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Would you like to pray the Rosary with Bishop Alberto Rojas?
Beginning in October, the month of the Most Holy Rosary, you can. As with most things in the COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunity comes through technology.
A 37-minute video showing Bishop Rojas praying the Joyful Mysteries was posted to the Diocesan YouTube Channel on Monday, Oct. 5. It was filmed in the Chapel of St. Junipero Serra House of Formation in Grand Terrace during the spring. The Bishop offers a brief introduction with some specific intentions to help viewers prepare themselves.
“It is an opportunity to reflect and meditate on the mysteries of the Gospel,” he says before quoting from the Catechism about importance of meditation. “Our Blessed Mother Mary recommends to us to pray the Rosary for an end of war and violence so that we may have peace in the world.
“We want to pray for unity in our families and in our Church, and for the healing of our bodies and our souls.”
Bishop Rojas is then shown removing the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle in the chapel and placing it in the monstrance on the altar. He then incenses the altar before kneeling for a moment of private prayer. He begins with the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed. Diocesan Seminarians and Father Emmanuel Ukaegbu-Onuoha, Director of Spiritual Formation at Serra House, provide the responsorials throughout the Rosary prayer.
The lighting is subdued, and the mood is quiet and reverent. Still images are interspersed throughout the prayer, including depictions of Mary from the Diocese like Our Lady of Guadalupe (Riverside), Our Lady of Fatima (Lake Arrowhead) and Our Lady of Lourdes (Montclair).
At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has led to stronger faith practices at home, the Rosary has been encouraged by both Bishop Gerald Barnes and Bishop Rojas as a good family activity. Individuals and families will be able to pray the different mysteries of the Rosary with Bishop Rojas, according to the prescribed day of the week. Bishop Rojas’s Rosary video is posted to the diocesan YouTube channel and is promoted in diocesan social media and on the diocesan website.