There’s no doubt about it. The world is in an uproar and there’s no end in sight. Wearisome power struggles. Simmering hostilities. War. And that’s just in our homes! The good news is twofold. One, our time is not unique for its high level of conflict. Human life has always been in a state of unrest. (Well, ever since Adam and Eve got themselves cast out of the Garden of Eden, anyway.)

And two, mankind has long had at its disposal a proven pathway to peace. Over and over, our Blessed Mother has pointed us along the route to both interior and exterior tranquility.

Here’s a hint. The way begins at the cross and stops at five sets of scenic “speed bumps” en route to a spiritual summit, where we hail Mary as our holy queen and implore her to show us Jesus (as only she can).

What better time to gather the family to say a unified “Yes” to her invitation than October, the month of the Holy Rosary? Moms and dads can gather the kids to pray this most beloved and family-friendly of all Catholic devotions for harmony both within families and throughout the world.

The Blessed Mother couldn’t have drawn a clearer connection between the Rosary and world peace than she did at Fatima, Portugal, in the second decade of the 20th century. This Oct. 13 marks the 90th anniversary of her appearances there.

One of her first messages to the three shepherd children was this: “Pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war.” (At the time, the First World War — the “war to end all wars” — was raging.)

Several generations later, Pope John Paul II repeatedly reminded the Church about the benefits of praying the Rosary, both for those doing the praying and those being prayed for. In his 2002 Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (On the Most Holy Rosary), he explained that the Rosary is, by its nature, “a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is ‘our peace’ (Ephesians 2:14).”

“The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces,” he added. “How could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ, or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan?”

Victory in Our Hands

Michael and Julia Six of Bath, Pa., know exactly what the late Holy Father was talking about. For the past 15 years, they’ve prayed the Rosary with their nine children, ages 25 to 5, to fulfill Our Lady’s requests. The older children are aware of the war in Iraq, and one son is in training to be a Marine officer.

At the same time, Julia observes, “Sometimes it’s easy to pray for peace far away and then snap at your sibling and fight with your brother. Praying the Rosary calls down graces to promote peace in our own hearts and in the family.”

Father Andrew Apostoli of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal likewise bears firsthand witness to the power of the family Rosary. He recalls how, when he was growing up, his family would pray the beads after supper.

“When we finished praying the Rosary,” he says, “we often commented to one another that we experienced such a powerful and consoling sense of God’s peace in our hearts and in our home.” He says he has seen how this peace can expand beyond the walls of our homes and into our parishes, neighborhoods, workplaces and beyond.

Dominican Father Paul Duffner, retired director and founder of The Rosary Center in Portland, Ore., believes Mary urges a daily Rosary because of its unique ability to help us triumph over interior and exterior obstacles.

“History has proven, through Lepanto and other incidents, that heaven seems to bless that particular appeal,” he says.

At Lepanto, off western Greece, an outnumbered Christian fleet saved Europe from invading Turkish Moors in 1571. Oct. 7 was named the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary to commemorate the victory. The decisive “weapon,” many believe, was the Rosary.

St. Pius V called on every Catholic to pray the Rosary for victory. Before the attack, all 65,000 Christian sailors received Communion and prayed the Rosary together. The wind, which had been blowing against their boats, suddenly changed.

The Christian fleet’s commander attributed the victory to no less than the intercession of the Rosary Queen. The Venetian Senate officially wrote: “It was not generals nor battalions nor arms that brought us victory: But it was Our Lady of the Rosary.”

Banging Out the Beads

Fast forward to Fatima in 1917. “Our Lady’s message was designed to avoid a war so devastating that nations would be annihilated — a war that Our Lady predicted but didn’t say had to take place,” points out Michael La Corte, executive director of the World Apostolate of Fatima in Washington, N.J. “Her message is a message of hope. She taught us how to avoid war through prayer.”

Why is the family unit such a powerful place from which to unleash the sanctifying power of the Rosary in our hearts and on the world?

“In the Gospel, Our Lord tells us that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he will be there in the midst of them,” notes Father Apostoli. “Communal prayer adds a bond of charity among those who are present. Jesus’ presence gives us strength to do good and to resist evil.”

Many families struggle to keep the youngest members engaged while the Rosary is being recited. The Sixes say they keep attention high in a various ways, including “traveling Rosaries.”

“We do a different decade in each room of the house, or out in the yard if it’s a nice evening,” explains Julia. “One child gets to carry the candle and lead the procession. We start in the living room by a statue of Our Lady, then go to the dining room to the picture of the Sacred Heart, then to the bedrooms.”

They sometimes use Rosary tapes, including John Paul II’s Latin version. Since homeschooling mom Julia teaches the children Latin, all know the Our Father and Hail Mary in the language that is suddenly “hot,” thanks to Pope Benedict’s recent motu proprio relaxing restrictions on the mass of John XXIII.

Setting a routine establishes and perpetuates the practice. In San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Marc and Margarita Pecha’s children, ages 11 years old to 18 months, have known the family Rosary from the time they were born.

“There’s nothing unusual about it. We say it every evening in front of our shrine,” says Marc. “It’s part of our nighttime ritual with the kids.”

They always make sure to include “peace in the world” as a prayer intention. Our Lady of Fatima and John Paul II asked for that, the dad points out. The older children lead a decade and announce their intentions. “They’re usually the ones that say, as the No. 1 intention, peace in the world, peace in Iraq, peace in Afghanistan.”

“All our kids are active and faithful in the Church,” adds mom Margarita. “Our Lady takes care of us.”

Stated another way: Few prayers give the world more bang for its beads than the family Rosary.

 

Staff writer Joseph Pronechen

 

writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.