Rosary events across the Diocese focus on respect for life in the womb

CLIFTON  Today, Oct. 7, marks the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and each year, the Church dedicates the month of October to the Most Holy Rosary.

To mark this special month, throughout the Diocese rosary events will be held, many with the intention to pray for the current state of the country.

In addition to the month being dedicated to the rosary, October is also Respect Life Month. Using the power of the rosary, Lifenet, a N.J. based pro-life ministry, will be coordinating a virtual 3k Rosary for Life on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. Partnering with Array of Hope, Lifenet is hoping to get 3,000 participants to pray 15 decades of rosary at that time. Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli will start the evening with opening remarks and will lead the first mystery of the rosary. Priests from around the state will be leading the rest of the 15 decades of the rosary — Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries.

“I believe ending abortion is the closest thing to Our Lady and Our Lady’s heart right now,” said Christine Flaherty, executive director of Lifenet, “We have so much to pray for. In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy and other Democrats from around the state are pushing the Reproductive Freedom Act, an extremely radical bill designed to expand taxpayer-funded abortions, including late-term abortions.”

Those interested in joining the virtual rosary can participate by either logging on by computer link to the Array of Hope channel where they will be able to see the priests leading the rosary or by conference call, which is audio only. The rosary will take place on the 104th anniversary of the “Miracle of the Sun,” at Fatima, where Our Lady appeared before three shepherd children requesting them to pray for the world.

With a goal of 3,000 participants, Lifenet is asking all the faithful to join in praying the rosary and to invite people to join in their parish communities and serve as a rosary captain. Holly Wright, project coordinator at Lifenet, who also serves as house director of Casa Guadalupe, a house of discernment for women, in Clifton, said, “Last year we did the rosary with 1,000 people and we had 1,500 people praying. So this year, in light of the Reproductive Freedom Act and the upcoming election, we figured we needed to redouble our efforts.”

Flaherty added, “We also wanted to honor the Holy Trinity by having a ‘three’ in our goal.”

According to Flaherty, at present in N.J. more than 30 percent of pregnancies, excluding miscarriages, end in abortion. There are more than 48,000 abortions every year. “According to Guttmacher Institute data from 2017, which is the latest available, New Jersey has the tragic distinction of having the highest abortion rate of all the 50 states measured by abortions per thousand women of reproductive age at 28, which is more than twice the national average.”

In addition to the virtual rosary, on Oct. 10, a Rosary Coast to Coast will be held, which is anchored by the fifth annual National Rosary Rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. In the Diocese, the N.J. Order of Malta is hosting the Rosary Coast to Coast at the Knights of Columbus, 84 Lincoln Park Rd., Pequannock, beginning at 4 p.m. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will deliver the invocation and lead the rosary procession from the Knights of Columbus Hall to Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock to pray the Glorious Mysteries.

Oct. 16 is another important date for many in-person rosary rallies, which will be outdoors at many parishes around the Diocese as part of the America Needs Fatima movement. (A partial list of rosary events around the Diocese appears below.)

“There is an urgent need for prayer in our country, in our world right now,” Wright said. “I think we all feel a sense of urgency, but we can feel helpless. There are things going on that only God can save us from — but we need to raise awareness. We need to pray for legislators who will pass laws for the protection of the babies in the womb and their families.”

A partial list of rosary events around the Diocese