The Catholic Defender: The Importance Of Catholic Men Praying The Rosary

The family that prays together, stays together:

How important that statement is, when the Father is leading his family and the wife is 100% with him in instructing their children in the faith, the children respond far more positive than when the mom is trying to act as father, mother, leader.

Of children born since 1984, more than 60% will spend an average of 5 years of their childhood in a single-parent family.

There is about 100 verses in the bible that speaks to fathers leading their families and giving good sound advice. King David on his deathbed told Solomon, "I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies."

St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy, "Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:7-9

I remember one of my basketball coaches in college who shared with me what he remembered most important growing up in his family.

It wasn't the family vacations, the money that mom and dad brought in. It was when his parents took the children and led them in prayer as a family.

I thought this was so profound when he shared that with me. I never forgot it.

The vacations and work was important, the family must be responsible and there must be time for play, but to share their love with each other, praying together pleases the King of Kings.

Jesus blesses these memories and builds upon this to instill simple men and women to be great to rise up to the challenges that we face.

My Coach could have easily recalled St. Paul writing, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth." Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:1-4

Fathers give the greatest blessings to their children by leading them in family prayer and devotions.

On 10 April 1986, a terrible training accident happened late at night when a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a Chinook over the swamps of Fort Stewart Georgia. It was not far from the on post housing complex where we lived. The wreckage was spread out over a fairly large area in the woods. JP 4 fuel had leaked out all over the place. You could have lit a match and the whole place would have blown up. Just wading the swamp my boots had to be thrown away, my BDU bottoms had to be thrown away, and I had sores on my legs that lasted for months. As Medics, I was among the first on the scene in retrieving the bodies of those who had lost their lives in this tragic accident. We had to carry them at least 100 yards out of that swamp to where we could take them to the ambulances. As we carried them, all I could do was pray for them. I was praying the ‘Rosary” and the rosary for them as we carried them. There were 8 of them who died in this accident. May the Lord shine his perpetual light upon them and may they rest in his peace.

A continuation of this story takes place while I was in Iraq during OIF 06-08 deployment. Another friend of mine, Steve Ray, a Catholic Apologist, convert to the Catholic Faith, asked me to send him a story of my conversion (reversion) to the Catholic Faith. The Diocese of New Orleans had encouraged me to write an autobiography so I have the rough draft of this story on Steve’s web-site, “Defenders of the Catholic Faith”. One day, Steve’s message board sent out flags trying to get my attention on the board. A gentleman was reading through Steve’s conversion stories and found my story. Now, my story is more than 200 pages and when he reached page 80 he read this story about the helicopter crash. Upon reading this he reached Steve Ray wanting to get a hold of me.He relayed the story that his Brother was one of the Soldiers who had died that day. Even though it was more than 20 years after the incident, it meant something to him to know that someone was praying for his brother at the scene of the accident.That was very humbling to me that this meant that much to someone.

Some very serious facts to consider (From an earlier article The Rise of the Fatherless):

- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average.

- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.

- 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Center for Disease Control)

- 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes –14 times the average. (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)

- 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (National Principals Association Report)

- 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average. (Rainbows for All God’s Children)

- 70% of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average. (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Sept. 1988)

- 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average. (Fulton Co. Georgia, Texas Dept. of Correction)

It is clear that there are many young people today that are not being equipped to fight the battle of life. Even should you speak to them about the Faith, many times it shoot right past them because they do not know the language.

Nearly 800,000 people die by suicide in the world each year, which is roughly one death every 40 seconds. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the world for those aged 15-24 years. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

The following is from an earlier article (Are Condoms Safe):

STD’s are the most common diseases in America next to the common cold and flu.

20 Million new STD cases are reported each year. That is about 50,000 per day.

65 million Americans are infected with an incurable STD.

There are now more than 60 different kinds of STD’s that exist.

20 different STD’s are rampant among teenagers.

63% of all STD’s occur in persons less than 25 years of age.

1 in 4 Teenagers are diagnosed with an STD infecting millions of teenagers each year and growing.

Last year it was reported that 1 out of 4 girls have been diagnosed down to the age of 12. 60-80% infected with an STD do not develop initial symptoms.

AID’s has been a leading cause of death (among 18-25 years old) despite wonder drugs that help extend life, there is no cure. The following statements reveal the danger condoms present in acquiring STD’s:

The destruction of many families has wounded our Country. To strengthen our Nation, we must strengthen our families. It is important that we return to God with all our hearts. Our Lady’s peace plan from heaven is a most important opportunity.

Cardinal Burke's 54 day Rosary Novena is a great reminder for prayer for our Nation, a call to arms to stand up against the flood of evil. Consider Isaiah 59:19-20, "And he will come to Zion as Redeemer, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the LORD." "And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your children, or out of the mouth of your children's children, says the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore."

Also Father Calloway's Consecration to St. Joseph is having a great positive response especially among men. We need to take advantage of these opportunities to grow in our faith.

That should be the rule of any man and the Rosary is a great weapon to fight the battle of life.