May is the
month of Mary and a great time to pray and reflect on the rosary. In Mexico, when people die a novena is prayed
for the soul of the departed using the rosary as part of the nine day prayer. My mother’s mom died when I was around five-years-old,
and it was a very sad time for the family.
I remember everyday women would gather at my grandmother’s house to pray
and for the longest time I associated the rosary with death. The repetitive manner and the length of it also
made it quite boring. As I grew up, my
dislike for the rosary only increased.
When my brother passed away and ladies began gathering at my house to
pray the novena, I would purposely leave to avoid hearing the sound of death… Later, when I lived my first retreat, I was given
this tacky-green-glow-in-the-dark rosary.
During this time I used to have horrible nightmares most nights. This rosary became my shield. When I would wake up in sweats from the
terrible dreams I would find my plastic beads and hold them clenched in my fist. Though, I didn’t know how to pray just holding
the beads near my heart made me fall back asleep free from night terrors. It wasn’t until 2007 when I joined the prayer
ministry of Jovenes Para Cristo that
the rosary started to change in my eyes.
I remember being cloistered in a room with the Blessed Sacrament and my
prayer warriors. We were told that we
would begin by praying the rosary and though I cringed at the idea, while I
knelt in front of my Lord (new beads in hand) I closed my eyes and the
surprising sound of strumming on a guitar began. Before each mystery we would pause offering
it for a particular intention, slowly meditating on Jesus and a hymn would be
sung. Combining music with the rosary
turned this prayer of death into a celebration of life. The strumming on the guitar and the simple Spanish
lyrics that accompanied each station spoke profoundly to my soul- I had found
the way that the rosary was meant to be prayed.
That weekend, my love for the devotion began. While, God knew I needed the joyful music to
change my attitude towards this classic prayer eventually I learned to love it
just as is. Today, I try to pray it
daily and many times when I can’t express myself in words the rosary does the
talking for me. It’s a very sensual
prayer: the feeling of the beads in my fingers help me focus, the repetitive
words create a beautiful, melodic rhythm and the images each mystery provides
brings me into the presence of God. It’s
a very powerful prayer and once I learned to appreciate it, I realized that the
length is just right.
If you find
yourself initially having difficulty enjoying the prayer give it time to
transform you. I promise, the Holy
Spirit will eventually win you over (smile).
In closing, Pope Leo XIII said, “the rosary is the most excellent form
of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is a remedy for all our evils, the root of
all our blessings. There’s no more
excellent way of praying.” Though, I
needed a conversion in learning to appreciate the rosary – I truly am aware of
its power and encourage you to press on.
After all, not all saints “begin well, but they all ended well,” (smile).
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