The Rosary is a beautiful meditative prayer that the Blessed Mother has asked us to pray at several of her approved apparitions such as Lourdes and Fatima. Repeating the prayers and meditating on the four sets of mysteries (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious) allows us to bring our needs to God and the Blessed Mother while reflecting on events in the life of Jesus and Mary.
Often, we know that we should say the Rosary, but then we get busy with other activities. Or we wait until bedtime to pray the Rosary because that is the only time we can be alone only to fall asleep from exhaustion before the introduction is completed. Or we try to pray it with our family but it is anything but a prayerful, positive experience. So, we figure, “Why bother? Maybe I can pray the Rosary when my children grow up and leave the house and I have more time.”
Please don’t give up. The Rosary is such an important prayer and one that is worth saying both on our own and with our families. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If you can only pray one decade of the Rosary with your family, so be it. If you pray the Rosary on your own while driving the kids around or while doing housework, it is still prayer.
On days when your desire to pray the Rosary is low or if you simply want to reflect on the beauty of this prayer, Rosary Gems: Daily Wisdom on the Holy Rosary by Fr. Donald Calloway is a great resource. There is a quote from a Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, or Saint for each day of the year on the blessing of the Rosary. While this book could certainly be read one day at a time from January through December, you can also simply open the book and read a random quote for some inspiration. There were so many wonderful quotes in this book, but here are a few that spoke to my mother’s heart and that I hope will speak to yours as well.
To pray the rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. – St. John Paul II
It is the rosary prayed by families that will keep the lights of faith glowing in the days of darkness of faith, as it has done in the past. – Venerable Fr. Patrick Peyton
If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, in your country, assemble every evening to recite the rosary. – Blessed Pope Pius IX
Rosary Gems: Daily Wisdom on the Holy Rosary includes appendices on how to pray the Rosary and the 15 Promises of Our Lady made to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche for those who pray the Rosary. It is a lovely book to help foster devotion to the Rosary.
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