St. Philip Commemorative Rosary

We hold the Crucifix while saying the first prayer of the Rosary, the Creed. 

The image chosen for our Rosary Crucifix is the custom sculpture being made for the sanctuary; it is unique to our parish, and will be the central image in our new church.  This Crucifix recalls some of the truths of our Faith which we recite in the Creed: the Trinity, the Sacrifice of Christ for our sakes, our share in the fruits of the Cross.  Click here to learn more about the new Crucifix in progress for the church.

Each "Our Father" medal on the Rosary represents a different Marian devotion, beginning with the Miraculous Medal, a medal which was made from a design received from Our Lady herself by St. Catherine Laboure.

The Miraculous Medal is also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Grace. Sister (later Saint) Catherine Laboure, a Daughter of Charity, was blessed with apparitions of Mary Immaculate in Paris, France, in 1830.  The medal was made according to Our Lady’s design.  On the front of the medal, Mary is standing on the globe, crushing the head of the serpent. The rays symbolize the great graces that Mary gives to those who wear the medal, pray to her, and ask for them. ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee” are the words in the oval frame.  On the reverse of the medal are twelve stars for the twelve apostles.  They surround a large M, from which a cross arises, indicating Mary’s presence at the foot of the Cross.  Below the M are two flaming hearts.  The left heart, circled with thorns, represents the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The right heart, pierced with a sword, represents the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  The medal is a testimony to faith and to the power of trusting prayer.  Learn more about the Miraculous Medal and its meaning at miraculousmedal.org

In 2020, the Miraculous Medal was handed out to St. Philip's parishioners, to encourage the practice of this devotion.  It symbolizes the protection offered by the Blessed Virgin Mary, supplements the faith of the bearer, and reminds the bearer of the power of God and the prayers of the Church on their behalf.

The second Our Father medal is the image of Our Lady of Fatima.

The devotion to Our Lady of Fatima at St. Philip's began in the first years of the parish; in the 1970s, parishioners welcomed a traveling statue into their homes, and a group began meeting to make rosaries.  This group, called the Our Lady of Fatima Rosary Makers, continues to this day, and has donated thousands of rosaries worldwide! 

The apparitions at Fatima in 1917 remain an important event for our time.   Our Lady appeared to three children in Portugal over a period of several months.  Along with many prophesies, Our Lady repeated requests for prayer, penance, and conversion.  In particular, she asked for the daily recitation of the Rosary.  May this Commemorative Rosary remind us of Our Lady's request!

Learn more about the apparitions at Fatima at ewtn.com/fatima

The third Our Father medal is the image of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Beginning February 11, 1858, a young French girl named Bernadette Soubirous encountered Our Blessed Mother near “the grotto” in Lourdes.  News of the apparition spread, and large crowds began to form.  Our Lady gave Bernadette a secret personal prayer never revealed, and had Bernadette dig a hole revealing a spring which she is told to drink and bathe her face in.  The spring became a source of healing, which is visited by crowds of pilgrims to this day.  Learn more about the story of Our Lady of Lourdes at catholicnewsagency.com

The intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes is especially sought by those needing healing.  Pope John Paul II instituted the World Day of the Sick to coincide with the celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11:

"On the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes, whose shrine at the foot of the Pyrenees has become a temple of human suffering, we approach — as she did on Calvary, where the cross of her Son rose up — the crosses of pain and solitude of so many brothers and sisters to bring them comfort, to share their suffering and present it to the Lord of life, in spiritual communion with the whole Church."

~Message of Pope John Paul II for the First World Day of the Sick

May Our Lady of Lourdes grant healing to each and every member of our parish of all maladies: mental, physical, and spiritual!

The fourth Our Father medal is the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which appeared on the tilma of St. Juan Diego.

Juan Diego was an Aztec peasant who converted to Christianity in 16th century Mexico.  In 1531, Our Lady appeared to him, speaking to him in his native language.  The local bishop did not initially believe Juan Diego's story, and asked for a sign.  In response, the Blessed Mother directed Juan Diego to a place where he found roses miraculously growing in December.  He gathered the flowers into his tilma, a kind of outer cloak, and went back to the bishop.  When Juan Diego opened his tilma, the image of Our Lady, attired as an Aztec noblewoman, had appeared on the cloth.  In the next several years, millions of the native people of Mexico converted to Christianity, and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe spread.  In 1945, Pope Pius XII named her the "Empress of the Americas" placing both continents under her protection.  She is also called the "Patroness of the Unborn," and so we turn to her especially in prayer for the protection of unborn children and the end of abortion.

The fifth Our Father medal is the image of Our Lady as the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the United States of America.

In 1846, the bishops of the infant United States decided to place our nation under the special protection of the "Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin."  The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was officially defined just a few years later by Pope Pius IX.  His words on that occasion are a beautiful testimony to the exceptional gift of our patroness, Mary Immaculate:

"It is the clear and unanimous opinion of the Fathers that the most glorious Virgin, for whom "he who is mighty has done great things," was resplendent with such an abundance of heavenly gifts, with such a fullness of grace and with such innocence, that she is an unspeakable miracle of God -- indeed, the crown of all miracles and truly the Mother of God; that she approaches as near to God himself as is possible for a created being; and that she is above all men and angels in glory."

Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus

At the center of the Rosary is the image of the facade of the new St. Philip's church, our parish home.

In 2019, as our parish sought approval from the Town of Flower Mound to begin work on our new church, parishioners prayed a novena of Rosaries for Our Lady's intercession.  On the last day of our novena, the Town approved our plans and, with joy and gratitude, we broke ground on the new St. Philip's.

The construction of our new church has taken place during extraordinary times and challenging circumstances, but prayer remains a constant support.  May the prayer of the Rosary surround our parish and its people, just as the beads of the Rosary surround the image of our new home. 

We hold the central medal while saying the final prayer of the Rosary, the Hail Holy Queen, and so one side of this medal bears the image of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Our parish was permitted to pick the name of the road on the southern boundary of our property, which is being built as our campus develops.  A road to a church should have an appropriate name, and what could be more appropriate than Our Lady, who is indeed the “road” leading to her Son?  Her “yes” to God permitted Christ to enter our world.

We chose the name “Walsingham Drive,” in honor of the great shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England, an ancient devotion which is experiencing a renewal in our day.

The shrine at Walsingham was founded in the 11th century after Our Lady appeared to a noblewoman named Richeldis, instructing her to build a replica of the Holy House of Nazareth.  Walsingham was a famous pilgrimage site until its destruction during the Protestant Reformation.  In the 1890s, parts of the site were restored and Walsingham again became a place of devotion to Our Lady.  Our Lady of Walsingham, lead us to your Son!