Rosary for peace enduring

The Gospels describe John the Baptist as "a voice crying in the wilderness" and carrying the message of God. At a rural parish on the eastern border of the Albany Diocese, a small group of Catholics have taken that idea to heart.

Right after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., Mary Gagnon asked her husband, Ray, to start praying the Rosary together at home as a plea for peace. She had loved the Rosary since childhood and prayed it with her own three daughters when they were young, but felt an urge to begin reciting it again.

Mr. Gagnon agreed, but the couple soon decided that it would be better to pray at their church, St. John Francis Regis in Grafton, and invite others to join them.

Faithful group

Five years later, a mix of "regulars" and sporadic attendees still assembles every Tuesday night to say the Rosary along with a cassette tape titled, "Mother of Mary: A Rosary of Healing." The half-hour tape features an Irish priest, Rev. Kevin Scallon, reciting the prayers, with background music by singer Dana.

Mrs. Gagnon admitted that if it weren't for her husband's presence, she would think twice about leaving home in bad weather, but he always insists on holding the gathering.

"Winters are bad at our place, but [the meetings are] still going on," observed Sister Mary Kenan McGowan, RSM, parish life director for St. John Francis Regis and Sacred Heart in Berlin.

Mixed group

Sister Kenan faithfully attends the weekly Rosary along with six to eight parishioners of different ages and backgrounds, plus newcomers who read about the gathering in the bulletin and stop by whenever they can.

Vacationing travelers and anonymous Catholics often slip in to sit in the back of the church, sometimes slipping out again after the service without a word.

"We don't know what good we're doing," remarked Mrs. Gagnon. She often tells the gathering, "If we hadn't been praying, maybe [the aftermath of the attacks] would have been worse."

For peace

Jack Wolslegel and his wife, Sue, are friends of the Gagnons and joke that they came to the recitation so their friends wouldn't be alone, but Mr. Wolslegel sobered as he described his real reasoning.

"We were interested in doing something for peace that wasn't partisan or political. We figured God doesn't take sides," he explained. "We said, 'We're going to go there and say a prayer, and hope it does some good.'"

Mr. Wolslegel grew up saying the Rosary but re-started the devotion after 9/11 because "it's something that should be done."

Begin with us

Mrs. Gagnon stressed that peace has to begin somewhere, whether in Washington, D.C., or Grafton.

"Peace has to start within the hearts of every human being," she stated. "Before peace in the world, people have to find peace within themselves. That's what I pray for: peace within me, within my children, my family."

The group's founders said they knew they were getting into a long-term project when they started the gatherings.

"I expected to do it until there was peace in the world and that hasn't happened yet, so we're going on," Mrs. Gagnon explained. "Five years [since 9/11] have passed so quickly; it doesn't feel like five years. It's just something we do now. And we love it; it's not a chore at all."

Unity

Group members believe that those who don't attend are still contributing to a mindset of peace.

"I think that just knowing it's going on helps," Mr. Wolslegel stated. "People see [the announcement listed] in the bulletin and might say, 'Well, I can't come,' but maybe they'll think a positive thought or say a prayer."

(Lately, the Rosary gatherings have included a returning participant: the Gagnons' daughter, Megan, who moved back in with her parents as she prepares for her Sept. 16 wedding.)

(9/7/06) [[In-content Ad]]