Patriotic Rosary

I will openly admit that I drove myself—and my husband—a bit crazy in the 2008 election cycle. I’m not sure why since I had never, ever been that impassioned about an election. Specifically, the pro-life issue mattered to me in a whole new, surprising way. I also turned 50 that year so I’d like to place some of the blame on that fact—but who knows for sure.

This year I decided to do my best to keep my passions, emotions, and opinions more to myself. I wasn’t going to write dozens of articles and try to convince anyone of anything.

Depending on where you sit in the political arena, that either sounds cowardly if you are a passionate pro-life citizen or that sounds perfectly fine if you aren’t much into politics and feel that it is always “the lesser of two evils” anyhow.

As things heat up this 2012 election cycle, I admit that it isn’t easy for me to sit on the sidelines; but sit I have been. Let me clarify that: I sit on the sidelines while I do the Patriotic Rosary—one of the most moving experiences you can have if you, like me, may be somewhat of a political junkie.

In fact, even if politics don’t course through your veins, I would bet that you would find the Patriotic Rosary to be a very profound experience.

Actually, even if you aren’t a Catholic, I feel confident you would find the Patriotic Rosary will stir in your heart a love of country and fellow citizens that may have been missing of late—or it may just be the beginning of a love that you didn’t really know you had.

I’m so impressed with this prayer practice that I bought 25 copies of it and shared them with friends who have now bought copies to share with their friends (Christians of all denominations). This, of course, after we did the Patriotic Rosary together—and found ourselves in tears. The reason that all Christians will be brought together until this umbrella of prayer for our country is that each decade begins with an excerpt from the likes of George Washington, John Adams, James Iredell (one of the first justices of the Supreme Court), Jedediah Morse (Geographer whose textbooks were used in all classrooms), and General Robert E. Lee. In that way it is also a bit of a history lesson and if you didn’t grasp the enormity of what our founding fathers did while you were a middle school student, you will grasp it now.

Of course I’m not here to paint a picture of how rosy our country was in the beginning but to recognize and admire how these people—and countless others—held a vision of a great country in such high esteem and that each—without exception—believed that this great country to be under God’s rules and dictates. I don’t know one Christian who can claim a life free from error or sin so I won’t pretend that none of this existed in the lives of any of our country’s ancestry. Again, I believe what we are to take away from these insightful people is how Providence has always had a hand upon us as American citizens.

Each decade begins with an excerpt that seems as if it was written last week (a great mark of Truth) and then is offered for a particular branch of government. Each bead of each decade is offered for a particular state within our country. Each decade ends with a patriotic song (I’m no songstress but still belted out America, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (do you know all the words of this incredible song? Did you know it mentions Our Lady?), America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner, and God Bless America.

Trust me, praying this with a few friends will make you fall in love with each citizen of our great country as well as our great country itself. It will make you proud to be an American and embrace the totality of what that means to God and country and fellow man. You will not walk the streets the same again.

 To order copies of The Patriotic Rosary you can write to Caritas of Birmingham; 100 Our Lady Queen of Peace Drive; Sterrett, AL  35147 or call 205-672-2000 ext. 315 (24 hours per day).


p.s. Someone just shared with me that they aren't sure if Caritas is in line with the Catholic Church. If that is the case, I certainly don't want to promote their work (and would be very sorry to hear since this Patriotic Rosary was such a profound experience). Does anyone know definitively?

Cheryl Dickow 

www.BezalelBooks.com