A Practical Guide to a Powerful Prayer

Notre Dame, IN—The Rosary isn’t just for “old ladies and funerals,” David N. Calvillo says; it’s a powerful tool for men as well, and it’s useful not only for Catholics but also for all Christians.

Calvillo’s new book, Real Men Pray the Rosary: A Practical Guide to a Powerful Prayer describes just how important the Rosary is for faith: “The Rosary presents a point of entry into a study of the Christian good news,” he says. “Praying the Rosary daily allows us to live and experience the heights and the depths of our entire faith in less than a week’s time,” he says. And praying the Rosary “enables one to see our Lord and experience our Christian faith through Mary’s eyes.”

Calvillo admits that it’s not easy to “sell” the Rosary to men; many aspects of the Rosary, such as the devotion to the Virgin Mary, are often seen as feminine: “We can tend to dismiss Mary and the Rosary—and other manifestations of feminine presence in prayer and worship—as not manly enough for our tastes.” But Calvillo says femininity complements masculinity, and he cites Jesus’ devotion to and reliance on Mary as an example. Calvillo says that “male spirituality is very real and important but not separated from the spirituality of women; rather it is complementary, and necessarily so.”

To encourage men to pray the Rosary, Calvillo enlists the help of several mentors and friends he has met along his own journey, such as Alex Gamboa Jr. , David Lerma, Joe Connors III, and an unnamed “JM” He shares their stories, hoping they will help link men together in a circle of faith. “Men, who may have felt disarmed by a society that denigrates praying men, can now passionately and maybe even militantly rally around a symbol of strength.” Calvillo offers how-to-guides for praying the Rosary and cites papal documents that describe the beauty of the Rosary. He invites readers to join the Real Men Pray the 33-Day Challenge online May1 or indeed any day, during which they will see the renewing power of this devotion on their lives. www.33dayRosaryChallenge.org.

Calvillo refers to the book as a “collaborative work” because the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, USA, Bishop Daniel Flores, wrote the Introduction to the book and after reviewing the book, granted the Imprimatur to indicate that it was free of doctrinal errors. Calvillo’s wife, Valerie, also provides a women’s perspective with a chapter entitled “Real Men Pray The Rosary For Women!” Experienced Catholic author Greg Tobin lends his unique scholarly perspective in a Foreword. David Calvillo also refers to the book as collaborative because of the idea that “as iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.” Proverbs 27:17. He posits that this work represents the inspiration provided by many men, who have touched his life, and reminds all of us that we all touch people in our own lives. We all leave our mark.

Calvillo encourages Christians to pray the Rosary often, for it will lead to intimate dialogue with Mary and further intimacy with Jesus: “That is the beauty of the Rosary: to understand and live those twenty salient points in the life and teachings of Jesus and Mary, with Mary’s familiar voice narrating the way…. To Jesus through Mary.”

The book is available at the EWTN Religious Catalogue, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ave Maria Press and, of course, this site as well.

Totus Tuus.