Faithful take refuge in the rosary Pandemic halted monthly group, so they went daily

CÉSAR HURTADO rchurtado@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — With the start of the pandemic and social distancing mandates across the country in March 2020, organizers of the Alegría Hispana Choir’s Rosary at St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte were left in confusion and despair.

Bishop gives thanks for consecrated men and women

SUEANN

CHARLOTTE — Consecrated religious who serve in the Diocese of Charlotte as religious order priests, brothers and sisters were honored during a special celebration Feb. 4, the annual Mass for the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.

Bishop Peter Jugis celebrated the Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church, held in conjunction with the Church’s worldwide celebration, to recognize the religious men and women who serve the Church in the Diocese of Charlotte.

More than 50 religious sisters ranging in age from the mid-20s to late 80s were present, representing nine religious orders that minister in the diocese. Among them were two 2023 jubilarians: Trappist Sister Genevieve Durcan (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance) and Franciscan Sister Jane Russell (Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis), who are both celebrating 60 years of professed religious life this year. They currently live with the Sisters of Mercy in Belmont.

Bishop Jugis gave thanks for the gift of their religious vocation and their service to the Church in the diocese.

“It demonstrates to me, and to everyone whom you encounter, that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Diocese of Charlotte,” he told them. “The Holy Spirit is inspiring men and women to a total gift of self to God, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.”

The whole body of the Church gives witness to Christ, the bishop said, yet “nothing can substitute for the special witness that you religious give both to those inside the Church and those outside the Church – a witness to the holiness of the kingdom of Christ, a witness to the holiness of the Church.”

Referring to the day’s Gospel passage from Matthew 16:24-27, the bishop reflected on Christ’s words to His followers: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

“This is a saying of Jesus that is meant for all Christians regardless of their vocations,” he explained. “Deny oneself, put Christ first, and then follow Him. It’s true for Christian marriage, it’s true for the Christian single life.”

Yet, he added, those who consecrate their lives through religious vows and promises provide a special and powerful witness.

“It’s the way you gain the whole world and finding one’s life in the process,” he said. “The Lord has given you that very special grace of a vocation of leaving everything and following Christ, witnessing to a kingdom that ‘is in the world but not of the world.’”

Established by then-Pope John Paul II in 1997, the World Day for Consecrated Life is held in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas, commemorating the coming of Christ, the Light of the World, through the symbolic lighting of candles. The worldwide Church commemorated the day on Feb. 2.

In a statement, Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, said the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life provides a special opportunity for Catholics to give thanks to God for people who choose a consecrated vocation.

“We give thanks to God today for continuing to call men and women to serve Him as consecrated persons in the Church. May each of us be inspired by their example to love God above all things and serve Him in all that we do,” he said.

After more than 15 years of gathering to pray the rosary once a month, its members and occasional guests thought the tradition had come to an end. However, something new and hopeful emerged amid a time of great fear and confusion. Since March of 2020, the Hispanic prayer group at St. Gabriel adapted, taking their faithful tradition the world, including Canada, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and the United States. to new heights: instead of praying the rosary once a month, the group began a virtual daily rosary, uniting and inspiring a local and international community.

Last year when social isolation measures were relaxed, some people thought this virtual rosary would fall by the wayside.

Yet the virtual prayer group had taken on a life and blessing of its own. Thanks to the collaboration of members José Luis García and his wife Ada, a group of between 20 and 30 members is on its way to completing a third consecutive year of praying the rosary together every day.

“After the last wave of the pandemic, the number of participants decreased,” said García, who explained that with the return of usual activities, parishioners also returned to the presence of their parish groups.

“However, for many, as in my case, it became a point of contact, part of a daily spiritual exercise, part of our lives, and the rosary always prevailed before other activities,” he said.

Throughout their prayerful perseverance, it wasn’t all happiness for the couple, however. Ada and Jose both got sick with COVID-19, and Ada even received treatments for cancer three times since 2020.

“Even then, with Ada in her bed and me from the computer, we remained faithful to the task of facilitating the rosary each and every day,” Garcia said.

During the rosary, which the group prays daily at 8:30 p.m., songs and prayers of healing are recited for those who are included in a regularly updated list of the sick.

Augusto Frattini, one of the members of the choir, proposed to Carmen Calvar, director of Alegría Hispana, to take advantage of the new technologies that appeared, including Zoom, to continue virtually with the rosary. Pilar Castañeda, another member of the choir, stepped up, providing technical support to pray the rosary together online.

Since 2020, they have prayed a daily rosary virtually. At first, only eight participants logged on, but the prayer group now has more than 100 members scattered across

“The rosary became a refuge, an area where we could maintain the relationship of community and permanent spiritual contact. And this generated a commitment in which all of us who organized the prayer were involved,” Garcia said.

“We have experienced God’s love and miracles in the different needs of the group,” added Pilar Castañeda. “Even without Adita or me, the rosary would continue because it is the work of the Holy Spirit and of our Blessed Mother Mary. Looking at the results of these almost three years, I have no doubt that prayer is important and effective.”

More online

At www.bit.ly/3XenG4b: Join the daily rosary every night at 8:30 p.m. via Zoom