Book Review: “10 Wonders of the Rosary”

Father Donald H. Calloway, a convert to Catholicism and member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers, relates personal experience, fresh perspective, real-life examples and historical account as he presents on what he refers to as the “10 Wonders of the Rosary.”
 
The book is brief at a 150 pages and the content is organized into 10 chapters, each chapter with four sections offering insights for a specific “wonder.” The four sections are: (1) a short story about the wonder; (2) an explanation of the wonder; (3) an example of the wonder in action; (4) words of wonder from popes and saints.
 
Prior to reading this book, my perspective on the Rosary was considering it as a prayer often spoken aloud by rote memory and with little time spent on meditating. But, thanks to Father Calloway, my perspective has changed.
 
In Ch. 1 – “The Rosary is of Divine Origin,” Father Calloway provides excellent historical information and insight about the Rosary. It was quite interesting to read about the Mother of God appearing to Saint Dominic and instructing him that the weapon for combatting spiritual enemy has “always been the Angelic Psalter (the Hail Mary).”
 
And, according to Father Calloway, Mary “told Saint Dominic to combine the “Our Father” prayer of Jesus and the Hail Mary prayer with meditation on the sacred mysteries from the life, death and resurrection of her divine son.” Saint Dominic “would find out that preaching, praying and meditating on the Word of God and the sacred mysteries using the Rosary was a powerful way to deliver the life-changing Word of God to people.”
 
Ch. 2 – “The Rosary as a Spiritual Weapon” includes information on Saint John Paul II’s re-introduction of the “Five Luminous Mysteries” to the Catholic Church and the notion that the Rosary serves as a spiritual weapon.
 
According to Father Calloway, “each of the five Luminous Mysteries sheds light on the darkness of modern-day falsehoods and offer a mystery of light for people to contemplate.” Father Calloway also tells us that, “In fact, from the beginning, the Rosary has been understood as a weapon because it was given to the world during a time of knights, chivalry and swords.”
 
Ch. 3 through Ch. 10 continue with Calloway’s perspective on the “Wonders of the Rosary” and there is plenty of interesting content to meditate on. Also, there is a “Bonus Wonder” (Praying the Rosary Makes Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) for the reader to enjoy.
 
I found this book to be very enjoyable and spiritually enriching. I agree with Thomas Monaghan (founder of Domino’s Pizza) in his advance praise of this book, “Whether you have been praying the Rosary your entire life or just picking it up for the first time, ‘10 Wonders of the Rosary’ will inspire you.”
 
Thank you, Father Calloway, for this great work and “Long live the Rosary in all of its wonders!”
 
John Dolezal is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.