Last October, I briefly wrote about reciting the Rosary, and October as the Month of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Today, on the 7th of October every year, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. For more information on that feast day, I like the synopsis found on the Catholic News Agency webpage.
Last Sunday, our chaplain encouraged those who do not pray the Rosary daily to pick it up as a devotion during this month, given the significance of the Rosary and Christian victory hundreds of years ago. I recalled the challenge I gave myself last year – to recite the Rosary, with intention, daily during the month of October. While I was able to do well with the challenge last year, I admit I have slipped in Rosary recitation since the birth of my daughter.
This year, the more I focused on this particular feast day, I tried to figure out why I don’t make the Rosary a priority. St. Padre Pio is credited with stating, “The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.” It would stand to reason I would want to pray the Rosary, and would recite it faithfully. And yet, I don’t.
Recently, I read a fantastic quote by an author, Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC. This author, also the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception vice provincial and vocations director, asserts, “The Rosary isn’t just a crown of roses for Mary. It overcomes evil. It overcomes vice. It brings peace in the world.”
I don’t quite know the reasoning behind my obstacle to praying the Rosary. Like all devotions, these prayers aren’t something mandated by the Catholic Church, but it is highly recommended by all the saints in Church history (or, since the inception of the Rosary). Even modern day exorcists recommend daily recitation.
As I listened to a priest talk about angels yesterday, I had an epiphany. My Guardian Angel is assigned to me, in order to protect me, and to guide me. In fact, St. John Boscoe is believed to have said, “When tempted, invoke your Guardian Angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped.” Our angels are here to assist us, as instructed by God!
As I thought about that, I realized an integral part of my resistance to praying the Rosary stems from my lack of desire. I simply don’t have the desire to take the 20 minutes out of my day to prayerfully meditate on the Mysteries.
So, today, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, I am issuing a challenge – to myself. To ask my Guardian Angel to help me find a true, deeply passionate, devotion to the recitation of the Rosary.
As Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in the United States this weekend, I ask you join me in praying for those whose lives are, or will be, impacted. Please pray a Rosary today, or a decade of the Rosary, or even a simple, heartfelt “Our Father” for those in the coastal areas of the southeast United States, as well as other areas that have already been impacted.
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