This special message through Ivan leads us to a deeper appreciation of contemplative prayer, expanding further the meaning of the Prayer of the Heart. In our Catholic tradition we are used to the idea of 'praying to Our Lady,' i.e. asking for her help and intercession. Our Blessed Mother, however, wants us to go a step further: praying with her as the Apostles prayed with her in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14), praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Also, she wants to share with us her sentiments and devotion as we contemplate the life of Jesus in the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, as "she treasured them and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19, 51).
Through the Holy Rosary we come to know Jesus and understand Him as Our Lady did. She invites us to experience with her what it means to live with Jesus, to live in constant awareness of the presence of Jesus in our life, "remembering the great deeds and wonders of the Lord" (Psalm 77:11-12). This way, the Holy Rosary becomes a most powerful weapon against Satan.
And to make our prayer even more effective, truly active, our Blessed Mother asks us to fast strictly twice a week, Wednesdays and Fridays, not to torture ourselves, but to involve our body, too, in prayer, so that our whole being becomes more receptive of God's grace, experiencing God's power through prayer and thus overcoming the power of Evil.