By Katie Ascough - 01 May, 2020
Bishop Brendan Leahy
According to catholicnews.ie, Bishop Brendan Leahy, Bishop of Limerick, has invited the public to accept Pope Francis’ invitation to rediscover the Rosary during May, the month dedicated to Mary
Bishop Leahy will be reciting the Rosary in Mount Saint Alphonsus Church, Limerick, today, 1 May, at 8 p.m., which will stream on novena.ie. Bishop Leahy said, “I want to invite everyone, either as a family or individually, to take up the Rosary and to give it a go. A definite positive of us staying at home is that families are praying more and they have the resource of the internet to help them, including the Rosary this coming month.
“I’m hearing of adult children developing a deeper connection with their parents as this mutual need brings us back to some wonderful basics and closer to each other. Mary is the mother of family and she is the Queen of Peace and, with May the traditional month of devotion to her, we have an opportunity to turn to her this month so that families can pray together and pray for peace in their families at this difficult time.”
Bishop Leahy continued, “We remember the famous phrases of the Irishman, Father Patrick Peyton, who Pope Francis has declared venerable – ‘the family that prays together stays together’ and ‘a world at prayer is a world at peace’. Perhaps in more cynical times, we smiled a little at these but today people are more open to rediscovering the many different forms of prayer that the Church proposes.”
Bishop Leahy highlighted the increased traffic to the various online platforms of the Church and how visitors to the Saint John’s Cathedral website for midday Masses have increased seven-fold from January to April. A total of 3,267 people watched Mass live from the cathedral in April and thousands more are engaging with other streamed Masses across the diocese.
The bishop concluded with a final note of encouragement: “At a time when we can’t go to churches, the home has become our place of prayer thanks to technology. We can make it so with the Rosary this month so I would encourage people to try it, rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary together at home. It might be enough just to start with one decade, that is, an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory be to the Father.
“Some days it’s easier than others to say the Rosary but, like in all good relationships, you’ve got to work at your friendship with God, with Jesus, with Mary. Saying the Rosary certainly helps you a lot. It’s worth trying and keeping at it!”
