Rosarians from Monmouth and Ocean counties celebrate Feast of the Rosary
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
Throughout the world, the string of prayers composed on behalf of the Mother of God rises unceasingly all year long and especially in October, the Month of the Rosary.
And this devotion was very much in evidence on Sept. 7 – the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary – when upwards of 250 Rosarians from around coastal Ocean and Monmouth counties gathered in the hosting parish, St. Peter, Point Pleasant Beach, along with Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M., for the 18th Annual Rosary Mass.
Concelebrating with him were Msgr. Leonard Troiano, episcopal vicar of Ocean County, Conventual Franciscan Father Robert Benko, pastor of St. Peter Parish, Father Jason Parzynski, episcopal secretary to Bishop O’Connell, and pastors and clergy from participating parishes.
St. Peter Church provided the setting this year as “Mary's Rosary Family,” members of 10 parish Altar Rosary confraternities, joined with each other in celebration of the Mother of God. The parishes were each made known by way of banners carried in the entrance procession that began the festive day announcing them as: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Seaside Heights; St. Barnabas; Bayville; St. Martha, Point Pleasant; St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Lavallette; Sacred Heart, Bay Head; St. Catharine of Siena, Seaside Park; St. Dominic, Brick; St. Denis, Manasquan; St. Mary of the Lake, Lakewood, and Visitation, Brick.
Their entrance was followed by the recitation of the Rosary led by Dominican Sister Maureen of the Eucharist, of Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery, Summit.
In his homily during the Mass, Bishop O'Connell spoke movingly of the ancient origin and succeeding history of the Rosary created “to honor the Mother of God and to petition her to intercede with Christians with her Divine Son.”
“The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer,” he said. “The Our Father, as we heard in today's Gospel, and the Hail Mary, can be found in the New Testament Gospels which we read on her solemn feasts. The Rosary is a Christ centered prayer. It's 15 traditional Mysteries recall the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious events in the life to the Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother as do the five Luminous Mysteries presented by St. John Paul II in 2002.”
“The Rosary is a prayer of the Church. After the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary is the most familiar, most common prayer in the Catholic Church,” said Bishop O’Connell.
The Rosary is at the heart of these annual gatherings which follow a pattern established back in 1981 in Bayonne when the city's Altar Rosary Societies first came together for a regional Mass followed by a luncheon and social time.
When some of the Rosarians – including Dot Macchia – moved south to Ocean County, they missed these times together in a shared prayer and fellowship that united women from all around the city.
In fact, Macchia, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Bay Head, then vice president of the Rosary Altar Society there, missed them so much, she worked to bring the concept to the shore.
On Sunday, May 17, 1998, the Sacred Heart Rosary Altar Society of Bay Head hosted the first annual Area Wide Communion Breakfast uniting more than 200 Rosarians, clergy and invited guests. Ever since, area parishes have shared in sponsoring the event.
Macchia, whose participation this year included playing the part of Zacharia in a play about Mary's life presented at the luncheon at The Mill, Spring Lake Heights, spoke of how pleased she is that the tradition has taken hold at the shore.
Macchia, who dreams that one day, Rosarians around the state will follow the lead of “Mary's Rosary Family,” sees it as a fulfilling expression of a “beautiful devotion. Having all these ladies in one place at one time, is a delightful thing. Eighteen years later, we're very proud.”
Dorothy O'Reilly, president of the Rosary Altar Society of St. Peter Parish, chaired the event committee this year. “I just think it's a great opportunity to bring everyone together under one roof. This year, especially, with the help of Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery, we were able to explore the Dominican roots of the Rosary as we connected with each other.”
“The whole idea is to see ourselves not just as a society but as a family,” said O’Reilly.
To see photo gallery on this story, click here.
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By Lois Rogers | Correspondent
Throughout the world, the string of prayers composed on behalf of the Mother of God rises unceasingly all year long and especially in October, the Month of the Rosary.
And this devotion was very much in evidence on Sept. 7 – the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary – when upwards of 250 Rosarians from around coastal Ocean and Monmouth counties gathered in the hosting parish, St. Peter, Point Pleasant Beach, along with Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M., for the 18th Annual Rosary Mass.
Concelebrating with him were Msgr. Leonard Troiano, episcopal vicar of Ocean County, Conventual Franciscan Father Robert Benko, pastor of St. Peter Parish, Father Jason Parzynski, episcopal secretary to Bishop O’Connell, and pastors and clergy from participating parishes.
St. Peter Church provided the setting this year as “Mary's Rosary Family,” members of 10 parish Altar Rosary confraternities, joined with each other in celebration of the Mother of God. The parishes were each made known by way of banners carried in the entrance procession that began the festive day announcing them as: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Seaside Heights; St. Barnabas; Bayville; St. Martha, Point Pleasant; St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Lavallette; Sacred Heart, Bay Head; St. Catharine of Siena, Seaside Park; St. Dominic, Brick; St. Denis, Manasquan; St. Mary of the Lake, Lakewood, and Visitation, Brick.
Their entrance was followed by the recitation of the Rosary led by Dominican Sister Maureen of the Eucharist, of Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery, Summit.
In his homily during the Mass, Bishop O'Connell spoke movingly of the ancient origin and succeeding history of the Rosary created “to honor the Mother of God and to petition her to intercede with Christians with her Divine Son.”
“The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer,” he said. “The Our Father, as we heard in today's Gospel, and the Hail Mary, can be found in the New Testament Gospels which we read on her solemn feasts. The Rosary is a Christ centered prayer. It's 15 traditional Mysteries recall the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious events in the life to the Lord Jesus and his Blessed Mother as do the five Luminous Mysteries presented by St. John Paul II in 2002.”
“The Rosary is a prayer of the Church. After the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary is the most familiar, most common prayer in the Catholic Church,” said Bishop O’Connell.
The Rosary is at the heart of these annual gatherings which follow a pattern established back in 1981 in Bayonne when the city's Altar Rosary Societies first came together for a regional Mass followed by a luncheon and social time.
When some of the Rosarians – including Dot Macchia – moved south to Ocean County, they missed these times together in a shared prayer and fellowship that united women from all around the city.
In fact, Macchia, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Bay Head, then vice president of the Rosary Altar Society there, missed them so much, she worked to bring the concept to the shore.
On Sunday, May 17, 1998, the Sacred Heart Rosary Altar Society of Bay Head hosted the first annual Area Wide Communion Breakfast uniting more than 200 Rosarians, clergy and invited guests. Ever since, area parishes have shared in sponsoring the event.
Macchia, whose participation this year included playing the part of Zacharia in a play about Mary's life presented at the luncheon at The Mill, Spring Lake Heights, spoke of how pleased she is that the tradition has taken hold at the shore.
Macchia, who dreams that one day, Rosarians around the state will follow the lead of “Mary's Rosary Family,” sees it as a fulfilling expression of a “beautiful devotion. Having all these ladies in one place at one time, is a delightful thing. Eighteen years later, we're very proud.”
Dorothy O'Reilly, president of the Rosary Altar Society of St. Peter Parish, chaired the event committee this year. “I just think it's a great opportunity to bring everyone together under one roof. This year, especially, with the help of Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary Monastery, we were able to explore the Dominican roots of the Rosary as we connected with each other.”
“The whole idea is to see ourselves not just as a society but as a family,” said O’Reilly.
To see photo gallery on this story, click here.
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