A MESSAGE FROM OUR BISHOP
THE HOLY ROSARY: A Way to Foster the NEW EVANGELIZATION
On Pentecost Sunday of this year, I announced that we, as a diocese, were embarking on the mission of the New Evangelization. I provided to all, the diocesan prayer to launch this endeavor. Please continue to offer this prayer as we begin to better evangelize our families and parishes. Pray it daily as we turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance to be the evangelizers of our day and age.
Along with this prayer, as we approach the season of fall, this month of September is a perfect time to prepare for the Month of the Rosary- October. I ask all clergy, along with their faith formation teams, catechists, RCIA directors, youth/teen leaders, Confirmation coordinators and principals to stress the importance of praying the Rosary. Also to be included in this effort are those involved in ministry to hospitals, convalescent/homebound visits and detention ministry. All of us are encouraged to remind those we serve of the importance to pray the Rosary daily. We are to be reminded that this was a request that came directly from Heaven and delivered to us by our Blessed Mother. She asks that we pray the Rosary, faithfully, as the Church.
As we promote the New Evangelization by presenting opportunities for us to encounter Jesus in our lives, one excellent means of accomplishing this is the Rosary. It has the capacity to draw individuals into a relationship with Jesus by means of reflecting on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. As a person meditates on the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries, one is led to ponder the gospel scenes of the life of Jesus and the history of salvation. As we come to a greater knowledge of Christ, Our Lady will lead us into a more profound and personal relationship with her Son by means of these Mysteries. As we deepen our relationship with Jesus, we become more like him. As we take on “the mind of Christ,” it is then, that we are empowered to participate in the mission of the Church- evangelization!
This month is the opportune time for us to introduce, remind and stress the importance of the Rosary in the spiritual life of every Catholic. Prayed properly, it is a powerful prayer that can have a great impact on our lives and on our troubled world. Because the Rosary is gospel-based, it has the capacity to “evangelize” us and to bring us many grace filled opportunities for ongoing conversion.
In order to assist us in promoting the importance to be evangelized, I invite you to consider ordering the following pamphlets. They will assist in catechizing our children, youth, parents, families and all of us in regard to the power that the Rosary has to evangelize.
Here are the pamphlets that can assist in this endeavor:
“How to Pray the Rosary”
“Joining in the Mystery: The Rosary for Teens”
“The Rosary for Children”
To order:
Our Sunday Visitor
www.osv.com/pamphlets
(800)348-2440
Let us do our part in cooperating with Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Our Mother - the “Star of the New Evangelization.”
In the Peace of Christ,
Bishop Cotta