Did You Know?

Next to the Cross itself, the most widely known symbol of Catholic devotion is the Rosary, and the power of this particular prayer is well-attested to over the centuries. In his 2002 Apostolic Letter introducing the Year of the Rosary, Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “there is a need to implore from God the gift of peace. . .to rediscover the Rosary means to immerse oneself in contemplation of Christ Who ‘is our Peace’, since He made the two of us one, and broke down the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:14) Consequently one cannot recite the Rosary without feeling caught up in a clear commitment to advancing peace, especially in the land of JESUS, so sorely afflicted and so close to the heart of every Christian.” It is not difficult to recall the areas in our world, our countries and our communities — perhaps even our own homes and hearts — where we might beg for the gift of God’s peace. From political violence to ongoing wars, from religious persecution to the countless ways men, women and children are dehumanized in our culture, none of us are untouched by the conflicts of our badly broken world. What can we do in the face of such hope-shattering violence and hatred? How can we counter the culture of divisiveness and ‘hate language’? Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel, so that it shapes our lives.”

In the lifetime of many of us, the power of the Rosary was demonstrated in the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union, which was promised to the three children at Fatima in 1917, who were told to pray the Rosary for the conversion of Russia.

The power of prayer is undeniable: “where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in their midst.” Pope St. John Paul II again said: “With the Rosary, the Christian People sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty of the Face of Christ and to experience the depths of His peace.” Pope Francis said: “The Rosary is a school of Prayer. The Rosary is a school of Faith.”

There are many opportunities to pray the Rosary with others – check the bulletin! – and, of course, to pray the Rosary with your family! (Remember Fr. Peyton, “The Rosary Priest”: “The family that prays together, stays together!”)

And now Pope Leo, with his holy predecessors in Peter’s Chair, encourages us to pray the Rosary and to do something effective, something practical, for world peace and to curb the violence of language and actions: as an act of hope pray the Rosary every day for peace!