family prayer | The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands
Today, October 18, is a special day for my family. Two and a half decades ago, my oldest son was born. He came into the world on a night when our city was engulfed in a historic flood, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for over 100 years, and that seemed to set the standard for how his life would roll. He arrived at a time of high drama and adventure, and he never looked back. He’s the reason I developed a devotion to the Rosary.
Trusting the Blessed Mother to Protect My Fearless Child
When he was four years old, we moved to an old farm out in the country that had a huge, dilapidated red barn on the property. That barn was like a magnet for my son. He would talk about climbing the “ladder to nowhere,” a rickety old ladder barely hanging onto the side of the barn that used to lead up to the second-story loft, long since rotted away. His goal was to jump from the ladder onto a fraying rope hanging from the rafters and swing out over “the bottomless pit” — a hole in the flooring below that opened over old farm equipment, unused since the 1960s. It was the perfect enticement for a fearless young boy, full of adventure ... and a disaster waiting to happen.
He knew the barn was off limits, so he would simply wait until I was distracted and then slip out the kitchen door. I remember suddenly realizing, on numerous occasions, that he had disappeared. Guessing where he had gone, I would run across the field between the house and the barn, my heart in my mouth, to catch him, sure enough, about to make the jump off the ladder.
I couldn’t keep up with him, so I started asking Mary to watch over him, praying for her protection and guidance. I needed her help to keep me calm and stop me from hovering over my son constantly. The Rosary was the best way to do both: to maintain a small sense of peace and beg God, through Mary, to watch my son when I couldn’t, in the midst of busy days with a long list of to-dos.
Turning to Someone Who Loved Both of Us
But mostly, I just didn’t feel so alone when I prayed the Rosary. As a young mother with small children out on a farm, I didn’t have a close community to lean on. Through praying the Rosary, I trusted that the best mother in the world was watching over my son and me, loving us both, so that I wasn’t doing everything by myself. I could turn to someone who loved us both and find help.
My son turns 26 today, and we’ve seen our share of broken bones and emergency room visits over the years. He’s still as adventurous as ever, so I still cling to my beads and ask Mary to go with him, confident in her continuing protection and unwavering mother’s love.
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.
