By Wally Arida, Publisher and editor-in-chief
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and praying the Rosary is one of the cornerstone traditions of our Catholic faith. If you're a cradle Catholic like myself, you've been exposed to this prayer since you were a child. Many Catholic prayer groups are focused around the Holy Rosary. It's recited at funerals and many other special events. When Catholics get together for prayer, chances are we start reciting the rosary.
Matt Smith offers a great article explaining his devotion to this prayer. Click here to read, "For People Who Can't Stand the Rosary." We ask you to read it and then share your thoughts with us.
But do you really get it? If you're one of the passionate advocates for praying the rosary, can you help others understand why you do it and how it has made you closer to God? Do you really feel a personal connection with God when you pray the rosary? How does praying the rosary help you communicate with God better?
Share your thoughts with us. Why do you pray the Rosary? Or why don't you?
3 comments:
I want to be a good Catholic and pray the rosary well, but I just can't get myself to understand why repetitive prayer is good for me. Can you please help me learn? Thank you.
Number 1. I am more a Bible guy than a rosary guy. The Bible can make me cry, the rosary can make me snore. The rosary does not rise to the heights of pathos that a good Bible story does. I love the experience of the thrashing that God gives to Job's friends. I love to think about the anger of Jonah, exacerbated because He thinks that God went back on His word. I enjoy God calling the Israelites His people and then, in a fit of anger telling Moses, "Your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have apostatized." (Exodus, 32,7). I laugh at Noah passing out drunk and reading about how two of his virtuous sons help him out. I makes me think of my son who saw me drunk one time and helped me out, laughing and joking about it in front of his friends. I love hearing Jesus put the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees in their place. I really shiver when I hear Mary get her way with her Son.
Number 2. I recite the rosary. I fact quite a bit. Not alone though. When my wife and I are in the car for a trip that will take more than 20 minutes, we recite the rosary. When I am on a pilgrimage, in a group, we pray the rosary. When I am at a Catholic wake, I like to recite the rosary. I like the new "Luminous Mysteries" because they bring Jesus' adult ministry into the picture.
Number 3. I like the psalms and the Church's official prayer for the "before bedtime" moments of my life. When wifey and I are alone, or sitting still in the house, the Bible is our trip. Three poetically throbbing psalms before bedtime are worth one good rosary any day. Amen, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
So I guess I am one of those Catholics who dips his bread into all the sauces. It tastes better that way.
Ramon:
I can't help but to try to answer your question.
I don't pretend to be able to help you learn, but I can make a stab at giving you a hint.
In my comment, notice that I recite the rosary when I am in someone else's company. That is good because it lets me know that our minds are focused on the same spiritual reality. It is a community exercise in the presence of God.
That's why I love the Bible so much. It brings me into God's presence in a special way. Just God and me through the spirit of the Sacred Scripture.
It is therefore enriching to have a repetitive prayer resource and a "divine story-telling" resource in our lives.
Go for it, Ramon!
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