October is the month of the Rosary. Following our tradition of a guest editorial on the Rosary during October, this weekend’s editorial is by Fr Jason Gordon, parish priest of the Church of the Holy Rosary, Port of Spain.

The Rosary often falls into the chasm of our age. On one hand are the traditional devotees, praying the rosary in church before or after Mass.

“HAIL Mary full of grace…”! The jarring repetition of what should be a rhythmic sound calls attention to the faithful band, the prayer warriors on their knees before their God.

On the other hand are the tech-savvy youth, connected to the world through cell, iPods, gaming, cable TV and the internet, totally bored, distracted by the device of choice, disturbed by each new bead. Each generation looks on, disconnected from the heart of what drives the other.

This simple prayer has gestated in the womb of the church from the fourth century Desert Fathers. Seeking ways to count repetitious prayer, first with sticks and stones, the prayer emerged by the 12th century with the beads we pray and the meditations on the life of Christ.

Clusters of ten beads—punctuated by the Glory be and the Our Father—combined the greeting of the angel Gabriel with that of Elizabeth. The Apostles’ Creed was added in the 16th century.

The Rosary is an evolving prayer and has always been about connectivity. First is the connectivity within the devotee: connecting breath with fingers, imagination with devotion and, ultimately, heaven with earth. In the digital divide of today’s world, can the Rosary continue its role as connector?

We say “recitation” of the Rosary! Maybe that is the problem! It has never been about recitation. The Rosary is contemplative prayer. The rote nature of the repetitive prayer frees the mind and heart to contemplate the mysteries of Christ.

The simple rhythm, like the Jesus prayer in the East, moves the devotee through piety to contemplation and ultimately to surrender—standing powerless before God and the world.

In his Apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II says: “Simple yet profound, it still remains … a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.”

Growing without devotion

Here is the relevance of the Rosary in our time. It opens the believer to contemplate the central mysteries of our faith. It also encourages communal prayer, bringing the faithful together in one mind and heart before their God.

Pope Pius XII placed the Rosary in the setting of the family, expecting it to be the connectivity of the domestic Church around the mystery of Christ. This is one place to which the rosary should return.

Today, the connectivity needed is between the generations of the faith. We have not handed on the traditional forms of prayer that we were taught, and our children, growing without devotion and sound moorings, are often cut adrift in a materialistic sea.

The Rosary stands as the antithesis of this culture. It is not savvy, not fast-paced, not filled with numerous images per minute to distract. It is a simple rhythm inviting surrender. Letting go! Allowing God in!

The simplicity of the Rosary is its beauty! The mysteries, now 20, focus the mind and imagination to contemplate the way of Christ. In the prayer the believer is offered a space for self-emptying. Here rote prayer leads to contemplation and contemplation to discipleship.

For all the connectivity of our young to the globalised world, their connectivity to their interior landscape is often missing. Likewise, for all of the praying of our elderly, the connection to contemplation and deep connection with God is often sidestepped.

The Rosary remains a way, one amongst many, to the heart of God. It has been the prayer of scholars, peasants and saints. It can be our prayer today.