(Sharing at the Novena to Our Mother
of Perpetual Help on 29 Oct 2011)
Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ,
On 2 February this
year, our parish’s 50th anniversary, we started weaving “A Crown of
Roses A Day”. It is our Golden Jubilee gift to Jesus and Mary; also a gift to
our poor brethren who received the rosaries we have made with our very own
hands. We have pledged to pray the Rosary to make at least a complete crown of
20 decades a day collectively, and ultimately, one little crown or 5 decades of
the Rosary for each person who received our rosaries. Our main objective,
besides soliciting prayers for the poor beneficiaries, our parish and priests,
our nation, the Church and the world, is to encourage daily praying of the
Rosary. Why so? Because it has been known to be the surest way to holiness. It
fits into our Parish Priest’s call to renewal of holiness in this Jubilee Year
of grace for our parish. Coming to nine months now, it is high time for some updates on our prayer effort, and to answer questions asked.
When we
started, we were still counting the number of rosaries to be given away. Now,
we know that we have given away 3015 hand-made rosaries, to the genuinely poor,
who certainly deserve our prayers. So too the makers and contributors, whose faith,
perseverance and hard work, with God’s grace and help, saw the project through.
More information on the project will be made available later.
So we are to
weave 3015 little crowns of roses. We will pray for the special intentions
until we have fulfilled our pledge but our intentions are not limited. We are
free to pray for other intentions, especially for the Pope and his intentions,
alongside the special intentions. This prayer effort will extend well beyond
our Jubilee Year, but it does not matter. Why? Because our main aim is to pray
the Rosary daily. This habit is not to end with the closing of our Jubilee Year,
for holiness is our life-long call as Christians. Thus, praying the Rosary
daily would be a life-long endeavour. This so-called project is only to provide
a platform as a stepping stone for more people to start praying the Rosary
daily, even if only to be part of our Golden Jubilee celebration. Hopefully,
the habit will stick on. Hence, extending this endeavour beyond our Jubilee
Year reflects our desire to continue striving for holiness by praying the
Rosary daily.
As of
yesterday, 28 Oct, we have weaved 1729 little crowns of roses. We want not only
to fulfil our pledge, but also more parishioners to participate. So far, our prayer
warriors have been faithful chapel-goers who have been valiantly helping us
keep our pledge by completing a crown a day. Surely our parish is much larger
than that. Therefore, brothers and sisters, do encourage your dear ones,
especially those who have not done so, to pledge and pray for the special
intentions of “A Crown of Roses A Day”. If you’re Internet-savvy, do help those
who are not to register their pledges online.
No time for
the Rosary? St. Louis De Montfort wrote that it is alright to pray while doing
work that permits vocal prayer. (De Montfort, 1954, p. 111) Fathers Faroni and
Crisostomo pointed out that even if we go to Mass everyday, praying the Rosary
daily is still required, as it is the medicine advocated by our Mother to keep
our faith strong and healthy (Faroni & Crisostomo, 2006, p. 22).
We also
encourage group prayers, for where two or more are gathered in the Lord’s name,
He will be there amongst them (cf. Matthew 18:20). Moreover, as St. Louis de
Montfort wrote in The Secret of the Rosary (De Montfort, 1954, p.112), we give
Almighty God the greatest glory, do the most for our souls and scare the devil
the most when we say or chant the Rosary publicly in two groups or choirs.
Although the Month of the Rosary is drawing to an end, you can still join our Rosary
prayer in the church at 5.20 p.m. every Saturday, before the Novena. There are
numerous Rosary prayer groups in our BECs, cell groups and amongst parishioners
which you can also join.
Last but not
least, this prayer effort comes from a firm believe in what the Rosary can
do to and for those who pray it faithfully. Let us not waste time to start
on or to firm up our steps on this sure path to holiness, especially in our
Jubilee Year of grace.
References:
De Montfort. (1954).
Forty-Fifth Rose in The Secret of
the Rosary
Faroni & Crisostomo.
(2006). The Five Warnings
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