A testimony of conversion is the driving force behind a Nigerian priest’s book that promotes devotion to the Rosary

The book also contains statements from victims of Islamist attacks who said they escaped death by praying the rosary.

The book also includes the testimony of Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme from the diocese of Maiduguri in Nigeria, the former epicenter of Boko Haram attacks. Doeme is a famous visionary who is said to have received the message during his encounter with Jesus Christ that Boko Haram could be driven out by 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 aims to provide new perspectives on the rosary.

“I hope that readers will gain new perspectives on praying the Rosary so that it is not just a mechanical exercise for them,” he said.

“Can we find something joyful in our lives when we meditate on the joyful mysteries?” he asked. “And can we share that same joy with our brothers and sisters? How does tragedy affect our faith? Do we help others to 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 think of the day of our Baptism and our calling to be missionaries?” he asked.

Dyikuk, who survived a Boko Haram attack in 2011, recounted his conversion when he began praying 20 decades of the rosary daily: “I used to pray the rosary daily, but I was not as conscious of it as I am today. Since I started taking an hour every day to pray the rosary, I have seen numerous fruits in my life.”

“The Rosary curbs the will to commit sins,” 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 tells the story of the Rosary and reflects on what the Holy Fathers have said about devotion to prayer. The book encourages observance of the months of May and October, which are reserved for devotion to the Rosary, and revisits the apparition of Fatima to ensure world peace through Mary’s intercession.

The book also establishes a relationship between praying the Rosary and the Mass. In chapters 3–6, the priest reflects on the various mysteries of the Rosary, arguing that each decade of the Rosary must be connected to the daily experiences of the individual and the experiences of those around him.

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In chapter 7 he testifies about the power of the Rosary. In chapter 8 he tells of others who had divine encounters through praying the Rosary.

In Chapter 9, Dyikuk offers recommendations on how to strengthen Marian devotion, especially through the recitation of the Rosary. Among other things, he recommends that Catholic parishes promote online rosaries “to clean up social media, which is full of negative content.”

The book “aims to contribute to the already established Mariology or Marian theology,” the author told ACI Africa.

In Chapter 2, entitled “The Rosary and the Holy Mass: In Search of Drama, Prose, and Poetry,” Dyikuk uses three literary genres—drama, prose, and poetry—to explain that the Mass is a “drama,” while the Rosary represents the “poetry of the Mass.”

Drama because “Jesus, who is the victim, the priest and the sacrificial lamb, offers himself as a living sacrifice,” he says in the book. “We, unworthy active participants in the liturgy, become the beneficiaries.”

Dyikuk argues that the Rosary is the “poetry” of the Mass because it “illuminates the joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous mysteries of Christ and invites Christians to connect their daily experiences with these mysteries in order to derive profound spiritual benefit from them.”