A Rosary is many things — a tool to help you time your meditations on the Sacred Mysteries, a reminder calling you to pray, and the collective name we give to the group of prayers we pray while meditating on the Mysteries. However, only this last meaning gives rise to sayings such as, “The Rosary is a powerful weapon in the battle against evil.” The saying refers to the power of intercessory prayer and not to the physical beads themselves.

SPSE’s Mansfield, OH, team anticipated the common misunderstandings about the Rosary as they prepared to make their Catholic Faith visible at the first annual Mansfield Children’s Festival. So that people wouldn’t try to put the Rosary over their heads as a necklace, they provided medals on chains for them to wear instead.

The evangelists encountered many people who didn’t know how to pray the Rosary. But the team had brought plenty of SPSE’s “How to Pray the Rosary” tracts, and those were well received. Team members referred the people who wanted a Rosary CD to SPSE’s website. Another service the evangelists offered during the outing was signing people up for email reminders about Mass times. About half a dozen families took advantage of that offer.

Event organizers estimate that more than 2000 attended the festival. The Mansfield team told us, “Everyone was excited to take our church information”. Team members felt effective and “pumped up for more”. They’ve already signed up to be present at the weekly Farmer’s Market.

Thank you, Team Mansfield! This really is an exciting apostolate. Our teams consistently report that, overwhelmingly, the response to their public Catholic presence is positive! And SPSE makes it easy for you to get started. Not only have we developed the “How to Pray the Rosary” tract, but our members can also find Rosaries, medals, chains, and many other resources on our website. Are you already an active member of SPSE? If so, thank you — and may God bless you and your team! If you haven’t joined us yet, though, please pray about doing so today?