# Pope Francis, the First Lady, and the power of the Rosary
*2017-05-25*

> Bill Young reflects on the Catholic faith of First Lady Melania Trump and the spiritual significance of the Rosary as a tool for world peace.

## Faith in the White House

It is heartening to see how our Blessed Mother works good things into the world. While we have seen evil manifest in recent events, such as the tragedy in Manchester, we also see the light of the Church. It was a wonderful surprise to learn that First Lady Melania Trump is Catholic. Although her father lived under a communist regime to find work, Melania and her sister were baptized Catholic. I hope and pray that she will be able to receive her First Holy Communion and experience the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We should also pray for President Donald Trump. After meeting Pope Francis, he expressed a new purpose for world peace. We pray that the Holy Spirit is working on him and his family. I also heard a touching story about the First Lady visiting a sick young boy in the hospital; shortly after her visit, a heart donor was found for him. This shows me how we work through Our Lady to find Jesus.

## The Luminous Mysteries

Today is Thursday, which means we pray the Luminous Mysteries—the special set of mysteries created by St. John Paul II. Before beginning, we offer a prayer for the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima (1917–2017), asking for peace and reconciliation in a world fraught with war and pain. Through the consecration of our hearts to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we commend the suffering of humanity to her care.

During our prayer, we meditated on the Baptism of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist. Each of these mysteries reminds us of the path to holiness and the necessity of repentance and trust in God.

## A Weapon for Peace

I was thinking about the beautiful Rosary beads that Pope Francis gave to the First Lady. While it is wonderful to have blessed beads from the Holy Father, the true value lies in using them. Our Lady asked the children of Fatima, and continues to ask the world, to pray the Rosary every day if we want world peace. I hope the First Lady uses those beads daily to draw closer to her Son.

No matter what evil we see in the world, we must not count Our Lady out. She is the co-redemptrix with our Lord Jesus Christ, and she will ultimately stamp out the head of the serpent.

## Divine Mercy and Final Intercessions

To conclude our time, we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet at the 3 o'clock hour, offering the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. 

We offer special prayers for the 22 souls who lost their lives in Manchester, England, as well as for the injured and their families. May they find strength in their suffering. Let us remember that the Rosary is the most powerful weapon we have against evil. We also pray for the souls in Purgatory, that they may soon enter the joy of heaven.

*The Rosary is the most powerful weapon we have against evil and the surest path to achieving true and lasting world peace.*