‘Jericho walks’ offer prayers to combat violence

And to Joshua the LORD said: I have delivered Jericho, its king and its warriors into your power. Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, with seven priests carrying ram’s horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. When they give a long blast on the ram’s horns and you hear the sound of the horn, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse” 
– Jos 6:2-5

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

Mimicking the Old Testament journey of Joshua and the Israelites who marched for seven days around Jericho to crumble its walls of hate, fear and violence, 25 members of St. Maria Goretti Church made a similar procession Dec. 1-8, but in New Orleans East.

The full moon brightly shone Dec. 6 over young and old from several church ministries as they made a “Jericho walk” around their church and prayed five decades of the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary, the St. Michael the Archangel prayer for defense in battle, a prayer for vocations and a prayer for youth.

“This is the first year we’re doing a Jericho walk for seven days, but we have done peace walks before COVID,” said Joe Simon, who spearheaded the walk with the parish’s Catholic Men’s Fellowship. “The time has come to put on the armor of God and go out among the people to lift our voices in prayer to soften hearts and end the violence that plagues our city.”

The finale on Dec. 8 was timed to coincide with the Immaculate Conception feast, Simon said, since the Blessed Virgin Mary intercedes for us in petitions to God.

“We timed it to a major feast day of Our Lady, which happened to be the Immaculate Conception,” said Simon, a 22-year Army veteran, adding how the walk started on the feast of St. Dominic to whom Mary gave a rosary in an apparition in 1208 in France.

“Our intent is to have as many congregations and parishes as possible engage in prayer for seven consecutive days, crying out to the Lord for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the city to soften hearts and end the violence,” he said.

Other parishes joined
St. Christopher the Martyr in Metairie and St. Anthony of Padua in Luling parishes participated in this year’s march at their respective venues, as did St. Martin de Porres Parish in Crosby, Texas.

“We had about 10 of St. Christopher’s Holy Name Society members pray the rosary at home Dec. 1-7 during our regular evening broadcast of the radio rosary (6 p.m. on 600 AM and 107.9 FM),” said St. Christopher the Martyr Holy Name Society president Bob Rauch, who also is the archdiocesan rosary chairman.  “We made special petitions for peace and to end violence.”

Elaine Markey, a lifelong parishioner of St. Anthony of Padua in Luling, said praying for peace and to end violence was pressing on her heart. About 20 members participated each night, Markey said. Dec. 5 was special because youth catechism students joined in and carried the candles. A men’s club member also carried the cross, leading the walk each night.

“We started our prayer in Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel and went to the Fountain of Hope and blew our horn one time to open up the heavens,” said Markey, a member of Women Destined to Serve that sponsored the march in Luling. “We then marched around the church to the Stations of the Cross and ended up at the chapel. We did that for six days. On the seventh day, we met at the Fountain of Hope. We went around seven times and left a white candle and red rose for the Blessed Mother and blew the horn seven times to blow down the walls on the seventh day.”

When she talked to Simon about doing the march, they decided to do it together and invited others.


“We do it for the country, the church, for the conversion of New Orleans and all the cities experiencing violence and all the things we are hurting for – the brokenness of people, hatred, racism,” Markey said.

“It’s everybody’s first time doing this, but I know it won’t be the last,” Simon said. “The city needs prayer to counteract the violence going on. We’re hoping the Blessed Mother contacts our heavenly father to do something to curtail the violence.”

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