Last week, I wrote that my personal journey with the Blessed Mother and the Rosary has been the proverbial long and winding road, full of bumps and ruts, full of fits and starts. These days, however, I turn to the Rosary more and more often. First, I began turning to the Rosary during long drives back and forth to Cambridge and to Maine. This is a practice that I am convinced has saved many lives on Route 128! Second, the work here is diffi- cult. And it’s not just the hard work of helping to bring two parishes closer together. It’s about need: the sometimes desperate and heartbreaking needs of the good people who ask for help — including spiritual help.

At least four times each weekend, I am privileged to welcome people to Mass at the doors of our churches. And at least as many times each weekend, one of our fellow parishioners asks me to pray for a particular intention: an ailing spouse, an autistic child, an addicted grandchild, a faltering marriage, or a lost job. Each week, the list of prayer requests grows longer. In the beginning, some of these requests were lost in the shuffle of a busy week. But over time, I realized that an important part of my ministry is to pray for the people that I am called to serve. I began to take very seriously that part of my vocation that calls me to pray for people in need. This led me to the Rosary; and in my mind, at least, to a series of small miracles. More and more, I am convinced that miracles happen when we ask the Lord to make them happen. And more and more, I am convinced that miracles happen more often when we ask the Blessed Mother to ask the Lord to make them happen!

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death!” Each time we pray for Our Lady’s intercession during the Rosary, we pray for miracles. We pray that she will pray for us: you and me, no matter who we are, no matter where we are, no matter what we have done, no matter what we might do, now and forever. Each time we pray for Our Lady’s intercession, we pray for miracles: for the audacity to hope, for the courage to change, for the strength to carry on in the face of addiction, divorce, illness, infidelity, or unemployment; for the strength to persevere in our family situations, our jobs, and our vocations; for the grace to love our neighbor even when we don’t like our neighbor and even when they don’t like us; for the grit to face every challenge head-on (with love) in our homes, parishes, and workplaces.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death!” Each time we pray for Our Lady’s intercession, we pray for miracles. We pray for the joy of knowing that we are not alone, that we are never alone, that our Blessed Mother is as near as the rosary we keep in our pocket or purse; for the joy of knowing that we are loved beyond measure; for the joy of knowing that prayer can change a life; for the joy of knowing that prayer can change many lives; for the joy of knowing that prayer (especially Mary’s prayers) can change the world!

Miracles happen every day. On the internet (while not always a reliable source for news and information), there are blogs and websites that offer space for people to share their experiences with the joy and power of the rosary. I recently read a series of blog posts with titles like these: Car accident survived! Better grades! Husband’s con- version! Mother’s recovery! Delivered from temptation! Healed from an eating disorder! Saved from migraine headaches! Engaged to the love of my life! Going back to church after years away! And here’s my favorite: Prayers answered! School canceled today! Each of these bloggers credits their personal miracle, however small or out- landish, to the Rosary. Why do we believe in the power of the Rosary? We believe because of testimonies like these. We believe because of our own experiences as believers and disciples. We believe because the power of the Rosary has been proven over long years. We believe because it works! But how?

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote: “The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the high education of others; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close up- on the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next.” And then Archbishop Sheen says what we know to be truest of all: “The power of the Rosary is beyond description.” True enough.

But again, how does it work? Pope Francis suggests an answer to this difficult question. He said recently: “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That is how prayer works.” Therefore, when we pray for the Blessed Mother’s intercession, we are hungry, she prays for us, and we are fed. We are thirsty, she prays for us, and our thirst is quenched. We are sick, she prays for us, and we are comforted. We are sinful, she prays for us, and we are led to penance and reconciliation. We are divided, she prays for us, and we are then united in prayer, fellowship, and service. This is how prayer works! This is the joy and power of the Rosary! Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

Cliff Garvey
Associate Minister
Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport
Contact: cgarvey@ccgronline.com

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (5-21-17)
Bringing Home the Word (5-21-17)

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