The Life-Changing Effects Of A Daily Rosary

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I watched anxieties and worries, wounds, and difficulties dissipate as Our Lady brought me peace and interior quiet I had not known prior. I couldn't not say the rosary anymore. Not only because I found my prayers being answered and the interior peace that I longed for, but because I felt I owed it to Our Lady to honor her and meet her more intimately within this powerful devotion.

Motherhood as an Obstacle to Prayer

Soon after marriage I became a mother and wondered just how to keep up with my once blossoming prayer life amidst new responsibilities and so much sleep deprivation. I found my rosaries needed to be said while washing dishes, sweeping the floor, running an errand, or as I nursed my baby in the middle of the night. No longer could I enjoy the days of uninterrupted and disciplined Holy Hours and complete silence. My time was no longer my own, and I was called more fully outside of myself.

What once was habit and effortless turned into an intentional choice to remain persevering in prayer, and what I found was a treasure I cannot help but share: Our Lady met me in my daily, mundane, quiet, messy moments of motherhood and her hidden days in Nazareth became a precious meditation that fueled my service.

There were certainly new challenges in prayer as I became a mother. I often found myself distracted or interrupted. Silence was hard to find during the day, and I needed to formulate new routines. Initially, I found this frustrating and wondered if the Lord was pleased with my messy and stubborn continuation to pray. It certainly looked far from perfect. But through it I learned this:

The wife and mother may find that household duties and children are a distraction, but there is a special note for these kinds of circumstances. Distraction and interruption are part of a mother's prayer. It is by and through these things, when born with love and patience, that a mother grows in patience and discipline in her prayer life by continuing to say her prayers despite the ongoing needs and noise. - Mary, Teach Me to Be Your Daughter: Finding Yourself in the Blessed Mother p. 50

What I initially saw as an obstacle, suddenly became an opportunity. Over time I formulated a new routine and a new vision of what my prayer needed to look like within the context of my vocation.

Mysteries That Teach Us

In any state or vocation, there will be challenges in prayer along with a clear call to persevere. Prayer is the foundation of all service and fills every act of our lives with love. Holy Mass is of course the most powerful prayer in which we can participate, and yet the Lord, through his beloved Mother, has also given us the mysteries of the holy rosary that can be prayed at any time, in any place, and under any circumstances.

Through the repetition of meditation, the mysteries of the rosary shed light on the life of Christ in new ways within our hearts. The Lord meets us intimately in the Agony of the Garden, hanging from the Holy Cross, in the wee hours of the morning of the Resurrection, and at the wedding feast where water is made wine. The Good News of the Gospel becomes alive within us, and these meditations help us learn more fully how to imitate the life of Christ.

The rosary, simply put, is a meditative praying of the Gospels; it is an act of 'pondering' in imitation of Our Lady who holds all the mysteries of Christ within her own Immaculate Heart. Through this, we too might learn more intimately who the Lord is and what we mean to him. We are able to imagine and ponder the mystery of his conception and infancy, his childhood in Nazareth, his public ministry, the gift of the Holy Eucharist, his death, and his resurrection.

The power of Marian intercession is that it always leads intimately to Christ.

Our Lady's Motherhood

Our Lady cares deeply about each of our souls and wishes to draw us nearer to her son and live out his perfect will within our daily lives. The intentions we present to Mary—especially within the context of praying the holy rosary—are not only heard but always answered according to God's will. There is no problem too significant or too small to bring to Our Lady. She listens to our petitions and graciously beautifies them before the throne of God, promising that they will be heard. We can rest on that. We can rest in the arms of a Mother who loves us as her dear children and wishes our greater good, for her will always be perfectly united to that of her son.

Daily Rosary Challenge

Perhaps in this season, a daily rosary feels overwhelming. Perhaps it feels dry or daunting. This is why it's important to always take the advice of Saint Teresa of Avila, who often told her sisters that when starting a new prayer routine to advance with humble beginnings, and then slowly build on it. When it comes to a daily rosary begin with a decade, scatter the decades throughout your day, begin the new habit, find that time of silence moment by moment, and then let it grow and blossom into the full daily rosary.

There will be times when the rosary will be dry, assuredly; various obstacles will arise, and we may not feel like praying. But when we persevere in prayer, and ask Our Mother for her help, those moments become some of the most purifying and powerful prayers of all.