Rosary Revival

Posted by guest blogger KathyB.

The Holy Rosary is a vast wealth of…everything. Everything you could ever fathom to need and more, literally right there at your fingertips. Countless volumes have been written extolling the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical benefits of regularly praying the Rosary. Time and again, it has been dramatically shown to be the most powerful prayer. Through the Rosary, wars have been won, miracles performed, tragedies averted, and lives saved. Souls have been redeemed. Perhaps less dramatic, but no less sublime, the Rosary can also result in many more-subtle gifts over time…graces, comfort, direction, understanding, and hope, to name a few. From personal experience, when I am on track with praying the Rosary, even if everything else is falling down around my ears, I at least have that one thing going for me. And even better, it is a thing that does actually help.

So with not only a brand new year out ahead of us, but also a fairly new Year of Mercy thrown into the mix, here are some ideas that may not only help you to have a more well-rounded rosary life in 2016 – but also if you are struggling to rosary, may be just the thing to help you get your beads rattling more.

1. Personally pray the rosary daily. Obviously, this is the ideal. The rosary is the most excellent base you can build a meaningful prayer life around. Whether you start the day with it, end the day with it or grab 20 minutes of peace and quiet from the chaos in the middle, it’s critical to the success of the mission. When you are going through hard times, it can help to fill your time and help to mark time. You might pray your daily rosary while alone in a quiet room, in the car, or while walking, running or exercising. Some people gather together with their families to pray the rosary each day.
2. Ever have trouble settling your brain down? Me too. Find a rosary you like online and pray with that. You can access the rosary with Mother Angelica (plus a few other versions) via the EWTN cell phone app, as well as online. I love how soothing and beautiful the nuns sound on this version. And if my mind is jumping around all over the place, hearing the sisters rhythmically praying the rosary helps to keep bringing my mind back to it.
3. Carry a rosary with you at all times, preferably one that you really like. Nine times out of ten, I will wear mine around my neck because if I stick it in my pocket, I end up breaking it. I know it is a good idea to keep the Rosary infused in my life as much as possible so it helps me to have it with me wherever I am. If I have rosary beads with me, even if I am not praying the Rosary, I am at least likely to think about it at some point.
4. If all else fails, if you think it is important (which it is), then make yourself do it for a while. Maybe you won’t always have to. Maybe you will. But in the end, you will be glad you did.
5. Pray the rosary before Mass. Not all parishes do this, but it is sure nice when they do (hint-hint all parishes in the universe). I like the rosary before mass because it is typically a down-to-business, no messing around rosary. You are in, you are out. Simple, yet effective. Even if this is the only rosary you pray – it’s a good one. Plus, ““For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20) You can’t beat that in any way.
6. Pray with your parish rosary group. Please do yourself a favor and throw out any preconceived notions you have about this. Praying with the rosary groups at my church has turned out to be one of the best things I have ever done in my life. If you are having trouble praying, at least you know that you will pray the rosary one time that week. There have been times I have really appreciated the comfort of that small achievement. But more than just adding additional minutes of meaningful prayer time, regularly going will add some new dimensions to your prayer life. For example, with a regular once-a-week rosary group, there will be a lot of good continuity and followup on your prayer intentions. If you miss a week or two, you are likely going to be prayed for anyway (and if you miss a week, you could probably use the prayers anyway). We also have a couple of menfolk who come to this group sometimes, so please don’t think all this heavenly help is just for the wimmen, speaking of preconceived notions. Stressed out, sick, sad, depressed, tired, scared, disgusted, or getting too caught up in the rat race? Praying the rosary with a familiar group can be a soothing meditative experience, which is beneficial to the heart, mind, body, and soul. If you are not a daily rosary person, maybe you are a once-a-week rosary person. There are even once-a-month rosary groups. And even that is one more rosary, my friends.
7. As much as I have stressed regular Rosary praying here, you also do not want to go into complete autopilot with the Rosary because praying the Rosary is not the destination. It is part of the journey (adventure!) we are on to get to our Father in Heaven. 

And finally, just some encouragement. Even though it is simple, praying the Rosary is not always easy. Keep doing it the best you can, as often as you can. It will make a difference.