Irish Dominican
Rosary Apostolate

On Tuesday December 2^nd I was invited to travel to St Patrick’s Grammar School, Armagh to speak to the Year 11’s about the history and importance of the Rosary. St Patrick’s is a school with a long and distinguished history situated in a beautiful location right next to the beautiful Cathedral. The reception by the staff and students was very welcoming indeed. I was delighted when some of the boys agreed to set up a weekly Rosary Club in the school. Time and again the Rosary has proven such powerful help in a young person’s life especially in these confusing times. The Blessed Mother longs to bless these young hearts with so many blessings and graces. A big thank you to Ms Campbell, the staff and, of course, the wonderful students of St Patrick’s Grammar School. May the Blessed Mother hold them all under the mantle of her protection.

On Saturday November 29^th I had the joy of being invited by the parish of Askeaton, Co Limerick, to spend the evening preaching about the holy Rosary. It is always a real privilege to be able to tell people about this powerful gift of the Blessed Mother but it is an extra joy when a parish wishes to reinvigorate and spread the Rosary among their parishioners. There was a beautiful holy hour with a spiritual reflection on the role of the Rosary in helping us to grow closer to Christ through the hands of Mary, followed by holy Mass with the sermon dedicated to the power of the Rosary. I can only pray that more people and families in Askeaton will place the Rosary at the centre of their daily lives and experience the care and protection of the Blessed Mother. Thank you to Fr John Mockler and people Askeaton parish for their kind invitation.

Today we celebrate the memorial of the 117 holy martyrs of Vietnam canonised by Pope St John Paul II on 19^th June 1988. They were cruelly killed for their faith in Christ during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. In 1798, the ruling Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam began a large-scale persecution of Catholics because they were seen as a foreign influence and a threat to the Vietnamese way of life and traditions. May Catholics were captured, tortured and killed in horrific ways as they gave a courageous and unfailing witness to their faith in Jesus Christ. There were  96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish Dominicans, and 10 French members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), including St. Ignatius Delgado, Bishop Vincent Lim and Andrew Dung-lac.

During the persecution, many Catholics fled to the jungles of La Vang in central Vietnam. They lived there in hiding, living their faith.  It was here, forgotten and living in fear, that the Mother of God showed heaven’s special love and care. One night, while gathered together to pray the Rosary, they saw a beautiful woman dressed in traditional Vietnamese clothing, holding a baby in her arms with two angels beside them. Those who saw her immediately recognised it as the Mother of God, coming with the infant Jesus. Our Lady appeared to her people several times. The Blessed Mother comforted them and told them to boil leaves from the trees to cure illnesses. News of the heavenly visit soon spread, and a chapel was built in honour of Our Lady of La Vang in 1802. Pope John XXIII elevated the church to the status of a minor basilica in 1961. On June 19, 1998, Pope John Paul II publicly recognised the importance of Our Lady of La Vang and asked the Vietnamese Church to rebuild the La Vang Basilica in time for the 200th anniversary of the first vision of Our Lady. The cornerstone was blessed in 2012.

It was wonderful to be invited to give a talk in St Mary’s Dominican Church in Cork on the topic of “why pray the Rosary” as part of St Mary’s celebrating the month of the Rosary. Despite the bad weather there was a wonderful turnout for the event and great discussions afterwards over the cup of tea. A huge thanks to the Dominican community in Pope’s Quay for organising the talk and all who came along. It is wonderful to see such love for Our Lady’s Rosary in Cork and the great energy among so many to make it more widely prayed.

On Wednesday, 15^th October, I had the great joy of being invited to speak to classes in Abbey CBS Grammar School, Newry, on the importance and power of the Rosary. The welcome from both teachers and students was warm and gracious, with great questions from students in each class. It was wonderful to hear about the Rosary club that has been set up in the school and which meets each week. What a blessing for any school! It is heartening to see the real interest in the faith and the Rosary among so many young people. A huge thank you to the staff and students for the warm welcome and the great discussions.

I really enjoyed visiting Rockbrook Park School, Dublin, to meet classes and chat to them about the history and importance of the Rosary in life. It was a busy day, meeting lots of classes, and I was certainly kept on my toes answering really good questions from the students.  The welcome was warm, and the discussions were wide-ranging. A huge thank you to the staff and students for the lovely welcome and a really enjoyable day.