Pope Benedict XVI promotes rediscovering the Rosary and the Virgin Mary during Year of Faith

Pope Benedict XVI is suggesting that families and parishes rediscover the prayer of the Rosary in the Year of Faith, which begins on October 11 this year and will last until November 24, 2013.

“With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel, so that it shapes all our lives,” the Pope said in one of his Sunday Angelus comments.

Pope Benedict recalled how his predecessor Blessed John Paul II promoted the Rosary in his 2002 apostolic letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae.”

“I invite you to pray the Rosary personally, in the family and in the community, learning at the school of Mary, which leads us to Christ, the living center of our faith,” Pope Benedict reiterated his message.

 “May these events confirm us in the beauty and joy of our faith in Jesus Christ which comes to us through the Church!” the Pontiff said, before imparting his apostolic blessing. He concluded with these words of blessings, “Entrusting these intentions to our Lady of the Rosary, I invoke upon all of you God’s abundant blessings!”

Vocation Promoters' Encounter in Johannesburg, South Africa

Sister Maria Gisela “Leng” Lapez, a Pauline missionary in Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in the Vocation Promoters' Encounter together with a group of priests and sisters in the Diocese of Johannesburg. Many young people attended the vocation weekend retreat. 

Sister Leng said, “Most of the young boys in our group will enter either the diocesan, religious priesthood or brotherhood. The girls are the ones who are still too young to enter the religious life. But they already have the desire and continue attending our monthly formation. The retreat is our end of the year activity for those who are deciding already or are regularly attending.”

She thanks everyone for their prayers and expresses her gratitude to all those who attended and participated in the program.

If you think God might be calling you to the priesthood or religious life, and would like to experience firsthand what this kind of life is, Sister Leng is inviting you to their regular vocation encounter.