A MILLION ROSES FOR THE WORLD
Therese M. Francisco

Now celebrating its 60th year in the Philippines, the Family Rosary Crusade (FRC) is throwing a challenge to Filipinos all over the world: Pray 1 million Rosaries every day for 200 days for world peace!

The ambitious but worthwhile project is dubbed “A Million Roses for the World” (AMRoW). The roses represent the Rosaries that will be prayed every day. (Our Lady has revealed to several people, including a Jesuit brother and a Franciscan friar, that every time we pray the Rosary fervently, we offer a crown of roses to the Blessed Virgin. When we say the “Our Father,” a red rose comes out of our mouth, and when we say the “Hail, Mary,” a white rose.)

Ambassador Howard Dee, the Vice-Chairman of FRC-Philippines, announced at the September 8, 2011 Press Conference in Manila Polo Club, “We are enlisting one million Filipinos to pray five decades of the Holy Rosary every day from October 10, 2011 to May 30, 2012, each day from Monday to Saturday, dedicated to one nation in the world.” Meanwhile, he said, the Sunday Rosary is reserved for our own families and nation, the Philippines. “The goal,” the good ambassador explains, “is to bring all peoples of all nations of the world to Jesus and his Father and the Holy Spirit . . . through Mary our Blessed Mother . . . to bring his peace, love, joy, and tranquility to every people and every nation.”

Underlining the urgency of the initiative, Ambassador Dee explains, “In almost every nation of the world, the Catholic Church and its faithful are confronted by the evil forces of secularism. The late Pope John Paul II, now Blessed, foretold this ‘final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, the Gospel and the anti-Gospel’ which he said would be the ‘greatest battle in the history of the Church.’ ”

“The world needs our prayers,” the former ambassador to the Vatican emphatically appeals. “And we need to pray also for our families and our country.” The AMRoW initiative is similar to the Million Rosary campaign during the 1984-1985 Marian Year that brought about change in our country. (The February 1986 peaceful People Power Revolution is credited as the fruit of that campaign.)

Ambassador Dee challenges, “Let this be our contribution . . . Filipinos at Prayer . . . Reaching Out to the World . . . To All Peoples . . . In Every Nation . . . With Love and Brotherhood . . . In Faith, Joy, and Goodwill . . . ” He concludes with one of the famous taglines of the Family Rosary Crusade, “A World at Prayer Is a World at Peace.”

If you would like to take the Rosary Challenge and be one of the first one million Filipinos whose names will be deposited at the foot of Our Lady of Fatima in Fatima, Portugal, all you have to do is:

1. Pray the Commitment Prayer.

2. Fill up the Pledge Form and submit to the Marian Solidarity Secretariat (see address below), drop at designated dropboxes in your school/parish, or email your details to marian solidarity_twohearts@yahoo.com.

3. Download the List of Countries and Intentions from the AMRoW website (www.millionrosesfortheworld.org) or from the Word & Life website (www.wordandlife.org/downloads.php).

4. Pray the Rosary every day for the specific country for that day, from October 10, 2011 to May 30, 2012.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE?

Parish Involvement:

If there are 3,600 parishes in the Philippines, it will only take an average of 278 parishioners in each parish praying the Rosary every day.

School Involvement:

If there are 1,500 schools in the Philippines, it will only take an average of 667 students in each school praying the Rosary everyday.

Prayer of Commitment

A Million Roses for the World

Filipinos at Prayer, Peace for All Nations

Almighty God, we adore you and we praise you for blessing Mary among all women and for creating her full of grace.

Through Mary, we received Jesus, your Son whose birth has made all things new for us here on earth.

We seek your blessing through her praying hands, so that peace may reign in the world and harmony may be established among all nations.

I commit myself to pray the Rosary every day, as much as possible with my family, for each and every nation on earth so that wars may end, famine may cease, terrorism may stop, justice may reign and only your love and mercy may prevail.

I commit myself to live in the state of grace, to avoid all occasions of sin and to receive Holy Communion as frequently as my situation may allow, so that your name may be glorified and all peoples may kneel down before you, God of peace, in worship, adoration, and thanksgiving, now and forever. Amen!

Imprimatur: The Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D. Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan

Imprimatur: The Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D. Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan

SAMPLE OF COUNTRY AND INTENTION

Day 1: 10 October 2011 ANGOLA (Africa) Literacy: 67% Life Expectancy: 42 yrs Infant Mortality: 116/1000 Purchasing Power Parity (Per Capita): $2,724 Population: 17.3M Annual Growth: 2.6% Ethnicity: Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, Bakongo Religion: Roman Catholic 68%, Protestant 20% Resources: Petroleum, diamonds, iron ore Products: Bananas, sugarcane, coffee Industry: Petroleum drilling, mining, cement

Angola was colonized by the Portuguese and became the largest source of slaves for the Americas. It is one of Africa’s major oil producers but also one of the world’s poorest countries. 27 years of civil war ended in 2002; the country now faces the daunting task of rebuilding its infrastructure.

Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for Angola 1. That Angolans may continue to heal from 27 years of civil war 2. That Angola may find the resources to resettle 4 million displaced persons 3. That landmines may be cleared from the countryside 4. That the Lord may bless Angola with bountiful harvests 5. That health services may improve, especially for the most vulnerable

IMPORTANT DATES:

October 8: Official Launch, Prayer Rally in UST Field November 11: “1.1 on 11/11” (1.1 M Filipinos challenged to pray the Rosary at 11 a.m. on November 11, 2011) May 31: For the Youth, Culminating Event

For more information on AMRoW, please contact: MARIAN SOLIDARITY SECRETARIAT c/o Assisi Development Foundation, Unit 503, 5/F Prestige Tower, F. Ortigas, Jr. Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City Tel No (632) 632-1001 to 03 Fax (632) 632-7844 http://millionrosesfortheworld.org Facebook Fan Page: A Million Roses for the World – Filipinos at Prayer Tweeter: @RosesinHeaven Email: mariansolidarity_twohearts@yahoo.com