Prayer has the power to transform today’s Catholics into modern-day apostles who can respond to what the world truly needs, said the new acting international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
Most people claim they want unity, but usually they mean they want others to unite around their own point of view, which gives rise to conflict, Pope Francis said.
The rosary as we have it today developed over many centuries. As early as the 2nd or 3rd century, monks in the desert used knotted ropes as they prayed. The rosary itself became known as “The Poor Man’s Breviary.” Since most people couldn’t read or pray the 150 Psalms of the Bible as was done in monasteries, the practice of substituting an Our Father and later a Hail Mary for each of the Psalms gradually grew up. Mysteries were added later still, focal points for reflecting on the key events in the life of Jesus and Mary, from the Annunciation to the Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.