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Saturday, October 10, 2015

The Rosary: Remedy for the World

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Have you heard the slogan, “The family who prays together, stays together”? This maxim was made popular by the Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, who was also known as “the Rosary priest,” because he encouraged families to pray the Rosary. What Father Peyton advocated for the family and for world peace resonates with the theme of the current Synod on the Family: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.” 

Some of the media are doing their best to make the Synod on the Family seem full of controversy, separating out bishops and cardinals and labeling them as on opposite sides of various debates, and focusing just on points they see as controversial. But if one reads the full reports from the Synod (and I am reading only the English reports in full, with a limited scanning of Italian reports), the Synod is clearly covering the lights and shadows of family life today very broadly. I’ve been impressed by the many inspiring and honest insights on the beauty and gift that families are to society and to the Church.

Large international meetings have their disadvantages and no matter what methodology is chosen, it won’t be perfect. But, as in any international meeting with a large number of participants, the diversity and plurality of focus, opinions, cultures, and points of view offer the possibility of a very rich reflection that can really make a difference to the Church, society, and especially families today. The importance of a synod like this is to do just that—to provide the Pope with theological and pastoral reflection. It’s not a decision-making body but a consultative one, making recommendations to Pope Francis for various emphases and courses of action in renewing family life and providing greater pastoral care of the family. 

At the Prayer Vigil for the Synod last week, Pope Francis reminded us: 

To understand the family today, we too need to enter – like Charles de Foucauld – into the mystery of the family of Nazareth, into its quiet daily life, not unlike that of most families, with their problems and their simple joys, a life marked by serene patience amid adversity, respect for others, a humility which is freeing and which flowers in service, a life of fraternity rooted in the sense that we are all members of one body.

And in his Prayer for the Synod (provided as a special download for you below), Pope Francis reminds us that the Holy Family is our hope, our inspiration, and our help to growing in our family life. As Sr. Marianne Lorraine shares below, the Pope encourages us to pray the Rosary because it can be extraordinarily healing—for the world but also for our individual families. 

If your family is burdened or needs healing, the first recourse should be to pray to the Holy Family. For the intention of the Synod, and for healing of families throughout the world, we can pray the Rosary during this month, especially meditating how the Holy Family lived through the joys, crises, and tragedies of their family life.

May God bless you and your family,
Sr. Marie Paul Curley, FSP

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