The Family Rosary

In 1953, the biggest religious gatherings in the Philippines were the Rosary Rallies with about a million in attendance each in Manila and in Cebu. Rev Fr Patrick Peyton, founder of the Family Rosary Crusade, came to the Philippines with the message of having every family make a habit of reciting the Rosary together. Fr Peyton whose parents were Irish farmers prayed the Rosary as a family. When he became a priest he discovered that he had incurable tuberculosis. He surrendered himself to the Blessed Mother. A few months later, doctors were baffled that he was completely cured. The miracle intensified Fr Peyton’s devotion to the Blessed Mother and he spent the rest of his life promoting the Family Rosary.

The rosary is the perfect prayer for it allows us to reflect on the awesome story of our salvation through the lives of Jesus Christ and the Holy Mother. In her message in Fatima, so important is the Rosary that Our Lady chose to identify herself as "The Lady of the Rosary." It is said that in each of the six apparitions she asked for the daily Rosary, and especially as an instrument of world peace. As she revealed in the third apparition: "You must recite the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for only she can obtain this." Pope Leo XIII also viewed the rosary as a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ.

The rosary is also an old family prayer. This specific family devotion has been supported by several popes. In his encyclical Ingruentium Malolrum, Pope Pius XII said: "The custom of the family praying of the Holy Rosary is a most efficacious means. What a sweet sight - most pleasing to God - when, at eventide, the Christian home resounds with the frequent repetition of praises in honor of the High Queen of Heaven! Then the Rosary, recited in the family, assembled before the image of the Virgin, in an admirable union of hearts, the parents and their children, who come back from their daily work. It unites them piously with those absent and those dead. It links all more tightly in a sweet bond of love, with the most Holy Virgin, who, like a loving mother, in the circle of her children, will be there bestowing upon them an abundance of the gifts of concord and family peace."

In today’s hyperactive, if not wired up, society, setting aside time for family and for prayer is becoming a burden, rather than being a priority. There seems to be so many other things to do; so many commitments to fulfil that family and prayer cannot simply fit into one’s diary. The most important, the most basic are often relegated to the last priority. The end result: unhappy marriages and broken families. The end result: disconcerted communities and a troubled world. Fr Peyton’s message remains relevant today as when he started his crusade. In 1987, Pope John Paul II said, "May the Rosary once more become the accustomed prayer of the Christian family." We can attain a little piece of heaven on earth beginning in the family by praying together the Rosary.

by Mel Libre