There was once a man named Hermann, (now known as Blessed Hermann) who was very devoted to praying the Rosary. He said it very attentively and devoutly. In fact, he prayed so well, that as he meditated on the holy decades, God granted him the great privilege of seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary while he prayed. She was very pleased with him, because he spoke so sincerely to Her. Unlike many people, he actually thought about Her when he talked to Her, and paid attention to what he was saying. So, our loving Mother showed Herself to him, dazzling with breathtaking beauty and majesty. But just like all of us, Blessed Hermann needed Mary's help to pray well. Over time, however, because it seemed so easy, he forgot how much he needed Her - and how important it is to pray well.

So, in time, he fell to human weakness. Other things began to be more important to him than his Rosaries. He still would pray them, but it wasn't like before. Without even thinking, he began to say them quickly, almost to get them over with. He didn't try so hard to think about holy things while he prayed. Meditating on the mysteries was replaced by thinking about his day to day troubles. He spent his prayer time by trying to solve his problems by himself, instead of asking Mary for help.

One day, while he was poorly praying another Rosary, he was surprised to see Mary again. But it was not a pleasant surprise. She looked completely different from how She would appear before! There was a deep, sharp sadness in Her eyes. She looked like a woman who had been coldly rejected and abandoned by a man whom She loved with all Her Heart. Blessed Hermann had never seen such intense sorrow in all his life. But it was not just any woman who was sad - It was the Queen of Heaven and Earth Who was pained so much!

He was shocked beyond words. He didn't know what to think about such a change! How did it happen? Why was Our Lady not beautiful? Brokenhearted, Mary explained everything to Blessed Hermann: “This is how I look to you, Hermann, because in your soul this is how you are treating me; as a woman to be despised and of no importance. Why do you no longer greet me with respect and attention, meditating on my mysteries and praising my privileges?”

This experience made a deep impression on his soul. He saw now how much we give Mary by how we pray Her Rosary. He said it quickly, and without thinking very much about it. When the distractions came, he forgot to fight them, because he didn't remember that he was talking to Mary. So, She explained that he really was treating Her like someone that he didn't really want to talk to, because he didn't have the time - so he wanted to get the visit over with as quickly as possible and get back to his life. It was as though he was ignoring Her.

This overpowering lesson showed Blessed Herman how he had forgotten that Mary loved him so much more than he could imagine. She was what he needed so badly in order to solve his problems. He needed to think about Her and pray better so that he could give Her the love that She desires and deserves. So, from that day forward, Blessed Hermann prayed with much more fervor. And as we know, Mary rewarded him by helping him through this difficult life until the day he died. Now he is amoung the Blessed in Heaven, and lives happily forever with the same beautiful Queen that had appeared to him on earth.