As she was driving back from a memorial service for a young family friend
and four other soldiers killed in the war in Iraq, Lynda MacFarland felt
compelled “to do something” to bring comfort to the grieving.
Inspired and humbled by the strength of the family members the soldiers left
behind, MacFarland’s first thought was to immerse herself in prayer for
troops and their families — with a “rosary for warriors.”
It was “divine inspiration,” said MacFarland, who conceded that she
never had a devotion to the rosary nor did she know all the prayers.
After learning the prayers she didn’t know, MacFarland decided that the
rosary for warriors should be prayed with the sorrowful mysteries in mind, and
each decade would be prayed for a specific intention, including prayers for deployed
soldiers, those wounded and deceased, and for the families of soldiers. She then
passed the idea along to “every Catholic in my address book,” said
MacFarland, who was living on a military base in Germany at the time.
Her husband, Sean, who has served in the military for more than 25 years, served
two tours in Iraq. During his second tour his brigade lost more than 90 soldiers
in a 14-month period. It was a “horror,” said MacFarland, recounting
the months her husband was deployed to Iraq. “It was a nightmare I couldn’t
wake up from,” she said, knowing that young soldiers were dying. “It’s
so awful and so hard.”
MacFarland introduced the idea of praying for the specific intentions at her
weekly Military Catholic Council of Women (MCCW) meeting and the members embraced
the idea and began praying the rosary together every Friday before noon Mass.
The prayers brought the women together and gave them a sense of peace and solace.
“People find it comforting and it’s spreading on its own,” said
MacFarland, who now resides at Fort Belvoir and attends Mass at Queen of Apostles
Church in Alexandria.
Alba Thompson, a parishioner of St. Thomas à Becket in Reston and member
of MCCW, prays the rosary for warriors every day.
“It’s like praying for family,” said Thompson, whose husband
is a retired military colonel, who fought in Vietnam. “We are all part
of this. The only thing we can do is pray.”
Calling the rosary for warriors “an amazing strengthening tool,” Lisa
Miko, president for the MCCW-Worldwide, said the rosary for warriors gives her
the words to use to pray for the troops and their families.
MacFarland considers herself and all those who pray the rosary “prayer
warriors.” On May 18 the MCCW will lead the rosary for warriors before
a Memorial Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
in Washington during the Military Archdiocese’s pilgrimage. What’s
most important, she said, “Jesus and Our Lady want us to do this.”
Henrietta Gomes can be reached at hgomes@catholicherald.com.
Pray the rosary for warriors
Using the sorrowful mysteries:
Agony in the garden: for deployed soldiers and their safety
Scourging at the pillar: for wounded soldiers and for their healing
Crowning with thorns: for deceased soldiers and repose of their souls
Carrying of the cross: for families of deployed, wounded and deceased soldiers,
and for strength and comfort.
Crucifixion: for our nation, for the victims of war and for peace in the world.
Memorial Mass
A Memorial Mass for soldiers will be celebrated at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington May 18.
For more information go to milarch.org.
