October is known throughout the Catholic Church as the month of the rosary; it is a time to honor Mary and reflect on her intercession through prayer. At Xavier College Preparatory, students and faculty came together on October 21 to celebrate that tradition with an all-school rosary, uniting in prayer and reflection.
The act of praying the rosary with multiple people is something that brings Catholics closer together within the faith. By doing this, Xavier not only continued its strong Catholic tradition but contributed to the cultivation of the Catholic community as a whole.
On October 7 the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
When Catholics pray the rosary they are not praying to Mary, rather they are asking for her intercession. A common misconception about the rosary is that Catholics are worshiping Mary. Praying the rosary is actually a meditation on the life of Jesus Christ looking to Mary as a guide.
A common visual for praying the rosary is the idea of passing through a garden, leading to God himself. Through this idea, one can understand how the praying of the rosary is not an ideology of the Blessed Mother, but instead a stepping stone for the growth of a Catholic soul.
“The most important part of it is knowing and understanding the mysteries of the rosary rather than just praying the beads,” said Noah Minton, sophomore theology teacher.
Ultimately the rosary isn’t just a physical representation of the Catholic faith, but a spiritual representation of a journey through life.
“When we pray the rosary we meditate on the different mysteries of Jesus Christ and his life and we use Mary as a lens to where we can see Jesus more clearly,” said Kaiti-Lynn Beazley, campus ministry.
“Sometimes I think people think we are worshiping Mary but if you look at the mysteries they are taking us through the life of our Lord Jesus with Mary and meditating on that,” said Danielle Lambert, campus ministry.
The reason for the all-school rosary on October 21 was because of Pope Leo XIV. He called on Catholics all around the world to pray the rosary in the month of October for peace in the world due to current events.
Leo said that now is a time for people to come together in prayer in response to ongoing global conflicts.
Xavier further observed the idea presented by Leo and decided to do an all-school prayer.
During the all-school rosary the bleachers of the gym were filled with students holding rosaries and praying together. For many students, the all-school prayer was a reminder of the importance of prayer and community.
The all-school rosary additionally allowed students at Xavier to relax and fully enter into prayer. Praying together helped many to stay focused on prayer.
“I had a lot of girls coming up to me and saying that that was relaxing and it felt like they could just enter into it,” Lambert said.
Due to the positive feedback that has been received from the all-school rosary from both students and staff, many are hoping to have another one in the future.
