Growing up, I belonged to a popular pious society of young children known as the Bloc-Rosary Crusade. This is a movement that brings together children from our local villages and communities every evening after dinner to pray the Rosary, in line with the Fatima message. It was in this association that I learned all the traditional prayers of the Church, which I still know today.
Never Forgotten
As children, we learned and memorized how to pray the Rosary and other prayers, read the Bible and the catechism, and received moral instruction. We learned these prayers by heart, not knowing their full meaning, but we enjoyed learning and praying them. These prayers began to make sense later as I grew up and began to reflect on them. But one thing is certain, I have not forgotten any of these prayers.
On the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, we are called to reflect on this special gift we have received from God through Our Lady, in the form of the rosary, a chain of roses. It is a prayer that is unique in both content and methodology.
The prayer is formed with the words of the Scriptures, and the mysteries we ponder are a summary of the good news of our salvation. Hence, when we pray the Rosary, we pray to God using His own words. Like Mary, we say to God like humble handmaids: “let it be done to me according to Your words.”
Multi-Sensory Prayer
The method of praying the Rosary engages our senses so that we are fully involved and not distracted during prayer. We use our mouths to speak the words, we use our hearts to ponder the mysteries, and our hands to count the beads. This multi-sensory activity makes praying the Rosary a special exercise that promotes our discipline in prayer. Like the disciples in the Gospel, when we pray the rosary, we form a chain of roses with Mary in our constant requests for God’s favor.
