family prayer | The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands
Many years ago, when I began trying to pray the Rosary every day (I say trying because there are still days I miss), it began as a tedious chore that I would relegate fifteen of my final minutes of the day to accomplish. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even finish; I’d fall fast asleep first. I had to change my attitude towards the whole thing. It couldn’t be just something I did because a bunch of other Catholics did it and told me I should, too.
I decided to modify how and when I prayed the Rosary and started praying in my car on my way to work. It’s a 30-minute drive, and I would use a Rosary app to pray at first, but then I switched to praying aloud by memory. After doing it for a while, I noticed that my driving behavior had changed. I was kinder, more likely to let the guy with his blinker on into my lane, less likely to tailgate the guy who just cut me off. It was having unseen effects already! I started to realize that the Rosary is more than just a rote prayer but a tool to use daily!
Praying Through Our Adoption
My wife and I don’t often pray together; however, when we journeyed to China to adopt a 3-year-old little girl who is deaf, every single day of our trip, we prayed the Rosary together. If not for the support of that prayer and the support of each other, I think I would have let fear win out. Even when dealing with issues such as an incorrect passport for Faith (our daughter) or the stress from Faith initially rejecting my wife and only wanting to be with me, the Rosary was our tool to help us remain calm for the entire two-and-a-half weeks we were in China.
Protection From All Evil
The other time when praying the Rosary helped was when classes began for my journey toward the Permanent Diaconate. Our formators warned us that Satan would attack, and I knew that the Rosary was a powerful weapon against the lies and wiles of the devil. The attacks did come and came on strong, from my father’s passing away to near bankruptcy, among several other crises. The Rosary was indeed a weapon to guide me as I slogged through these trials, and thanks be to God, in 2019, I completed my studies and was ordained a Deacon of the Fall River Diocese. Oh, and my wife and I are working on being better about praying together as well!
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.
About the author:
Deacon Kevin Gingras was ordained in 2019 to the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Fall River. Deacon Kevin is an avid fisherman with a strong devotion to St. Joseph. He's been married to his wife, Allison, for 35 years and is a father of three.