Where is the Rosary Leading Us? On Pilgrimage
Have you heard of the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage? It is a wonderful annual event in Washington, D.C. that draws together thousands of people in prayer and celebration. A nine-month “novena” of reflections prepares the way. The August reflection was very striking, and we share it with you in the video and transcript below.
We also invite you to attend the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage live or via live-stream—it is coming up soon on Saturday, September 26! As cloistered nuns, we participate with our prayers and enjoy watching some of the recording later.
This year, the well-known editor of the Magnificat prayer companion, Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. is the main preacher, with Fr. Walter Wagner, O.P. as homilist. The main event at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is filled with beautiful sacred music chanted by the schola of the Dominican House of Studies; the day concludes with a concert by our wonderful Dominican brothers, the Hillbilly Thomists. (There is also a Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage - WEST for those of you on the Pacific Coast.)
Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage: 2026 August Novena Reflection with Fr. Philip-Neri Reese, O.P.
What is the rosary? Among other things, the Rosary is a pilgrimage. It isn't just a prayer that we say on pilgrimage. It isn't just a prayer that we celebrate with pilgrimage. The Rosary is itself a pilgrimage. It's a pilgrimage of mind, a pilgrimage of heart, a pilgrimage of soul.
The Rosary is a pilgrimage of mind. Because when we meditate on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, our minds move from one truth to another to another, and there's often a very clear itinerary within that movement. We start with a concrete truth about the life of our Lord, we move to a universal truth about God's love for and providence over all things, and then we come back to a concrete personal truth about our own spiritual lives.
Consider for example the Second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation. We start with the concrete truth that God the Father, through the Archangel Gabriel, sent Mary to visit Elizabeth in her time of need. Then our minds move to the universal truth that God always sends someone to visit anyone in their time of need. And finally, we return to the concrete personal truth that God will always send someone to visit me in my time of need, or that he might be sending me to visit someone else in their time of need.
But the Rosary isn't just a pilgrimage of the mind in truth. It's also a pilgrimage of the heart in goodness and in holy desire. For when we pray the Holy Rosary, our hearts are drawn out of ourselves and into the mysteries that we contemplate. But there's always a forward momentum, an onward movement. It wets our appetite, but it doesn't satisfy.
Just consider the Sorrowful Mysteries. Don't we want to be courageous like Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane? Don't we want to be strong like Jesus was when He was scourged at the pillar? Don't we long for patience like His when He was being mocked and perseverance like His as He carried His cross? Don't we desire a love like His as He gave up His life? But [the space of] 10 Hail Marys isn't remotely long enough to exhaust the courage or the strength or the patience or the perseverance or the love of Jesus Christ. But when those 10 Hail Marys are done, the Rosary moves us on. It's a pilgrimage of love and desire.
If all of that is right, then the Rosary is also a pilgrimage of the soul in holiness. For the more our minds are illuminated by the light of truth, and the more our hearts are inflamed with the fire of love, the more conformed we are to the person of Jesus, who is truth and love itself. And what is holiness if not becoming more and more conformed to Jesus?
So the Rosary is a pilgrimage. It's a pilgrimage of the mind in truth, a pilgrimage of the heart in goodness, a pilgrimage of the soul in holiness. And there is no better place to pray this prayer of pilgrimage, no better place to celebrate and thank God for this prayer of pilgrimage than join together with hundreds and thousands of other pilgrims at the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage on September 26th.
In anticipation of and preparation for that wonderful event, please join me in praying our Rosary Novena Prayer.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God our Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we are adopted as your beloved sons and daughters.
At Pentecost, you poured out the Holy Spirit upon our Lady and the apostles while they were at prayer.
Pour out that same spirit upon us as we meditate upon the mysteries of Christ contained in the Most Holy Rosary.
Enlighten our faith, strengthen our hope, and set us ablaze with love for you and our neighbor.
Graciously grant us St. Dominic's own zeal for the salvation of souls.
Bless the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage.
May it lead many souls to Jesus through Mary so that we may know you and your saving power now and for all eternity.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
St. Dominic, pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.