by Hope Frances w/writing contribution from Paschel Sims
The brightest stars in Hollywood were shining over the Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday.Over 50,000 Catholics filled with their faith, filled the stadium for the Rosary Bowl. Thetheme for the event was "A World at Prayer is a World at Peace." And, that peace was definitely felt by all who attended the celebration.
The Rosary Bowl was sponsored by Holy Cross Ministries and its local member FamilyTheater productions, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The awe inspiring evening left all who attended wondering when the next one would take place.
It was an amazing celebration of the rosary, and honored the Blessed Virgin Mary sobeautifully. Participants entered the stadium to the sound of praise and worship music.A choir of 80 singers conducted by Saint Monica Parish Music Director Ed Archer filledthe air as one angelic voice. Special musical guests included Mario Reyes of the GypsyKings Family, Mario Alberto and Paul Harrigan.
The procession onto the field represented various Marian groups from throughout thediocese. They were followed by our precious treasure of the church - nuns from manydifferent religious orders. The Knights of Columbus were next to grace us with theirpresence donning Fourth Degree regalia. It was a sight to behold.
One-by-one, the princes of the church, Los Angeles' seven auxiliary bishops, processedtoward the altar with our Cardinal Roger Mahony displaying the most blessed sacramentin the monstrance to the delight of an overwhelmed crowd.
A living rosary was created on the field with several people making up each bead.
Every nationality was represented in their native dress. The start of every bead was prayed in adifferent language, followed by the crowd in English. This showed the multi-culturalaspect of the evening and the power of prayer across the world and across nationalities.Between each decade a guest speaker gave their testimony to the power of praying therosary and how it had changed their life.
Jim Caviezel, who played the role of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, was one of the guest speakers. He mentioned that although he has found recognition in Hollywood, it is much more important to have recognition in heaven with God.
After concluding the rosary, the gospel was proclaimed by Deacon Hosea Alexander.Cardinal Mahony then spoke eloquently on the beauty and merits of praying the rosary.He encouraged us to pray the rosary regularly and suggested praying it in our cars as ameans of bringing peace to the streets.
The evening ended with a procession out of the stadium to the hymn, "Let There BePeace On Earth." It was a fitting ending to such a wonderful celebration of the BlessedVirgin Mary and the power of prayer.
God shines brighter than all the stars in Hollywood.
