"Rosary to the Borders" - An Invitation to the Laity

"Rosary to the Borders"
​             - An Invitation to the Laity
                                                 by the Rt Revd Dom Alistair Bate OSBA (csr)

Last weekend on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (7/10/17) a wonderful event happened in Poland when more than 150,00 people gathered at over 4,000 locations along the country’s 2,000 mile border to pray the Rosary. This event, entitled “Rosary to the Borders” was organised by lay people, with the support of many clergy and religious and involved 320 churches from 22 dioceses. 

The purpose of the event was threefold: Firstly, to pray for peace. Secondly, to pray that Europe might yet again be saved from islamisation and thirdly to mark the 100th anniversary of the appartitions of Our Lady of Fatima. 

Poland is truly a bright lamp shining in a darkened heathen and secular Europe and it is my hope and prayer that good Catholics everywhere - both inside and outside the Roman Church will learn from Poland and follow her pious example. 

“Rosary to the Borders” is a great example of lay involvemnet in evangelisation, and evangelisation is of course the primary need of the world today. Poland may be fortunate in having a healthy church with plenty of vocations, but elsewhere in Europe the clergy are mostly aged and often luke-warm in their faith, as well as their patriotism. So even greater, therefore, is the need for enthusiastic lay apostles.

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Blessed Maria Franciszka Kozlowska

I am sure that Blessed Maria Franciszka Kozlowska, the foundress of the Mariavite movement would be proud of her fellow countrymen and women, for Mariavitism too has a huge lay following and its primary purpose is also evangelisation and ultimately the salvation of the world by means of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Help of Mary. These two essential pillars of true Catholicism are easily understood by the simplest souls as well as the most sophisticated theologians and are, in my opinion, the perfect eternal recipe for the communication of the gospel. If Europe is ever to be Christian again it will only be through Adoration of the Divine Presence with us in the Holy Sacrament, and the Help of Mary.

Obviously we need priests to make Our Lord’s presence visible on the altar, but both clergy and laity can participate equallly in evangelisation with Mary, which need not be at all complicated - family rosary, rosary and other devotions in public places, informal talks with friends and strangers, and above all the distribution of both rosaries and brown scapulars for as St Dominic prophesied, “one day through the rosary and the scapular Our Lady will save the world”. These are the most important weapons in the armoury of the zealous children of Mary and that day foretold long ago by St Dominic  is now upon us. The secularisation of Europe, the cradle of Christianity,  is almost complete, but the whole of global Christendom needs strengthening and renewal, particularly in the developed world. We need empowered apostles - clerics, lay and religious -  to make Our Lady known and loved everywhere, to teach and distribute the rosary, invest converts with the scapular and lead them to the altar.

In the Confraternity of the Life of Mary any of our clergy members will be only too happy to bless rosaries, scapulars and miraculous medals for distribution to members of the public and we would urge you please, all who read this article, to consider your call as an evangelist with Mary. You don’t have to be able to teach complicated doctrines, no, all that is needed is an open heart, a willingness to listen from the heart and to pray with whomsoever the Lord leads unto your path. Mary was not a theologian but her simple Yes to God’s call brought His Divine Presence into the world, so with her help you too can make a real differance in the world.

'All to Jesus through Mary, all to Mary for Jesus.'