The love of the mother, Our Lady of the Rosary
October 10, 2017
My heart broke into pieces as I sat watching the news nervously waiting for the siren alert on my phone to signal another tornado was touching down. Where was it going to land? Will my family and I be safe? I felt disheartened and hopeless.
There are many difficult times we face where everything seems at a loss. The most recent time I felt this was in early September when I witnessed Hurricane Harvey devastate the city I love.
Houston is the city where I was born. More than the city, I love the great and beautiful people that make this city what it is. To see them suffering and in pain tore my heart into pieces. This is the city my mother migrated to and made home. This is the city she raised me in; this is my city.
I remember growing up, and during the most difficult moments in my life, my mother was there. She was there when my friends rejected me in grade school, or when my girlfriend dumped me in high school. Mom was always there. I knew I could run to her. It did not matter when or what it was, she was there for me. I could trust her because I knew she loved me.
My mom was the same woman who introduced me to the Blessed Mother. She knew the Blessed Mother could protect, guide and love me far greater than she could. She entrusted me to her.
Paragraph 511 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the following about the Blessed Mother: “The Virgin Mary ‘cooperated through free faith and obedience in human salvation.’ She uttered her yes ‘in the name of all human nature’. By her obedience she became... mother of the living.” The Catholic Church is very clear that the Blessed Mother’s yes was to be a disciple of God. Her yes led her to be the Mother of God. She was with Jesus Christ every step of the way.
Her yes also led her to be our Mother. If we open ourselves to a relationship with her, she will be there by our side. We can trust her because she loves us. We can run to her because she will always lead us to her Son. During the most critical moments in my life, I ran to the Blessed Mother by reciting the Holy Rosary.
The Rosary is a beautiful prayer that focuses on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This year the Catholic Church celebrated the 100-year anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima, and one of her main messages was to pray the Rosary for the salvation of the world.
Praying with beads has been done for many centuries, but it was not until the 13th century the Rosary we know of today took form. It was during a time when the Catholic Church was experiencing opposition from a heretical sect that the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Dominic and instructed him tell the world about the Holy Rosary.
It can be daunting if you have not prayed it before, but let me give you some perspective. On average, adolescents spend 9 hours on media daily. The Rosary takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to pray, which is the minimum time it takes for a majority of drivers to get from one place to another in Houston. It is feasible to say a Rosary while sitting in traffic during the afternoon rush hour.
It has been almost two months since Hurricane Harvey hit, and the Archdiocese, but most especially the peoples’ hearts, are still broken. Much work still needs to be done to rebuild, heal and move forward. The country can seem torn at times as well, and many of us are going through our own personal struggles. But let us not fear! Let us lift each other up to the Blessed Mother.
We cannot forget she is by our side. She is always near us and we can be rest assured that all our worries and anxieties will be taken care of. That is what Mother does best. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Dunn Estacio is an associate director with the Archdiocesan Office of Adolescent Catechesis and Evangelization.