My Rosary Story: A Middle-of-the-Night Rosary for Souls

Barb Szyszkiewicz describes an urgent impulse to pray the Rosary for a soul who had clearly struggled in life.

I was called on to sing at a funeral Mass one day this past summer, and after I read the obituary it became clear that the death was due to addiction. Sadly, this is not the first in that family to die in this way. These are not people I know, but they live in my neighborhood.

On the night before the funeral, I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and that was on my mind. I couldn't go back to sleep because I kept thinking about it, so I decided to pray a Rosary. On the bedside table, I had a knotted-twine Rosary made for me by a friend.

I dedicated that Rosary for the repose of the soul of that recently deceased young man.

As soon as I finished the whole Rosary, I went right off to sleep. I guess I was not being let off the hook -- I needed to pray for him right that minute.

In the morning before the funeral, I got in touch with the friend who had made that Rosary for me, and asked her to pray too.

An urgent impulse to pray for a soul who has clearly struggled in life is not something we should ignore. And who better to intercede for such a soul than the Blessed Mother -- our Mother?

As we prepare to celebrate the feast of the holy souls, let's remember them in our prayers, especially in the Rosary.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.