In The Exorcist III, both the Fr. Karras and James Venamun [Gemini Killer] personalities state "I have dreams of a rose, and falling down a long flight of stairs". The meaning of this phrase is open to interpretation, though this page gives a very good idea of its true significance:

"I have dreams of a rose [symbol of Virgin Mary, womb + completion] and falling down a long flight of stairs [grave, as opposed to heaven-ascension]..."

UPDATE:

On December 8, 2007, William Peter Blatty e-mailed me with this to say regarding the rose:

"Honestly, I'm not absolutely certain this is it, but my best recollection is that it was a homage to Nic Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW in which every scene contained an object that was blood-red and portending the final appearance of the killer clad in a vivid red. As with Roeg's film, my roses always signified a death to come. At least that's how I recall it."

Listed below are all the frames in the film (in chronological order) where a rose can be seen:

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