St. Dominic Gives New Prayer Ideas
St. Dominic de Guzman, who lived in Spain from about 1170 to 1221, was a great preacher and can still teach valuable lessons to us moderns. He was a man devoted to prayer who would contemplate and fall into ecstasy. Someone compiled his prayer methods into a booklet. They have become known as the Nine […]
The Rosary: Prayer Power
My nephew Andy recently brought me a gift from Guatemala: the most beautiful rosary I’ve ever seen, the blue one pictured here. As its name implies, the rosary is a prayer comparable to offering Our Blessed Mother a garland of roses. Since we are in October, the month of the rosary, I offer you some […]
May, Mary, and the Rosary
During the past week on three occasions, people asked me about the rosary. On Saturday I was privileged to be at the Cleveland orchestra’s performance of a modern piece called “Mysteries of Light.” It had five movements, each one based on a luminous mystery of the Rosary. I’m taking these events as signs that my […]
Mary, May, Mothers, and Flowers
Well, spring is officially here! Despite the recent snow and cold weather, a few daffodils bravely appeared in front of my house. Did you know that a daffodil is called Mary’s star? In doing research for my book “The Catholic Companion to Mary,” I discovered that more than 700 flowers and plants have been named […]
Why Pray a Psalm at Mass?
At every Mass we pray or sing a psalm after the first reading. A psalm is a prayer-song taken from the Old Testament and attributed to King David, who, as you know, played the harp. I thought of blogging about psalms today because we are in the month of the Holy Rosary, a devotion that […]
Roses, Mystical Rose, Rosary
My mother was very proud of her roses. She knew them by name: the American Beauty rose, the John F. Kennedy rose, and so on. When roses were in season, her kitchen table was never without at least one gorgeous rose from her garden gracing it. Roses are the most popular flower. We present them […]
The Rosary, a Lifeline
October is known as the month of the rosary, no doubt because October 7 is the feast of the Holy Rosary. The feast originated with the Battle of Lepanto when, against all odds, Christians overcame the Muslim forces attacking Europe—accredited to Christians praying the rosary. (Hmm. What would happen if all Catholics prayed the rosary […]
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 […]
Why Catholics Pray the Rosary
Where did the rosary come from? It’s not in the Bible. St. Paul tells us to sing hymns and offer prayers for leaders, but says nothing about praying these prayer beads. According to a legend, the rosary began when the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Dominic in the fifteenth century and gave him a rosary […]
Gospel on Beads
If you believe that Mary appeared at Lourdes and Fatima, then you will take her advice to heart: Pray the rosary. At Lourdes Mary held a rosary and prayed it with Bernadette. At Fatima she told three children to pray the rosary for peace. October is the month of the rosary, and October 7 is […]
