Signal Grace of the Rosary

Of the 15 promises of the rosary, my favorite promise is that devotees of the rosary will receive “signal graces.” I like to think of signal graces as outward manifestations of favor that you enjoy as a particular benefit of saying the rosary every day. Often these graces are apparent only to you, but they could be signs of favor apparent to others as well. I grew up saying the rosary but the experience was not a pleasant one, so when I left home I didn’t keep up the habit of saying the rosary on my own. I still understood the importance of the daily rosary and I always remembered that there were promises for those who did practice their daily prayers. I want to tell you the story of when I was convinced I should say the daily rosary as an adult.

On Friday, June 29, 2012, a huge wind storm hit D.C. Hurricane force winds caused $2.9 billion in damages and knocked out power to many homes. In the sweltering summer heat of the DC swamp, this meant that some people were without power for up to a week. The wind storm was called a “derecho” a storm name that I had never heard referenced. Well, my condo lost power and by 4 a.m., I was too hot to stay asleep. I got in my car and drove to my sister’s townhouse in Manassas. I didn’t realize what a big storm this was at first, but as I started driving, I saw tree branches littering the road in the dark, a real darkness as no street lamps were working as a result of the storm. I was living forty minutes from Manassas and as I got on the freeway, I still saw no street lamps lit. Driving at 4 a.m., there weren’t many other cars on the road, but I had time to think about this storm. A thought occurred to me that I knew a lot of people in Manassas who prayed the rosary, so maybe there would be power in Manassas. Sure enough, as I approached Manassas, the street lights were on as a welcoming beacon to my hometown. Fortunately, my sister had power at her townhouse so I was able to take a warm shower and get ready for my younger sister’s wedding that day.

The Church had power and my family was not impacted by the power outages of the storm, but some of the groomsmen were discussing how they had no power closer to D.C. At the reception, the groom’s dad mentioned in his speech how he might use the groom’s house while the newly weds were on honeymoon as he had no power at his house. The groom wasn’t amused. Another wedding party stopped by the hall during the reception to find out if the hall was in use as they had no power for their reception.

I returned to my condo on Sunday and by the afternoon the power had returned. I went to work on Monday and asked everyone about their power situation. For the few people who never lost power, I inquired if anyone in the home prayed the rosary. Of the people with power, every single home had at least one person who prayed their daily rosary. I knew in my heart of hearts that this sign of protection was a signal grace for those who said the rosary. I decided after that incident that when I got married, my husband and I would say our daily rosary as I had witnessed first hand the power of the rosary.