Dear Friends of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

August is the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady shared the image of her Immaculate Heart with the children at Fatima and she told them. "Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God." and “I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day."

The children already prayed the rosary regularly but Our Lady asked them to pray it every day for world peace and to pray for souls who have no one to pray for them. The young children of Fatima were obedient to her request and responded by praying the rosary daily and by sacrificing and offering their sufferings for the conversion of sinners.

How do we respond these 105 years later? Many Catholics pray a rosary occasionally, many pray it regularly, and some pray it daily for world peace and the conversion of sinners as Our Lady requested. No matter what category we fall into, we can always strive to do better: to meditate on the Mysteries more devoutly, to pray the rosary more often, to truly entrust Our Lady with all our needs and believe that Our Lord grants all graces through her Immaculate Heart. Such perseverance in prayer is crucial, not only because it has been asked of us by Mary, the Mother of God, but also because it is efficacious for us as we merit the graces that are promised and it opens our hearts to the will of God.

Our devotion to the rosary has grown over the years, deepening our love for Our Lady and Our Lord. We started praying a daily family rosary with our children when they were in elementary school. Shortly after that we started inviting families to join us to pray the rosary around our firepit or after a Friday meal. As part of the Respect Life parish group, we led a parish rosary between the Sunday morning Masses to pray for life issues and the needs of the Church. As Catholic organizations encouraged public rosaries, we prayed on town squares, outside abortion mills, and for the protection of priests in front of police stations.

The fruit of praying the rosary led us to attend weekly family Holy Hours and a weekly Adoration Hour. The weekly hour of Adoration taught us to love Jesus in the Eucharist and enabled us to receive Him more reverently and humbly at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Many prayers were answered and our Faith grew in our parish Adoration chapel!

Therefore, when our friend Peggy Downs first established the Diocesan Rosary Congresses, we gave our full support to promote this amazing apostolate which includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of the rosary. We started a Traveling Rosary Congress in the Archdiocese of Hartford and later becoming board members for the Diocesan Rosary Congresses. The priests and the parishioners of the Archdiocese of Hartford had countless graces bestowed on them, individually and as hosting parishes, over the last five years. We recently moved to Virginia and are planning the first Rosary Congress for our diocese this October.

Our family’s dedication to praying the rosary and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are the sources of many blessings within our family, including conversions, healings, and vocations to married life and the religious life. We are sinners striving to reach our eternal home; the rosary and Adoration are the surest aids to assist us on our journey!

We look forward to the Diocesan Rosary Congress this fall and hope you can participate and/or introduce a Rosary Congress to your diocese.

God bless you and your families,