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Saint Paul
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The rosary a reminder to ‘do whatever he tells you’

Kate Soucheray

Rosary

I love the rosary. I have slept with one under my pillow for several decades, and as I say it, I often fall asleep. My mother told us when we were young that if we didn’t finish saying an entire rosary, the angels would finish it for us.

My mother-in-law also loved the rosary. If we called during the rosary hour on EWTN, she would answer the phone quickly and say, “Have to call you back.” And we knew. We had caught her in the middle of her favorite hour of the day and she couldn’t talk.

This prayer has been designated throughout history as a powerful tool for warriors when they entered a battle. The most significant confrontation attributed to Mary as “Our Lady of the Rosary” was in October 1571 during the Battle of Lepanto, in which Christians defeated the Ottoman Turks in a sea battle off the coast of Greece. Scholars contend this decisive battle determined the direction our world would take, even to this day. Because of this battle, October became known as the month of the rosary. While we often think of May as the month of Mary, October attests to Mary’s powerful influence and explains why she is held in such high esteem in our faith. It is throughout this month that we remember the importance and power of this compelling prayer.

When I was 7, I received a rosary for my first holy Communion. It had glow-in-the-dark, light green beads and was nearly as long as I was tall. My Irish-twin brother and I would kneel beside our parents’ bed in the evening and say the rosary together. He used his black rosary, which he had received the year before for his first holy Communion.

For Catholic families, the rosary was not simply a memorized prayer we would recite together on a daily or weekly basis, it was a unifying symbol of what it was to be a Catholic. Taking time to speak lovingly and trustingly to our Mother Mary, invoking her intercession in good times as well as difficult times, meant we believed in her power to intervene for us with her son, Jesus, helping us attain our desired requests.

ACTION CHALLENGETake time this month to say the rosary as a family. Say it slowly and prayerfully, and listen to each prayer as you say it.

John’s Gospel recounts the story of the wedding at Cana. When Mary realized the wine had run out, she went to Jesus to explain this calamity. He simply responded, “My time has not yet come.” That didn’t stop Mary. She went to the steward. We can imagine her as a diminutive, Jewish woman, putting her hand on his forearm, looking up at him tenderly and simply saying, “.”

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She knew. She had asked her son for help and she knew he would respond favorably to her.

When we say the rosary, we can be assured of the same response. When we find ourselves unsure of what to do in a certain situation, we can ask her for wisdom and help, and she will simply put it in our head and on our heart, “Just do whatever he tells you.” She will always direct us back to Jesus because she has already reached out to him on our behalf.

If you find yourself in a difficult moment of your life, turn to her in the rosary. Say it slowly and intentionally. Listen to the words of the prayers and speak them with reverence and respect. See this blessed prayer for the power it brings into our lives when we take the time to speak the words with care and intention. It has been known for its sacredness throughout history, and it will certainly continue to galvanize the faithful to reach out to Mary in confidence and trust, believing she will intercede on our behalf, helping us attain greater holiness in our lives.

Soucheray is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a member of Guardian Angels in Oakdale. She holds a master’s degree in theology from the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul.

 


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