The Month of October is devoted to the Holy Rosary, and we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. But why is it important to encourage the faithful to pray the rosary – even daily?
In her book Why the Rosary? Why Now? Gretchen R. Crowe wrote, “World events may change, but one thing never does: the great grace available to us when we reach for our rosary beads and give our hearts to our Blessed Mother in prayer. So, Why the Rosary? Why Now? Because the Rosary is a pathway that will lead us to the truth of Jesus Christ.”
When we pray the Rosary we meditate on the sweeping story of our salvation– from the Annunciation to Christ’s birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension. Mary is our guide throughout each decade of the Rosary, and as we ask her to “pray for us sinners,” we can be confident of her motherly intercession.
Here are four suggestions for supporting your parishioners in deepening their devotion to the Rosary this month.
Rosary Live
Set up a Zoom or Google Meet and invite parishioners to join in praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary on a Monday or Saturday in October. Use your communication tool to send invitations via SMS or email that includes the link for the session. Have Father or Deacon lead the rosary, and set the intentions beforehand. Record the session and push it out on your website or app to those who couldn’t join the live event.
Give a Rosary
Many Catholics with a devotion to the Rosary may have quite a collection of them. Do a “Rosary Drive” and ask Catholics to bring in gently used rosaries to donate. Offer them free for anyone visiting your soup kitchen or food pantry in the month of October (or any time!).
Rosary for Kids
Let your parish children have fun making their own rosaries! There are many rosary crafts online and on Pinterest that use inexpensive and readily available materials like pipe cleaners and pony beads. Older children could make a full rosary using cording and beads. When the kids all have their rosaries made, pray one decade together– perhaps the Mystery of Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple for the intention of all the children in the parish.
Living Rosary
This is a fun activity to do live with adults and children. Set aside a time and day, and a room in your church (or if it’s warm you can do it outside). Ask for 61 people to volunteer to be the “beads” of the rosary. Decades are formed by arranging 50 people in a circle. Then one person stands between each of the 5 decades. Have six additional people stand in a line in front of one of the “Our Father” people to form the tail of the rosary, with the furthest person out holding a crucifix (Illustrated here). Ideally, the person who represents the crucifix would be the priest or deacon, or another parishioner chosen who will start and end the prayer. Find more information and examples online. This activity really brings the Rosary to life!
Did you know?
- Church management software like MinistryPlatform and Realm make it simple to promote live or digital events, handle signups or RSVPs, schedule meeting spaces, coordinate volunteers, and communicate with individuals and groups.
During the Month of the Rosary, or for any other Church season (like Lent and Advent), special occasion (like First Holy Communion or Confirmation), or important moment in the life of your church (new facility, capital campaign), you can streamline your flow, so you spend less time worrying about logistics, and more time with your parish families focusing on what matters most: growing in our Faith.
Why October?
We devote the month of October to the Holy Rosary because we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. That is the day in 1571 that Christian forces won the Battle of Lepanto, and the victory was attributed to the faithful praying the rosary for that intention.
