The Power of the Rosary

Shannon Whitmore reflects on what the daily recitation of the Rosary has done in her life.

My father had not regularly attended Mass for decades. As a child, I remember going to Mass with my mom and siblings. As an adult, I was always impressed by husbands who went to church with their families. It was a deep longing in my heart, and when it was time for me to settle down and start a family, I knew that I needed to find a man who would come to Mass with me. Then I met my now-husband, who has always been an incredible spiritual leader in our home. We attend Mass as a family most weekends, and I know that our two children recognize the value of this time together.

My son received his first Holy Communion last year. During his preparations, we decided to begin praying a daily Rosary, and a few months into it, my son started offering it up for my dad. After the first few times, when we realized that this intention had become a regular one, we all began offering up our Rosary for my dad. I knew what I was praying for. I wanted my dad to go back to church.

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As the months passed, the Rosaries began to add up and every prayer brought us one day closer to my son’s First Communion. Then, one week before the big day, we found out that my dad had made the necessary arrangements to go to confession. I was shocked. I knew what that meant.

And sure enough, after I watched my son, dressed in his little white suit, receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, I watched my father do the same. And we’ve watched him do it every Sunday since then. My father is a regular reminder to us of the power of the Rosary.

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I was not a big fan of the Rosary growing up. I always found it too repetitive and boring. I preferred to pray straight to Jesus, rather than through His Mother. I had other prayer forms that I liked better, that seemed to speak to me more deeply than the Rosary did. But then I became a mom, and suddenly Mary was a much more relatable person. She knew what it means to be a mom, to love your child more than life itself, to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of your child. And the more I thought about Mary, the more I wanted to pray with her. And so we began to pray her prayer, the Rosary, every day as a family.

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I have seen the great power of the Rosary. I have seen it soften hearts. I have seen it work miracles. #CatholicMom

I have seen the great power of the Rosary. I have seen it soften hearts. I have seen it work miracles. I have seen it change relationships. I have seen it strengthen the faith of those who pray it, as well as those for whom we pray. Mary wants all of her children wrapped in her mantle. She wants us to love her Son more fully. And as I’ve learned over the past year, those who prayerfully draw closer to Mary inevitably draw closer to her Son.

How have you seen the power of the Rosary reflected in your life?

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