On the last day of October, the Rosary came to life in Wangaratta, as parishioners formed a human chain of Rosary beads and prayed the Rosary together in the gardens of St Patrick’s Church.
It was a solemn and moving occasion for all who were present. Monsignor Crisologo Manongas, who organised this interactive version of the Living Rosary, said participants engaged with this Rosary in an authentic and prayerful way, creating a powerful experience for those present. “I really think people felt something different; it’s difficult to describe, but it was a very prayerful and solemn occasion, I really felt it too,” said Mons. Cris. “People are already asking when we will do it again.”
Every day of October, parishioners at Wangaratta and King Valley parishes had been keenly gathering to pray the Rosary together. Witnessing how much parishioners appreciated sharing time in communal prayer, Monsignor Cris decided to try something new in Wangaratta. He announced that on the last day of October the parish community would pray a Living Rosary in the garden of St Patrick’s Church. This version of the Living Rosary requires people to not only pray the prayers of the Rosary, but also to embody the prayers. It is a visible and tangible way of interacting with prayer and communing with each other and God as the Rosary is prayed.
Popular in the Philippines, (Monsignor Cris’ home country), this version of the Living Rosary requires 61 people to stand or sit in a formation which reflects the Rosary. Each person becomes a human bead of the Rosary, embodying the prayer they represent. Each of these human beads holds a candle which is lit as the prayer they represent is prayed by all who are present. As the Rosary progresses more and more candles are lit, when all decades of the Rosary have been prayed, each human bead stands strong holding a flame – a vivid visual and moving representation of the Rosary and the Holy Spirit.
Since this was the first time parishioners in Wangaratta and King Valley parishes had participated in this unique way of praying the Rosary, Monsignor Cris made two simple adaptations. With the help of his team, he placed chairs in the formation of the Rosary, “When people arrived, we simply asked them to take a seat,” said Monsignor Cris. “People were all seated in time, and we started on time, everything just worked.”
To help the prayer to progress without too much distraction Mons. Cris lit the candles held by each human bead as the Rosary progressed. “Usually, the candlesare lit by the person next to you, as your prayer is being prayed,” explained Mons. Cris. “I decided on this occasion to light the candles so that we could all focus on prayer without worrying about lighting each other’s candles.” Needless to say, “the fire continued as the prayers continued.”
Standing outside of the Rosary formation, a Lector and Choir supported the prayer service, guiding the community to a deeper sense of encounter as they gathered around the Rosary in prayer.
Monsignor Cris said he is very grateful to his parishioners for embracing this Living Rosary in such a genuinely prayerful way, saying he had every confidence in them. “We needed at least 60 people to show up and take part. Initially, people were asking me – ‘what if we don’t have enough people to do this?’” explained Monsignor Cris. “I really felt it would work, and it did.” Monsignor Cris and his team left no option but for the Rosary to be a success. They prepared outdoor seating and 73 candles (with safety guards) convinced that there would be more than enough people to take part on the day. “We just knew all of those 73 candles would be lit,” said Mons. Cris, “And they were.”
Sister Nancy Usselmann, a Daughter of St Paul, believes that the more senses we use when praying, the better we are able to focus on the mysteries we are reflecting on.
“As human beings, we are both material and spiritual. That means our spiritual lives work in conjunction with our physical existence. We can’t separate them. This is what it essentially means to be human. When the whole person — mind, body and spirit — is connected, we are most in union with God. Every mystic of the Church would attest to this. We are not mystics when we try to separate ourselves body from soul, but instead when we are most unified. Therefore, our prayer needs our bodies to be connected to the prayer as well.”
