ARGENTINA, Juan Barbosa •
The HALF PAST 6 Rosary, prayed by madrugadores from different places in Argentina, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Monterrey, Chile, and Venezuela, has caused a new link in the chain, which already includes the weekly Rosary with penitentiaries (the beginning of a new community and in the middle of quarantine) and the e-mateadas (e-“mate sessions” = ZOOM talks with different personalities): The Rosary of the families. In the first one that has been carried out, and which brought an intention to pray it monthly, 18 screens with 51 people of different ages praying, gave a truly exciting setting. Pure life!—
On an anniversary, the idea came up.
We should remember that this Rosary is 100% male, with an average of 32 people praying daily and it has been 262 days of uninterrupted prayer, mainly because of the end of the pandemic, but for many other reasons also. At the end of the first eight months since its beginning, one of the persons praying shared his wife’s happiness with this initiative and how well she saw her husband praying along with other men… from other provinces and countries!
This man wondered if it would not be good to pray it sometime with his life partners, “since we are going through this very difficult situation that is the pandemic, together”
One by one, they added themselves and that is how the most convenient date and time was set… The “First Family Rosary of those who pray with the HALF PAST 6” was underway!
Mariano Morán, from Monterrey, Mexico, one of the first praying men, kindly offered to organize it and with a team made up of his wife Daniela and others began to work.
How good we are here!
Without a doubt, it was a tough challenge since not only do many of the usual praying men not know each other (only virtually and through prayer), but now the wives would meet, and some would participate with their children… All unknown but united in the heart of the same Mother. Only Mary can carry out such an action.
The previous “climate” was extremely enriching since the exchange motivated several to incorporate new customs, to listen attentively to the realities of the others and to realize that… there were many coincidences between all!
One of the wives, only a few days before, had had surgery, but… there was no way she was going to miss the Rosary! One family, all dressed in Christmas headbands, were the delight of the people praying. “Those children with their fancy parents”, some commented. Another family, after each mystery, sang their songs with guitars incarnating the “Whoever has a charisma must share it”.
Reaching out
The joy of the exchange at the beginning and the presentations were followed by a total solemnity at the moment of the Rosary and at the end, again a joyful and deep conversation. Mary was, without a doubt, in their midst encouraging them to continue to unite themselves to Jesus.
The comments were endless and the excitement of some people talking was incredibly contagious.
They agreed to meet monthly in a similar way (virtual) and to invite others to join them to allow many to enjoy what they experienced: generosity and a “reaching out” attitude taken to the extreme.
In Schoenstatt, in the Church and with the families, definitely… THERE IS A TEAM.
Original: Spanish 2020-12-21. Translated by Maria Aragón, Monterrey, México/mf
