Powerful week of perpetual prayer coming this week
Catholics will come together to pray the rosary at 14 churches throughout the Archdiocese of Newark from Thursday, Oct. 6, through Thursday, Oct. 13, as part of the 2022 Rosary Congress, a worldwide initiative that encourages people to fulfill Mary’s request to pray the rosary daily. Along with the perpetual eucharistic adoration and hourly recitation of the rosary, the Archdiocese’s participation in the Rosary Congress will include Masses, processions, and opportunities for confession throughout the week.
The week of prayer will begin at St. Rose of Lima in Newark and St. Peter Church in Belleville with 24-hour rosary recitation. It will end at Dominican Monastery in Summit and Our Lady of Fatima in North Bergen, which will also hold Our Lady of Fatima feast days. Other churches participating throughout the week include Our Lady Queen of Peace, Maywood; St. Michael’s Church, Union; Holy Family Church, Nutley; St. Michael Church, Cranford; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Lyndhurst; St. Teresa of Avila, Summit; St. Antoninus, Newark; Our Lady of Sorrows, South Orange; St. Joseph Exposition Church, Oradell; and Assumption Church, Emerson.
“This Rosary Congress is for reparation, life and peace, healing, renewal, families, our country, evangelization, and vocations. Through the heart and the school of Mary, the Rosary Congress throughout the Archdiocese will provide an invitation for many to experience the power of encountering Jesus in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, some for the very first time,” according to a release announcing the week of prayer from the Archdiocese of Newark Office for Evangelization.
Most churches will offer devotion in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament for adoration.
This year’s theme is “Mother of the Eucharist, Lead us to Him.”
As the Catholic Church believes there is power in communal prayer, Catholics are invited to join others in prayers for reparation, life, peace, healing, renewal, families, their country, and their Church.
“To have this time for almost 24/7 throughout the week in various places in the Archdiocese can ‘blanket’ our Archdiocese in this grace,” said Father John Gordon, the Archdiocese of Newark’s Secretary of Evangelization. He added that people are free to pray for what they need.
Once the Rosary Congress concludes, Our Lady of Fatima in North Bergen will continue the rosary recitation and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for four days leading up to a candle procession around town with the image of Our Lady of Fatima on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. All are invited to join.
“To combine the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration seems particularly providential,” Father Gordon said.
The 2022 Rosary Congress coincides with the Catholic Church’s designation of October as the Month of the Rosary. In October, Catholics venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary and celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7. Oct. 13 recalls the Miracle of the Sun associated with Our Lady’s last appearance in Fatima. The month is set aside to honor the Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the church in answer to the praying of the rosary, Father Gordon said.
LIFENET in partnership with Array of Hope will be holding a virtual live event, “1000 Strong Rosary for Life,” on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. with Bishop Manuel Cruz, D.D. For more information or to register go to lifeneteducation.org/1000strong.
The Rosary focuses on critical aspects of the Christian faith, especially as seen in the 20 mysteries. According to the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, the Joyful Mysteries are the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation of the Child Jesus, and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. The Luminous Mysteries comprise Christ’s Baptism, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist. The Sorrowful Mysteries consist of Christ’s Agony in the Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning of Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion. Finally, the Glorious Mysteries include the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary.
“The Blessed Mother has consistently told visionaries that the key to peace in the world is to pray the rosary every day,” according to the release from the Archdiocese of Newark’s Office for Evangelization. “Countless saints and popes have attested to the power of both Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary. This is a powerful and effective spiritual approach to the world’s problems.
Archdiocesan parishes follow the guidelines offered at www.rosarycongressusa.org, which shares the history of this “movement of prayer” in Eastern Europe and its spread to the United States. The Rosary Congress began in Poland in May 1979, when the Polish people prayed through Mary’s intercession for the coming of Pope John Paul II to his beloved homeland after being denied by the government. The government relented on the seventh day of prayer and allowed the pope to visit without restrictions.
The Rosary Congress came to the U.S. in 1988 when one of the Polish participants of the original Rosary Congress brought it to America. With a small group of faithful, the First National Rosary Congress was held in Washington, D.C., at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Today, dozens of dioceses throughout the U.S. participate in the congress.The traditional story of the rosary was that Mary appeared to Saint Dominic in the 12th century. At that time, she gave him the rosary and promised Dominic that if he spread devotion to the rosary, his religious order would flourish, according to Diocesan Shrine of Saint John Paul II’s website.
For more information on the Archdiocese of Newark’s participation in the 2022 Rosary Congress, visit www.rcan.org/rosarycongress.
Featured image: Fourteen churches will open their doors to rosary sessions starting Thursday.
(Myriam Zilles via Unsplash)
