Archbishop Gomez calls on faithful to pray Rosary for Peace

In his latest column to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles published by Angelus News today on the Feast of the Holy Rosary, Archbishop José H. Gomez invites the faithful to answer Pope Leo’s call to pray the rosary for peace every day during this month dedicated to the holy rosary.

“The rosary is, at its heart, a prayer for peace. By calling us to enter into the saving mysteries of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, this prayer invites us to receive the peace he promised to his disciples and sends us out to be peacemakers in the world,” wrote Archbishop Gomez as began the column. “We need this prayer now, in this moment of political violence and tense divisions in our society, in this moment when our world is torn by wars, conflicts, and persecutions of the faith.”

The Archbishop wrote that many people today claim that “thoughts and prayers” are useless and explains that this thinking misunderstands the truth of both prayer and action, and the deeper meaning of Jesus’ saving work in the world.

“In prayer, our sense of responsibility for God’s plan begins. Prayer opens our eyes to see God as our Father and others as our brothers and sisters — hungry for daily bread, longing for forgiveness, yearning for deliverance from evil and death,” noted the Archbishop. “Prayer reminds us that each of us shares in God’s plan, that he gives us each a task: to bring hope where there is despair, reconciliation where there is division, and to lead others to friendship with Jesus.”

Archbishop reminded the faithful that it is prayer of contemplation that propels us to action – reminding us that as we grow in prayer, we will grow to see that life is not about us, but about God’s will and the service of others.

“And in this nervous moment in our nation, we pray for peace. Peace in our hearts, in our families, and in our world,” wrote Archbishop Gomez as he concluded the column. “We pray to be instruments of peace, living our faith in Jesus every day with confidence and joy and with sincere love for everyone, even those who oppose and disagree with us.”

The full column is available at https://angelusnews.com/voices/gomez-rosary/. The Archdiocese has also created a special web portal called “Try This” (https://trythis.lacatholics.org/) with resources to help the faithful and all wishing to join in praying the rosary for peace. Faithful may also download or order “How to Pray the Rosary” cards at https://trythis.lacatholics.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary.

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