If you had grown up in our Finnegan Catholic Household, you would have had a rosary and learned to say it. All 9 of us kids had one and they were prominent in May when we’d say the rosary at our homemade May altar. And if we couldn’t sleep, we’d go downstairs hoping to stay up; but instead, we were sent back with Mom’s remedy for sleep, which was to start saying the rosary. If you fell asleep, we were told, the angels would finish it.
To this day, I have rosaries everywhere…purse, car, on the front porch, etc. Saying the rosary when I’m on my walk always comforts me. Most importantly now, as a follower of St. Dominic, whom Mary first gave the rosary to in the 13th century, I join other Dominicans to help spread this beautiful Marian prayer.
In our own parish, each day before this 8:00 Mass, a group meet in chapel at 7:30 to say the rosary together. Also, during October, the month of the rosary, there are other opportunities available here to pray the rosary with others. These experiences can be found in the bulletin.
For many, however, the rosary is unfamiliar, or not part of a regular prayer time. It’s never too late, though, to learn about this beautiful prayer and the riches it holds.
As we celebrate this feast of our Lady of the Rosary, we remember that the rosary is a simple yet profound prayer:
- Simple because we repeat the most basic prayers of our faith: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
- Profound because when we say the rosary, we are thinking about the deepest mysteries of our faith.
One writer referred to the rosary as the ‘gospel on a string’.[1] How true because when we say the rosary, we are reflecting on the most important events and mysteries in the life of Jesus and Mary, events we learned from the Scripture:
- the Incarnation of Christ (Joyful Mysteries),
- His Passion and Death (Sorrowful Mysteries),
- his triumph over death and Mary’s role in Salvation History (Glorious Mysteries),
- and, lastly, the events in Jesus’ life (Luminous Mysteries).
In our gospel today, we encounter Martha’s sister Mary, focused on Jesus. She is sitting at his feet and listening to his comforting and challenging words. What a beautiful image of what prayer is. Through prayer and a quieting of our minds and hearts, we can become more open and aware of God’s love and presence in our lives as well. Praying the rosary allows us that time to slow down, open our minds and hearts, and reflect on the life of Jesus through Our Blessed Mother’s eyes. In her many apparitions, she always asked those who saw her to pray the rosary for peace. May we also do so now.
Our Lady of the Rosary, which is the title you called yourself when with the children of Fatima, pray for us.
[1] https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/encountering-jesus-through-the-rosary
