Stations of the Cross

Also, if you’re looking for additional audio reflections and talks, here are a few more we’ve produced over the years that you may have missed:

Downloadable Audio Rosaries can be found here

Audio Talk: Be An Apologist!

Audio Talk: Prayer in Relationships

Total Consecration Podcast (all the prayers for St. Louis de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary)

The beginning of the year was marked with the launch of a brand new website, the continuation of the popular Rosary Army Catholic Podcast, the filming of a brand new episode of That Catholic Show (we’ll release this soon), followed by Rosary Army’s participation in the very first Catholic New Media Celebration, which brought hundreds of Catholics together to focus on evangelization using new media such as blogs, websites, podcasts, video, and other technologies.

Through it all, the core mission of Rosary Army continued to flourish. Thousands of all-twine knotted Rosaries have been distributed throughout 2008, and countless new Rosary Army “soldiers” started making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries and encouraging others to do the same.

Since incorporating in 2003, our family has run Rosary Army completely out of our house. For years, we’ve had employees and volunteers working out of our home, helping us juggle the amazing amount of requests that we receive each year for Rosaries.

With four (going on five) kids, a dog, and the other responsibilities of raising a family, along with the incredible growth of Rosary Army over the years, this past summer it was necessary to procure an office where Rosary Army employees can process mail and handle day to day operations without having to work in the closets of our house next to our dirty laundry! Believe it or not, that’s how we’ve been running Rosary Army for all these years. Nevertheless, it’s been an amazing experience to witness Jesus and Mary start something with a single spool of twine, and turning it into a worldwide apostolate that has touched countless thousands of souls.

But with thousands of Rosaries flooding in and out of the doors each month, and with even more people are learning about the mission of Rosary Army,  the needs of the apostolate continue to grow.  Therefore, all Rosary Army operations are now being handled in a new distribution center that will hopefully make it easier for employees and volunteers to help grow the apostolate and help more people.

Another monumental change happened for Rosary Army in August of 2008 when my wife Jennifer and I were hired by the Archdiocese of New York to host a daily radio program on The Catholic Channel, which the Archdiocese runs for Sirius Satellite and now XM Satellite Radio.

The show, titled The Catholics Next Door, launched on September 3rd and reaches a potential audience of more than 40 million people. The program is available Monday through Friday from 10AM to 1PM EST on Sirius Channel 159 and XM 117.

Part of our agreement with the Archdiocese was that we would still be able to focus on Rosary Army to make sure that people were still encouraged to make, pray, and give away Rosaries.

However, as a result of the time constraints of the new radio show, as well as the time commitment needed for our ever-growing family, on November 20, 2008, after much prayer, heartache, and discernment, we decided to bring the Rosary Army Catholic Podcast to an end so that we can better focus on the original goals of Rosary Army, while also concentrating on the full-time radio show which pays the bills to support our family.

Rest assured, though the podcast has been brought to a close, there are no signs of slowing down for Rosary Army.

Already there are several amazing events in store for the apostolate in 2009. More details on these will be revealed in the next few months, but let’s just say one event in particular already has us working to gather up 30,000 or more Rosaries to give away on a single day. If you can help in this goal, we’d be very appreciative.

Long time Rosary Army soldiers may also have noticed that we did not launch our annual Giving Campaign as we have for the past several years on All Saints Day.

At this time, we are asking that if you already are a monthly donor to Rosary Army, that you prayerfully consider continuing your gift. Our expenses continue to increase with new rent, utilities, and other operational costs, but we felt that given the current economic climate, and with Christmas and the end of the year so close in sight, that for now we’ll just continue to trust Jesus and Mary that we’ll have all that we need to get us through the next few months without asking you to make additional sacrifices to help out.

If you would, though, please be praying for the apostolate in this regard. We are doing everything we can to keep our expenses as low as possible, but we also know additional employees are needed to keep up with the demands of operating the organization. Your prayers for guidance from the Holy Spirit would be appreciated.

And to all of you who discovered Rosary Army as a result of the podcast, thank you for your support over all these years. Again, the podcast may have been brought to a close, but Rosary Army isn’t going anywhere.

Keep checking back and we’ll keep you updated as we continue working toward our original goal of bringing more souls to Christ through the making, praying, and giving away of all-twine knotted Rosaries.

In Jesus Through Mary,
Greg and Jennifer Willits
Co-Founders, Rosary Army

We made so many great new friends and people who are just busting at the seams with excitement over the possibilities of Catholic New Media. We also got to meet tons of listeners and viewers of the various SQPN and Rosary Army programs, including upwards of 50 people who arrived from California, Colorado, New York, and many other states just to hang out and have a cup of coffee with other members of the SQPN and Rosary Army communities.

This only made us more excited for the very first SQPN Catholic New Media Celebration that we are planning for June 22nd of this year to be held in Atlanta, Georgia the day after the annual Eucharistic Congress. We anticipate hundreds of people being there and we sincerely hope you’ll be one of them. We already have some amazing, amazing things in store for all of you.

So why does Rosary Army, and in turn, SQPN use so much New Media to Evangelize?

Well, this weekend Jennifer and I were blessed with the honor of presenting the closing talk at Steubenville’s Faith and Media Conference. We also participated in a podcasting forum with Fr. Roderick Vonhogen and Fr. Seraphim Beshoner. Also in attendance were several other SQPN podcasters including Fr. Bill Kessler, George Leite, and Dr. Paul Camarata. It was a great warm up to what we hope will be a fun and exciting SQPN Catholic New Media Celebration this summer. We’ll have more details on that in the weeks to come.

For now, though, we invite you to watch the recorded streams from the sessions we were involved with to give you a little insight into the hows and whys of Catholic New Media in connection with Rosary Army and SQPN.

The event is open to the public (registration required) and will be a great opportunity for Rosary Army soldiers and SQPN followers to get together for a weekend of faith and learning about media.

The university has provided additional information, including a schedule and full list of speakers at a website for the event which you can access via this link.

Greg and Jennifer will also be participating in a roundtable panel about podcasting along with Fr. Seraphim Beshoner (Catholic Under the Hood Podcast) and Fr. Roderick Vonhogen (SQPN). George Leite, another SQPN podcaster and winner of the 2007 Podcast Award for Best Podsafe Music Podcast for his Catholic Rockers Podcast, will also be speaking that weekend.

Fr. Roderick will be presenting the opening talk on Friday evening, April 4th.

There will also be a Meet and Greet event at the Heavenly Grounds coffee house from 3 to 5 PM on April 5th. Heavenly Grounds is located just off of University Boulevard, in front of the university. Click here for a map to Heavenly Grounds (the coffee house is found at #23).

If you’re within driving distance, it’s sure to be a wonderful conference and a great opportunity to socialize with other RA Soldiers. We hope to see you in Steubenville!

While there are plenty of new articles and pages of information now available, the best part of the website is actually the stuff you don’t even see! After five years of hard-coding the pages on our website, we’re now able to update and create dynamic new pages easier than ever – which means there will be more content available on Rosary Army’s website for you!

From first glance, though, we hope you like the new look. For a long time we’ve been migrating a lot of Rosary Army’s content to a “Marian” blue color, and it seemed appropriate to model our website more in alignment with a color often associated with our Blessed Mother.

In the next few days you’ll notice additional great content popping up on the website including new audio Rosaries in multiple languages, a That Catholic Show study guide, separate pages for all of our Rosary Army Extra MP3 files, and much, much more.

In the meantime, enjoy all of our new blog content, dive into the Rosary Army Catholic Podcast, check out photos of other Rosary Army soldiers from around the world, and maybe you’ll find few other surprises, as well.

We’re so glad you’re here!

Thanks to all of you loyal Rosary Army soldiers, we are pleased and honored to announce that the Rosary Army Catholic Podcast has been named the Best General Podcast for the 2006 Podcast Awards!

Even better, the other two nominated shows from the Star Quest Podcast Network (SQPN.com) also won! So congratulations to Father Roderick for winning the Best Religious Podcast Award for his awesome Daily Breakfast and the Best Mobile Podcast Award for The Catholic Insider!

What a tremendous honor, and it’s all because of all of you. Thank you so much for voting!

This is the second year that the Podcast Awards are organized. It is an annual event that recognizes the best podcasters in the world by allowing the people (both listeners and podcasters) to nominate, and then vote for their favorite podcast. During the voting period, the website PodcastAwards.com received nearly 8 million hits.

The culmination of the event is the 2006 Awards ceremony that takes place during the Podcast Expo in Ontario California on September 29, 2006. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to attend, but we’re certainly going to look into it.

Thanks once again to all of you for voting and for your continued support. Pax Christi!

Joyce was a slowly-retiring domestic engineer who lived in Missouri. At her peak, she made over 100 Rosaries a month for Rosary Army. During that time, if someone received a Rosary from Rosary Army (especially if it looked like it was hand-dyed) it was likely made by Joyce.

Joyce’s Favorite Rosary color:

Joyce: [I] fall in love with whatever I’m making. Then, if I do too many alike without a break, I suddenly get sick of it, and have to switch colors for a while. However, when all made up, they’re all beautiful.

Joyce being silly with Lisa (”Franciscat”), a News from HQcontributor and Rosary Army Forum administrator known for keeping topics very well-organized:

Joyce: Dear Lisa, My name is Joyce M. and I live about 100 miles south of St. Louis. I was wondering if you could send me information on how much you charge for your closet-organizing services. Do you work by the hour, or by the closet? Do you have references, and/or pictures? Do you do windows? How about floors? Please let me know ASAP.

How Joyce got started making knotted twine Rosaries:

Joyce: I went to a Eucharistic Congress in St. Louis. I think it was in 1999 or 2000. A group (2 ladies) had a booth showing folks how to make the twine rosaries with knotted crosses. For a 50-cent donation, you could get a hank of twine and a medal. It had John Paul II on one side and Our Lady of Poland on the other. I sat down and went through some knots with one of the gals, and I was off and running. I never laid it down, or I wouldn’t have remembered how.

I lived about 100 miles from [one of the ladies'] house, and whenever I would make a trip to see family, I would call ahead and order twine. She dyed her own, and had it cut, and included a bag of medals for me. I’d just say, give me $10 worth, or whatever. I was just making them and giving them away, ’cause I liked to. I encountered missionary priests on several occasions who were only too happy to take them to Belize or wherever.

My supplier eventually got tired of me (I guess), and gave me the name and number for FNT and the place where she got the medals. I think Teena said I first ordered in 2001. And as has been said recently, the rest is history. The majority of my rosaries go to RA. The yearly RCIA class each gets one. People ask for them for themselves and for gifts. A couple priests have asked for one. By the way, they are now made with crucifixes. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

A “Give Them Away” story from Joyce:

Joyce: I got the neatest gift last week: round-trip fare to Atlanta, from my oldest son. So.. I got to meet Greg and Jennifer and 4 absolutely gorgeous little guys!! Then, I was able to attend the Eucharistic Congress!! I’m so blessed!! It was a wonderful trip. The Congress was great! Terry Shiavo’s parents and her brother gave a moving testimony. Jim C. (Jesus, in the Passion) was one of the best speakers I’ve heard in a long time. He really spoke from his heart, and was so dynamic. I ordered tapes of the rest of the speakers, as I stayed in the RA both the rest of the time. Absolutely wonderful!!

ANYWAY, when I boarded the plane to come home, I was seated next to a preacher; probably of the non-denominational variety. He said he was a heroin addict, and Jesus had saved him from certain death at the age of 20. He was probably in his 60’s. He was an electrician by trade, and did this as a missionary in Haiti. I took out my twine and started knotting. He watched for a while before he asked what I was making. I answered, a rosary. He was excited to tell me that he’d never been to our ’service’ and assumed it would be like most other churches. Then, recently, he attended Mass, and was ‘wowed’ by it. He said he was surprised by all the ‘disciplines’, he called them. We had a really fine time talking about God in our lives.

He asked me, when he handed me his card, if I would pray for him. I answered, of course, that I would. Then I prayed to the Holy Spirit. Then, I dug in my purse, pulled out one of my packaged rosaries, handed it to him and said, this will remind you to also pray for me. He said he didn’t understand the rosary very well, so he’d have to study about it. I gave him the short version of the explanation. We continued our talking, and before we deplaned in St. Louis, he again thanked me for the rosary. What a hoot!!! It was one of the best experiences for me in ‘giving one away.’

Joyce was also included in an article about Rosary Army from the September 15, 2005 edition of The Georgia Bulletin. Here’s what was said about Joyce in that story:

Joyce Malawey is one of Rosary Army’s hardest working soldiers. She often sends in 100 rosaries a month. The 63-year-old from Missouri had attended a Marian conference in St. Louis and saw a group of nuns making rosaries and became intrigued. While searching for supplies, she came across Rosary Army, which, she said, was an answer to her prayers.

“It just really intrigued me,” she said. “I didn’t know why, but I knew this was what I was supposed to do.”

She said she is constantly making rosaries—in the car, at the doctor’s office, at home.

“I have a purse full of twine and full of rosaries in every stage of completion,” she said. “Rosary Army has been a real answer. I didn’t know what I was going to do with all the rosaries I was making.”

Malawey is also an active member of the Rosary Army Web site forums.

“One of the most fantastic things about this is the great camaraderie,” she said. “I feel like these people are family. We share so much of our lives with each other and can pray for each other and offer advice.”

Malawey even flew to Atlanta to meet Greg and Jennifer and attend the 2005 Eucharistic Congress, and believes that the rosary is a powerful prayer that could change the world.

“I truly believe that if we walked around and saw people praying the rosary all the time, a lot of our problems in this world would disappear,” she said. “I just really feel called to this.”

Want to read more of Joyce’s posts, or get to know other soldiers better? Join us in the Rosary Army Forums for more everyday soldier stories from folks making, praying, and giving away Rosaries.

Contributing: Lisa

Her husband Charlie called us this morning. He has been a pillar of strength for Joyce over the past few months as her body gave into cancer. Please pray for Charlie that he now be given a special grace.

Joyce in our home last year, busily making all-twine knotted Rosaries.

I don’t think I can ever adequately express how important Joyce was to Rosary Army. We met her through this apostolate when we suddenly started receiving huge boxes of all-twine knotted Rosaries from her each month. I had no idea who this woman was that regularly sent us boxes of 100 or more Rosaries.

Eventually Joyce joined our RA Forums and posted under the name Philomena, after one of her favorite saints. She was a regular presence on our forums and everyone loved her.

Two years ago we were trying to make a tough financial decision. I hadn’t really said anything to anyone about it, but Joyce and Charlie felt prompted to make a considerable donation to Rosary Army. It was a total surprise and a complete answer to our prayers. I had to call Joyce to thank them for their generosity and it was that first phone conversation, I think, that started the relationship between our families.

Joyce and my mom started trading emails, and they, too, became good friends. Joyce took us up on our invitation last year to fly down for the Eucharistic Congress here in Atlanta. The plan was that she’d stay with us for part of the week, and then the second half of her visit would be spent over at my parents’ house. But on the day after the Eucharistic Congress, my mom’s health took a sudden nose dive and she ended up in the hospital for 10 days. Joyce was here with us for those first few frightening days and she distracted our boys as well as Jennifer and I and we laughed and ate and prayed and she just kept making Rosaries. She was always making Rosaries.

Joyce came back a few months later when we were going to be teaching teens how to make all-twine knotted Rosaries at the National Catholic Youth Convention. For three straight days Joyce went non-stop, talking and teaching and laughing and just being Joyce. She taught hundreds of people how to make Rosaries. She gave thousands of Rosaries away.

Shortly after her trip here in October, her health took a downturn. In December the doctor only gave her a few months to live. Soon thereafter her fingers got so sore she could no longer make Rosaries.

After a couple of chemo treatments, she was able to get some mobility back in her fingers and she went back to making Rosaries. At one of her treatments a nurse got curious about what Joyce was doing and Joyce ended up teaching her how to make them, as well. Charlie told me that same nurse sent Joyce a card a few weeks ago to tell Joyce that she’d already made and given away over 100 Rosaries.

After Joyce’s fifth chemo treatment, it was evident that the cancer was not relenting. So they stopped the treatment and brought in hospice to help with the transition.

For the next two months Joyce and Charlie prayed every morning. Charlie was an absolute rock for his wife of so many years. He was everything a husband should be for his dying wife. He was a model of faith and made sure Joyce had everything she needed, including regular Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

Yesterday Joyce’s complexion changed to an ashen gray. Charlie kept telling Joyce to go to the light, that it was alright, that the light was Jesus Christ waiting to bring her home.

As a family they prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet. When they finished, Joyce took four more breaths and then went home to Jesus.

I thank God so profusely for the gift of Joyce today. She was an absolutely incredible woman. When I think of our Rosary Army soldiers, Joyce is often the first one to come to mind. If you’ve ever received a Rosary from us that looks like it was dyed by hand, there’s a good chance it was made by Joyce.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this woman. Please take her into your kingdom and the reward waiting for her there.

If you missed the show, EWTN usually makes it available for one week after the initial airing on their website, and they repeat Life on the Rock throughout the weekend, as well.

RA Soldier Michael (who is also one of our twine suppliers) managed to get some screen shots from the episode:

I love how it looks like John Paul the Great is blessing me during the filming!

Jennifer behind Fr. Francis (she got lots of screen time!)

Talking with Fr. Francis and Fr. Mark

A group of our Rosary Army soldiers hard at work making all-twine knotted Rosaries

Jennifer on camera again with the RA website address on the screen.

More RA Soldiers. the guy in blue is our friend Michael (a.k.a. Mr. Tumnus from the Cloffice Christmas Party episode of the Rosary Army podcast)

Thanks to all of you for your prayers during the show and during our whirlwind road-trip. Be sure to tune into this weekend’s podcast for more details of the great visit to EWTN.

Also, Fr. Francis mentioned to me after the show about the possibility of having Rosary Army back on Life on the Rock for an entire show this October during our Lady’s Rosary month. Please pray that this becomes a reality!

Again, welcome to all of you new Rosary Army Soldiers! Make Them. Pray Them. Give Them Away. Pax Christi!

From there you can download all of the episodes of the Total Consecration podcast (the first 8 episodes have already been uploaded), as well as read the text for each day’s prayers and readings.

A new cycle of prayer begins on February 20th. Please prayerfully consider joining with Rosary Army soldiers from around the world in participating in this 33-day cycle of prayer. You won’t regret it! Pax Christi!

What kind of camcorder was he using?
What kind of microphone?
What did he use to edit?

We’ve done a bit on streaming video stuff here at Rosary Army, including video instructions and talks and such, and we’ve been thinking a lot about the video podcast idea since Apple announced the video iPods earlier this week.

Unfortunately, for what we do with the RA Podcast, I think video would lose some of it’s draw after awhile. Personally, I think it would be rather boring watching Jennifer and I sitting in our make-shift studio talking into microphones. It might be fun a time or two, but part of the fun of podcasting is that it’s like a new wave of talk radio. I don’t want that new wave to disappear so quickly for the sake of video, but I also have to admit I’m attracted to the idea of adding more video to the website. On the other hand, given that I know how much time it takes to edit video, I’m also not sure I’d be willing to make the commitment to produce a video cast with some sort of regularity.

But it would be very cool if we occasionally did video casts from Catholic conferences, or from workshops, or even if we did a “Day In The Life” type of video cast every known and then.

It would be hard and time consuming, but I can’t escape the fact that over the past few days I’ve constantly found myself wondering how we could make a video podcast work for Rosary Army. It’s obvious from Fr. Roderick’s first attempt that he’s been thinking about it for awhile on his end, and several months ago he even podcasted about the fact that he firmly believed this was the next step. I disagreed until this past week.

I think we’ll probably give it a try with some experimental stuff at first. I’m not sure how many people would really tune in, either, as it’s more difficult to download and view video than it is to podcatch audio.

But again, I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wonder what kind of new, Catholic video content could be created by other Disciples With Microphones who occasionally picked up a camcorder, as well.

Perhaps my excitement is also due in part to the huge increase in visitors to Rosary Army lately. According to the good folks at FNT, our twine distributor, in the past few weeks there have been record numbers of new Rosary makers ordering twine. That means that more and more all-twine knotted Rosaries are being given away, and more Rosaries are being prayed!

This year we’re making a big deal out of the day for our family. Last night I told our boys about the history of this feast day and told them we’d be going to daily Mass this morning to celebrate. When the two oldest came downstairs they were already dressed and ready to go!

Today we give thanks to our Blessed Mother for the gift of the Rosary, and for constantly pointing us to her Son, Jesus. Through Mary we see Jesus as she sees Him. We get to know Jesus as she knows Him. When we sit at the school of Mary, we are brought before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen!

We love you, Mother Mary! Thank you for saying, “Yes,” to God and for giving birth to your Son, and thank you for the gift of the Rosary!

I know that the Catholic newspaper in Phoenix was planning on running the story, so welcome to all of you Arizonians. But with the jump in visitors, I’m thinking the article must have run in some other places, too.

Either way, I’d like to give a huge welcome to the hundreds of new visitors to our site over the past couple days. If you’ve just discovered our site, please feel free to leave a comment on this post and let us know how you came across our apostolate of making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries and encouraging others to do the same.

We’re really glad you’re here. Pax Christi!

We had a great time visiting with Erika, the reporter, and Michael, the photographer. We kept them here so long I was worried their editor would be sending out a search party! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the article. I love how so much of the focus was on others making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries. Pax Christi!

The above picture on the left was taken during our Honeymoon 10 years ago this week. The picture on the right, by Lee Depkin, was taken a couple weeks ago for a recent article about Rosary Army in our local paper.

So please allow me to congratulate Jeanne H. and Melissa S.!

Jeanne sent in the most Rosaries for the month with a total of 14, and Melissa won our monthly random raffle.

Thanks to Jeanne and Melissa and all of other makers of all-twine knotted Rosaries who keep us going! Pax Christi!

You may remember about a year ago when I posted about Julie, a Rosary Army Soldier who moved to Nashville to enter the convent of the Dominican Sisters there.

During her first few years in the convent, Sr. Julie is limited on the correspondance she can send out. Her mom has been great about photocopying letters from Sr. Julie and sending them to family and friends. Even though I’ve never met Sr. Julie or any of her family, I’m very thankful that Julie’s mom has included me on that list. Last week we received a beautiful card that looks like a wedding invitation. It was just one side of scripted text that reads:

Together with the Domican Sisters of St. Cecilia, We, Frank and Kathleen, announce with greatjoy the clothing of our daughter, Sister Julie Anne in the Holy habit of Saint Dominic of the Order of Preachers on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the sixth day of August Two Thousand Five.

She has received the religious name Sister Regina Marie

She is grateful for your prayers as she begins her novice year in preparation for her first profession of vows. Be assured of her prayers as she continues to follow Christ in the family of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — Nuns are cool!

It was in the summer of 2002 when I last went to confession with Fr. Michael that the seed was planted for what would become Rosary Army. By the grace of God, as I sat down facing Fr. Michael in the confessional, I noticed his single-decade knotted Rosary. A couple months later, I started making those kinds of Rosaries and giving them away. The rest, as they say, is history.

After Mass there was a long line of people waiting to say hello to Father. Our parish has been earnestly praying for his safety while in Iraq, as well as the safety of all of the military from our parish. It was good to see him alive, healthy, and well.

He’d never met our youngest son, who is now nearly 16 months old. Our older boys were excited to see him, and he once again encouraged our seven-year-old to keep thinking about the priesthood.

And then Fr. Michael said something that took my breath away and literally left me speechless.

“God bless you for your ministry,” he said to my wife and I. “Because of it, there are a whole lot of Rosaries over in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

When he went into the military nearly three years ago, Rosary Army wasn’t even a consideration yet. But since then, all of you have made this apostolate a reality. From time to time, we’ve sent some Rosaries overseas. But to be honest, most of our attention has been in just getting out one Rosary at a time to whoever requests one from our website. It is all of you who have received an all-twine knotted Rosary, and in turn, started making them, that has made this apostolate grown. So many of you have taken it upon yourselves to start making these Rosaries and then forwarding them onto the various branches of the military, sending them to people you know who are currently serving, donating them to your parishes when collections are being taken for soldiers.

Your efforts are paying off. From the words of a chaplain who has served nearly two years in Iraq, he has seen first-hand that your Rosaries are reaching those who need them.

Over the past few days we’ve gotten requests to post addresses of places in Louisiana and Texas and surrounding areas that could use Rosaries now, as well. We’re planning on sending a large shipment of Rosaries to the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. If you’d like to send Rosaries directly to crisis centers in the Gulf Coast, we encourage you to do so, or you could send them to us to help us build up our supplies so we can keep sending them out. I hope to have several hundred sent out by the end of this week, and we’re just trusting that more will arrive and we won’t run out.

Also at Mass on Sunday were about 20 people who have sought refuge in our area from New Orleans. Our celebrant on Sunday asked them to identify themselves and when they stood, the entire congregation burst into applause. The people there had lost so much, and yet through the sadness evident on their faces, you could also see their joy in being alive, in being there to celebrate Mass with us.

When we send out Rosaries later this week to the various charities helping those left homeless from the hurricane, it will be their faces that I’ll be imagining. And just as Fr. Michael said your Rosaries have reached the hands of soldiers overseas, I know that together we will all make sure that Rosaries get to those who have lost so much over the past few days.

Fr. Benedict Groeschel calls the Rosary the “Chain of Hope.” Together, let’s get as much hope as possible to those in need as soon as possible. Pax Christi!

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Willits,

The Holy Father has asked me to thank you for your kind letter and the accompanying gift of a hand-made rosary and video disc. He appreciates your devoted sentiments.

His Holiness sends prayerful good wishes for your efforts to promote devotion to the Rosary. Upon you and your associates he invokes joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ, and cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing.

Yours sincerely,

Monsignor Gabriele Caccia – Assessor

So to all of you Rosary Army “associates” who are making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries, I believe this blessing was directed to you, as well. Pax Christi!

You’d “subscribe” to the podcast in much the same way you could subscribe to Rosary Army’s News From Headquarters if you use a blog-reader, as I mentioned last week.

So here’s the big question:

Would you be interested in a Rosary Army weekly or monthly podcast? About a year ago I was seriously investigating a way to do something like this, and over the past year it seems technology has advanced ten-fold in this area, making an online Internet show more feasible.

Again, it would essentially be a downloadable talk show where we’d speak with various Rosary Army “soldiers” who are making a difference in the world by making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries. We’d also focus on Catholicism and catechesis, and invite folks who daily work in the field of Catholic apologetics to share their own stories.

Personally, I think it’s a great idea, but before we invest the time and effort to produce such a show, it would help to know if there is a genuine interest in something like this. If you would, leave us your comments by clicking the comment link above, and let us know what you think about a regular Rosary Army audio show. If you have any ideas for content, please share that as well.

And lastly, if any of you Rosary Army soldiers out there already have experience with Podcasting, please let me know! We could use your help. Pax Christi!

I had to laugh because I don’t think there has been a single PayPal donation to Rosary Army since we completed our 2005 Pledge Drive shortly before January first. So that’s almost two months now without a single donation via the Internet.

What was funny was the fact that I look at the Rosary Army site every day, and every day there is a little “PayPal” icon up in the upper right-hand corner. And yet, I’ve gotten so used to that icon that I almost forget it’s there.

So receiving this donation this evening was a pleasant surprise, especially since we’re planning on spending a few hundred dollars in the next couple days on Crucifixes that will go on the all-twine knotted Rosaries we give away. The donation tonight was for $6. That’ll help pay for an extra bag of 50 Crucifixes. Pax Christi!

I explained to her that normally we are unable to provide large quantities of Rosaries for missions, classes, or individual parishes, and that one of the primary goals of Rosary Army is to teach others how to make all-twine knotted Rosaries so that they can be self-sufficient and provide Rosaries for such purposes. That’s why we have so many different versions of our Rosary-making instructions on this site, and why we went through the trouble to produce the Rosary Army Virtual Workshop DVD.

Having said that, from time to time, by the grace of God, we sometimes have additional Rosaries on hand that were donated to us that are not consistant with the regular all-twine knotted Rosaries with a metal Crucifix that we typically give away. Usually these consist of Rosaries that were sent in with plastic Crucifixes or knotted crosses. When we receive Rosaries like those, we typically put them in a separate storage container and wait for Jesus and Mary to send us someone in need.

Today was one of those days where someone in need showed up.

I told her that I thought we had a few mission Rosaries I could send her, but when I opened the box with the Rosaries we’ve set aside for missions, we had a lot more than I realized and I daresay that nearly 200 Rosaries that have been donated to us will be heading to South America next week.

People have asked me if we really give away every Rosary that is sent to us, even ones that don’t have perfect spacing or perfect knots and I always answer that the only Rosaries we’ve failed to give away are ones that have less than ten knots in a decade. Other than that, Mary and Jesus have always lead us to someone who is grateful for whatever we can give.

And to all of you who have donated Rosaries to us to make that possible, I, too, am very, very thankful. Without you, we would have had to turn away a group of Catholic college students today who are trying to do some good for the less fortunate in our world. Pax Christi!

I’ve found these same Rosaries (and ones that only have knotted crosses instead of the nice metal Crucifixes we give away) for sale on the Internet for $20! TWENTY DOLLARS?

It costs us, on average, about 75 cents to a dollar for each Rosary we give away, plus about 60 cents for postage. And somehow, by the grace of God and the guidance of Our Lady, we’ve managed to give away thousands of Rosaries this way.

This morning I discovered a website selling spools of twine for $17 (compared to around $8 or $9 from FNT, our usual twine distributor). On top of that, they were selling exact duplicates of FNT’s Starter Kits for more than twice as much as FNT. And in addition to selling those items, they’re also selling all-twine knotted Rosaries, just like the ones we freely give away to whoever needs one.

To me, that’s taking advantage of people, plain and simple. Additionally, by charging so much money for a starter kit ($5), I believe they are potentially discouraging people from making Rosaries. If I came across that website when I first wanted to learn how to make all-twine knotted Rosaries, I would have scoffed at the $5 price tag for a starter kit and I most likely would not have started to make and give away these kinds of Rosaries. The two dollars that FNT asks for each starter kit makes sense however, because they include shipping in the cost of the kit, along with color copies of our instructions, twine, and a metal Crucifix.

Now, I have no problem with people selling the more expensive Rosaries made with fancy beads and jewels. Those kinds of supplies cost money and the craftmanship takes a lot more time. But if you’re making all-twine knotted Rosaries, please allow me to ask you not to sell them. If you’re considering doing it for a fundraiser, perhaps consider something else. Or even better, give the Rosaries away but have a donation bucket out on your table. That way, if someone really needs a Rosary, they can get one even if they can’t afford it.

There aren’t many things that get me up on a soapbox, but ripping people off for an all-twine knotted Rosary will get me going every time.

Thanks for your understanding, and thanks to all of you who are continuing to make, pray, and freely give away all-twine knotted Rosaries in an effort to spread further devotion to our Lord Jesus. Pax Christi!

At one point someone offered to translate the instructions into French, but we ran into a conflict between the word processing programs we were both using. But tonight we got a request via email from someone wanting the Rosary in Turkish, and it made me realize I should probably bring up this topic again.

So to all of you multi-lingual folks out there, if you’re looking for a challenge and think you could translate this prayer sheet, send me an email and let me know and I’ll send you the original file in Microsoft Word format. Thanks in advance and Pax Christi!

When we first bought the DVD after its initial run on TV, our oldest boys weren’t able to sit through the whole thing without getting fidgity. But today after Mass I put the movie on for them and they both sat mesmerized by it as if it was the first time they’ve seen it. And even still, a couple of scenes in the movie still “got me.” It just blows me away how powerful a Claymation movie can be, but it probably has a lot to do with the voice talent used which includes Ian Holm, Ralph Fiennes, Julie Christie, William Hurt, and Richard Grant.

The movie is available in both DVD and Video format. If you’re interested in getting a copy for your home library, we’d appreciate it if you’d click the graphic above or the links below to do so and order directly from Ignatius Press. Ignatius has been kind enough to set up a referral network, and they will donate 10% of any purchases from their website back to Rosary Army, as long as you enter their site by clicking on a link from ours. So if you’re interested in getting a copy of yourself or someone you know, click this link for VHS:
The Miracle Maker, or this link for DVD: Miracle Maker (DVD)

Happy viewing and Pax Christi!

Dear Greg,

My name is Jeff,and after reading your posting on Rosary Army, I want you to know that the free rosaries can and do change peoples lives. My own account may seem a little strange but after seeing movies that showed people praying the rosary, my curiosity was aroused, after years of wondering what this was about and if what I had been taught as a Baptist was true, that Catholicism was a cult and that they worshipped Mother Mary.

Despite what I had been taught I found myself drawn to learn more about the Catholic Church and the Rosary. I started searching the internet and the more I learned I found that Baptists and Catholic’s had more in common than not.

It was then that I happened upon Rosary Army’s web site by looking for a free rosary. Well, I sent in a small donation for the rosary. I wish I could have sent more but my family lives week to week on my paycheck alone.

When I recieved my rosary I was amazed at it’s beauty and workmanship.

I started learning the prayers of the rosary and after praying that if this was not what God wanted for me to lead me in the direction he wanted for me. But I kept coming back to the rosary. Soon afterwards I tentively said my first decade that lead to praying all the rosary.

I was left with a sense of peace that can only come from God, since then my rosary has been inseperable from me. I’m now learning as much about the Catholic Church as possible and I would like to convert but I’m not sure I would be welcome in the parish in the next town.

God has made a way this far and I’m sure he will continue to do so.

Any advice about converting to catholicism and what to expect would be much appreciated as I know you are a very busy man.

Sincerely, Jeff

I wrote back to Jeff and told him to find out if the parish he mentioned offers RCIA classes, and encouraged him to get involved.

Despite the thousands of Rosaries we give away, we actually don’t get to hear stories like this very often, though I’m sure the stories are out there.

This Lent, as many people prepare to enter into the Catholic Church, please pray for all of those who have come to Rosary Army’s website looking for answers to one of the areas of Catholicism (Mary and the Rosary) that so many people have difficulty with. Please pray not only that they find the answers, but that all of us may act as a beacon of light for all those who are walking in darkness, and from that light, may they be lead to God. Pax Christi!

Congrats now go to Pete S. for sending in the most Rosaries for the month. He’ll be receiving his choice of a great Catholic book or a copy of the new Rosary Army Virtual Workshop DVD.

Congratulations, also, to first time donor Dave M. from Virginia. In addition to sending us 64 great Rosaries, he also wrote to tell us he’s completely addicted to Rosary making and has also sent 100 Rosaries to the US military. That’s fantastic!

Pete and Dave, check your email for additional details, and congratulations once again.

If you’d like to make all-twine knotted Rosaries for Rosary Army, we could certainly use the help, and every month when you donate Rosaries to Rosary Army you’re automatically eligible for our Monthly Incentives. Thanks again to all who donated. We look forward to even more Rosaries in February. Pax Christi!

Thank you for the crosses you’ve given us to bear. For while we don’t always like them, and often times gripe about them, each cross You give is a means for drawing us closer to You, and so we give thanks.

In these forty days of Lent, O Lord, please help us carry our crosses with peace and joy. And when we see our brothers and sisters struggling with their own crosses, let us be like Simon the Cyrenean and help each other to reach our final place with You.

In these forty days of Lent, O Lord, we thank You for our crosses, heavy as they may be.

We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To get your own copy, simply click the button below. The DVD costs just $19.95 plus shipping.

We truly hope all of you enjoy the DVD and that it helps you in your own journey of making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries, and teaching others to do the same. Just think, now all you have to do is show someone the DVD to teach them how to make all-twine knotted Rosaries! That’s just one of the reasons we set upon this task in the first place and why we’ve spent so many late nights working on it for the past couple months.

Also, we’d greatly appreciate it if you remember to print out some of the promotional flyers about the DVD from our website and give them to your priests and others at your Church. This is is how we’ll get the word out and continue to spread devotion to Jesus through meditating on His life while praying the Rosary.

And more importantly, please keep praying for Rosary Army and your fellow Rosary Army soldiers around the world. Thanks so much. Pax Christi!

How are we going to do that? Well, it is our pleasure to officially announce the soon-to-be-released Rosary Army Virtual Workshop DVD!

That’s right! We’ve been diligently working to film brand new video instructions for making all-twine knotted Rosaries, as well as never before video instructions for advanced Rosary knots.

Additionally, we’ve filmed a brand new talk on the Power of the Rosary as well as created a virtual DVD Rosary for you to pray along with!

We’ve packed this DVD with as much content as possible, and it will be available for you to order for you, your parish, or anyone you know by the end of January!

This is the first of several big initiatives we have planned for the next year and would not be possible if not for the generosity of all of you who donated and prayed during our 2005 Pledge Drive. Our hope is that this DVD will not only help thousands of people to learn more about the Rosary (as well as how to make all-twine knotted ones), but to be an ongoing source of funding for Rosary Army so that we can continue to make, pray, and give away all-twine knotted Rosaries and teach others how to do the same.

Pax Christi and Happy New Year!

Do you have an interesting story about making, praying, and/or giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries? We’d love to read them. Just send us an email before the end of the week and we may include your story in our next newsletter.

If you don’t subscribe to our monthly email newsletter but would like to, subscribing couldn’t be easier. Just enter your email address in the field at the top of this page and click the “Submit” button. If you’re worried about us sharing your email address with others, don’t be. As stated in our privacy policy, we depend on your trust and we’ll never share your email with anyone else.

We look forward to hearing from you and sharing your own story with other Rosary Army soldiers around the world. Pax Christi!

This is the time of year when the monks try to sell the most fruitcake (as well as other gifts and books) and they offer all of their goods online at www.abbeystore.org. Optionally, you can order over the phone by calling them at 1-800-592-5203. The Abbey Store is one of my favorite places to visit, and most of the books we give away as monthly incentives come from that store. So if you like fruitcake (and even if you don’t), please consider helping out these good men of God. Pax Christi!

If you’re looking for some helpful reading to get into the right frame of mind for this year-long occasion, you might want to consider ordering a copy of 201 Inspirational Stories of the Eucharist, published by the Poor Clare Sisters of Spokane, Washington. It’s very much like a Chicken Soup for the Soul-type book, written by many different authors (including myself). All proceeds from the book go back to supporting the Poor Clare sisters.

Dear Rosary Army,

I just wanted to share with you what students at the University of Dayton have been up to! We have a student run organization called Catholic Life. We are dedicated to teaching and sharing the truths of the Catholic Church. This year we’ve had a special dedication to the Rosary. We are offering a Rosary prayer group every day at 5pm as well as a Marian Hour before the Blessed Sacrament once a week. Because of this interest, I decided it was time to purchase a ton of twine from FNT and start a Rosary making frenzy here on campus. We have made probably close to 100 in just 1 short month that we have mailed to friends and given away on campus. This month being breast cancer awareness month, we decided to make pink rosaries for our moms, grandmas and any other family friend who has been affected by this disease.

We wanted to share a picture of a few of us at our first “Pink Rosary” making night!

Thank you for all your inspiration Rosary Army!!!

Grace and Peace,
Elizabeth C.
University of Dayton Catholic Life – Core Member and Peer Minister

And thank you, Elizabeth, and all of your fellow Rosary Makers at the University of Dayton, for your willingness to serve God in this capacity. Pax Christi!

It is so comforting to know that there is a nun in a convent who is praying daily for this apostolate, along with all of the prayers of other nuns, priests, deacons, and all of you other Rosary Army soldiers.

Below is the text of Sr. Julie’s letter. Please, if you would, pray for Julie and all of her fellow postulants. They are such a blessing to our Church and our world.

+JMJD

12 Sept 2004

Dear Extended Family, Friends, and benefactors,

Greeting from the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Nashville! In just 2 days, we postulants will celebrate our one month anniversary. For the occasion, I decided to write a mass letter to tell you all of the experiences I have had. It has been a very exciting month!

First, let me thank all of you who have prayed for me. You are remembered throughout the day, but most especially during our community rosary at 5PM. I know I would not still be here if it were not for your prayers for me! I have also come to realize that the highest point of my day starts at 6:15 AM (usually), when we receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Mass. I am reminded often of what Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say; she was convinced that the strength to face the poor & dying with limitless love was from the grace received during Mass in the Blessed Sacrament. I whole-heartedly agree! Some days our rising bell seems to toll about 5 minutes after I went to sleep, and as I stumble down the hall to the bathroom, I have to remind myself of Who I will be seeing in just a little while. That gives me the motivation I need to really make a good start to my morning, even though 5 AM is still very violent to my system!

Each day here in Nashville seems to roll seamlessly into the next, almost with a timeless quality. To be sure, our lives are very scheduled and thought-out, but it never seems like a routine; each part is important to our lives together in this community. We have times of silence, like right now as I am writing this, and times of recreation, where the Novitiate (1st-4th year sisters) run around and play different games together. We have study hall for almost an hour each night, which is also violent to my system! I am learning to be more disciplined about the use of my time, too, especially with the classes I am in. Two sisters teach us Church History (Sister Jean Marie) and Church Doctrine (Sister Marian) respectively. My favorite class is Church History because Sister Jean Marie is so entertaining! We are currently going through heresies & martyrs of the 1st – 3rd centuries. I also have classes at Aquinas College, a four-year school that the Sisters run. I even get to drive one of our 15-passenger vans on Mondays. That is always fun.

Finally, as I was thinking about what I wanted to say to you all this week, I realized that I have not given a very good explanation of why I even entered the convent! (My sisters and I were laughing about that one). Then I had “Postulant Class” and realized that there was a great quote that went something like this:

“Man was created to know, love and serve God in this life. Then he is to see Him and posess Him in heaven. When God is known well, it is not hard to love Him. ANd when God is truly loved, it is not difficult to serve Him. When love is missing, serving becomes very difficult.

-Pope John Paul II’s address of 18 November 1984

The reason that I am here is all about love. Jesus called to me in love and I (finally) responded. He is the reason I am here and the reason that I will remain here as long as He wants. He calls all of us to love Him and in turn, to love those around us. I struggle sometimes with loving some of my sisters’ quirks, but I know that God gives me the grace when I need it. To be sure, this is not a career choice. Not. Not. Not. It’s a way of loving Him. All about Love.

Our life here is very joyful — actually, I have never laughed more (at myself) than I do when we are all together. We have a lot of fun here in the convent as well as a lot of prayer. Be assured that you all remain in my prayers. Thank you for the cards & letters — It’s nice to be remembered! Please keep your prayer intentions coming too! May God bless you until next time!

Sister Julie

Earlier today we added new Rosary Army Link Buttons to the site. Now we’ve added a new Spanish verion version of our “How to Pray the Rosary” instructions, courtesy once again of Rosary Army soldier Alejandro H., who has been a tremendous help in opening up Rosary Army to the Hispanic community. We’ve received countless requests for these Spanish instructions, so thanks to Alejandro, we’re finally able to offer them.

Also added today, courtesy of RA Soldier Lisa W. are printable Rosary Army business cards for all of you Rosary Army soldiers to give away to your friends and family, especially when you’re giving them an all-twine knotted Rosary made by your own hands!

So, many thanks to Alejandro and Lisa for your diligent work. I’m sure all of these documents will be well utilized! Pax Christi!

If you add a link to our website, please let us know. We’d love to visit your home on the Internet! Pax Christi!

Lately, though, I’ve started to see a rather unsettling trend among Catholic apostolates on the Internet. The founders of Catholicity (whose approach to simply giving things away helped form our model of making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries), have been struggling with their personal relationships, as reported in newspapers a few months ago. Patrick Madrid, the publisher of Envoy Magazine, is currently pleading for financial help or else that awesome magazine must cease publication. And most recently, Deal Hudson, publisher of Crisis Magazine and Catholic advisor to the president, disclosed an indiscretion of his from ten years ago that has brought shame to his fine publication and the hard work he has done for the Catholic Church.

While all of these events are very, very sad, to me they also illustrate a very simple fact: Catholic Apostolates are making a difference, and the devil is stopping at nothing to bring them down.

I regularly visit Envoy’s website, and I’ve listened to and been helped by many of Catholicity’s tapes and CDs. But I have to be honest. I don’t know how often I’ve actually prayed for them. Perhaps it’s a good time for all us to really start pouring on the prayers, not only for our Church, but for all of our Church’s apostolates that are working so hard to strengthen the Church, including Rosary Army, even though they are run by humans with very human struggles and weaknesses.

I learn of these things and have to pray for strength that I will not succumb to the fear that similar bad events could happen to Rosary Army. We must remember that He is our shepherd and in Him we shall not fear, and that Jesus has given us His mother Mary to help and guide us. St. Michael the Archangel, protect us! Pax Christi!

For all of you Rosary Makers who have participated in our Monthly Incentive Contests, you know that we often have copies of Gene’s awesome book on hand as possible incentive gifts.

People who know me know I’ve always been a big fan of comic books, and I’m particularly fond of Gene’s Rosary Comic. I can honestly say that I frequently use it during my Rosary meditations. This book brings the Mysteries alive in a whole new way, and we’ve been happy to have permission from Pauline Media to occasionally reprint certain Mysteries from the comic on their corresponding feast days.

It’s not just a comic. It’s a very spiritual meditation, a Scriptural Rosary, and a piece of art. I encourage you to support Gene’s work, and we thank Gene once again for creating such a great image to welcome visitors to Rosary Army. Pax Christi!

That could not have been an easy undertaking, but Alejandro graciously volunteered for the job. Because of his efforts, even more people now have the tools at hand to start making, praying, and giving away all-twine knotted Rosaries. Thanks again, Alejandro. I sincerely pray that God will bless you for your willingness to serve Him in this way. Pax Christi!

On top of that, there are a couple of decent-sized conferences over the next couple months that we thought about attending, but decided against at this time simply because we wouldn’t have many Rosaries to give away.

One of the great things about Rosary Army is the fact that so many people have learned how to make Rosaries and are giving them away to people they know. That’s exactly what we want people to do. But we also hope to continue giving them away to people who request them from us, in the hopes that even more people will start making them and giving them away, as well.

As more and more people request Rosaries from Rosary Army, our own ability to make Rosaries decreases as we spend more time processing requests and assisting people in other ways. Personally, I’m lucky if I get to make five Rosaries a month anymore, and I used to make at least three a day!

Last week I heard someone mention the old cliche that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So I’m squeaking! Do you have some all-twine knotted Rosaries ready to be given away? We could sure use them, if you do, especially solid colors. If you haven’t added a Crucifix yet, just send us your Rosary with enough twine on the end to make an Our Father knot and a Crucifix, and we’ll add one for you before giving it away.

Thanks to all of you who help keep this apostolate going. It never ceases to amaze me how thirsty people are for the prayers of the Rosary. The requests for free Rosaries just keep pouring in from people who are searching from all over the United States and the entire world. Let’s keep rushing forward together to give these people what they need. Pax Christi!

Those are some pretty funny numbers. Thanks for doing the math, Dad! But did that include all the knots, or just the Hail Mary knots? Pax Christi!

We’ll post more details in the days to come. For now, I’m ready for bed! And thanks once again to everyone who helped with this tremendous “mission” of giving away 2,000 Rosaries to some very happy people today. Pax Christi!

In preparation for the event I wrote a short essay about the Eucharistic Congress and how it affected me in the past and submitted the article to Catholic Exchange. It was published on their website this morning and I invite you all to read it to get an even better idea of how important this event can be. Though not everyone will be able to attend, your prayers could definitely have an effect on someone who desperately needs something like the Eucharistic Congress. Pax Christi!

As he did last year when we were getting ready for the Eucharistic Congress, the devil seems to be turning up the heat on us again. I’ve read repeatedly that he hates the Rosary, so we’re not in a real good business to get him to leave us alone. And each time he attacks, he seems to come at us from a different, unexpected angle. He attacks us through our two-year-old who throws one 30-minute tantrum after another. For Jennifer and Christine, he attacks through sleeplessness and homeschooling difficulties. For Ken and I, he attacks through our jobs and deadlines and distractions.

All of these things are common daily distractions, but lately they seem to have a stronger hue to them, a bit more power to break us down. All week long my resolve to stay positive seemed to be weakening. Then I happened to hear Fr. Corapi say one thing that really hit me : “The devil can’t touch you. Unless you’re in a state of mortal sin, he can’t touch you. He can try to oppress you, but he can’t touch you.”
Having just gone to Confession a few days before, that statement really had an impact. All the devil has been doing is trying to oppress us. Of course he’s trying to oppress us. There’s a very good chance we’ll make our goal of 2,000 Rosaries to give away at the Eucharistic Congress a week from tomorrow. I would think that he wants to beat us down as much as possible before now and then. All we need to do is stand vigilant and do not allow him to bait us into any serious sin. If we remain in the graces received through the Sacraments, the devil cannot touch us.

Saint Padre Pio, when he felt the devil attacking, used to say, “The Rosary is my weapon.” Well, we’ve got a couple thousand weapons waiting for the devil.

And we’re fighting back.

Please join other Rosary Army soldiers from around the world for the next nine days in praying the following novena prayer for the success of the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta, Georgia on June 12. Thanks to RA Soldier David from the Forums for composing these two beautiful prayers.

Prayers for the 2004 Eucharistic Congress:How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts!

My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.(*)

Almighty God, You have sent Your Holy Spirit across our nation to lead the body of Your faithful to gather at the table of the body of Your Son.

Happy are the people whose strength is in you!

whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.(*)

As the children of Israel traveled through the desert and were fed by manna of heaven, may those who travel to this Congress be fed by the eternal Manna.

Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs,

for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.(*)

As the magi were drawn to journey from their homeland to adore Your Son, may those who travel to this Congress arrive safely, and give adoration to Christ, our Lord.

LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

hearken, O God of Jacob.
Behold our defender, O God;

and look upon the face of your Anointed(*)

As your Son cried out on the cross, “I hunger,” so many in our nation continue to hunger, not realizing that they hunger for You. May the witness of the faithful who take part in this Congress bring more souls to the Bread which feeds all hunger.

The sparrow has found her a house

and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;

by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

Happy are they who dwell in your house!

they will always be praising you(*)

(*) selections from Psalm 84, RSV

Prayer to Our Lady for the Eucharistic Congress

Mother Mary, you willingly gave your own body as a vessel to bring the Body of God’s Son to the world;

Pray for us that we may always be willing to give ourselves to His service.

Mother Mary, you felt the beating of that heart which loves all humanity in your own heart;

Pray for us that our hearts may always beat with love for His heart.

Mother Mary you bodily nourished God made man at your breast;

Pray for us as we are nourished by His Body.

Mother Mary, you rejoiced as the magi came to adore the Holy Infant,

Pray for us that we may bring all peoples to adore Him.

Mother Mary, your hands baked bread and set the table in the humble home of Nazareth;

Pray for us as we raise our hands before the Table set by God’s Son.

Mother Mary, at your request Christ performed His first miracle at the wedding feast;

Pray for us as we are present to behold the miraculous feast of His Body on the altar.

Mother Mary, you beheld the King of kings’ Body tortured and maimed;

Pray for us as we behold this Body now adored upon the altar.

Mother Mary, you received from the cross the Body of our Savior;

Pray for us that we may receive His Body with thanksgiving for His suffering and death, and joy in His glorious resurrection.

All you angels, and all you saints, pray for us!

AMEN

In his document, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, Pope John Paul II encourages the faithful to hold local, regional, national, and even international Eucharistic Congresses, in which the faithful gather to foster devotion to Our Eucharistic Lord. Though there are several Eucharistic Congresses held throughout the United States, at this point we at Rosary Army are limited to focusing primarily on the one in Atlanta because that’s the one closest to where many of us live. Our prayer is that we’ll eventually have enough Rosaries and resources and volunteers throughout the country that in future years we’ll be able to have a presense at other Congresses.

The Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta is usually attended by more than 20,000 people and we’ve been busily gathering as many Rosaries as possible to freely give them away to those in attendance.

If you’re one of the many Rosary makers who have sent us Rosaries to give away, thank you once again. We have nearly 1,500 Rosaries (so far) to give away this year. And we’re still hoping and praying for a few miracles to bring in even more Rosaries in the next two weeks.

Because we typically focus on the Atlanta Eucharistic Congress, one thing that has always concerned me in promoting this event is the fear that people outside of travelling distance from Atlanta would view the Eucharistic Congress in this Archdiocese as simply a local event, and one that does not affect them. In reality, the success of this annual Congress over the years has had far reaching effects. As I mentioned earlier, Congresses have been held in places such as Chicago, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and elsewhere. These local Congresses tie us all together through unity in the Body of Christ. The Atlanta Eucharistic Congress strives for the same goal — to unify Christians in the sharing of the Eucharist.

We’ve had countless people tell us how much attending previous Eucharistic Congresses in Atlanta has had an effect on them. And we’ve also had countless people come to Rosary Army’s website and start making, praying, and giving Rosaries around the world as a result of stopping by our booth at the Eucharistic Congress and getting their own free Rosary.

All of you make an impact on the success of this day. Your prayers, not just for Rosary Army, are vitally important. In a few days I am going to invite all of you to join us in a nine-day novena for the success of this year’s Eucharistic Congress, for all of the searching souls who may find their way back to the Church as a result of the Congress, and for all of the potential Rosary makers and prayers who haven’t picked up a Rosary in years, or perhaps ever before, and need to be guided by our tables to get a free Rosary.

I hope that you’ll stay close to our website over the next few days, and that you would keep us in your prayers. Last year we were attacked left and right by the devil as we tried our best to prepare for the Eucharistic Congress. In many ways, the attacks have begun again. This is a good thing, though it’s sometimes hard to remember that. But it’s good because, to me, it’s a signal that God’s Will is being done, that the work all of us (including you) are doing is indeed fruit-producing work. So let us pray together over these next two weeks, that devotion to the Rosary would spread far and wide, and that the Lord would enable us to plant more seeds and spread more “tools” for His sake. Pax Christi!