Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez wrote Oct. 7 that the argument that prayer cannot change the world and that action instead is needed to bring peace, is a claim that “misunderstands the truth of both prayer and action, and the deeper meaning of Jesus’ saving work in the world.”
Prayer is an act that opens hearts to God’s will and opens eyes to see others as brothers and sisters, he wrote in the Oct. 7 Angelus News op-ed. His reflection on the power of prayer comes after Pope Leo XIV called for Catholics to pray the Rosary daily throughout October — a month the Church traditionally dedicates to the Blessed Mother — for peace.
“The rosary is, at its heart, a prayer for peace,” Archbishop Gomez wrote. “By calling us to enter into the saving mysteries of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, this prayer invites us to receive the peace he promised to his disciples and sends us out to be peacemakers in the world.”
Asking for the Blessed Mother’s intercession in times of distress dates back centuries, with a famous Catholic prayer now known as the “Memorare” having third-century roots.
The rosary is a prayer needed especially at this moment, which is marked by political violence, divisions, wars, and religious persecution, he said. “Many people today complain loudly that ‘thoughts and prayers’ are useless, that what is needed instead is action,” but this is a misunderstanding, he continued. “Jesus assured us that he would never leave us orphans, that he would remain with us until the end of the age, and that his Father and he are still at work in history.”
“So when we pray, we are talking personally to our Creator who walks beside us, who knows our hearts, our fears, and our hopes — our Creator whose plan for creation is still unfolding,” he wrote. “In prayer, our sense of responsibility for God’s plan begins. Prayer opens our eyes to see God as our Father and others as our brothers and sisters — hungry for daily bread, longing for forgiveness, yearning for deliverance from evil and death.”
Praying with the mysteries of the Rosary provides a “rhythm for life’s journey” that helps the faithful enter more deeply into life with Christ, he said. The Blessed Mother witnessed the mysteries of the Rosary herself throughout Christ’s life, and the key to praying them is to do so “as children, looking at Jesus’ life through the eyes of his mother, who is also our mother,” Archbishop Gomez continued.
Meditating on these mysteries help the faithful to embrace Christ’s humility, love sacrificially, and live in the hope of Heaven, he explained.
“The rosary teaches us to place our lives in Jesus’ hands and follow him, to seek his will and serve him in everything we do,” he said. “It is a prayer of contemplation that impels us to action, that leads us to say with Mary: ‘May it be done to me according to your word.’”
He added that the rosary also helps teach that life is about God’s will and serving others, rather than oneself.
As he concluded, the archbishop asked the faithful to pray for him, said he would do the same for them, and urged everyone to pray for peace.
“Prayer reminds us,” he wrote, “that each of us shares in God’s plan, that he gives us each a task: to bring hope where there is despair, reconciliation where there is division, and to lead others to friendship with Jesus.”