The book also features testimonies of victims of Islamist attacks who said they escaped death by praying the rosary.
Also in the book is the testimony of Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of the Diocese of Maiduguri in Nigeria, which used to be the epicenter of Boko Haram attacks. Doeme is a renowned visionary who, in his encounter with Jesus Christ, is said to have been given a message that Boko Haram would be dislodged through praying the rosary.
In his interview with ACI Africa following the launch of his book in Glasgow earlier this month, Dyikuk, whose research focuses on outsmarting Boko Haram, said the book seeks to introduce fresh perspectives about the rosary.
“My hope is that readers can get fresh perspectives in praying the rosary so that it is not just a mechanical exercise for them,” he said.
“Are we able to identify something joyful in our lives when we meditate on the joyful mysteries?” he questioned. “And are we able to share the same joy with our brothers and sisters? When tragedy strikes, how does it impact our faith? Do we help others unite their pain with that of Jesus when we meditate on the sorrowful mysteries?”
“How do we respond to the invitation to be disciples of Jesus when we pray the glorious mysteries? And when we meditate on the luminous mysteries, do we reflect on the day of our baptism and our call to be missionaries?” he further posed.
Sharing about his conversion when he started praying 20 decades of the rosary daily, Dyikuk, who survived a Boko Haram attack in 2011, said: “I prayed the rosary daily, but I wasn’t as conscious of it as I am now. I have seen numerous fruits in my life from the time I started setting aside one hour every day to pray the rosary.”
“Praying the rosary slows down one’s will in committing sin,” he said. “The rosary connects you to the mysteries of Christ and through it, Our Lady reminds us to do the will of her son.”
The ‘poetry of the Mass’
Dyikuk’s nine-chapter book provides the history of the rosary, reflecting on what the Holy Fathers have said about devotion to the prayer. The book encourages observing the months of May and October that are set aside for devotion to the rosary and revisits the apparition of Fatima to assure world peace through Mary’s intercession.
The book also provides a relationship between the rosary prayer and Mass. In Chapters 3–6, the priest reflects on the different mysteries of the rosary, arguing that each decade of the rosary must be connected to one’s daily experiences and the experiences of those around them.
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Chapter 7 is where he provides his testimonies about the power of the rosary. In Chapter 8, he provides testimonies of others who have had divine encounters from praying the rosary.
In Chapter 9, Dyikuk provides recommendations to boost Marian devotion especially through praying the rosary. He recommends, among other sets of proposals, that Catholic communities promote online rosaries “to sanitize the social media spaces that are full of negative content.”
The book “aspires to contribute to the already established Mariology or Marian theology,” the author told ACI Africa.
In Chapter 2, titled “The Rosary and Holy Mass: In Search of Drama, Prose, and Poetry,” Dyikuk deploys three genres of literature — drama, prose, and poetry — to explain that the Mass is “drama” while the rosary is the “poetry of the Mass.”
Drama because “Jesus, who is the victim, the priest and lamb of sacrifice, offers himself as a living sacrifice,” he says in the book. “We, unworthy active participants in the liturgy, become beneficiaries.”
Dyikuk argues that the rosary is the “poetry” of the Mass because “it X-rays the joyful, sorrowful, glorious, and luminous mysteries of Christ, which invites Christians to connect their daily experiences with these mysteries for profound spiritual benefits.”
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