Saint Emilie de Vialar Parish is pulling out all stops for Our Lady and the Year of Grace, planning to pray a decade of the Rosary before every daily and weekend Mass this month.
Parishioners, on entering the church for the weekend Masses of October 6-7, saw a panoply of roses, 10 red candles, the parish’s Year of Grace candle, a large set of Rosary Beads and a statue of Our Lady near the altar.
To get things under way, lots of beautiful roses, 10 red candles, the Year of Grace Candle and a statue of Our Lady were the symbols parishioners saw when they attended the Masses on Saturday and Sunday 6th and 7th of October at St Emilie’s.
Prior to all four Masses a decade of the Rosary was prayed, led by a member of the Legion of Mary.
After the recitation of the Year of Grace Prayer, ten children processed-in 10 lighted candles representing the prayers of each bead.
The procession of the candles was accompanied by a narration about the word Rosary and it’s meaning ‘crown of Roses’.
The ongoing presence of the symbols at every Mass throughout the month is aimed at reminding parishioners that Mary is a model for living the faith today and always.
The parish will have a quiet time for reflection after every Communion accompanied by a series of icon’s on the overhead, focusing on the Year of Grace.
St Emilie’s has also instituted written prayer requests for the Year of Grace. Each week two prayer requests are randomly selected for inclusion in the Prayers of the Faithful.