The Rosary for Dummies (Like Me)

There is a reason we teach children to fold their hands and close their eyes when praying. It helps them to focus, and it shows them that they are doing something special. When I grew into my teenage years, I rejected such pietistic outward displays of “religion” and preferred casual conversation with my buddy, Jesus, and was encouraged in this direction by older men in my church.

Of course the next step in this process is to stop praying at all, and just commune with God throughout your day. Now there is nothing ultimately wrong with this mystical, relational, fellowship with God. But it should be balanced with the sacred, the times set apart, the liturgical, the forms and postures. Make special time to pray to God. At the very least close your eyes and fold your hands to keep them out of trouble.

Now, I said all that so I could say this: I prayed the Rosary for the first time a couple days ago. One of the beauties of this devotion is it not only keeps your hands from distraction, it uses your hands. It involves them. Your hands hold the beads, guiding the way as you pray. Not only are your hands occupied, but your your mouth and ears are occupied during the Hail Mary’s, allowing your mind to meditate on the special events of Christ’s life and work.

The rosary consists of many different prayers. It includes the Apostles Creed, the Our Father (or Lord’s Prayer), the Glory Be, the Hail Mary and sometimes others. It is a prayer of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but while praying it, it is undeniably Christocentric. Mary points us to Christ. And even devotions to her can do nothing but point us to her Son. While praying the prayers, you ponder the “mysteries” or events of Christ’s life.

This entry was posted on February 18, 2006 at 8:37 pm and is filed under Catholic, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “The Rosary for Dummies (Like Me)”

  1. Charles Says:
    February 19, 2006 at 1:19 am

    The first time I prayed to Mary was in St. Pauls Church in Paris, about 4 months into a two-year term as a Baptist missionary. I remember very distinctly feeling closer to Jesus after that prayer. Mariology is an extension of christology. Mary leads us to Jesus.

    Good post!

    Will I see you at CCA tomorrow morning?

  2. Chad Toney Says:
    February 19, 2006 at 1:49 am

    I should be at 9 am Good Counsel and 10:30 Faith Community Church.

    Probably no more Christ Church Anglican for me.

  3. onionboy Says:
    February 19, 2006 at 2:22 am

    Good on you Chad. I’ve been praying the Rosary for the better part of a year now and most of those 12 months were as a Protestant - ha ha! It is a beautiful devotion. My wife has been praying it more recently and just today, really, was saying how she is beginning to feel OK with the Marion aspect because, well, the people she’s been praying for have been seeing answers to her prayers that they had no idea she was praying ;-)

  4. Kacy Says:
    February 23, 2006 at 2:28 am

    Hey, I happened to stumble upon your blog, and I love it. I started praying the rosary 3 weeks ago, and it’s absolutely beautiful! I always feel a deep sense of peace when I complete it, though I must admit, it’s taken some discipline to learn how to stay in mediatation for that long. Pax Christi!

  5. David B. Says:
    February 23, 2006 at 1:34 pm

    Kacy,
    Thanks for coming over. I came across your blog last week I think. I can’t remember where though (I read too many blogs). Are you becoming Catholic? Your blog seems to drip Catholicism (a good thing from my perspective of course).

    I still find the rosary difficult. I think maybe it is my low grade ADD. I am always rewarded by it though, even though for regular devotions I do the Liturgy of the Hours.

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