I recently had the privilege of visiting a woman who had just entered hospice care. She was surrounded by her adult children who were eager to share with me how much their Mom’s love meant to them for so many years. “She prayed her Rosary every day for us and her grandchildren,” one of the daughters told me. “Mom always said that love and the Rosary are what held us together as a family.”
For centuries, Catholics have often found solace and strength in turning to this special devotion as a means of lifting up hearts and intentions, calming fears, and asking heavenly intercession from the Mother of God. A friend of mine once told me: “I’ll be honest, I don’t always pray it, but I keep it with me in my pocket at all times. It reminds me that I am not alone on the journey.”
Throughout the month of October, and in a special way on Monday, October 7 (Our Lady of the Rosary), the Church reminds us of what a beautiful, Scripturally based prayer the Rosary is. Recent popes have also asked us to pray it for both healing and holiness in our Church and in the world. If it has been a while since you have prayed the Rosary, don’t be afraid to pick up the beads and offer some “Hail Mary’s” for your intentions, your family and our world. Pray when you are feeling overwhelmed and anxious. At the very least, keep a Rosary with you as a reminder that Our Blessed Mother’s love always leads you to her Son.
After all, as one wise woman taught me last week as she prepared to return to the Lord: love and the Rosary always holds us together as a family.