Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles is urging Catholics to rediscover the rosary as a source of healing, peace, and mission during what he called a deeply divided moment in America. Amid political violence and growing social polarization, Gomez said prayer remains one of the Church’s most powerful responses.
In a May 6 reflection titled “How the rosary can change the world,” Archbishop Gomez pointed to the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner April 25 as a sign of growing unrest in the U.S.
“I was disturbed by the latest act of political violence in our country, the attack targeting the president that took place last month in Washington, D.C.,” Archbishop Gomez wrote. “We thank God this attack was stopped by security and law enforcement.”
The archbishop said the country appears increasingly fractured even as it marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“It is sad to think that in this Jubilee Year for our country, the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, our nation is more divided and polarized than I’ve ever seen it in my lifetime,” he said.
Archbishop Gomez framed his reflection around a quote from Saint Augustine that he said has guided him for years: “Bad times! Troublesome times! This is what people are saying. Let our lives be good, and the times will be good. We make our times. Such as we are, such are the times.”
“Our lives matter,” the archbishop wrote. “We may not be powerful or influential in worldly terms, but we each have a role to play in God’s plan. How we live, the example we set, what we say and do, our priorities — they make a difference.”
Pointing to the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles, Archbishop Gomez said the first Christians rooted their lives in prayer, Scripture, and the Eucharist.
“Prayer is the work of the Church. Then and now,” Archbishop Gomez wrote. “By our prayer we ‘make our times,’ as St. Augustine says.”
With May traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Catholic devotion, Archbishop Gomez encouraged Catholics to renew their commitment to the Rosary, which he called “Mary’s prayer.”
“We need this prayer again now, we need to renew our faith in its power to change our hearts, in this moment of tense divisions in our society,” he wrote.
Archbishop Gomez described the Rosary as “a school of the heart” and “a pilgrim’s prayer,” saying its repeated prayers and meditations on the life of Jesus can transform the way believers see the world.
“The repetition of the Hail Marys in the rosary is like a litany of love,” he wrote. “‘I love you’ isn’t something we say only once to the ones we love. So every Hail Mary we repeat in the rosary is like an ‘I love you’ that we are saying to Jesus and to Mary.”
He said prayer can transform both individuals and society by helping Christians focus less on themselves and more on serving others.
“Prayer is our mission in the Church, and prayer is what the world urgently needs in these troubled times,” the archbishop wrote. “So let us renew our devotion to Mary and her prayer this month.”
Archbishop’s Gomez’s reflection comes as many Americans report rising political exhaustion, loneliness, and anxiety — trends that Church leaders increasingly say require spiritual renewal, not just political solutions.
>> Pope Leo marks first year as Pontiff at Marian shrine, highlights importance of the Rosary <<