Finding My Way Back to the Rosary
October is the month of the Rosary. It’s also the month of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. During those visions of Fatima, Mary constantly told the children to pray the Rosary for peace and to end the wars. That message is just as relevant today as it was in 1917.
My Own Rosary Journey
Praying the Rosary has been uphill and down valleys for me. I’ve had dry spells where I go without praying at all, and then other times when I pray really, really well and think, “There’s no way I can ever not do this again.”
I’m always a little jealous of people who say they can’t get through the day without praying their Rosary.
A Moment with Mary
I remember one time at a retreat when I was praying about how much I struggled with the Rosary. We prayed as a group at the end of the weekend. Suddenly, I had this feeling that Mary was right next to me and that, with every single mystery we prayed, she was pointing and showing me different aspects of the scene.
During that Rosary, Mary was with me. I loved that experience so much that now, when I’m struggling, I recall that image of Mary praying with me, pointing to the mysteries, and watching the scenes unfold.
The Early Days
It wasn’t always hard. When I came back to the faith, my Rosary was one of the first devotions I picked up. I had a cassette tape of the Rosary that I’d put in the car, and as I drove the kids from here to there, I prayed along.
As the kids got older and learned the prayers themselves, we began praying a decade of the Rosary each night. They loved taking turns to be the leader! That is until they got a little older and started fighting over who got to lead. I think at some point we missed the point.
Then, life got busier, and somehow the Rosary fell off our radar.
Starting Again
Now, as I enter into a new stage of life where my kids are grown, I realize how far away from the Rosary I’ve drifted. I’m fighting to cultivate a new relationship with both the Rosary and with Mary.
Over the last couple of years, one of my favorite ways to pray has been to walk while listening to a Rosary podcast- or better yet, to walk with friends and pray together. Walking with friends is my favorite because we can talk about spiritual topics afterward. If I didn’t have friends with me, I’d pray with a podcast. The podcast kept me focused and less distracted by my own thoughts.
The problem with this method? If I didn’t walk, I didn’t pray the Rosary. When the bad weather came last fall, my walking stopped—and so did my Rosary.
Back to Basics
As I embrace my new mantra: “start small and get good and grow”, I know I have to go back to the basics with my Rosary. Sometimes that means doing one decade. How do I pick? Since I can never remember which days have which mysteries, I just pick one based on the liturgical season. During Pentecost, I prayed that mystery every day, for example. It gave me a lot of time to really contemplate the season.
Now I’m trying to do the entire Rosary daily again, finding I must fight against the urge to “do it perfectly or not at all.” As G.K. Chesterton said, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” If I exercise this spiritual muscle, I’m hopeful it will strengthen enough for me to pray it more faithfully and well.
How Others Pray
I asked my team how they pray the Rosary. I wanted to know if I was the only one who struggled. It turns out, I’m not.
Linda said, “Before my youngest was born, I loved to get up at 5am, before anyone else and I would sometimes pray two full rosaries! But having a baby changed that. Now, I am sure to pray in the car with the Hallow App. I find there are lots of times when I am in the car for 20 minutes, so there are no excuses.”
Jess told me she prays a good full contemplative Rosary, then begins another one not so contemplative during chore times.
Patricia saves her Rosary for night prayer, but gets distressed when sometimes she falls asleep. She loved what her spiritual director told her, “ask Mary to pray for every beat of her heart while you sleep.” Beautiful!
Terry used some strong words as she described the struggle with her Rosary. She prays a decade with her family, then uses a podcast to pray on her own. “It is a struggle, but I do it,” she says.
Vickie keeps a Rosary under her pillow. When she inevitably wakes up during the night, she grabs it and prays at least one decade as she drifts back to sleep.
Sharon is another one that likes using a podcast. “It helps to keep me on track so I can fight distractions and finish!”
Moving Forward
I’m learning that the Rosary isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence. Whether it’s walking with friends, whispering a decade before bed, praying along with a podcast, or simply asking Mary to pray with you, it’s a devotion that can weave into your life in different seasons. We just need to be diligent and flexible.
Mary just asks us to pray the Rosary, she doesn’t say we have to pray it perfectly. This October in the month of the Rosary, let’s make a resolution to get at least one Rosary in a day. If we can, let’s stretch and do more!
