Reflect on Scripture as you Pray the Rosary

 

The Rosary is a beautiful prayer, one that Our Blessed Mother herself has asked us to pray. At its best, the Rosary is meant to be a time spent in prayerful meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. In reality, the repetition of the prayers often causes my mind to wander while I pray. If, like me, you have an internal voice that never stops talking and find it hard to meditate, The Ave Guide to the Scriptural Rosary may help you to keep your focus and lead you to a more meaningful prayer experience. If you are new to praying the Rosary, this book can help you learn to offer these prayers as a gift to Our Lady and her Son, Jesus.

The Ave Guide to the Scriptural Rosary by Michael Amodei is a small hardcover book which could easily fit into a medium-sized purse to accompany you to church for a time of prayer. You could also keep it on a nightstand for use in the morning or at night to begin or end your day with the Rosary.

It contains quotes from recent popes about the value of the Rosary. One of my favorites of those included is from Pope Francis:

In the prayer of the Rosary we turn to the Virgin May so that she may bring us ever closer to her Son Jesus, so as to know and to love him more and more. This simple prayer, in fact, helps us to contemplate all that God in his love has done for us and for our salvation, and allows us to understand that our life is united to that of Christ.

 

This book also contains a brief history of the Rosary, how to pray the Rosary, and the 15 promises of Mary to those who pray the Rosary. The bulk of this book, however, contains the twenty mysteries of the Rosary and a Bible quote for each Our Father and Hail Mary. These quotes invite us deeper into the mysteries of the Rosary and allow us to reflect in a meaningful way on the lives of Jesus and Mary. These scripture passages can also help children to focus on the prayers. In a family of children who are able to read, they could take turns reading the passages. An appendix includes additional Marian prayers.

The Rosary is one of my favorite prayers. I have prayed it in the car, on walks, and while doing dishes. I’ve counted the prayers on my fingers rather than using a set of rosary beads. Is it perfect? No. Does it still count as prayer? Yes. It isn’t always possible to set aside the time to have a meditative experience of prayer, especially in the busy years of motherhood. I encourage you to pray the Rosary whenever and however you can. However, The Ave Guide to the Scriptural Rosary can help increase your appreciation of the Rosary and your reflection on its mysteries. If you can set aside the time to use it, even if it is only for a decade at a time, it will enhance your spiritual life.

For additional reflections on the mysteries of the Rosary, please consider reading my book, The Fruits of the Mysteries of the Rosary. 

 

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Open Book for April 2023

 

 

Welcome to  #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

 

3-3-23 God's Superheroes: Amazing Catholic Women - Mary Bajda - There are so many books about Catholic saints out there that it can be hard to justify a new one, but this one definitely has much to offer! It is designed for kids ages 8-12 although it can certainly be appreciated by those who are older. It features cartoon-type illustrations that will get the attention of young people. What I found most interesting was some of the women who were included. While some well-known saints, blesseds, and servants of God were included, there were also some that I had never before heard of, such as Servant of God Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini (1928-2004) who was a visionary and friend of Padre Pio, Blessed Catherine Jarrige (1754-1836) who was a high-energy sister who hid priests during the French Revolution, and Servant of God Satoko Kitahara (1929-1958), a Japanese woman who ministered to the poor. 

 

3/3/23 In the Shadow of the River - Ann Gabhart - This is a suspense-filled romance about a young woman, Jacci, who is raised on a showboat after her mother meets a tragic end. Years later, Jacci's unknown past comes back to haunt her. Only God can help her make peace with the past in order to have a happy ending with the man she loves. (Read for a book review publication)

 

3/12/23 Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog - W. Bruce Cameron - I'm a sucker for a good dog story. This was a fun leisure read featuring lots of dogs, zany humans, and romantic entanglements. Unfortunately, there were a handful of times the Lord's name was used irreverently.

 

3/16/23 The Secret to Happiness - Suzanne Woods Fisher - This was a lovely story about a young woman at a crossroads. Callie was an executive chef who lost her job after accidentally causing an outbreak of food poisoning. Depressed, she seeks refuge with her aunt and cousin, who run an ice cream shop in Cape Cod. This book offers some helpful lessons on finding happiness intertwined with an enjoyable story. Plus, I love ice cream! (Read for a book review publication).

3/19/23 All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me - Patrick Bringley - Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art is on my bucket list and reading this book allowed me a literary exploration of that great museum. In the wake of his older brother's death, Patrick Bringley took a job as a security guard at the museum, where he would work for the next ten years. In this book, he discusses his grief, the art, his coworkers, and the patrons. His mother and his wife are both fallen-away Catholics and I found it interesting that in the midst of her grief, his mother turned toward an image of Mary with her dead Son, a pieta, for comfort. I really enjoyed this insider view of the museum. Unfortunately, this was another one that used the Lord's name in vain a few times. Why do author's find that necessary? Absent that, though, I highly recommend it for anyone who is an art lover.

3-24-23 God's Superheroes: Amazing Catholic Men - Mary Bajda - This was the companion book to the one above that I read about amazing Catholic women. I enjoyed this one just as much. Some of the men I enjoyed learning about were Nicholas Black Elk (1866-1950), a Lakota medicine man who became Catholic and sought to unite Native American and Catholic practices; Guido Schaffer  (1974-2009) who was a Brazilian doctor who worked with the poor and ultimately became a seminarian before his untimely death while surfing; and Jerome Lejeune (1926-1994), a French doctor who championed the rights of those with Down syndrome and the unborn.
 

3/26/23 Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley Drowned by the Quabbin - Elena Palladino - This is a local history book about how, in early 1939, four small towns in central Massachusetts were destroyed in order to create a reservoir for the people of Boston who needed clean drinking water. This story profiles some of the people who lost their homes and how they said goodbye to their beloved community. It mostly focuses on the largest of the four towns which was Enfield, Massachusetts. It was an interesting book that I enjoyed. 

3/30/23 Pope Francis on Eucharist - This small book offers 100 quotes from Pope Francis on the Eucharist. It offers much to consider during this time of the Eucharistic Revival. (Read for Catholic Library World)
 

3/31/23 Rescue in the Wilderness - Andrea Byrd - This is a tender romance set in 1779 in which two broken people find love in unexpected circumstances while facing the many dangers of the frontier in winter. (Read for a book review publication)

4/2/23 Dear Henry, Love Edith - Becca Kinzer - This Rom-Com was so much fun! It featured mistaken identities, zany small-town characters, and two lovable main characters trying to recover from their past. It was a delightful leisure read!

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for sophomore year). 

3/12/23 The Confessions - St. Augustine - Finally! A book on this list I was looking forward to reading. I think I've read The Confessions twice before in my life and enjoyed it each time. The title refers both to the confession of sins (Augustine talks about all he did wrong in his life) and praising God, which Augustine also does. Most of what we know about St. Monica (Augustine's long-suffering mother), we know from his depiction of her. Augustine also muses on time, memory, and creation. Fun fact - when I was in graduate school, I had to write a paper on Augustine's understanding of memory as depicted in this book. Anyway, I highly recommend this one if you have never read it before!

3/21/23 Concerning the Teacher - St. Augustine - I enjoyed this work by St. Augustine as well. It was written around 389 AD and is in the form of a dialogue between Augustine and his 15-year-old son Adeodatus. It is a philosophical work in which they discuss how words are sign and also explore how it is that we gain knowledge about anything.

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following books this month:

 

3-4-23 Louisiana's Way Home - Kate DiCamillo - This book takes place in the 1970s and features a girl and her "Granny" who have left home to escape a curse, but when her "Granny" leaves her abandoned at a hotel, Louisiana will have to figure out how to make her own way in the world. I usually enjoy DiCamillo's books, but this one wasn't one of my favorites. 

3-27-23 Endling: The Last - Katherine Applegate - This work of fantasy/adventure (and the first book in a three-book series) focuses on a dairne ,who is the last of her species after the rest were murdered, and the friends who become his new family as he is trying to escape from those who want her dead as well. My daughter and I both enjoyed it and we have started reading book two in the series.

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Open Book for March 2023

 

Welcome to  #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

2/1/23 The Merchant's Curse - Antony Barone Kolenc - This is the fourth book in a middle-grade Catholic series, The Harwood Mysteries, set in 12th century England and featuring the main character Xan. The whole series has been excellent. In this installment, Xan is working as a merchant's apprentice with his uncle and must figure out whether a witch has cursed his uncle's partner. It also discusses the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. 

2/4/23 The Clown of God - Tomie dePaola - Last month, I read The Worlds of Tomie dePaola which inspired me to request some of his books out of the library. This is a lovely picture book about a juggle who ultimately comes to learn about Jesus and shares his gift of juggling with Him and Mary. 

2/4/23 The Quilt Story - Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola - Tomie dePaola did the illustrations for this charming multi-generational story about a quilt. I love quilts! How could I resist?

 

2/4/23 The Strange Birds of Flannery O'Connor - Amy Alznauer - Yes, I was on a picture book kick! Truly, I love picture books and miss the days when my kids were small and I got to read lots of them. I saw this one and was intrigued. I am not a fan of Flannery O'Connor's writing which is almost heretical in Catholic fiction circles, however several years ago I read her prayer journal, and I gained a great deal of respect for her as a person. This oversized picture book features large, colorful illustrations and provides children with a short biography of her life which has her love of birds as a connecting thread. 

 

2/4/23 The Soul After Death - Fr. Seraphim Rose - I've always been interested in near-death experiences and what they tell us about life after death. I was looking for a different title when I saw this in the library catalog and thought it might be interesting. This book was written in 1980. Fr. Seraphim Rose was a Russian Orthodox priest who was writing in response to the great interest in near-death experiences of that time. He wanted to emphasize how these teachings do not offer a clear picture of what heaven or hell are truly like. This book is from the Orthodox perspective, which does have much in common with Roman Catholic thought, although the writer does not hide his disdain for Catholics and Protestants. In Orthodox thought, there is no purgatory, but they believe that souls can be rescued from hell through prayer (especially the sacrifice of the Mass) prior to the last judgment, so I would say that is somewhat similar. In many ways, this was a terrifying book. What I would encourage as the takeaways is that hell is a horrible place (I mean, we knew that, but it is good to have the reminder), and that it is incredibly important to pray for the dead, especially the first three days after death. In addition, requesting Masses for souls is extremely important. If you haven't done this for your deceased loved ones, do it now! My personal favorite place to request Masses because I can do it online is The Divine Mercy Shrine.
 

2/5/23 The Art of Reading: An Illustrated History of Books in Print - Jamie Camplin and Maria Ranauro - I didn't really read this book too much. I mostly looked at the pictures and read the captions on those. It is a book about paintings that feature people reading. There is no great order to the images and it all felt a bit disjointed, but I like looking at paintings and I like books, so it was enjoyable.

2/5/23 The New Design Rules - Emily Henderson - I saw this one on the "New" shelf at the library and picked it up. I don't have any major design projects planned for this year, but I still like looking at home design and decorating books. This one featured lots of good ideas for various budgets from simple upgrades to major re-dos. It had many lovely photographs. 

2/11/23 The Art Lesson - Tomie dePaola - This is a sweet semi-autobiographical picture book about a little boy who wants to be an artist. 

2/11/23 A Flag for Juneteenth - Kim Taylor - Despite being a history major in college, I had never heard about Juneteenth until 2020. This picture book offers children an introduction to this historical event, seen through the eyes of a little girl. The illustrations are all quilted which gives it a unique touch.

2/12/23 The Story of Love - Beth Wiseman - This is the second book in the Amish Bookstore series. I read the first book, The Bookseller's Promise, last year and enjoyed it, so I was eager to read this installment. This book actually focuses on an English couple - the woman is working for her Amish friends, managing their bookstore, and the man grew up Amish and is now working as police officer. But when he is forced to shoot someone, he starts reevaluating all the decisions he has made. It also features some suspense. It was some pleasant leisure reading!

2/15/23 When Tomorrow Came - Hannah Linder - This is a Gothic romance set in the early 1800s. Two siblings were abandoned by their father as children and their lives took radically different paths. When their father reappears in the early adulthood, at first it seems to be an answer to prayer, but not all is as it seems. (Read for a book review publication)

 

2/17/23 Mary's Life Journey and Her Amazing Yes - Denise Mercado - Mercado looks at what both canonical and non-canonical writings tell us about Mary's life. She also explores Mary's life through the mysteries of the Rosary (not only the ones in the Dominican Rosary that most of us are familiar with but also other versions of the Rosary). She uses the Ignatian approach of putting herself in the scenes of the mysteries. The meditations on the Passion of Our Lord are particularly poignant.

2/19/23 The Handy Little Guide to Liturgy of the Hours - Barb Szyszkiewicz, OFS - Have you ever wanted to learn more about The Liturgy of the Hours? This quick guide provides the essential information about its history and how it is prayed. It inspired me to start doing the Liturgy of the Hours for Night Prayer for Lent.

 

2/19/22 Stories Behind the Stories - Danielle Higley - I absolutely loved this book that shares the true stories behind some famous works of children's literature such as Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Curious George, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and many more. It was fascinating! 

 

2/25/23 Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art - Barbara Elleman - Virginia Lee Burton is best known as the writer and illustrator of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little House. This book offered an interesting look at her life and work. 

2/26/23 Just Jerry - Jerry Pinkney - Continuing my theme of reading books about children's book illustrators, I read this autobiography by Jerry Pinkney. He shares his story of growing up Black in Philadelphia in the late 1940s, struggling with dyslexia but finding refuge in his drawing, and how he came to make a career of his art.

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for sophomore year). 

2/15/23 Annals - Tacitus - Tacitus tells of Roman history from AD 14 - 68. Tacitus is a good writer and historian. I'm just not that interested in Roman history. One thing I found interesting was that he mentioned the death of Christ when he was talking about the Christian persecution under Nero. I also enjoyed that I had taken out a 1921 version of this book from the library and it had a wonderful old book smell!

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following books this month:

 

 

2/14/23 Treasures of the Twelve - Cindy Lin - This was the second and final book in a series my daughter and I started last month. Here's the Amazon description:

When Usagi first met the fabled Heirs of the Twelve, she had just one goal: saving her sister, Uma.

But despite increasing her zodiac powers by becoming the new Rabbit Warrior Heir, Usagi’s attempts to rescue Uma have failed. Soon Usagi and the Heirs realize that to truly free those they love from the Dragonlord, they must take on a dangerous task: finding the ancient treasures of The Twelve.

Hidden away by the last zodiac warriors, these treasures have miraculous powers. Their wielder can create massive sandstorms, bring the clouds down to earth to enshroud everyone nearby in a thick fog, or even grant any wish they desire—for a brief time.

Usagi and the Heirs must journey farther than they ever have before and take on the riddles and obstacles that await them on their hunt for the ancient relics.

But will they find them in time to save Uma?

2-22-23 The Circus of Stolen Dreams - Lorelei Savaryn - Savaryn is a fellow writer on CatholicMom.com and I saw this story mentioned in her bio. My daughter and I both really enjoyed this suspense-filled fantasy about a young girl transported into a land of dreams to forget the pain of her family life, where she can have any thing she wishes for, but all is not what it seems.
 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!

Learn About The Liturgy of the Hours

 

Have you ever wondered about the Liturgy of the Hours? As embarrassing as it is to admit, my knowledge of this prayer form was minimal. I knew that it was a prayer that priests, deacons, and vowed religious were obligated to pray, that lay people could take part, that it involved praying at various set times of the day, and that there was a (very confusing) book with multiple ribbons that you could use to follow along.

Thankfully, Barb Szyszkiewicz, OSF wrote The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours for clueless people like me who want to learn more. The beauty of this “Handy Little Guide” series is that the books are small and short. They provide a quick overview of a topic, highlighting the key points.

Szyszkiewicz discusses how the Liturgy of the Hours came to be; what types of Scripture and prayers are included; how the breviary (that book with ribbons) is arranged – it turns out there are actually two versions of the breviary, a one-volume and a four-volume edition; and the times of day for prayer. She also discusses the pros and cons of using an app to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

As it turns out, my mother had given me her copy of the one-volume breviary last year. It has been sitting on my shelf ever since. I figured that was a prayer form for a different season of my life, requiring a commitment to praying at various times of the day that I could not do at this moment. However, Szyszkiewicz suggested starting with just Night Prayer since it is the shortest. With Lent right around the corner, I decided that was a discipline I could undertake for the season. After all, additional prayer is one of the three pillars of Lent. So, I took out the breviary and tried to figure it out. In the interest of full disclosure, I was not able to do this. While Szyszkiewicz isn’t a big proponent of app usage, I am going that route. I downloaded a free Divine Office app that I will start using Ash Wednesday evening.

If you are interested in learning more about the Liturgy of the Hours, I highly recommend The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours. It provides the essential information for you to decide whether this is a form of prayer you want to add to your life. At the very least, you will have a much better understanding of what others are talking about when they mention this form of prayer!