BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--The prayer of the rosary is a means for the faithful to offer their sorrows, joys and hopes to Jesus and Mary as they meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life and relate them to their own experiences, Archbishop John F. Donoghue said at the 28th annual Rosary Rally.

“This is what happens when we say the Rosary -- we send up, to heaven, to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to the Mother of our Lord, the very sighs of our hearts,” said the archbishop Oct. 3 at a holy hour that followed the rosary recitation.

Pulling out their rosaries, approximately 150 Catholics gathered in the parking lot of Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Atlanta, on the warm and overcast afternoon to recite the prayer centering on Jesus and Mary that dates back to about the 13th century. Members of the Atlanta Serra Club placed a statue of Our Lady of Fatima before the outdoor congregation to begin the event.

Led by the choir from Our Lady of the Assumption Church, directed by Greg Codelli, the congregation sang “Sing of Mary” as they stood before the image of Mary surrounded by blue and white flowers. Master of ceremonies William Weller made welcoming remarks after which a prayer was offered for an increase in all vocations in the church. Petitions were made in reparation for the blasphemous art depicting Our Lady at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, for the pro-life movement and for the late Father Thomas Gilroy, SM, former Rosary Rally spiritual director.

Archbishop Donoghue led the rosary as OLA pastor Father James McGoldrick, SM, gave the meditations on the five glorious mysteries of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, Mary’s assumption into heaven and her crowning as queen of angels and men. Serra Club members then carried the Marian statue into the church through an honor guard formed of members of the Knights of Columbus Charles Greco Assembly.

Following exposition of the Blessed Sacrament there was a period of silent adoration.

In his homily, the archbishop recalled how he became impatient as a boy when reciting the rosary at home or at school and how he questioned its purpose.

“…Through the window, I could see the outside, and hear the beguiling sounds of other children at play -- and that’s where I would really want to be, and my impatience would grow even keener, as the decades moved slowly by, and my fingers crept so deliberately down the chaplet, towards that final, and liberating, Hail Holy Queen.”

Yet as he matured he began to see the relevance of the events in Christ’s life to those in his own.

“… I learned of the restorative power of the Rosary -- restorative, because it held the story and the meaning of Christ, and of all the events in Christ’s life which mean so much to us, when we apply them to our own lives,” he said.

He spoke of “the thrill of expectation in the Joyful Mysteries -- the heartbreak of confronting failure and mortality in the Sorrowful Mysteries -- and the glorious expectations that well from our hearts, as we gain hope and strengthen our Faith through the Glorious Mysteries.”

“These fifteen events -- fifteen stations in the saga of our Lord’s life, and the beautiful entwining of our Lord’s life with that of His Mother, as I grew older, came to be the most excellent symbol of our understanding of human life, of Redemption, and of the nature of reality as propounded, and as preserved by our Holy Catholic Faith,” he continued.

Archbishop Donoghue said that through the rosary, one may give one’s gratitude, over joys experienced through families, friends and other loved ones, to God and Mary. It is also a time to express sorrowful burdens of abortion, violence among children, the impersonal ruthlessness of biological engineering and genetic manipulation, the adoration of youthfulness, pleasure and money and other occurrences. And finally, one may express hope in the glory of our salvation brought about through the surrender to God’s plan of our Blessed Mother, who gave the world Jesus.

“The Rosary has many meanings -- it is the door which leads into a thousand worlds, worlds created by the needs of each day, the needs of every individual, and the overwhelming need of all mankind to be saved,” he concluded. “… (Mary) opens the door, beckoning us into a light we have never seen, but for which we have longed all the length of our days, saying … ‘after this our exile, dearest Mother, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.’”

The archbishop incensed the Blessed Sacrament after which he processed among attendees blessing them. The Blessed Sacrament was reposed and the service concluded as the faithful sang “Hail, Holy Queen.”

For Charlotte Hafley, a parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta, the rally was a time to pray for others.

“For me the world needs so much prayer. It’s another opportunity for me to honor Jesus’ mother, to thank God for giving her to us and to beg her to intercede for different situations” such as for an increase in vocations, for those who are sick, for the unborn and for the family.

Hafley is a member of the cathedral’s growing rosary group which, in addition to meeting for daily rosaries after Mass, is sending out hundreds of rosary packets containing a rosary, booklets with rosary meditations, a divine mercy chaplet and novena, a Miraculous Medal and other items.

As people have forgotten the rosary’s power, Hafley said the group is “doing what the Blessed Mother wants us to do -- mainly getting more prayer going between the Sunday liturgy, to encourage people to pray the rosary daily because the rosary is the chord which binds Satan.” She added that prayer could be done anywhere, whether while driving or attending daily Mass, the most powerful form of worship. Hafley noted that the rosary is the epitome of the Gospels and that meditating on its mysteries enables people to bear the fruits of God’s love to the world.

“God’s greatest gift to mankind was our dear Lord Jesus Christ for the redemption of mankind. Mary made the redemption possible by her fiat and therefore is also a great gift to us in assisting in our redemption … She had total trust in God and that’s what’s so amazing.”

Gabriel Onofre, a parishioner at St. Thomas More Church, Decatur, said that Mary has been a constant guide to him in his vocation.

“I’m a physician and my ministry of serving the sick is always enlightened by the Blessed Virgin Mary … (in) praying to the Virgin Mary I find that light, that guidance,” he said.

Attending his third rally, he also was strengthened through Mary in his commitment to protect all life.

“It makes sense for me to be a doctor, to have my Catholic faith that nurtures me day by day … It gives me the strength to value (all) life. I really feel very strong about life -- against abortion -- and that gives me more (of) the courage to be against abortion,” he said. “I have found that is my purpose really at this point in my life … serving the poor, the underserved, and because I am Hispanic, I have the special skills and privilege to serve Hispanics.”

Joan Coppiger, a parishioner at St. John Neumann Church, Lilburn, has been attending the rally since it began. She said, standing by her husband and daughter, that Mary has unified her family through the years as they’ve said the rosary together, particularly in times of trouble and joy, and that at this rally they thanked Mary for the birth of a new grandchild.

“When you raise a family you rely on her help constantly,” Coppiger said. “It’s important for families to (say the rosary) -- especially with the world in such upheaval. She brings sanity to the family. She brings hope and stability. She definitely brings us to her Son … We started with the rosary. That brought us to adoration and that brought us to trying to go to Mass more frequently.”

Patricia Attridge, the Rosary Rally’s planning committee chairperson and a parishioner at Corpus Christi Church, Stone Mountain, believes the rosary brings peace to an increasingly immoral society and that recitation in the archdiocese has been increasing in the last decade.

“The rosary is peace in the family, peace in the world … The more that we pray the rosary the more that I believe we are doing God’s will. It’s an ancient prayer,” she said. “People have a reverence for Mary. It is her prayer and we know she intercedes for us and we go to her as a mother as we would go to our own mother if we had a problem.”

She also believes Mary will lead those separated from God into Christ’s flock. “For the most part, most people are so far away from God and we need to return and I believe that Mary is the way. She leads us to Jesus.”

YOUNG FAITHFUL -- Holding flowers that surrounded a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, 6-year-old Alexis Atlridge, front, stands with her older sister Kiley in the gathering area outside of Our Lady of the Assumption Church. They were among 150 people at the annual rosary rally
Photo by Michael Alexander