Thursday, October 4, 2018

Rosary Series (part 1 of 4): My Developing Relationship with the Rosary


During the month of October, this blog will focus on the rosary.  I will begin this four-part series with a reflection on my relationship with the rosary and how it has changed over the years.

I am a cradle Catholic.  My earliest memories of the rosary are a combination of the large children’s rosary I had hanging above my bed and my rosary coloring book.  I would spend what felt like hours carefully coloring each bead, being super careful to color inside the lines.  That was my earliest expression of devotion to the rosary. 

As I got older, my relationship with the rosary evolved.  I remember bringing a rosary to school with me in October when I was in second grade at Cosgriff and having the whole school gather in the church to pray together.  I remember the CD I received as a gift that had kids from Australia praying the rosary.  I remember receiving a specially blessed rosary from the shrine of Our Lady of Betania in Venezuela.  (I still have and use this rosary.)

As an adult, my relationship with the rosary has become more about the devotion itself.  I am still trying to find the way of praying it that is most satisfying to me.  I want to “do everything.”  I want a scriptural passage to meditate on.  I want an expansion on the holy name of Jesus to help keep the mystery top of mind.  I want to make sure I am including the prayers for the pope and his intentions and the Litany of Loreto at the end.  And I want a way to incorporate the intention of my rosary into the prayers.

Maybe I want to do too much.  I have yet to find a method or app for praying the rosary that incorporates all of these things.  I have read conflicting articles.  Some say that it’s not about the quantity of your prayer (i.e., the time you spend in prayer), it’s about the quality of your prayer.  Then others seem to say the exact opposite.  Of course, the best thing to do most likely is to find a balance between the two.  As Dr. Mary Healy says in the Symbolon video we used for RCIA this week, “If we say we are too busy to pray, we’re too busy.”  She goes on to explain that prayer needs to be a priority in our lives.  What could be more important than developing our relationship with God through prayer?

What are your earliest memories of the rosary?  How do you incorporate this devotion into your prayer life?

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