Passing
on our Catholic heritage
by JoAnn Masters
Around 1857, Jean-Francois
Millet rendered a painting named “The Angelus.” It portrays a farm couple
setting aside a pitchfork and a basket of potatoes while they fold their hands
and bow their heads. The skies are starting to streak with late afternoon color
and in the distant background you can make out a church steeple. It is a well
known and instantly recognizable work of art.
The beautiful devotion
depicted may be less familiar to the average Catholic family these days than
the artwork itself. In an earlier Catholic culture, work would stop briefly
when the church bells rang morning,
The primary theme for the New
Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Family Concerns Commission this year is
the bolstering of family prayer. In his 2002 apostolic letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II states, “At one time this prayer
was particularly dear to Christian families, and it certainly brought them
closer together. It is important not to lose this precious inheritance. We need
to return to the practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing
to use the Rosary.”
Heeding the guidance of our
pope, this commission is starting with a drive to rediscover the beauty of the
Rosary. A number of Rosary materials have been distributed including copies of Rosarium Virginis Mariae, pray-a-long audio tapes, guide sheets and cord
rosary instructions.
We have been blessed with a
rich Catholic prayer tradition. It is important that we embrace this heritage,
support each other in prayer and pass it on to our children. While our
lifestyles may not have much in common with Millet’s prayerful farm couple, we
can still find ways to include the Angelus or the
Rosary into our daily prayer life.
JoAnn Masters is from Granite Falls and is the NUDCCW Family Concerns Coordinator.