In the early 1980’s, I was invited to participate in many religious/spiritual events. We as baptized Catholics are all called to evangelize as per Decree on the Apostolate for the Laity by the Vatican II documents. I was very proud to have been born a Roman Catholic, but the world is not all Catholic. As a result of my involvement in interfaith dialogue, I had the opportunity to share my Faith with many non-Catholics. One of the organizations that I joined was the Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship, an ecumenical Christian ministry for men of all walks of life. We would gather at different restaurants once a month, on Saturday mornings. for breakfast. Men that attended were from all affiliations and walks of life---from janitors to millionaires.
One Saturday morning, I sat next to a gentleman whose name is Jim. As I always carry my St Jerome’s Catholic Bible, Jim looked at my Bible, asked me if I was Catholic, and quickly indicated he was Baptist but that he prayed the Rosary. I was happily stunned. I had always heard that Protestants did not want to draw attention to Our Blessed Mother.
Jim told me his story:
He shared with me that he hated the Rosary, and in particular, did not like Catholics who prayed to the Virgin Mary. He believed the rosary was not scriptural, and he perceived the rosary to be an antiquated pagan ritual of praying and worshipping the Virgin Mary.
One evening, Jim went to the funeral of a very good mutual friend, Henry Guerra, who was well-known and admired in San Antonio. Henry had been the anchor man and newscaster for a local radio and television station, and was also a good man and a committed Catholic who always shared his faith. At the Angelus funeral home, Jim told me that there was a “crazy little lady” giving out rosaries for the service. He reluctantly took one, and looked around so no one could see him throw the rosary under the pews. He did not want to be contaminated by what he considered pagan ritualistic practices.
After the service, Jim got into his car and drove out. While he was driving, he noticed that the rosary that he had thrown away was on the passenger’s seat next to him. Immediately, he told himself that the “crazy lady” giving out rosaries had sneaked into his car and placed “the thing” on the seat. He opened the window as he was driving, grabbed the abomination and threw it out the window. Frustrated and angry, he prayed that God would deliver the Catholic Church of this pagan ritual of repeating prayers over and over and over. Then, as he entered his bedroom that evening, he was taken aback. The Rosary that he had thrown under the pews, the Rosary that he threw out the window of his car was now in the center of his bed! He was startled and stunned. He could not move. For seven days and nights, he could not enter his bedroom, sleeping on the floor outside the door of his bedroom, praying fervently, unceasingly for Jesus to intervene.
After seven days of prayer and fasting, he finally felt peace around him. Then, God gave him the courage to pick up this rosary. Since he did not know what to do with it, he began to do research on the rosary---- what it was, how to pray it, and why the non-Catholic churches opposed it. He asked some Catholic friends, and they also did not know (he was surprised by this because he assumed all Catholics prayed the rosary). Finally, he sneaked into a Catholic bookstore and bought a booklet on “How to Pray the Rosary”.
Jim read the booklet and it was all about Jesus: His birth, His teachings, His Passion, His Resurrection----all Scripture. He told me that, as he started to pray the Rosary, the presence of the Holy Spirit was all around him. With tears in his eyes, he described how, when he prayed the Rosary, he was bi-located and was present in body and spirit when the angel Gabriel announced to Our Blessed Mother that she was being asked to be the Mother of God, He was spiritually there at the birth of Jesus, and was next to Our Lady as Jesus was being crucified. From then on, Jim was overjoyed and praising God for this wonderful revelation that was given to him through the Rosary and now evangelizes to his non-Catholic brethren about the meaning and beauty of the Rosary. In simple terms, he told me that the Rosary is the key to God’s heart, and that we are being asked to help Our Lady bring God’s children to her son Jesus Christ.
John - Servant of God
Email: johnmartinez1952@austin.rr.com
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