family prayer | The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands
Not one of our five sons is a practicing Catholic. This is a source of great sorrow and a sense of failure for me. Where did we go wrong? If we’d continued praying the Rosary as a family, would they still love their faith? These questions haunted me.
Our parish published a bulletin announcement about Adoration that helped: “It doesn’t matter how much or how little one has been raised in the Faith. Throughout life, the soul given by God at birth is constantly striving to bring together the created and the Creator.”
It Has Been Challenging
I realized what I could do. About seven years ago, I consecrated myself to Our Mother and promised to pray the Rosary daily. It has been challenging to keep this promise, but it’s on my mind until it’s completed each day. It takes me about 45 minutes for the Rosary because I attach so many intentions to each Mystery and do the meditations along with the prayers. I could just say, “Please remember all my intentions,” but I like naming the individuals and situations.
Sometimes, there’s a block of time when I can pray the Rosary in its entirety without interruption, but often, I pray it in bits and pieces. I can say a Mystery while taking a shower or fixing my hair. I can say a Mystery on the drive to the grocery store and another on the way back. I’m sure Satan is hoping that I forget or get tired and discouraged, but he won’t win that bet. A promise is a promise.
The Hail Mary Was My Friend and Comforter
However, there are many young mothers with young children in this ministry, and this task can be daunting, if not impossible. When I was living in that wondrous time of my life, the Hail Mary was my friend and comforter.
Maybe dinner was bubbling over on the stove, a diaper needed changing, and two kids were squabbling; I would start to pray the Hail Mary to myself over and over. “Pray for us sinners NOW, and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Our Mother is right there when I pray those words, loving me and soothing me in my distress. She’s never failed me.
I’ll leave you with a story about my husband’s grandmother. She was a feisty little sprite from Poland and fiercely independent. We knew that she went to the mall across the street from her apartment every day. What we didn’t know is that she walked to and from — and didn’t leave the mall until after closing.
On one dark night, a man grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her neck. She started to pray out loud, “Hail Mary, full of grace …,” and the attacker dropped the knife and ran. Our Blessed Mother is there for us in every way possible. May we honor her and pray the Rosary whenever we can. It can heal the world.
Thank you, Mother Mary, for saving Grandma Sophie.
Venerable Patrick Peyton, known as "The Rosary Priest," devoted his priestly life to encouraging family prayer, especially the Rosary. This October, for the Month of the Holy Rosary, Family Rosary (an apostolate founded by Father Peyton) and Catholic Mom have teamed up for this daily series dedicated to the Rosary.
