Just days into the New Year, hundreds of men from across Sydney took to their knees to pray for their families and communities.
In Sydney’s west, morning walkers were greeted by the sound of over 40 men chanting the Ave Maria as dawn broke over St Christopher’s parish on 4 January.
The group gathered at the Holsworthy parish’s grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to publicly pray the holy rosary as part of the First Saturday Devotion and share in a bbq breakfast hosted by the parish’s “Men of St Joseph” ministry.
Seminarian Harrison Brady found it deeply moving to lead the men in prayer, particularly at this time where the church celebrates Christmastide.
“Being a part of the devotion was a great experience,” said Harrison who begins his second-year at the Good Shepherd Seminary.
“You start the day in the best way by spending time in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary, reflecting on the mysteries surrounding the arrival of Christ as one of our own.
“It was a privilege to lead the rosary for my fellow brothers, fellow men of the faith who desire a deeper relationship with God.
“Being able to hear their whole-hearted responses after mine is a witness of how the Holy Spirit works in those who truly believe.”
Harrison was encouraged by the commitment of the group to forgo their sleep for the sake of the devotion, knowing how powerful it can be for them and has been for himself.
“The rosary for me is a powerful tool, you’re meditating on the life of Christ alongside Mary, but it can also be a source of intercession for others and a way to attack the evil that surrounds the world.
“It’s the Swiss Army knife of prayer and it has been something that helped me particularly in the last few years of my life.”
Over at the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral later that same morning, hundreds more gathered with banners and rosary in hand to continue what is becoming a growing movement of Catholic men, publicly and proudly displaying their faith.
The Men’s Rosary Crusade, as this gathering at the Cathedral is known by, is held on the first Saturday of each month, and has been inspired by the Five First Saturdays Devotion associated with the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in 1925.
When Our Lady appeared to five young children at Fatima, she urged the children to tell anyone that she would help at the hour of death all those who on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, pray the rosary and meditate on the mysteries of the rosary.