What would you do if I told you that you have the power to sow peace into the hearts and provide protection unto the lives of many people all over the world? The good news is it would not even cost you anything. All it would take to harness this phenomenal power is a sacred decision, a commitment to pray the rosary every day for 200 days from Oct. 10, 2011 till May 31, 2012.
Loudette Zaragoza Banson, my co-alumni from Assumption, invited me to the launch of a noble crusade. She proudly serves as chairman of the steering committee of a project lovingly called “A million roses for the world” or AMRoW.
The launch took place on Sept. 8. This date was carefully chosen being the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What a perfect gift to her I thought. I arrived at the Polo Club eager to discover what God had in store for us. The venue was filled with fresh red roses. Each round table was set with a blue tablecloth embossed with rose patterns. A sweet rosy fragrance filled the air. I felt the presence of our Blessed Mother.
After the invocation, we were introduced to Ambassador Howard Q. Dee, vice chairman of the Family Rosary Crusade of the Philippines. I was immediately struck by this gentleman’s peaceful countenance as he explained how this noble project came about.
“The AMRoW project was conceived in response to the theme of the 60th anniversary of Family Rosary Crusade: ‘FRC reaching out to the world.’ So we thought, what better way to reach out than through prayer? And what better prayer than Mary’s Holy Rosary?” Dee said.
The ambassador shared that their inspiration came from two sources beginning with the words of Pope Pius IX who once said: “Give me an army praying a million rosaries every day and I will conquer the world.”
Dee continued, “Cardinal Sin, who led our 1985 Marian Year to celebrate the bi-millennium of Our Lady’s birth and five million Filipinos pledged to pray the rosary every day of 1985, leading His Eminence to predict that there would be a miracle brought by Our Lady after the Marian Year. And indeed, on Feb. 25, 1986 (the old feast of Our Lady of Victory), we witnessed the miracle of People Power at EDSA.”
The story did not end here. He also noted that the late Blessed John Paul II was so inspired by the events of the Philippines after the Marian Year that His Holiness declared a Marian Year for the Universal Church, from Anunciation, 1987 to Assumption, 1988.
Dee continued: “This led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall and a chain of people power revolutions that toppled the Communist regimes of Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Lithuania, reaching Russia on Aug. 22, 1989 when Yeltsin led the people power revolution in Moscow on the feast of Mary the Queen. When the New York Times interviewed Gorbachev, he pointed to Pope John Paul II as the main force that caused the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe but the Holy Father attributed the victory, which he said came so rapidly after the Marian Year, to the maternal hand of God, no other than the Blessed Mary.” Inspired by these events, we decided to revive the practice of praying the rosary.
For her part, Loudette said, “Our Blessed Mother Mary ‘has come down from heaven’ many times to visit simple folk in the hillsides to make them relay to us Her message of how much Jesus loves us and to request us to pray. Prayer, she said, is the way to avert trouble, to end wars, to call sinners to her Son and to bring peace to the world.”
Present at the launch of AMRoW to share the many blessings they have received in their lifetime through praying the rosary were Marian devotees and prayer ambassadors. “I came to pay tribute to a lady who has made all my dreams and visions come true. In the flurry of our busy-ness we must not forget that the most powerful, efficient answer to our requests is to pray to our Blessed Mother. I am very honored to be a part of this,” said Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales.
Lucy Torres Gomez, whose daughter Juliana was born on Sept. 8, Mama Mary’s birthday, spoke with gratitude. “We are all brought here for a very special reason. The greatest joys in my life I owe to the Blessed Mother. I am fortunate to have been raised in a home by two Marian devotees as both my parents are.”
Volunteer ambassador Kris Aquino said: “I pray the rosary in the car every morning on my way to work. If there is anything I learned in life, it is there’s no problem that can’t be resolved by the power of the rosary.”
As for me, praying the rosary clears my mind. It makes me relax and I eventually fall into peaceful slumber. I actually feel like being cradled in the Blessed Mother’s loving arms.
The busier you are, the more you need to make time to pause and rest. Rest in Jesus and Mama Mary by praying the rosary. Make this your sacred family time.
If you wish to pledge yourself, please log on to http://millionrosesfortheworld.org for the country to be prayed and for the specific intentions.
Prayer of Commitment (A Million Roses for the World Filipinos at Prayer, Peace for All Nations)
Almighty God, we adore You and we praise You for blessing Mary among all women and creating her full of grace.
Through Mary, we received Jesus your Son whose birth has made all things new for us here on earth.
We seek your blessing through her praying hands, so that peace may reign in the world and harmony may be established among all nations.
I commit to pray the rosary every day, as much as possible with my family, for each and every nation on earth so that war may end, famine may cease, terrorism may stop, justice may reign and only your love and mercy may prevail.
I commit to live in the state of grace, to avoid all occasions of sin, and to receive Holy Communion as frequently as my situation may allow, so that your name may be glorified and all peoples may kneel down before you, God of Peace, in worship, adoration, and thanksgiving now, and forever, Amen.
Imprimatur: The Most Rev. Socrates Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
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