The Rosary: Gospel on Beads
This week I saw the rough sketches for my next book, which is about funny stories from Sisters of Notre Dame classrooms. I suggested that the artist add a large rosary to the drawing of a Sister and e-mailed this photo of the one I used to wear. Although the rosary no longer hangs from our waist, warning students that we are approaching, we still pray it everyday. It is a powerful prayer, and one that Mary urged us to pray when she appeared at Fatima. She prayed it with Saint Bernadette at Lourdes (except for the Hail Marys!). In fact, after the catastrophe of September 11, Pope John Paul II asked us to pray the rosary for peace. October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the whole month is dedicated to this beloved prayer. It’s a good time to renew the practice of praying the rosary. It is not old-fashioned but ever new because while we say the formula prayers, we mediate on Gospel events.
I like to tell this story, which is quoted here from my book The Catholic Companion to Mary:
“A university student sitting on a train next to an old man praying the rosary remarked, “I don’t believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the rosary out of this window and learn what science has to say.” “Science? I don’t understand,” replied the man. “Maybe you can explain it to me.” The student offered, “Give me your address and I’ll send you some literature.” Fumbling in his pocket, the old man drew out his business card. The boy looked at the card and burned with shame. It read, ‘Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris.’ ”
The rosary came about when illiterate people couldn’t pray the 150 psalms. They began to pray 150 Our Fathers. This evolved into 150 Hail Marys (Mary’s Psalter). Saint Louis de Montfort wrote a book called The Secret of the Rosary. In it he stated, “If you say the rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you will receive a never-fading crown of glory.’ ”
Rosaries are not just for hanging on rear view mirrors, wearing around the neck, or holding in the hand when our body is in a coffin! They are meant to be prayed in honor of our Blessed Mother. People pray the rosary on beads they received for First Communion, on ten-bead bracelets and rings, or on their fingers, which conveniently number ten. Families pray the rosary together; some people pray it when they can’t fall asleep. Pope Francis prays the rosary when he takes a break—sometimes three rosaries a day. He finds it restful.
If you’ve forgotten how to pray the Rosary, you can pray along at the website www.comepraytherosary.org. To teach children about the rosary, there is the reproducible book The Rosary: The Gospel on Beads for Grades 2–6, which can be found in my Bookstore.
When has the rosary meant a lot to you? Do you have a special rosary?
The Challenge of Spontaneous Prayer
A Catholic convert from an evangelical tradition asked me this week, “Why don’t Catholics pray spontaneously?” This is a good question. My friend proposed that it was because no one taught us to offer personal prayers out loud. I wonder, though, how it happened that our Christian brothers and sisters find it so easy to do, and we Catholics don’t. The closest thing we come to it is saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes. When asked to offer a prayer, we feel tongue-tied and self-conscious. Yet, imagine if instead of just promising someone, “I’ll pray for you,” we stopped and right then and there spoke to God about the person’s concerns. That person would be consoled and strengthened by hearing our prayer—and we wouldn’t risk forgetting to pray for him or her. (more…)
God Speaks Through Nature, His Creation
Now that the trees are about to burst in autumn glory, I thought the introduction to the first book I ever had published (Voices) would be appropriate. (It’s out of print now.) Here it is:
Creators are mirrored in their creations, A song reflects the composer; a painter, the artist; a book the author. In the same way the universe, the masterpiece of the supreme Creator, reveals God. Its variety, its intricacy, and its magnitude attest to God’s wisdom and power. Every created thing is an epiphany, echoing some aspect of the divine Being. (more…)
Memorization for Knowledge and Prayer
What do you have committed to memory? Probably the ABCs, the multiplication tables, and at least a few of your passwords. Nowadays, when we can always consult the Internet for information, memorizing is sometimes viewed as outdated. Yet, our power to remember things is a boon. When I was a child, for each piano lesson I had to memorize a piece of music. (Now it’s difficult to master even one!) We marvel at those musicians who play long pieces without looking at a score. In the spiritual life, memorizing is helpful. We can still recite the Catholic prayers we learned at our mother’s knee—and perhaps the Baltimore Catechism answers. This common knowledge helps when we pray as a group or discuss the truths of our faith. Memorizing Scripture has value too. (more…)
Prayer for Lost Objects
Last week I lost my good umbrella, the compact one that pops upon immediately when you press a button. I’ve had it for many years, and I miss it. This is not the most valuable thing I’ve lost. I suppose the umbrella is in a special universe “lost and found” room along with my mysteriously missing driver’s license and my ID tag. Losing anything is annoying, not to mention sometimes expensive. Searching high and low for a lost item eats up valuable time. Most irritating is when you can’t find the car keys and then, when you know you’re going to be late, you discover them right under your nose. Then there are the times when you put something in a safe place and then forget where that place is. Do you ever clean a room, rearranging objects, and then when something is not where it’s been forever, you can’t remember where you moved it to? We have various ways of turning to heaven for help during such frustrating times.
The most popular remedy is to turn to Saint Anthony. There’s even a rhymed prayer to him. One version is “St. Anthony, St. Anthony, come around. Something is lost and can’t be found.” More sophisticated prayers to this saint can be found on the Internet. Why St. Anthony? Supposedly he taught a course on the psalms to novices. One of the novices decided to leave the community and took with him St. Anthony’s Psalter. This was especially distressful for Anthony because his book was marked up with his class notes. Eventually the novice changed his mind and returned to the community, bringing the Psalter back with him.
A friend of mine prays the Creed when she loses something. Some people turn to their deceased moms or dads, counting on them for help in death as in life. A few say that this strategy is unfailing. In some cases after prayer, an object will unexplainable appear in a totally unexpected place, or, more puzzling, in a place we had searched a hundred times before.
There is a way to lose things that is not stressful: not realizing you’ve lost them until someone returns them to you!
Losing material objects is not that bad when compared to losing your mind or your soul.
When have you been successful is regaining a lost object? What was your strategy?
