In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram

I start with the first line of the Vulgate, the Roman Catholic Latin Bible. The translation is, "In the Beginning, God created heaven and the earth."

This being a new year, I have adopted a resolution: to say the rosary 289 times. Why 289? Because the city of New Orleans is 289 this year. Call it a city novena.

No city in America needs its prayers more than New Orleans does.

In my entire life, I doubt I have said the rosary 25 times. It has, in fact, been so long that I had to look up the procedure on the internet before I started. Thus, such a long an arduous devotion will be an experience. That is why I am documenting my progress here.

I started my devotion on December 30, giving myself a slight head start on the year. As of today I have completed 14 rosary sayings. Since I have never prayed so much before, part of this journey will be to record the effects of this devotion upon me. There is no telling what prayer may do to a person.