Tim Dempster often tucks his wooden rosary beads in his pocket to keep them close by.

The 23-year-old Rowan graduate student uses them to recite the rosary prayer nearly every day.

He often uses it to pray for "big things," like the end of abortion, world peace and the end of terrorism.

He's also found it appropriate when offering thanks or just praying for the salvation of a friend.

So, he was happy to hear this week's news that Pope John Paul II is stressing the importance of the ancient prayer.

In an Oct. 16 letter to the church, Pope John Paul II asked Catholics to add the "mysteries of light" to their rosary meditations. The mysteries are a set of five events in Christ's life: his baptism, his first miracle at the wedding of Cana, his call to conversion, his transfiguration and the institution of the Eucharist.

The rosary is a set of prayers that contemplate the events from the life, death and glorification of Jesus and Mary. One rotation through the rosary takes about 15 minutes, and there are now four sets of mysteries that Catholics may recite.

"I think it's great," said Dempster, who lives in Pitman. "I know our Holy Father is a huge advocate for the rosary, and when he brings something like this out, it's kind of serious."

The rosary once held more prominence in the Catholic Church, but after the 1960s, it was rarely said in public.

While many congregants are dedicated to saying the rosary daily, the pope said he was concerned the prayer was not being taught to young people.

As a result, he wrote, there is an "urgent need to counter a certain crisis of the rosary."

With the pope's addition and the institution of the " Year of the Rosary" to begin this month, the rosary is getting more attention.

That makes Marie Robinson of West Deptford very happy.

As president of her local Legion of Mary group, Robinson recites the prayer daily, sometimes twice a day.

"We're honoring the Blessed Mother," said Robinson, 70. "Who is closer to Jesus than the Blessed Mother? I feel when we pray the rosary, she is there to listen to our prayers."

She hopes the pope's letter encourages priests and bishops to emphasize the importance of the rosary.

"With everything going on in the world today," she said, "we need prayer."

Dempster believes the rosary can never be emphasized enough. He didn't say the rosary regularly until he became closer to his faith during his college years.

Since then, he has seen the results of reciting the rosary in his own life, from the peaceful death of a relative to the salvation of a friend.

"Just have faith in it," Dempster said. "It's so simple."

For a copy of the pope's letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, visit www.vatican.va and click on "latest."

Reach Kim Mulford at (856) 845-6521 or kmulford@ courierpostonline.com