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October is the month of the Holy Rosary. May is the month of Mary. I think that May and October were chosen as Mary’s months because they are considered the most beautiful months of the year. The best is reserved for Mary, our mother. May is the month of Spring flowers and October is marked by colorful Autumn foliage. Catholics are taught to love Mary who gave us Jesus and who was the most faithful disciple of the Lord.

When I ask Catholics who are trying to live their faith how they pray, they often tell me that they pray the rosary each day. Catholics in China who could not see a priest or attend Mass because of government oppression kept their faith alive by praying the rosary. We priests and consecrated religious have the Divine Office; lay Catholics have the rosary.

Of course plenty of lay people pray the Divine Office and we priests and religious are often devoted to the rosary. Jesus gives us an example of prayer and he tells us to pray. It doesn’t matter how we pray, but it matters a great deal whether we pray. The rosary is a beautiful way of fulfilling Christ’s mandate.

The rosary is a devotion to Mary. However, as we say the Hail Marys, we meditate on the life of Jesus and Mary, mostly the life of Jesus. At first, the rosary seems complicated; there is repetitive prayer and as we pray Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Bea, we mediate on the mysteries. How can we say words while we think about something else?

People often complain that they are distracted when they pray. In a way, the rosary is per se distracted prayer as two things are happening simultaneously. However, we should not worry about distraction. Pray the rosary, meditate as best you can, and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.

I often pray the rosary while I walk to and from Holy Redeemer. It helps for me to pray the rosary while I walk. Though my mind is on the story of Jesus, my lips are saying Hail Marys. I have come to think of the rosary as a prayer that I pray with Mary more than a prayer that I pray to Mary. When Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917, she told us to pray the rosary for peace, that the rosary was the antidote to the world’s hate.

Regardless of how you pray, as Christians we must pray. The rosary is one way, a good way with a long tradition. If you don’t pray the rosary or have stopped praying the rosary, consider starting again.
Pray it alone or with others, perhaps with your family. If you don’t know how to pray the rosary, there are plenty of online instructions.

There is a lot wrong with the world and we should all work to promote peace. But we humans are incapable of peace without God’s grace. Prayer is the entrustment of ourselves and our world to God’s mercy. Prayer is necessary. I urge you to pray, to attend daily Mass, to read the Bible, to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. An excellent form of prayer is the rosary.

Mission Sunday Second Collection

October 19 is Mission Sunday and every Catholic Church will take a collection to support Catholic missions throughout the world. Please be extra generous.

Red Mass

For many years, the Thomas More Society sponsored an annual Mass of the Holy Spirit at the Cathedral to pray for lawyers and judges each October at the beginning of the new judicial year. Like many good things, this Mass stopped during the Covid pandemic shut downs and did not resume. However, now the Mass will begin again at Saint John’s on Thursday October 30 at 5:15 PM. Please inform lawyers of the Red Mass renaissance. All are welcome and

Boot Up Philly

Saint John’s Hospice is asking for help this year to buy warm clothes and boots for our homeless neighbors as winter approaches. All money donated to the Saint John’s Church Poor Box during October and November will be given to Saint John’s Hospice. Saint John’s Hospice is a Catholic Charities agency, but it was founded from Saint John’s Church.

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