The average person spends a third of their life at work. For a believer in Jesus, time at work isn’t supposed to be time out from faith. Rosary Men is a movement, founded by Joe Kruessel, Todd Uterstaedt and Michael Whelan, to bring faith into the workplace. The idea is simple: Get men to join the Rosary Men website, then pray the Rosary at work and, once a week, pray as group on Zoom. Joining RosaryMen. com costs $19 a month, but there is a two-month free trial. Portions of the proceeds support crisis pregnancy centers.

“We say the Rosary once a week, Wednesdays at 2 p.m.,” Kruessel said. “We rotate the mysteries. It takes about 20 minutes. It’s a nice break in your work day if you can squeeze that in, and then get back to [work] for the rest of the day.”

Kruessel noted that while Rosary Men is gender specific, the idea could be duplicated for women. As men, the founders of this movement felt their calling was to reach other men. The initial kickoff event took place in late February with Kruessel, Uterstaedt and Whelan presenting. Father Andrew Umberg, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in North Bend, and Father Don Calloway, a Marian Father of the Immaculate Conception and author, were special guests. The first call had roughly a dozen men.

“For now, it’s pretty focused and simple,” said Kruessel. “We want the mission to be about bringing the faith to the workplace for men, and how we can help crisis pregnancy centers.”

Kruessel said breaking in the habit of praying at work isn’t the only barrier. Some men grow up with the mistaken stereotype that the Rosary is for, “little old ladies at church.”

“The Rosary is a tool, and I would venture to say it is a weapon against the devil. We’ve had many priests and saints say the same thing,” he said.

Another barrier is that some men who haven’t prayed the Rosary before believe it’s complex. “It’s not hard,” Kruessel said. “Once you get in the rhythm of doing it, it helps you to calm your mind and focus on the mystery that you’re working through and to be present.”

“I’m always reminded of what St. Paul says about praying without ceasing,” he added. “Maybe we’re having a tough moment at work, or mentally we’re falling down or feeling weak. Saying a quick ‘Glory Be’ or ‘Hail Mary’ or the ‘Jesus Prayer’ can help to realign that moment of your day. This is also where the Rosary can help.”

“Far too often we check our faith at the door,” said Whelan during the kickoff video call. “Once we go into work, we focus solely on work and check our faith out. We’ve recognized there’s a hole missing there.

“We spend most of our lives at work,” he added. “We spend more time at work than we do with our families at home. It makes sense to want to bring our faith into work. And what better way than this – the Rosary.”

Learn more at RosaryMen.com.

This article appeared in the May edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.