The Family That Prays Together Stays Together — A Bead-by-Bead Family Guide Through the Mysteries

By Father Willy Raymond, CSC

Ave Maria Press, 2024,

144 pages; $ 12.95

To order: AveMariaPress.com, or (800) 282-1865, or Amazon

 

“The family that prays together stays together” was a signature teaching of Venerable Patrick Peyton.

Now along comes Holy Cross Father Willy Raymond and his new book, The Family That Prays Together Stays Together: A Bead-by-Bead Family Guide Through the Mysteries, that again invigorates that timeless wisdom, and in a simple, direct way encourages families (and individuals) to follow that path.

Of course, Venerable Father Peyton who founded the Family Rosary in 1942 and Family Theater Productions in 1947, was a pioneer in evangelizing through media, from radio to television to film. The Rosary was always at the heart of what he did, and this book reignites that heart again.

Father Raymond was the national director of Family Theater Productions, founded by Father Peyton, from 2000 to 2014, and then president of Holy Cross Family Mysteries Ministries, an apostolate of the Holy Cross Congregation, from 2014 to 2022.

His enlightening, simple approach helps families especially beginning the family Rosary or anyone who would like to get themselves attuned to the Rosary. It’s an excellent resource and a sure guide for people to find and stay on that path.

Father Raymond takes us on a route that goes decade by decade through all four Mysteries of the Rosary. Each Mystery begins with an overview. Then comes a short Scriptural passage associated with the particular decade, followed by a “Reflection” to shed light on the scene and connect each decade as the Mystery progresses. These reflections are clear and enlightening in a way that even children can grasp — or that parents can easily explain to them.

After the 10 Hail Marys and one Glory Be are prayed, Father Raymond gives a short “Conclusion” for each particular decade. For example, in the conclusion for the first Luminous Mystery, the Baptism of Jesus, he writes:

With gratitude to you, Almighty God, I thank you for the gift of your beloved son, Jesus, his Mother Mary, and her son and disciple, Father Patrick Peyton. Forgive my distractions, timidity, lack of zeal, and failure to reflect your love today. Help me to realize that the mission given me by virtue of my baptism is the sharing in the mission of Christ and not my own will. Send your spirit to set my soul on fire with love for you and my neighbor. Amen.

Father Raymond tells readers how the book “will help you walk through a month with Mary at your side. If you pray the Rosary daily, the reflections here will help you cultivate a deeper devotion to Our Blessed Mother. If the Rosary is a new devotion, this book will help you step into the rhythm of this prayer and set a firm foundation for it to nourish your spiritual life in years to come.”

The author knows the power of the family Rosary from his own childhood when his mother and father gathered the family to pray it together every night in October, during Lent and May. He writes that he may not have known it at the time, “but my family was part of a global movement for families to pray the Rosary together. The man who sparked and led that movement was the famous Rosary priest, Venerable Patrick Peyton.

Privileged to know Father Peyton, Father Raymond remembers him as a gentle, pious man and faithful priest of the Holy Cross. He remembers the venerable priest “always had a Rosary wrapped around his right fist and was ever ready to share the reason for his devotion to the Blessed Mary. And he would invite you to pray the Rosary with him.”

Throughout the book, Father Raymond shares examples from Father Peyton’s own life and how the Rosary affected him and then others through his promotion of the Rosary:

Father Peyton knew that we could trust Mary to bring us to Jesus, and he knew that we could trust the Rosary to bring us to Mary. That’s why he never tired of encouraging people to pray the Rosary.

He talks about Father Peyton’s parents, Mary and John Peyton, who on their wedding day promised each other and God to pray the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary in their home daily.

Fulfilling this promise meant that young Patrick came to know and love Jesus and his Mother Mary as true and real members of his family. And Jesus too. For the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, the 5th Luminous Mystery, “he entrusted to the Eucharistic Lord all his major decisions by physically placing letters and petitions before the Lord reserved in the tabernacle.”

For the third glorious mystery, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, he suggests, “As you move through the beads with your fingers, pray the beautiful words, ‘Come Holy Spirit’ on each of the beads. The simple prayer invites the greatest goodness in heaven and on earth to strengthen you with the joy of the Gospel.”

For the second Glorious Mystery, he begins his conclusion for the Ascension, “Lord, as I place myself in your presence, help me to know that Mary is always with me, as she was with the apostles in the upper room, supporting me with her prayers. I thank you for your abundant blessings.”

Later, he continues, “With your Mother’s help, may I share your good news by the witness of my life, that others may come to know your saving love. Amen.”

Reflections such as these help enlighten each mystery.

The format promotes pondering one mystery a day together. “It will not tax the attention span of children,” notes Father Raymond. “And after a month, everyone will have a firm grasp of the rhythm of this prayer. … The goal of this book is to help you establish a habit of daily prayer rooted in devotion to Our Blessed Mother.”

Simple examples from Father Peyton’s life that appear in the reflections become memorable, such as for the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. “The price Christ paid is captured in Michelangelo’s Pietà, the most beautiful work of art that also shows the world the profound wound suffered by the Mother of Sorrows. Patrick Peyton loved the Pietà and lingered before this precious sculpture for hours on end in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. … Whenever Father Peyton’s friends look for him at the Vatican, they knew where they were likely to find him — at the basilica’s entrance praying the Rosary before the Pietà.”

Insights like this not only remind the readers of the devotion of the Family Rosary priest, but also act as wonderful inspirations to begin praying, and then continue to pray, the daily Rosary as our Blessed Mother has asked for so many times.

Father Raymond wanted this book to be “particularly well suited for families who want to make the Rosary a part of their shared life of prayer.”

And in an easy-to-understand, almost conversational and gentle way, he follows the mighty footsteps of Venerable Father Peyton, continuing as he did, as an apostle to promote the Rosary and especially the Family Rosary.