Simple Prayer with Mary

This being the month of the Holy Rosary, our prayer to Jesus through Mary takes on special significance.  In the Mary model, the simpler it is, the better.  I was very moved last night praying with a group of a hundred or so people in Lawrence who gathered in the Campagnone Common around the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.  A procession had initiated the afternoon of Rosary and talks, and another with a candle light, prayers and hymns concluded the day.  There was something very "down to earth" about the simplicity of the faith that took its expression in that procession.  It reminded me very much of the simple "prayer meetings" we used to have in Oglala, South Dakota: a poor, simple people pouring their hearts out to their Mother.  Several Franciscans of the Primitive Observance led the prayers,  which came from hearts as simple as those who responded to them.  The love of Mary and a closeness, as children with their mother, were evident and lent meaning and beauty to the prayers being said in Spanish and English.  The climax of the day was a consecration of the city of Lawrence to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and a prayer for an end to the violence, corruption and crime that have plagued this city for years.  I could not help feeling that Mary heard the cry of her children and will answer this prayer.  May this story inspire us to continue our prayer with similar simplicity, faith and depth.  She will answer.
Bro. Rene