talking about important nonsuperficial things. Invite them to do this regularly. Make it a habit.

Bl. Bartolo was transformed from despair to hope by the words of Our Lady, "Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!” So don’t forget, you too can be an apostle of the Rosary.