The Family Rosary Crusade Handbook:
Guidelines for Diocesan Sponsored Family Rosary Crusade The Family Rosary; Inc. has recently published The Family Rosary Crusade Handbook, by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the story of the Family Rosary Crusade begun by Father Peyton forty-five years ago. By a happy coincidence, the forty-fifth anniversary of the Family Rosary Crusade occurred during the Marian Year.
Sister Mary J. Buckler; R.S.M., executive director of the Family Rosary; Inc., calls the book "Father Peyton's legacy to us." I believe this is so not only because it represents the fruits of a life spent propagating the rosary, but also because it is the most highly recommended book that I know of. Besides the usual approbations, it is highly recommended by Luigi Cardinal Dadaglio, president of the Central Committee for the Marian Year, and seven other cardinals as well as a host of archbishops and bishops.
Essentially, the book is a "how-to" guide, since it is the fruit of Father Peyton's experiences and tells step by step how to conduct a Family Rosary Crusade. However, there are many other features not in the "how-to" category that should endear it to many readers.
The first part, "Organization," is most important since it details how to organize a Family Rosary Crusade, and even provides a sample letter that any bishop might send to all his people to encourage such a crusade. After "Organization" comes "The Exegesis: The Mysteries of the Rosary in the Light of scripture," followed by selections called "Sources," from various important theologians, including Pope John Paul I Cardinals Herrera and de Lubac, S.J., Monsignor Gerard Philips; and Professor Karl Rahner, S.J. Included is one of our most beloved modem spiritual writers, Father Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. There is also a selection by a Protestant member of the Ecumenical Society of Our Lady in England, entitled "The Rosary- a Representative Image of Reality." The section concludes with Father Peyton's own testimony to the Family Rosary followed by "Model Prayers of the Faithful."
The book's fourth section, "Teachers' Sources," includes a message to teachers from Father Peyton, suggested classroom projects, a sample essay assignment, and two examples of essays by children in the seventh and eighth grades.
The appendix should not be over-looked. It gives samples of all the materials used in the book and includes remarks about the libraries of Family Rosary, Inc. and Family Theater, Inc.
--William J. Cole, S.M.
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