"I would pray my rosary while polishing the floor"

The famous French journalist and essayist André Frossard (1915-1995), a former communist convert, published a book entitled “There Is Another World” (Il y a un autre monde, 1976) in which he evokes the Virgin Mary. A non-conformist writer that did not scoff at priests, devotions, or pious images, Frossard admired the Virgin Mary's dazzling purity.

He wrote: "The 'Hail Mary' is sometimes derided by preachers who would sooner believe in little green Martians than in angels... How many times have we been warned against the excessive nature of Marian devotions and its supposed mollifying effects, and against Mary's apparitions, as if this century were prone to mystical aberrations and as if it were a sign of intelligence to ridicule all the poor and suffering who only find hope in this world by clinging to their rosary beads...".

This ardent convert, illuminated by grace, left us these beautiful lines: "In the afternoon, while I was polishing floors (Editor's note: when he was in the army), I prayed my rosary, which would seem short. I did not tire of repeating these 'Hail Marys' which are wonderfully exploratory when one lets them go to their destination instead of holding them back, using our rosary as a leash."

Excerpt from La voix de Beauraing by Josse Alzin (1976)