As part of Pope Francis call to all Catholics and Shrines around the world to dedicate this May 2021 to pray for an end to the Covid-19 Pandemic, our National Shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham has committed itself to take the lead in this prayer marathon of daily Rosaries. The Shrine is initiating a number of prayerful endeavours, including a Rosary Relay and a Crowning of Our Lady, during this month.
Praying for our Young People
One of the forthcoming highlights is a day of national prayer with and for schools and young people on Monday 24 May, where schools (and, indeed, all of us) are invited to pray the Rosary with the special intention of our young people. It is a day where we are asked to call to mind all those children and young people who have been especially affected by the pandemic – whether it be physically or in terms of their mental well-being. The past year certainly has been a very testing time for so many of our children! But we know that surrounding them in prayer is one of the ways we can enable them to overcome the many challenges they have faced.
Give it to Mary!
At the end of March 2020 – just as the first lockdown was taking hold – families all over England were encouraged to take part in a Rededication of England as the Dowry of Mary. This takes us back to 1381, when King Richard II first dedicated England to Mary’s care. It happened in the wake of years of catastrophic loss of life due to the Black Death, when the country had come to a halt and the fall out of the plague was crippling it socially, economically and politically. Social unrest was everywhere and Richard II found himself helpless in the face of it all. He dedicated England in June 1381 to Our Lady as her Dowry; this dedication was a cry of the heart. He knew that, in the face of such hardship, the best and only thing to be done is to offer it up to God. Giving England to Our Lady’s care and protection was a way of giving her all his worries, knowing that Mary – being so very close to her son – would bring all these concerns to Jesus.
Today we are invited to do the same! Let us all make the most of this month of May to rededicate ourselves to Mary.
What can you do?
You can follow daily Rosary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham every day at 3:00 pm, via their live stream and take part in daily Rosary for May at 8pm, using this links on the Shrine’s Rosary Mission page.
Don’t forget to commit special some time on Monday 24th May to particular prayer for our young people. It is an opportunity to pray and intercede for the Mission and Intentions of our schools, youth associations and groups, as well as our families.
Why not:
- Gather as a family to rediscover the blessing of praying the Rosary together?
- Decorate your home with flowers in honour of our Lady or take flowers to a statue of Our Lady?
- Gather as a small group and pray the Rosary with a specific group of young people in mind?
- Encourage your local school to arrange a lunchtime Rosary
Let us place our families, our children & young people, our England, our Scotland, our Wales and Ireland into the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of the Rosary and plead for her powerful intercession to lead us as peoples and Nations to a renewed relationship with her Divine Son Jesus, the Saviour of the World!