As every year, on October 18, ACN organizes the “One million children pray the Holy Rosary” prayer campaign.
The main purpose of the initiative is to show that the trusting prayer of children reaches God’s heart directly, like an arrow, and that is why it has such great power. The recitation of the Rosary by children is therefore particularly effective for peace and unity in families, in their country and around the world.
The idea for the campaign was born in 2005 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. As a number of children prayed the Rosary in front of a roadside votive shrine, many of the women present strongly sensed the presence of the Virgin Mary. They immediately thought of St. Padre Pio’s prophecy, “When a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change.” And that is exactly what it is about: having faith in the power of children’s prayers. After all, Jesus teaches us, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3).
In past years, millions of children have participated in this initiative and we have received many amazing testimonies from all over the world. The joy of seeing them pray was an exceptional event, but beyond that, many among the children’s leaders themselves have been so impressed by the grace of their prayer that they have made the recitation of the Rosary a daily practice in their lives.
October is traditionally the month of the Rosary; the 18th is the feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist. He handed down the story of Jesus’ childhood and, according to tradition, is said to have been particularly close to Our Lady, the Mother of God. That is why it is a particularly significant date.
ACS is not only a charitable-pastoral association, but also a community of prayer. From Fatima, the Virgin Mary addressed the visionary children with this exhortation, “Pray the Rosary every day, to obtain peace in the world.” The daily project work that ACS has done and does in 149 countries allows the organization to experience firsthand how much Christians and the whole world suffer from the consequences of terrorism and war. Only God can bring peace. We can play a role in all this through our work, but first and foremost through our prayers.
The Holy Father John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter on the Rosary, “By its very nature the Rosary is oriented toward peace. This results from the fact that this prayer consists in the contemplation of Christ, who is “our peace.” Moreover, the Rosary is also a prayer of peace because of the fruits of love it bears. For it is in a special way a continuous and common supplication, which in harmony with Christ’s exhortation to pray always, fulfills us in the hope that even today such a difficult ‘struggle’ as that for peace can be won.”
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This article was previously published by acistampa.com
