A nagging uneasyness settled around me throughout the day. Like a shadow, fear was following people all over the world. Day by day we listened as an invisible enemy shut down the world as we knew it. Silently I whispered, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us…
Little did I know how those words would nudge me over the next few weeks. Pray! Pray! Pray!
The rosary has always been my “go-to” prayer when my body and mind are too exhausted to have conversations with God. It has brought me plenty of guilt over the years as I felt that IF I were a good Catholic, this should be at the top of my list of daily devotionals. Yet I knew that this strong and gentle woman was always beside me, leading me and guiding me closer to her Son. One day, however, she surprised me.
Each day of quarantine brought a stronger and stronger request to pray the rosary. But this wasn’t just a prayer for myself, I felt a powerful push to pray with others. That’s when I reached out to a few close friends and asked them if they’d like to start a daily mid-day rosary with me for an end to the pandemic and the safety of those touched by covid. Over the years, these were my fellow prayer mommas; my go-tos when in need of prayer. I call them my prayer warriors.
And so it began.
The four of us started using our time in lock-down to pray via Zoom. As time went on, we invited others to fill their fears and solitude with prayers to Mary as she interceded for those we love, for those who were alone, for those who were scared, and for those who were dying.
Today marks one year that we’ve been saying the rosary together and midday has become one of my favorite times of the day. Friendships were born amongst a few strangers and offering prayers for our family and friends has become our strength. We’ve come to know the ins and outs of eachothers’ lives over the past year. We rejoiced together as new lives were born and mourned when loved ones died. We were Simon of Cyrene to those whose cross was just too heavy and saints-in-training as we interceded for others. Modern technology was the lifeline to our isolation, as we learned that our solitude could now have meaning and depth.
We’ve been known to break out in laughter after realizing we’ve been over zealous with our Hail Mary’s (one too many, one too few) or when a few fogotten words of a prayer (that we’ve said for years) slips our memory. It’s all good. It’s part of the fabric of prayer we’re weaving together. A little messy, a little broken, but always genuine. Always us. Through our laughter and tears, we’re navigating life together.
These prayer warriors are a gift, quietly in the background lifting others with healing and hope. You inspire me and I love you all.
Beautiful! Thank You!