A letter to you

Dear Friends,

In Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II asked us to celebrate 2003 as the Year of the Rosary. The Marian months of May and October and the months between them offer us a central time-frame for educating and promoting the value of the Rosary in our lives.

The familiar beads place a simple way of praying in our hands. This is why the Rosary has been taken up by millions of believers across the centuries. It is a way of meditating on Jesus Christ. We join Mary, our Mother, in a rhythm of prayer, as we meditate on his life, death and Resurrection in the joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. The Rosary has been described the “Gospel at our fingertips”. At this time in the Archdiocese, it provides another way of contemplating the Lord so that we may “launch out” on his mission in the world.

In these troubled times, I also commend the Rosary to you as a prayer of intercession. We join Mary, Queen of Peace, praying that the reconciling love of her Son may lead us beyond conflicts and suffering to the glory of his Kingdom.

Let me add my own personal witness to the value of this prayer in my life. I have found the rosary a simple daily companion. In joy and when tired I pray it - and find peace with Jesus and Mary.

May the Holy Spirit inspire and guide you as you pray and promote Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.