The Rosary

The hours I spent with Thee, Dear Heart!
Or, as a string of pearls to Thee,
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary, my rosary . . .

Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer,
To still a heart in absence wrung,
I tell each bead unto the end,
And there a cross is hung . . .

O' memories that bless and burn,
O' barren gain and bitter loss,
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . .

I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn,
To kiss the cross, Sweet Heart,
To kiss the cross . . . ( to kiss the cross )

Words and Music (era 1800's)
by Robert Cameron Rogers and Ethelbert Nevin

Rosary Novena to Stop Abortions

I get a lot of emails forwarded to me, but very few of this nature. This one, copied below in its entirety, was sent to me by a pro-life friend. It asks for a Rosary Novena to stop the Freedom of Choice Act which will soon be passed in the US unless God intervenes. Please read it and get out your rosaries for this intention. The novena starts Sunday. Remember Barack Obama said his first presidential act will be to sign the FOCA. He can only be stopped by prayer.


From Lord David Alton on USA Freedom of Choice Act

Dear Friends, If you are apposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon. For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is set to be signed if the US Congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion.

If made a law then all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all hospitals in the United States .

2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no limitations.

3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.

4) Parental notification will no longer be required.

5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of 100,000 annually.

Perhaps most importantly the government will now have control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, down syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate how many children women are allowed to have. Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly true.

As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

The Plan: To say a novena (9 days of prayer) along with fasting starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be the rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA. For non Catholics I encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days. The hope is that this will branch and blossom as to become a global effort with maximum impact.We have very little time so we all must act fast. Just do three things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people

2) Do it in three days or less

3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine consecutive days.(please also fast for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless killing of defenseless children then the time is now to do something about it! May God bless you all!! David Alton(Professor Lord Alton of Liverpool )

House of Lords,

London SW1A OPW Roscoe

Foundation for Citizenship,

Liverpool John Moores University,

0151 231 3852 (fax: 0151 231 3853).

0207 219 3551 -

Rosary Meditations

If you have ever scrolled all the way to the bottom of this blog, you have seen this Rosary widget that I have pasted there. It has really good scriptural meditations, one for each bead of the Rosary. Check it out! If you have a desk job where you are on the computer all day, maybe you could even sneak a Rosary mystery into your day's work. I find the scriptural meditations to be really helpful; they tell the story of the mystery and really keep the mind on track. Now if it only came in a booklet...