The rosary can transform society

BY BR DAMAZIO NGOMA

In the second part of his reflections on the power of the rosary, Dominican Brother DAMAZIO NGOMA discusses how prayer can transform not only the individual, but also society.

Visiting Naples in 2007, Pope Benedict said: “Prayer, not politics, is what transforms the world.” Prayer is indeed a most powerful means to change things in the society.

The rosary is designed to create room for trust in the loving mercy of God. The rosary is composed of 20 decades. Each decade is recited in honour of a particular mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ and Mary his mother. The customary recommendation is that we recite the five decades at a time while meditating on a particular set of the mysteries.

A woman prays the rosary beside a statue of Christ and Mary at Notre Dame cathedral in Cotonou, Benin.

The “Hail Mary” is recited repeatedly, emphasising the request to Mary, the mother of God, to intercede for us. It brings about an atmosphere of trust in God’s providence. God will always be on our side if we consistently ask for guidance and direction through our mother Mary.

The rosary is designed to create this attitude of asking God continuously by repetitively reciting the “Hail Mary”.

It is through prayer that we can bring about change and conversion in people’s lives and society as a whole. Change through prayer is long-lasting and beneficial to all people. The problem is that often people forget to include God in their plan to transform the world. Pope Benedict’s statement in Naples was an invitation to us all that God has a major role to play through us.

God uses people in any salvific work. We can meet God through prayer. The rosary is one of the powerful prayers where we meet God and face the reality of life with courage. The mysteries we meditate on through the prayers of the rosary will help us to understand our situation on the ground.

In his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002), on the most holy rosary, Pope John Paul II added five new mysteries: the Mysteries of the Light.

In one of these mysteries, we celebrate Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God and conversion. In view of the current achievements in the different fields of human life, the human person has surely been enlightened. God’s kingdom is becoming more and more meaningful to so many people.

The word of God in the context of modern scientific technology is becoming available and accessible to almost everybody. It has become a strong tool for the restoration of peace and justice. We therefore have enough reason to celebrate this time—the Mysteries of the Light.

Besides all these positive developments, the 20th century came with unique challenges too. There is a new way of hegemony known as neo-colonialism. African nations are becoming subjects of rich nations of the West not through armed occupation, but through the economy.

Neo-colonialism has created a new enslavement whereby people are haves or have-nots. There is unequal distribution of national wealth which has provoked national revolts.

Such situations reflect the sorrowful moments of human life. It is then that we turn to the sorrowful mysteries. Contemplating  the passion of Jesus Christ, the element of sorrow in biblical terms started with the conspiracy against Jesus in which the disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him. The betrayal went further when Peter denied him three times.

Jesus was arrested, mocked, tried in court, flogged and led to Calvary. The climax of the sorrowful crisis was his crucifixion and death. The historical testimony of the Passion of Christ included so many other personalities who played a part in the whole episode.

Applying such a testimony in today’s life, there are so many people who have played a major role in the misery of most poor people and nations. The political-economic misery of many nations today can be attributed to greed, dictatorial regimes and many other injustices. The implication is that we are still betraying Jesus Christ when we contribute to the misery of innocent people.

Reflecting on the sorrowful mysteries is one way of looking at the current situation in our countries, families and personal lives. Sadly even those who profess Jesus Christ as their Saviour contribute to the betrayal of innocent people, in various ways and without feelings of guilt or remorse. This is a contradiction of what we believe and profess as Christians.

The current situation in many nations is bleak. Many people are still languishing in poverty which none of us who are not afflicted by it can comprehend. There is still political turmoil in many African nations. The rate of unemployment is very high. Most regimes lack the political will to be at the service of their citizens.

In some areas, people have resorted to violence as a means to transform such unjust structures. It is in this context that we witness the deaths of innocent people. There are reports of merciless shootings in some big cities as a  means of curbing down crime and  to stop people from conducting their peaceful demonstrations.

How do we carry on loving with that? One of the solutions to all these problems is to include God in our plan of action.

We can meet God through prayer and in this case, let us resort to the sorrowful mysteries where Jesus himself will talk to us through the intercession of his mother Mary. Prayer is so powerful and it can change the world. The crosses we are carrying as human beings will be light if we include God who will ease our problems.

People of good will on various occasions have intervened, but things seem not to change. Sin is so prevalent in our society and it continues to affect so many innocent people.

Fr Albert Nolan OP in his book Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom talks at length about the different structures of sin. He is more concerned with those who are sinned against, implying those who suffer do so not because of their own making, but because they are the victims of certain structures and ideologies. They are the most vulnerable group of people in the society.

This is the biggest group in our society. They are simply victims of circumstances. In trying to address the problems facing the majority of the poor people, we often tend to forget God. We trust so much in our own potential, and yet experience shows that the efforts that have been made fail to meet the basic needs of the sufferers.

And so we must return to prayer. Prayer is powerful. Prayers of the rosary have changed the lives of so many people. It is a powerful weapon that could transform the world and a powerful tool that can help us solve our problems in life.

Mary mother of God, pray for us and manifest to us the power of your prayers of the rosary.