The Glory of the Most High Fraternity in Rochester N.Y. normally gathers the first Sunday of the month. With the closing of church buildings – we gather at St. Theodore’s Church – and with stay-at-home recommendations in place, we were not able to gather April 5. But we had planned to say The Way of the Cross According to the Method of St. Francis of Assisi, so we contacted the members of the Fraternity and suggested that each of us say it at 1 p.m. (our gathering time) that day.
As the closings continued, we realized we would not be able to gather May 3. Since May is the month of Mary, we had discussed saying the Franciscan Crown Rosary for the regular gathering, so we decided to repeat the April “distance gathering,” substituting the rosary at 1 p.m.
But
then the suggestions was made that those of us who felt comfortable doing so
gather to say the rosary at the St. Padre Pio Chapel in the Rochester suburb of
Gates. The chapel is a private one, created in 2007 by a family with a devotion
to St. Padre Pio. The building is the size of a small church, with plenty of
room for people to practice social distancing. It has remained open daily for
private devotions throughout the pandemic.
We
therefore proposed to the Fraternity that we all say the Crown Rosary wherever
we were most comfortable doing so, but noting that some of us would be at the
chapel reciting it. Several of us did gather there May 3 – wearing masks and
keeping social distance.
It
was such a wonderful experience that the suggestion was made that we gather at
the chapel every Sunday at 1 for the month of May, and invite the rest of the
Fraternity who cannot join us to pray the rosary wherever they are. Meanwhile,
members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Fraternity from nearby Hilton heard
about what we were doing and liked the idea, so we welcomed them to join us.
However
many of us gather at the chapel, however many of us are saying the rosary at
home, we will be united in prayer as a community. And among our prayers is that
we will be able to have a regular gathering as soon as the pandemic begins to
subside.
Pax et bonum
