Celebrate July 4th with Patriotic Rosary

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
June 23, 2005

People looking for a way to celebrate the Fourth of July in a prayerful way may want to take part in the Patriotic Rosary to be held at 7:30 p.m., July 4, at the foot of Mary at Trinity Heights in Sioux City.

"We are gathering to consecrate ourselves, our families and our entire nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary," noted Larry Walsh, a member of the spiritual committee for Trinity Heights. This is the third consecutive year that this committee has sponsored the Patriotic Rosary.

Along with praying for all areas of the government and the courts, Walsh pointed out that all 50 states as well as the people who reside in them would be specifically mentioned during the service.

"We are praying for a conversion of our country," he said. "Our nation has strayed so far away from the origins of this nation where we had a dedication and a connection to our very creator. Originally we sought openly the guidance of God in our public discourse and decision making and now it is considered offensive to a nonbeliever if we even mention God."

People of faith, Walsh noted, are being silenced of any reference to God in the marketplace and in the political arena.

"We are praying for a return to our origins. During the rosary, each Hail Mary, Our Father and the mysteries will be said for a different area of our government and offices in this nation," he stressed. "Coincidentally, the number of states coincides with the 50 Hail Marys that we pray. We are praying for everyone in this nation to return to the origins of the founding of this nation."

In between the decades of the rosary, statements and reflections from some of the founding fathers will be presented. Walsh noted that these should give people an idea as to what their thoughts were as they struggled with the establishment of this country.

As the trend continues to grow in silencing dialogue about God, he stressed the fact that they wanted to remind people of the strong faith connection of early Americans.

"We will be praying in front of the mother of God, asking for her intercession to return this nation to its roots," said Walsh. "This is a struggle in this nation anymore. We are really looking for peace not only in our hearts, peace in our families, peace in our city and nation - but looking for a conversion."

This struggle didn't take place overnight. He quoted Abraham Lincoln who stated, "We've forgotten God. We've forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and multiplied, enriched and strengthened us. And we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all of these things were produced by some superior wisdom virtue of our own."

The service will also include patriotic songs.

All people are invited to attend and take part in the rosary. A reception will follow.