by: Michael Washburne
Sometime in 2015, I was invited by Sister Effata to one of their little groups of prayer. These groups consist of lay men and women who pray and evangelize through the meditated rosary. This particular group was led by a large family. It was so beautiful to see this family pray the rosary together with the sisters and friars, and how I longed to see this devotion back in my own family! After the rosary was over, Sister Effata pulled several wristlet rosaries out of her pocket, each with a wooden cross and green prayer beads. I thought to myself, “Wow, that would be convenient for praying the rosary on the go,” and from that moment I wanted one.
Two years later, I was riding with my wife’s family to Florida for a vacation, and decided to make the best of the 10 hour drive by praying the rosary along the way. I was able to pray a meditative version of the four mysteries – Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious – but during my prayers I was briefly interrupted by my wife’s little nephew, Matthew, who was holding a rosary with green beads and a wooden cross. I thought it might be a rosary he’d made in religion class, and when I commented on how cool it was, he gave it to me to pray the rosary with.
One evening after we came back home, Fr. Antonio and Friar Michael came to my Cursillo prayer group. Friar Michael was momentarily visiting from Italy and spoke very little English. I was still wearing the rosary Matthew had found in his parents’ vehicle when we went on vacation, and when the friars walked into the room the visiting friar noticed it on my wrist and said in English, “Oh, a prayer leader.” I was surprised by this, and so was Father Antonio! It turned out that the rosary I had on was a special rosary only worn by the Little Friars and Little Nuns and the members of their lay groups of prayer. Even stranger, the specific rosary I had on was the kind used by the Little Friars and Nuns in Italy: Fr. Antonio had an American rosary bracelet on and showed me the difference between the two (the cross on mine was rounded, while Fr. Antonio’s cross was flat and made with a different piece of wood). I wondered, Lord, is this your way of telling me you want me to be a leader in these little groups of prayer?
When I had learned all these details regarding the rosary on my wrist I began to do my own investigation into the matter. As I reflected, I remembered that before I even went on vacation the Lord seemed to be telling me that He wanted to give me a gift. I wondered, Lord, was this the gift You wanted to give me? I asked my wife and her family if they had ever given a ride to one of the Little Friars or Nuns, or maybe a member of their prayer groups, thinking that one of them could have left the bracelet behind – but they all said no. One way or another, the Lord who reigns in the high heavens had given me this rosary!
After this, I found myself drawn to a post Sr. Effata had put on Facebook about discerning if God might be calling someone to be a part of their evangelization through the little groups of prayer. I sought out Sr. Effata to discuss the matter, and together the community and I discerned that I should start a group of prayer. In my zeal I agreed to do a meditated rosary at least once every week on top of attending Holy Mass at least once a week, going to confession at least once a month and as far as possible doing concrete deeds of Charity, especially in helping the Little Friars and Nuns in their work of Evangelization.
Since joining the Marian prayer group ADP-VV, my experience with the Little Friars and Little Nuns of Jesus and Mary has been exceedingly positive. In these members of Christ I receive a beautiful diffusion of God's love both visibly and invisibly. I find myself greatly aided in spiritual dilemmas (even when they themselves might not know I’m going through them!). That help may come through a homily, testimony and or audio clip from one of them where the Lord directs my attention to a certain mystery or phrase. In these moments I find the Lord speaking through them directly to my circumstances. This has happened on numerous occasions and I draw confidence from their continued prayers for us. I like to attribute this partially to their humble and stoic will to follow Christ. Moreover, their observance of Poverty, Chasity and Obedience greatly moves and inspires me to take courage in my own walk with Christ. I hope the Lord can use me to encourage these beloved souls who already know Christ, and even more so to bring lost souls to seek Christ!
Michael Washburne (third from left) is currently a leader of an ADP-VV Group of Prayer that meets at the St. Lucy parish in Houma, Louisiana.
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