Category: Rosary Promises

How the Rosary Helps Us Live a Flourishing Life

Aristotle’s Idea of a Flourishing Life

One of my new favorite websites is The Art of Manliness. Now women, please don’t think that this post is just for men. This website promotes skill and values closely linked to the traditional concept of “manliness” but many of their articles (except maybe those on style) apply to women. For example, I read an article titled “Aristotle’s 11 Excellences for Living a Flourishing Life.” I think there’s something we can learn from it about how to live a good life by living one of value. Here’s a brief explanation of what Aristotle meant by “flourishing” and “virtue” from the article:

For the ancient Greeks, eudaimonia was considered the highest human good. While the word doesn’t easily translate into English, it roughly corresponds to a happy, flourishing life — to a life well-lived.

Eudaimonia wasn’t a destination — a nirvana that, once reached, initiated a state of bliss. Happiness wasn’t something you felt, but that you did; it was a dynamic, ongoing activity.

What that activity centered on was the pursuit of arete, or virtue.

We tend to think of “virtue” in an exclusively moral sense, as having to do with qualities like courage, compassion, and continence. But for the Greeks, virtue meant doing anything well. Courage was a virtue, but so was speaking articulately. Playing an instrument masterfully was a virtue. Strength was a virtue. Beauty was a virtue. 

The Art of Manliness

Aristotle’s 11 Values

In summary, Aristotle’s 11 values are:

  1. Excellence in Morals
  2. Excellence in Judgment
  3. Excellence in Health and Fitness
  4. Excellence in Attractiveness
  5. Excellence in Wealth
  6. Excellence in Honor
  7. Excellence in Organization
  8. Excellence in Family Life
  9. Excellence in Intellect
  10. Excellence in Public Speaking
  11. Excellence in Friendship

Granted, not all these values are Christian values. For example, attractiveness can lead to vanity. And wealth can lead to greed. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work hard to earn money and provide financial security for ourselves and our families. When we have a certain amount of wealth, we can also be more charitable towards others. And while health and attractiveness are different values according to Aristotle, I consider them linked. Healthy people are generally more attractive.

The Importance of Values

We may have different values than Aristotle. But we can both agree that we need to hold values to lead a flourishing life. The idea is that we need to focus on pursuing excellence in various areas of our lives. I think we’ve lost that drive for excellence as modern society has made it easier to fulfill basic needs of food, cheap goods, and entertainment. But Aristotle and the Catholic Church will tell you that you need to strive for more than just basic wants and desires.

Look at the saints. No one can accuse them of not striving to live up to certain virtues and standards. They weren’t lazy or aimless. They focused on living in God’s grace and doing his will. They had their weaknesses but they didn’t let those weaknesses detract them from living a full life. This is why we call on saints in our prayers; so we can imitate them in living in a complete way. That way will be different for each one of us.

What are Your Virtues?

I think it’s a good exercise to contemplate what values you desire to excel at. Remember, excellence isn’t a destination, it’s an ongoing process. We’ll never be fully “excellent” until we live with God in Heaven. But we can always strive to have a little taste of that excellence. That’s really what God’s grace is — a taste. Here are the core virtues I try to excel at daily. What are yours?

  1. Excellence in mind — always developing new skills and learning new things.
  2. Excellence in spirit — always connecting with God through prayer.
  3. Excellence in body — staying healthy and avoiding unnecessary risks.

We can often become discouraged when trying to live virtuously. After all, it’s not easy. Many times, it’s hard to drive towards loftier goals when our base desires are satisfied. It’s hard to find the will to exercise when watching a football game with a refreshing beer is readily available. It’s hard to read a book when you can binge-watch a series on a streaming service. But this is why we have tools like the Rosary.

How the Rosary Helps Us Flourish

Mary promises us that when we pray the Rosary we will desire heavenly things. Not only that, she promises us all that we shall obtain all that we ask by reciting the Rosary. We have all the tools we need through the rosary to achieve excellence in various virtues. We just have to know what we want, or rather, what God wants of us. When we know them, Mary and the saints will help us find them when we make the effort.

I’m reminded of what I tell my boys every day when we pray in the morning while driving to school — don’t pass up the best help you will receive all day. Of course, I mean asking for God’s help in making the day a good one. It’s not about getting what we want or some obstacle being magically removed (although I won’t pass up the occasional miracle). It’s about God helping us excel in virtue. When you commit to a life of virtue with God’s help, the actual details of the day will work themselves out according to His will.

Mary and her Rosary are the best tools we have to untangle the “knots” in our lives

New Video on the Benefits of Rosary Prayer

The pastor of my parish asked me to give a talk about the Rosary on the celebration of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7, 2022. I focused on Mary’s promised benefits to those who pray the Rosary that she gave to Saint Dominic in a private revelation. It’s a relatively short video with no visuals so you can listen to it if you like.

Someone may ask, “but how do we know those promises are true?” And that’s a valid question. The historical accuracy of these promises is questionable. However, while the origins of these promises may be murky, I believe they are true. Nothing in these promises contradicts Church teachings and they are supported by hundreds of years of popes and saints affirming these promises. But most importantly, if you have a devotion to the Rosary, you will come to know through God speaking to you in your prayers that they are true.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Happy feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary! I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Humbly pray the Rosary without reservation. He will bless you in so many different ways.

The 15 Promises Of The Rosary According To The Virgin Mary –

The Blessed Virgin Mary made these 15 promises of the rosary to Saint Dominic and to all who follow that “Whatever you ask in the Rosary…”

Today we celebrate the many victories in our lives. We celebrate a historical victory on this day, but we also celebrate God’s victory over sin. We celebrate our small daily victories when we choose to follow God and honor Him by living according to His Will.

The Rosary: Spiritual Armor

I may have painted a rather bleak picture in my last few articles about chastisements and politics. After all, what child wants to get into trouble, and what adult wants to be chastised? But the struggle, hardship, and challenges are part of being human and no one is immune to them. Thankfully, we don’t face them alone and have great protection if we take the right steps to accept them. I, of course, am talking about receiving Mary’s protection by praying the Rosary.

When the family (or culture) is attacked, you and I do not fight alone: we are accompanied by the best of soldiers—Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother, the choirs of angels, and the saints. The challenge is to allow them into our battles, obey their strategies, and follow their lead. In combat, they guide us to know when to move defensively or offensively.

Kathleen Beckman

In her article on Catholic Exchange, Kathleen Beckman talks about how we don’t face challenges alone, whether they be temptations from Satan or chastisements from God. We always have Mary’s protection. Like a commander on the battlefield, she leads us into battle against Satan. Battles are unpleasant, but that’s exactly what we’re engaged in by the fact that we have souls that both Satan and God desire to claim.

The Blessed Mother is perfectly attuned to the spiritual and temporal needs of families. Our gentle and fierce Mother, moved by the weight of divine love, blesses the domestic church with an abundance of grace. Always aware of the exalted role of the family, and knowing the manifold ways that Satan attacks it, Mother Mary watches over us. The Immaculate Heart is compelled to act in holy boldness on our behalf. Adorned with heaven’s endowment, the Virgin Mary is the most powerful warrior in the Lord’s entire army. Never doubt that God has anointed Our Holy Mother for spiritual combat and victory.  

Kathleen Beckman

This is why praying the Rosary is so important. We can’t hide from Satan. We don’t stand a chance standing up against Satan alone. We can’t “sit this one out” and not participate. We are all in this battle whether we like it or not. If we have no choice but to fight, we might as well put on our best armor and go to war with a great army.

By praying the Rosary, we call upon Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels to protect us. In fact, one of Mary’s 15 promises uses a war metaphor comparing the Rosary to armor:

The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

Mary’s 3rd promise to those who pray the Rosary

We have to pray the Rosary regularly so that we are always prepared to do battle. Preparation is the best protection. While the Rosary is a powerful prayer on its own, its power increases greatly as you build upon it day after day. Like exercise, the first pushup doesn’t transform your body. It’s somewhere between the first and 10,000th pushup that changes you. Similarly, it’s somewhere in the thousands of Rosary prayers that make you strong enough to destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

When we pray the Rosary, here’s how Mary helps us defeat evil spirits. Take it to heart and explicitly ask for Mary’s intervention the next time you pray the Rosary.

Mary is the vessel — the mediatrix — of God’s grace. God anointed her for spiritual warfare as the most powerful threat to Satan because of her extraordinary union with Jesus.

Because God chose the Virgin Mary to be the New Eve against demons, the name of Mary has a similar impact to the name of Jesus. This is seen during exorcisms. Demons are terrified of the Virgin Mary who always champions a person’s liberation from evil.

Mary’s holy, maternal presence is extraordinarily painful to demons. They know the efficacy of Marian intervention. The Incarnation — the undoing of the devil — was fulfilled in Mary. 

Mary’s virtues and union with the Holy Spirit make her a fierce destroyer of diabolical plots and tactics. Her life-giving love and defense of God’s family are infuriating to prideful demons. 

Mary, Culture, Family, and Spiritual Warfare

Fighting Temptation Through the Rosary

I came across these three articles over the last few weeks. And while they focus on different topics, they are interconnected. They paint a picture of a world falling into Satan’s hands because many of us do not prioritize practicing our faith to defend against temptation. We leave the door wide open for Satan to enter our hearts when we should be letting in our Mother Mary and the Holy Spirit.

The first article discusses the results of a worldwide survey about people’s view of religion. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, a large number of people think religion plays a less important role than it did 20 years ago. And while that view was held by only 37% of the total respondents, it was much larger, and even a majority, in some regions. 58% of Americans and nearly 50% of Europeans all said that religion’s importance has declined in the last 20 years. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find whether the question was asked regarding the role of faith to people personally or if they were asking about what people observe about society in general.

In another article, an exorcist explained that temptation, not possession, is the most common and dangerous form of demonic manifestation. Here is his advice to fight temptation.

“To resist temptation is simple,” he encouraged, although it might not always be easy. “You must avoid the occasions of temptation, of course, and you must have a Christian and spiritual life. You must pray, you must try to behave correctly, and to love the people you meet every day and the people with whom you live.”

In the third article, Connie Rossini quotes the Catechism that prayer is a battle — one fought against Satan and ourselves. Battles are not easy and they are fraught with danger. We must put ourselves in the right frame of mind and prioritize our spiritual needs just as much, if not more, as our physical and mental needs.

Pray like your life depends on it.

When these three articles are put together, it paints a rather stark picture of the state of many people’s souls. Prayer is hard so people don’t prioritize it. Without prayer, religion and spirituality play a less important role in people’s lives. And without a focus on prayer, people are more susceptible to temptation. In other words, a world without prayer is a world where Satan has greater influence.

As I’ve said multiple times, we must pray the Rosary every day. Numerous saints and scholars have said that the Rosary is our best defense against Satan. It’s our defense against temptation and Mary provides her protection to all who pray it. So please prioritize the Rosary. When you meditate on the Fourth Glorious Mystery, think about how Mary was assumed into Heaven and is there now wanting to help you.

Think of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:42:

 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Be on alert and prepare for the battle you wage every day against Satan and the temptation to sin. We may not know when God calls us to stand before Him in judgment. But we do know that Satan will be trying to tempt us every day. It’s a battle that we need not lose given the amount of guidance and protection Our Lady offers us. All we need to do is realize the serious threat Satan imposes. Then we need to get serious about defending ourselves. There’s no time to wait, pick up the rosary today!

Would You Pray for a Million Dollars? The Value of the Rosary Prayer

On July 6, 2016, the St. Thomas More Society of Orange County, CA invited me to speak at their monthly meeting. It is an organization dedicated to strengthening the faith of Catholic lawyers. I naturally talked about the importance and benefits of daily rosary prayer by walking them through Mary’s 15 rosary promises as well as providing hints and tips that have helped me make the most of rosary prayer.

I’ve published a video recording of my presentation for you to watch when convenient.  I know I’m violating some sort of universal law of the internet by publishing a video that is longer than three minutes but I do encourage you to watch the entire presentation even if you have to break it up into multiple viewings.  I think it ties together a lot of the themes I’ve been trying to communicate on RosaryMeds over the last few years.  Also, for those of you who live in California (especially the Bay Area), please get in touch with me about speaking at your school, parish, or organization if you like what you see.  Or if you have connections at EWTN or Immaculate Heart Radio, consider this my demo reel.

The Roadmap: Mary’s Rosary Promise #15

Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

My 2 year old son is at an age where he wants to act like a grownup.  One example is that he often refuses to drink out of a sealed “sippy” cup and wants just a plain glass.  Not only that, he doesn’t want anyone to help him hold it.  Whenever I try to offer a hand to make sure he doesn’t spill or drop the glass, he quickly waves me off.  He also wants to walk around with the glass of water to his play area and refuses to let me carry it for him.  I explain that I should carry it because he will most likely spill it.  In fact, spilling the water is almost a certainty.  But despite my warnings, my son chooses to carry the water glass himself and of course ends up spilling water as he bounces up and down walking.

I wanted to help my son carry and drink his water.  I wanted him to not spill the water on the floor or on himself (who likes being soaking wet?).   But despite all my reasoning, good intentions, and offer to help transport the glass of water safely to the other room, my son ignored my warnings and did it his own way.  And I knew spilled water would be the result, but I let him make his own decision to try something his own way even when I knew it wouldn’t produce the desired result.

“Fine, carry the water yourself.”

This brings us to the idea of predestination.  But what a minute!  Isn’t predestination a protestant belief that Catholics don’t believe in?  Well no.  Catholics also have a concept of predestination although it differs from the protestant belief.  To put it simply, some protestants (Calvinists particularly) believe that since God is all knowing and exists outside of time and space, He has already decided who will get into Heaven and who will end up in Hell.  And because of this knowledge, our destiny has already been decided and there is nothing we can do to change it.

The Catholic’s interpretation of predestination is rooted in the idea that God has a plan for all of us that predestines us to Heaven.  God calls every soul to live in His heavenly kingdom and He gives us the means to get there.  But this is where Catholics and Calvinists split.  For Catholics, God has not predestined anyone to Hell.  Instead, the damned willing reject God’s predestined plan for salvation.  In other words, God lays out the roadmap that leads to Heaven and some people freely choose not to follow it.

Sometimes its best to follow someone else’s plan

Going back to the scenario with my son and the water glass.  I knew that by freely rejecting my advice my son was going to spill the water glass.  But I did not will or cause the water to spill.  I just knew that was going to be the result based on my knowledge of my son’s motor skills and the laws of physics.  Similarly, when we reject God’s predestined plan for us, He knows the unfavorable result of that decision based on his divine knowledge of, well, everything.

What does the rosary have to do with predestination?  Mary promises that those who pray the rosary will have insights into God’s divine roadmap that leads to Heaven.  By praying the rosary, you get a better perspective on whether you are on the right track towards eternal salvation.  This really ties in nicely with many of Mary’s other rosary promises about living a holy life filled with signal graces and the sacraments of the Church.  It’s fitting that talking about predestination is her final promise because it essentially summarizes all the other rosary promises.  If you pray the rosary you put yourself in a position to better understand and follow God’s predestined plan to spend eternity in Heaven.

rosary
rosary (Photo credit: Muffet)

Keep in mind that praying the rosary doesn’t guarantee salvation.  It’s not like you can pray the rosary every day, sin to your heart’s content, and then expect to get into Heaven.  But if you are truly devoted to the rosary then you understand it isn’t a magic talisman but more of a means of making you better attuned to God’s Will.  And when you do have that understanding, the idea of doing anything counter to God’s Will and losing His grace will seem ludicrous.  Of course, we all have our human weaknesses that cause us to forget, ignore, or doubt this great heavenly goal every once in a while.  But God devised a great system, through the Catholic Church, the sacraments, the rosary, the saints, and the intercessions of our Mother Mary to get back on track.  May we take advantage of the many paths included in God’s predestined plan for us to enjoy the His heavenly kingdom.

Wow, all done with Mary’s 15 rosary promises!  What will I write about next?  Any ideas?

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Hard Work: Mary’s Rosary Promise #14

Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

I think about one of the companies I worked for which had a very intense, deadline-driven atmosphere.  This was in the feature film industry where you can’t just partially finish a shot in a movie or half-deliver a commercial.  There are no beta releases or patch fixes you can deliver later if you fall behind schedule or miss an important detail.  There is tremendous pressure to finish complex shots on schedule and get every detail perfect.

People new to the industry get weeded out fairly quickly because many of them realize that the 7-day work weeks, the every increasing standards, and constant pressure isn’t the career for them.  Initially, fellow coworkers don’t exactly embrace new employees with open arms because they don’t know if they will stick around for very long.  But if you can weather that culture shock and survive a few projects then the company and your fellow co-workers start to accept you more as a teammate.  You showed that you have what it takes to survive and thrive in the industry and you aren’t just some flash-in-the-pan employee who thought movie production was all fun and games.

Feeling fulfilled yet?

Many careers have this type of path where you have to pay your dues.  Lawyers often work their tails off before making partner.  Investment bankers leave their jackets over their chairs at night so their boss won’t think they slacked off and left work early.  Software engineers often bring a sleeping bag to work and snooze under their desk or in an empty office when facing a large project deadline.  There are very few careers where you start out at the top.  And even in the ones where you do start with an elevated title, you still have to work hard to earn the trust and respect of your coworkers.

While many people understand that getting the most out of their careers, marriage, family, and friendships takes hard work, it doesn’t seem like they have a similar understanding when it comes to faith.  They often believe that getting the most out of their religion is almost entirely God‘s responsibility, not theirs.  For many people, their faith is nothing more than showing up to Mass on Sunday and that’s it.  And I’m sure of that group many of them wonder why God feels so distant to them.  But that’s like an employee of a company putting in the bare minimum of effort and then wondering why they don’t move up in the company or find their career fulfilling.  God is always willing to bring you in close in His grace, but you have to make the effort to actually want to be in His grace.

Mary not only says that you can forge a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, she promises it!  She even lays out exactly how to truly be one of Jesus’ disciples.  It’s not some mystery that only a chosen few are called to.  Mary says pray the rosary faithfully and she promises it will create a deeper relationship with her and her son.  That is something any one of us can do.

Pray the rosary, go to Mass, learn the faith, avoid sin.  Those are the keys to feeling that love, hope, and compassion of Jesus.  I know I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating.  He’s always there doling out the love and grace but you have to put yourself in the right mode to accept it.  You have to tear down those walls of sin and pride to let Jesus into your heart.  But tearing down those walls is not quick and easy.  And our human frailty is always trying to erect new walls that block God from our souls.

Feel the peace.

When you do come up with a solid plan to routinely tear down those walls of sin, the payoff is huge.  It’s one thing moving up the corporate ladder and feel invested in a company.  But that pales in comparison to feeling that deep sense of peace and comfort that comes from embracing a life of discipleship and commitment to the Catholic faith.  And there is nothing better than realizing in a way that you can’t logically comprehend or explain that Jesus Christ knows you as one of His own and loves you.

I may have misspoke earlier when I said it’s no mystery on how to get closer to Jesus Christ.  It’s actually 20 mysteries… 20 rosary mysteries that is!

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Mary’s Rosary Promise #13

I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

Imagine that a little 9 year old child walked up and asked you to teach him some basic mathematics.  You excitedly run to the bookshelf and pick up your linear algebra book from college.  You figure that solving a few matrix equations should be a good introduction to math.  You start running through some sample problems when the child’s eyes just glaze over because he has no idea what you’re talking about.  You slow down and really step him through the process.  You even start taking out pieces of paper to explain the intersection of planes.  But no matter how slow you go and what you do, the 9 year old is just lost, confused, and frustrated.

English: This is a diagram describing the line...
Uh, run that by me one more time?

It’s not really your fault or the child’s fault that he could not pick up basic math concepts from linear algebra.  It was just a mismatch in the child’s understanding of math and what is required to understand a complex topic like linear algebra.  The little child did not have adequate prerequisite knowledge to comprehend linear algebra.  He may be incredibly bright for his age but he still can’t instantly conjure up 10 years worth of math concepts no matter how hard either of you try.

Trying to understand God is much like a little child trying to comprehend linear algebra.  No matter how hard we may try, God’s nature is just something beyond our comprehension.  In fact, our gap in understanding God’s nature is infinitely greater than the child’s gap in understanding complex mathematical concepts.  Mathematics may be a large field, but at least it’s something possibly within the realm of understanding given enough time and practice.  God’s nature, on the other hand, is something that is infinite and beyond human comprehension regardless of how much time and effort you put into it.

Take someone who is quite well catechized like Pope Francis.  His understanding of God may be 100x greater than the average Catholic.  But if God’s nature was represented as grains of sand on the entire planet, the pope’s knowledge of God would still just be one or two grains of sand worth (and that’s being generous).  There’s a reason why God is the Alpha and Omega.  His nature is infinite and beyond what are finite minds can possibly comprehend.

But that is where the celestial court comes in to help us better understand God.  A more common term to describe the celestial court is the communion of saints.  You profess your belief in it every Sunday when you pray the Nicene creed when you say “I believe in the communion of saints.”  The communion of saints are so important in the Catholic Church partly because they help us better understand what God wants of us.  Each saint was a living manifestation of an aspect of God’s nature.  When we look at the saints and what they did in their lives, we get a mosaic of who God is.  Granted, it’s still a very rough picture of God, but it’s better than nothing.  We may be like children when it comes to understanding God, but the saints’ examples give us the basic lessons for understanding how God wants us to live.

A detail from John Nava's tapestry of the comm...
A detail from John Nava’s tapestry of the communion of saints. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For example, St. Francis demonstrated humility and charity by giving up a life of comfort and wealth for a life of poverty and service to the poor.  St. Faustina shows us the virtues of mercy and compassion.  St. Maria Goretti showed us forgiveness.  St. Madeleine Sophie Barat showed us unconditional love.  Soon-to-be-saint John Paul II shows us that we all have the inner strength to follow God despite our worldly situation.  All of these are virtues God wants all of us to exhibit.  But again, we have no way of fully comprehending God’s Will directly from Him.  But we can understand aspects of God’s Will by looking at the saints.

Like Mary’s other promises, she promises us intercession.  Mary offers us her personal intercession in previous promises and now she includes help from the communion of saints.  We need all the prayers we can get and we should rejoice that we belong to a faith that promises so much help from people living in God’s grace.  I know I take comfort that I don’t face life’s challenges alone but have the help of the saints in Heaven.  I also have them as role models for how I can achieve eternal salvation no matter where I am in life.  I remember this saying I once heard on the radio — every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.  In other words, not all the saints lived very saintly at some point in their lives but they were able to “wise up” and commit themselves to living God’s Will.  Hopefully we can follow in their footsteps and do the same.

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Mary’s Rosary Promise #12

All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

Remember when I said in my previous post about Mary’s rosary promises seeming like a spiritual infomercial?  Well, I take that back.  This promise proves that the rosary is more like an affiliate marketing campaign.  In affiliate marketing, someone gets a small bonus when they convince someone to sign up for a certain service or buy a specific product.  Mary seems to offer us a sort of spiritual affiliate benefit when we spread the joy of rosary meditation to others.  It’s great to pray the rosary for your own good.  But spreading the rosary has an exponentially greater affect both for you own personal salvation and the Catholic Church as a whole.

Where is your rosary?

Imagine if you were able to convince two other people to start praying the rosary regularly.  Now picture those two people each finding two more to pray the rosary and those people went out and got two more and so on.  It doesn’t take to many levels of propagation before hundreds, maybe thousands, and heck, even millions of people turn to rosary prayer starting from your initial passion for it!  Now can you image a Church fueled by rosary prayer and receiving the graces Mary promises us?  That would be one joyful and sincerely happy world-wide community of believers with the strength to truly change all the ills of this world.  And all because you took one leap of faith to pray the rosary routinely and another leap to share your passion with others.

Your personal rosary prayer will yield much more fruit when you propagate rosary prayer to a wider audience.  But this isn’t because you earn more spiritual points that upgrade you to some higher Catholic membership.  It’s not like Mary sits in Heaven with a clipboard with your personal rosary score.  I don’t think she’s saying, “Well let’s see here.  Brent has convinced 10 people to start praying the rosary, he tries to pray it every weekday, but it looks like he missed some days.  So he’s a silver rosary rewards member which means he gets 3 intercessions a year.”  Not quite.

Like Mary’s other promises, the benefits of this one is more of a logical consequence of praying the rosary devoutly.  When you truly enjoy something or find something valuable, are you more likely to share it with others or keep it hidden?  As Facebook clearly shows, when you are passionate about something you have a tendency to share it with others.  People share their opinions and promote television shows, sports, music, movies, and books all the time (just look at the large number of reviews for any given product on Amazon).  Why would prayer be any different? It is logical that those who are passionate about rosary prayer will also want to share it with others.  If you truly believe in the benefits of rosary prayer and it’s something that gives you great comfort facing life’s challenges, why wouldn’t you want to share it with your friends and family?

If you are sharing the joy of rosary prayer and meditation then chances are you are already praying it regularly and devoutly.  After all, why would you promote something that doesn’t interest you or doesn’t provide you any value?  As I said in previous articles, those who do pray the rosary devoutly will be better tuned into how Mary is trying to aid them.  She is always trying to reach out to us but it is those who are really trying to listen to her through the rosary who will receive more aid in their necessities.  But it’s not from Mary giving more aid to some than others.  Rather, it’s some people making more of an effort to receive Mary’s aid by making time to listen to her through rosary meditation and being receptive to how she wants to help you.

Now here’s the hard part.  It’s easy for me to write this article and have a few dozen (hopefully hundreds of) people read this.  It is easy for you all to forward an email or share this post (please do that).  We can all sit back and think we did our part in propagating the rosary.  And yes, we did.  But I think that’s putting the quantity of rosary propagation over the quality.  Maybe we should instead make an effort to personally invite a friend or family member to pray the rosary with us.  It may not be the easiest way to propagate rosary prayer, but I think there is value in actually getting a single soul praying the rosary rather than telling hundreds of people who can easily ignore you.  Are you ready to take that challenge?

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