To inspire prayer and a sense of fellowship in prayer throughout May, we encouraged people to say part of the Holy Rosary on a particular day and so fill the entire month with thought and prayer based on the rosary. The word Rosary means “Crown of Roses” and tradition says that Our Lady has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses.
The Rosary is a simple prayer we can all say together with the Mother of God, and Father Chris prepared some guidance on how to say the Rosary for people who were new to it.
We’re delighted that over 30 people took part in praying the Rosary, including many of our congregation, the residents at Richmond Court, our Ladyewell pilgrims and other people inspired by and supportive of St Chrysostom’s.
During May, the Rosary was prayed in locations as exotic and unusual as beaches in Tanzania and Croatia, Orkney, Rocamadour in France, County Durham, the bluebell walks of Mirfield College of the Resurrection in West Yorkshire, and a service for the deaf in British Sign Language – and as commonplace as drizzly mornings in Longsight and a damp Manchester commuter’s bus journey to the train station.
Many people posted to our facebook group with photos and descriptions of their Rosary prayers. Fiona (our damp commuter) wrote:
“I prayed the decade on the first part of my commute, on the bus to the railway station. I used my fingers. It was quite quiet on the bus. Outside the weather was grey and damp. The bus smelled of hairspray, chewing gum, and traces of cigarette smoke. Praying the decade made me look for the luminosity during my day. Sometimes I managed it, sometimes I didn’t. On my journey home the world was transformed – blazing sunshine, dramatic clouds, and smiles on the travellers’ faces. I felt moved to pray the decade again on the way back, and thought about the people travelling with me while I did it.”
Thank you to Fiona and everyone who helped fill the month of May with prayer, and to Laura for filling our facebook group with such a beautiful variety of images to illustrate each of the prayerful mysteries of the Rosary.
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