Rosary for Warriors

The Rosary for Warriors began out of a grief and concern for the families of deceased Soldiers. My husband and I had just attended a memorial service of a friend who’d been killed in Iraq in 2004. It was the first of too many. We mourned his death and that of all the others taken too soon from their families.This is not the way it is supposed to be, of course. Fathers or mothers shouldn’t outlive sons and daughters; sons and daughters shouldn’t grow up without parents. But, the evil people do to each other is done through free will on their part, not God’s will. Yes, the Lord sometimes allows things to happen and we wonder why, but we must grieve and cry with hope, not despair. This world is not our home. That’s what we must cling to.

Our solace is that we believe in a God who brings us Home after our time on this earth.  And that our grief as mortals, with our very human hearts, which the Lord knows so well, is God’s grief as well.

And we get to be angry, and so very sad.  The Lord is standing with us in our pain, I just know it.

Then let us consider the widow and orphan. We are called to care for them all. We are Jesus’ hands, feet, arms, voice.  He knew sadness and grief when his kinsman and biggest supporter, John the Baptist, was murdered.  He knew loneliness when almost all of the people He loved deserted Him as He made His way to the cross. He knew fear as He hung on that cross asking, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned me?” We must all go to the Lord for comfort and strength. Go to the Lord with our anger and tears.  He can handle it.  Cling to the hope of eternal life. That may not be helpful at the early stage of the game, when our hearts are aching, and breaking, for our losses. But in time, I pray it will be.

Thousands in the U.S. Military have died since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. The number of wounded from these wars is in the tens of thousands. They need our prayers, as well. There are many amputees, many blinded and those who are changed irreparably due to the terrorists’ reprehensible use of IEDs. Then there are the emotional wounds no one else will ever see, but will know of in the personality changes in their loved ones. I feel we must do something more – as Catholics, as people in or formerly in the Military, as Americans.

These are the reasons why I devised the Rosary for Warriors.  The deployed, the wounded, the deceased, the families of all of these, and our nation need our prayers. Of course I have been praying for our Soldiers every day, and for their families.  I know you have, too. But I have come to believe that we need to rise up with one voice with our prayer and supplication. Rise up with one voice of praise, of thanksgiving for our many blessings, asking forgiveness for our many sins, and earnestly asking for God’s healing, protection, and blessings.

Please consider starting this where you live. The day or time your Church decides on is not important. Just gathering regularly to do it is sufficient.  And, of course, you can certainly pray in your own home by yourself, or with family and friends any time.

May our Blessed Mother unite her prayers with ours as we turn to Her Son seeking His will, as we wait upon the Lord.

Here are the 5 intentions, one for each decade. It is best prayed with the Sorrowful Mysteries.

1. For Deployed Troops and for their safety
2. For the healing of the wounded, both physically and spiritually
3. For the deceased in our Armed Forces and the repose of their souls
4. For the families of the waiting, wounded, grieving families and the peace and comfort that only the Lord can provide
5. For peace in the world, our nation, and the victims of war

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.