Ave Maria!
James Foley who recently died at the hands of his ISIS captors turned to praying the Rosary in his previous captivity in Libya. No doubt he did so again in his much longer and less hopeful captivity in Syria. Let us offer prayers for his soul and for his family.
From the Register:
Rosary’s Strength
Previously detained for six weeks in Libya in 2011, James Foley wrote a letter to his alma mater, Marquette University, a Catholic university in Wisconsin, about how he turned to prayer, specifically the Rosary, during his captivity and how the prayers of family and friends also gave him strength.
“I began to pray the Rosary.” he wrote. “It was what my mother and grandmother would have prayed. I said 10 Hail Marys between each Our Father. It took a long time, almost an hour to count 100 Hail Marys off on my knuckles. And it helped to keep my mind focused.”
When he was first allowed to call home after more than two weeks in captivity, Foley said his mother told him about the prayers others had offered up for him. This news made him wonder if, instead of his own prayers, “it was others’ prayers strengthening me, keeping me afloat.”
“If nothing else, prayer was the glue that enabled my freedom,” Foley said, “an inner freedom first and later the miracle of being released during a war in which the regime had no real incentive to free us.”
Marquette University offered its prayers for Foley and his family at the news of his death and stated that it will hold a memorial Mass for Foley on Aug. 26.
via Journalist James Foley Turned to Prayer for Strength | Daily News | NCRegister.com.
