Are you worried?

Yes, lots of us are today. Back in 1571, the Pope was worried too... he was facing a war of terror and the "allies" weren't willing to work together; it seemed that everyone he asked for help gave him some excuse or other.

So what did he do? He asked everyone to pray the Rosary. In particular he asked the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary to pray.

You never heard of it? You need to read Chesterton's poem "Lepanto" if you want to know more about the war. But if you want to know about that Confraternity, here you go:

The CONFRATERNITY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY
(An Archconfraternity)

A World-Wide Movement of Prayer Entrusted to the DOMINICAN ORDER by the HOLY SEE More than 500 Years Ago.

The Rosary Confraternity is a spiritual association (of the Catholic Church), the members of which strive to pray the entire Rosary during the course of each week. They form a union of countless hundreds of thousands of the faithful throughout the world who, along with their own intentions, include the intentions and needs of all its members, while they in turn pray for them.

Since the Holy Father has recently added the five luminous mysteries, we encourage members of the Confraternity to include that extra weekly Rosary. However, we have as yet received no official statement regarding this matter. Those who recite only the fifteen traditional mysteries will continue to share in the benefits of the Confraternity until some official source declares the contrary.

As Pope Leo XIII said in his encyclical on the Confraternity, "whenever a person fulfills his obligation of reciting the Rosary according to the rule of the Confraternity, he includes in his intentions all its members, and they in turn render him the same service many times over."

Each member includes deceased fellow members as well; and thus he knows that in turn he will be included in the prayers of hundreds of thousands both now and hereafter. This led the Cure of Ars to say: "If anyone has the happiness of being in the Confraternity of the Rosary, he has in all corners of the world brothers and sisters who pray for him." The deceased cannot be enrolled in the Confraternity.

Those who pray the Rosary regularly would do well to be enrolled in the Confraternity to gain extra spiritual benefits for each Rosary they pray. Visit here or write to:

The Rosary Center
PO Box 3617
Portland, OR 97208 USA

[above is quoted from the Rosary Center web site]

No dues, no meetings, no hidden fees or complications. Loads of benefits. The only cost is your own personal commitment to prayer: 15 decades every week, that's all.

Yes, I'm a member. Why don't you join? (No, I'm not the "rush chairman"; I have no official connection but membership.) If you are worried, then do something - something that matters, something "military" - something that will have a real effect on the world:

Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of justice: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit: and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints...
[St. Paul to the Ephesians 6:13-18]

Pray. It's high-tech, too - infinite bandwidth, available anywhere, even where lower technology can't work, easy to use, doesn't require complex training, powered by your own personal energy... And it connects to the best and most wonderful Resource of all.