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I was wondering if there would be anything wrong with placing
mission rosaries in random mailboxes locally. They would be
accompanied with either a How to pray the Rosary pamphlet or
Divine Mercy card.
I have a desire to do something for the
Lord and feel like this is something I could do. I am amazed
at how materialistic many of us have become, including myself,
and feel we could use a small spiritual reminder, or tap
on the shoulder. It's so sad that many of us, again,
including myself, don't include God in most of our everyday
lives, because we are either too busy or to shy to acknowledge
Him!
If the
act of giving out Rosaries does no good for others, it would
somehow do good for me.
Would it be wrong to include a way
for the recipient to contact me on the card,
or would this
be the obvious thing to do?
Please tell me your thoughts.
Thanks and God bless,
Peter Arsenault
Canada
{
Would there be anything wrong with placing Rosaries in mailboxes with contact information? }
John replied:
Hi Peter,
Your desire to do something for the Lord is admirable. We need
more Catholics like you willing to share the faith.
That said: your thought is nice but it could be problematic.
First and
foremost you might be breaking the law if you do so. I don't know about
Canada, but in the United States of America, the only ones allowed to put
anything in a mail box is the United States Postal Service. It's a federal
crime, for anyone else to deliver anything to a mail box, without the addressee's
consent, so the first thing you need to do is check out the law in Canada.
Secondly, you don't know to whom you would be giving these Rosaries. If
you leave them at the home of a virile anti-Catholic, they may be destroyed
and, more importantly, you might re-enforce their wrong belief that Catholics
are idolaters, worshiping Mary. Perhaps worse, you might unknowingly leave
items that are blessed in the hands of someone that would desecrate them.
I find the best way to evangelize is to build relationships and
earn the right to share one's faith. Jesus said, love thy neighbor but
many of us don't even know our neighbor. When we begin to get to know people,
God will open the door for us to slowly share our faith, but always
remember, the first way we share our faith is by the example of our lives.
God Bless,
John
Mike replied:
Hi Peter,
I just wanted to add to what my colleague John has said. He makes some
very good points.
Your love for this devotional is admirable. Although Catholics are not
bound to practice praying the Rosary, it has been highly recommended by
many Popes in the Church.
It was in the year 1214 that the
Church received the Rosary in
its present form and according
to the method we use today. It
was given to the Church by St.
Dominic, who had received it from
the Blessed Virgin as a means
of converting the Albigensians
and other sinners. Saint Dominic,
seeing that the gravity of people's
sins was hindering the conversion
of the Albigensians, withdrew
into a forest near Toulouse, where
he prayed continuously for three
days and three nights. During
this time he did nothing but weep
and did harsh penances in order
to appease the anger of God. At this point our Lady appeared to
him, accompanied by three angels,
and she said,
"Dear Dominic, do you know which
weapon the Blessed Trinity
wants to use to reform the
world?"
"Oh, my Lady," answered
Saint Dominic, "you know
far better than I do, because
next to your Son Jesus Christ,
you have always been the chief
instrument of our salvation."
Then Our Lady replied, "I
want you to know that, in this kind
of warfare, the principal
weapon has always been the Angelic
Psalter (nowadays: the Rosary), which is the foundation-stone
of the New Testament. Therefore,
if you want to reach these hardened
souls and win them over to God,
preach my Psalter."
So he arose, comforted, and burning
with zeal for the conversion of
the people in that district, he
headed straight for the cathedral.
At once, unseen angels rang the
bells to gather the people together,
and Saint Dominic began to preach.
The Psalter she is referring to is the Rosary. It is a sad reality that
many in our Church do not have as strong a prayer life as they should.
That said, I would recommend what I did back in the 1980's. Put together
tiny Rosary prayer packages, with four things:
The last two are important for the believer, because in a private
revelation to the children of Fatima, I think, Mary said:
The
Rosary and Brown Scapular are inseparable.
Just put these four things in a small plastic bag, staple the
top, and put a Take One, For FREE sticker on it.
But where do you put them?
Go from Catholic parish to parish asking the pastor for permission to
put free rosaries and scapulars in the back of the church.
From my recollection, you will probably get a mixed response. Some will
say:
Sure, go right ahead,
others will say, No, for some unreasonable reason,
and
some will what to think about it first. (After a week, just go back
and ask again.)
From my experience, they will probably say No, but don't assume they
will.
In addition, you can also distribute them to friends and family
members and to non-Catholic Christians. Remember the Rosary is a Biblical
prayer. You may want to share [MS Word] this
hand out as well.
If you believe this is something the Lord has placed on your heart, don't
extinguish it, but follow through with it.
When the prayer life of the members of our Church increases, it leads
to holier members in the Church, which in turn, leads to the type of people,
my colleague, John is trying to foster.
If you are interested in this idea, send me your postal address and I
can send you and example of what I am talking about.
Hope this helps,
Mike
Peter replied:
Hi John --
Hi, Mike --
Thanks for the wise words. I think you are correct when you say we should get
to know our neighbor. It's just one of many problems today, in that, we don't
seem to want to get involved personally with them. I, for one, have that problem.
I'm always polite, or helpful, but generally keep at a distance, if you know
what I mean. That act of giving rosaries to people in their mailboxes is just
another way of "keeping a distance, isn't it.
I think I have a lot
to work on, about myself, before I can really help others. I'll pray He helps
me with this. Please don't feel your reply has discouraged me; it has not.
It is the truth, and that is the most important thing.
Thanks again,
Peter Arsenault
Canada
Mary Ann replied:
Peter,
In the USA., it is illegal to put something into someone's mailbox,
as it is considered government property.
Strange as it may seem!
Mary Ann
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