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Rosary Sunday
Thousands converge in Marian prayer
By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
November 15, 2007
An overflow crowd of more than 4,000 Catholics packed the Phoenix Convention Center Oct. 28 for the diocese’s annual Rosary Sunday celebration.
The Marian day featured music, talks, the rosary, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and benediction.
This year’s Rosary Sunday honored Mary under her title “Queen of All Saints,” which Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said reminds Catholics of the universal nature of the Church.
“We gather as one holy, Catholic and apostolic Church, under the mantle of the mother of the Church, Our Lady,” he said at the event. “We, in a particular way, thank God for lifting her up and making her Queen of All Saints.”
More than 135 altar servers from across the diocese participated in the day, and the blessing procession before Bishop Olmsted drew more than 1,200 representatives of parishes, organizations and ethnic groups.
One group of Hispanic Catholics carrying a statue of Mary shouted, “¡Viva la Virgen!” as they passed the bishop. They were followed by children wearing traditional Polish dress, who were followed by a Filipino community.
But for all the diocese’s vibrant and different ethnicities, there remains a common calling to holiness and prayer, said keynote speaker Franciscan Father Mark Mary of the Eternal Word Television Network.
“We need to stand up for our faith and stand up for the teachings of moral law. We need strength to do that, the strength that’s beyond our own human strength,” he said. “We need God’s grace and we need to be men and women of prayer.”
He paraphrased an All Saints sermon given by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger about the influence Mary and the saints can have on Christians.
“We keep our gaze on Mary and the saints and they remind us that we are, like them, loved by God,” he said. “I think that’s one thing that Mary does for us. She reminds us of the hope we need to have in God.”
Striving for holiness
“Saintliness” was a theme threaded through much of this year’s celebration. Many children came to the event dressed as their favorite saint and Michael Dixon, who emceed Rosary Sunday, said these “spiritual heroes” should inspire Catholics of all ages.
“It’s important for us to remember that saints were and are real people. They are like us and we are like them,” he said. “We want to be like them. We are named after them.”
Bishop Olmsted said the feast of All Saints helps the Church remember the saints who aren’t well known. The diocese’s Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral honors two such saints.
“It reminds us that holiness, 99.9 percent of the time, is what we do not for other people to see, but what we do for the sake of our own integrity and in reply to the longing of our heart to be close to Jesus,” he said, “to do things for Him that only He sees.”
But, he added, saints were often called to take strong, public positions on unpopular issues in their day, and were not afraid to do so.
“That’s becoming more important for us in our society today, too, because we have so many forces that are at odds with the Gospel,” the bishop said.
So many people came to Rosary Sunday that more than 300 were turned away at the door for fire safety regulations.
They ended up praying the rosary in a smaller room in the convention center with Franciscan Father Vincent Mesi, pastor of St. Mary’s Basilica. Brother Bernardine, who belongs to the same order as Fr. Mark Mary, gave the overflow group a talk.
Nick Mattrazzo, a frequent attendee of Rosary Sunday, was one of those turned away.
“It turned out to be one of the most beautiful experiences of my life,” Mattrazzo said. “I felt I was where I was supposed to be. Brother Bernardine was outstanding and he spoke directly to my heart.”
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