The ‘power and beauty’ of praying the rosary
By Wendy Shaw
Launceston Parish Priest Fr Leonard Caldera hopes more parishioners will come to appreciate the power and beauty of praying the Rosary.
In addition to the annual public Rosary held under the cross in the grounds of the Church of the Apostles in Launceston on 12 October, the Launceston parish also hosted a special Mass dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, followed by the Rosary, on 7 October. There is also a long-standing weekly Monday Night Rosary event at the Church of the Apostles at 7.30pm to give thanks to Blessed Mother Mary for the many blessings she bestows.
Fr Leonard urged families and individuals to unite to pray the Rosary every day throughout October, which he descried as “a powerful devotion to Mary, the august Mother of God, as she continues to point the way to her son, who is the way to our salvation”.
“The Rosary is an ancient form of prayer that helps us to connect with the life of Jesus,” Fr Caldera said.
“In my own life as a young man and as a priest it has really helped me to get rid of all the clutter and all the noises that you hear and it just helps you to focus on what is most important – on the life of Jesus – and therefore that is why I wanted to focus very much on it here in this parish.
“Since this is Pope Francis’s Year of Prayer, I thought the Rosary is the best way and the most accessible way for people to really pray the simple form of prayer.
“Also, I have a great devotion to Mary, the mother of God, so I thought we will start off the month of the Rosary by the celebration of her feast on 7 October and I have been writing articles in the parish bulletin on Marian devotion – why it is important to us and also the beauty of praying the Rosary.
“It is not just spiritual, but also it helps us psychologically and in other ways, to ground us to things that are most important and to move away from the mundane, to something much more, and therefore I have been encouraging parishioners to say the rosary.”
Fr Caldera is already planning for a greater focus on the Rosary next year, as a way to celebrate the Jubilee Year as well as to draw more people to Jesus through Mary.
“The Jubilee’s theme is ‘pilgrims of hope’ – with hope, we draw to our Lord through Mary, who is the perfect example and the perfect disciple of Jesus, so I think that is a good way to do it,” Fr Caldera said.
Meanwhile, about 30 people attended a public Rosary in the grounds of the Church of the Apostles, part of a nationwide public rally to pray, sing and seek God’s blessing on Australia and peace in the world.
Launceston Parish Assistant Priest Fr Jessie Banez led the devotions, with Mary Sexton as soloist and Rozanne Neskovcin the chief organiser.
“It was glorious,” Mary said afterwards.
“Fr Jessie also blessed everyone with holy water. It was a beautiful day and well worth coming.”
Mary also paid tribute to Mary Siejka, the driving force behind the public Rosary in Launceston for many years, who died in 2022.