• Merry Christmas from Holy Rosary Shrine
    Merry Christmas from Holy Rosary Shrine

    Let us joyfully join the song of the holy angels, Glory to God in the Highest!

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Come, Contemplate with Mary the Face of Christ

Holy Rosary Shrine is dedicated to fostering union with Jesus through Our Blessed Mother and her Holy Rosary. Central to our mission is beautiful and reverent worship, preaching His Word, devotional and evangelization events, and service to those in need. Staffed by the Franciscans of the Poor Christ, we offer extended hours for the Sacrament of Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, retreat days and Franciscan and Marian spiritual formation. The Shrine has a rich history of being home to many different ethnic groups in the "Immigrant City" of Lawrence, Massachusetts which continues to this day.

Thank you

Thank you

Holy Rosary Shrine was awarded a generous grant from the McNeice Foundation in Boston.

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How to Pray the Rosary

How to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary Center & Confraternity. Promoting devotion to the Rosary for more than 500 years.

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Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Letter from St. John Paul II about the importance of the Holy Rosary.

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From the Friars: The Road to Bethlehem

If you drive to Providence, Rhode Island from Lawrence it will likely take about an hour and a half, depending on traffic. The distance is a little less than what St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They had to walk, with the help of a donkey to carry the very pregnant Mother of God. There were no Dunkin Donuts or hotels along the way. But there was cold winter rain, thieves, and deadly wild animals.

Picture of Boticelli's Nativity scene

Nativity of Jesus, Botticelli – [1], Public Domain, link

As we come to celebrate the great Solemnity of the Birth of the Savior of the World, meditating on the harsh reality of the circumstances can help us appreciate the incredible and mysterious self-emptying of Almighty God. We can also learn how Divine Providence speaks through the events of history and wonder again at the gift of being part the story of all stories. This is the plan of Our Creator from all eternity, to share His life with us in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Holy Family likely traveled by a road that went south along the Jordan River. This meant that they would pass through Jericho, the ancient city where the chosen people entered the Promised Land. As God had foretold (Dt 31), it was Joshua who led the people through the Jordan River into the Promised Land with the Ark of the Covenant going before them. (Jos 3) Joshua is a form of the name Jesus and the Ark is a symbol of The Blessed Virgin. The Mother and the Divine Child have also preceded us into the eternal Promised Land where we all hope to follow.

Jesus would then have entered Jerusalem from the east, riding on a donkey inside his mother’s womb. Thirty-three years later he would enter again by the same road, riding on a donkey on Palm Sunday. Finally, they made the last leg of their journey, only to find no lodging available. Hence Jesus was born in a stable. And his birth was miraculous, as the virginity of Mary was preserved “like light passing through glass” as St. Augustine said.

Let us joyfully join the song of the holy angels, Glory to God in the Highest! Merry Christmas!

–Fr. Peter