rosary

God’s Time is not Our Time

Lent is a great time to contemplate about the time scale God operates on. As I said in my previous post, our time frame isn’t God’s time frame. The way we look at time vastly differs from how God looks at time. What seems long to us — a day, a year, a decade, a lifetime, and even multiple generations is a passing instant compared to God’s eternal view of time. The entire age of the universe is but a grain of sand in God’s hourglass.

Lenten Challenges

I think back to fasting on Ash Wednesday. To me, it felt like a long day because I had small meals with no snacks in between. Throughout the day I kept looking at my watch. Was it lunch yet? Was it dinner? When can I eat again? Should I go to bed so this day will end? When you’re hungry, time seems to slow down to an almost unbearable pace. But you know what? The day of fasting eventually came to an end. I woke up the next day and was fortunate enough to eat a satisfying breakfast.

I gave up alcohol for Lent. I’m not a big drinker but I do enjoy an ice cold beer on the weekend or a glass of red wine with dinner. So 40 days without a social cocktail seems like a long time. The wine bottles in my house will be taunting me until April 21. But I have to remember that it’s only 40 days. Much like fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Lent will pass and I’ll be able to enjoy my weekend bottle of beer again.

Can’t have any of that sweet, sweet Duff.

Throughout Lent, we can begin to understand the finite time frame we live in and the infinite one of God’s. Much like our Lenten sacrifices and fasts, this life will come to an end as well. And all our suffering, both minor and major, will be over. And then hopefully we’ll enter into eternity in Heaven. Our lives may seem like a long time to many of us especially if we want God to immediately answer our prayers or perform a miracle. But God does answer our prayers, even if the answer for many of us is, “wait until Heaven; you don’t have to wait long.”

The Rosary

Let’s look at the Rosary, particularly the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. Picture Jesus carrying His cross. It must have seemed like an eternity of pain and suffering as He was whipped, beaten, and fell multiple times. The human side of Him must have wanted all that suffering to end instantly. But Jesus also understood that to God and His divine plan, Jesus’ suffering was ending instantly compared to the eternal majesty He would obtain in His resurrection and ascension into Heaven.

We may find ourselves feeling like we’re in a similar situation as Jesus carrying His cross. We may have challenges with our health, family, money, faith, or addictions. Relief never seems to come despite how hard we try and how much we pray. But God assures us that it will come to an end, even if it’s not in this life. We must remember that a lifetime of suffering is an instant compared to the eternal joy of Heaven. Like Jesus carrying His cross, we have to get back up and continue doing God’s will in this relatively short time we have in this life.

The 40 days of Lent may seem like a long time, especially if we’ve given up something that we really enjoy or taken up a practice that is hard to do. But let’s treat it as an opportunity to better understand how God works. Lent comes to an end in the joy of Easter. Just how joyful Easter feels depends on how hard we work on focusing on our faith during Lent. Think of Lent and Easter as a microcosm of life and eternity. Much like Lent, our lives will end. And it’s really not that long of a time we have so we must make the most of it. And when we do, we can enjoy living in God’s grace, both during Easter and in Heaven to come.

Rosary Prayer as a Process

When I look around my house, I see all sorts of bins filled to the top with toys and games. They belong to my boys and they’ve accumulated them over years of Christmases and birthdays. And besides the initial week or two of excitement, many of them go untouched for months. My thought is that because most of their toys are gifts, they don’t have any real emotional investment in them. But God help me if I throw one of their drawings or worksheets into the recycle bin. I’ve had to empty entire trash bins looking for my son’s random stick figure drawing or worksheet.

My little parenthood story outlines a greater insight into human behavior. We tend to value things more as we invest more in them. That could be an investment of time, money, memories, emotional energy, etc. What about our faith? Does the value of our faith increase the more time we spend in prayer? I certainly believe it does. And I’m sure those of you who pray the Rosary daily will attest to that as well. God designed faith as a process that we work on our entire lives.

Why does God choose to make our faith a multi-step process and not something more instantaneous? Why did Jesus heal certain people one at a time and not the entire world in one fell swoop? Or why do miracles come to a few and not to everyone who requests them? Like anything important, there’s value in the process. Things that are just given to us with no effort on our part aren’t as valuable as the things we work hard for.

When we make an effort to develop our faith, it becomes more valuable. Jesus didn’t come into this world to just give away faith. He knew that people wouldn’t value it if He did. Instead, He showed the benefits that came from having a deeper faith almost as a way of encouraging people to work harder at it. Remember, God gave us free will to choose whether to follow Him or not. But that’s not a binary decision. We also have the freedom to choose how much effort we want to put into our relationship with God. Hopefully, through Jesus’ teachings and example, we know that it’s important to invest in our faith development because it’s worth it.

In his article, No Soul is Too Far Gone, Francis Chan writes this about the power of perseverant prayer when he talked about praying for 30 years for the conversion of his childhood friend. Not only did the target of the prayers benefit when he was eventually baptized, but so did the person doing the praying as his faith must have grown through 30 years of prayers and intentions.

There is tremendous power in perseverant prayer. God is not like us; he is not bothered by his children asking for the same thing over and over. He is pleased by the faith demonstrated when we pray and pray for someone to be saved.
When we understand the consequences of rejecting Christ, and we are filled with love for another human being, persistent prayer should be the natural response. To this day, I still have questions about how the decreed will of God meshes with the effectiveness of my persistent prayers. For now, I’m more than content to obey and pray. Though I’m still uncertain how it works, I have seen it work. Meditate with me on Luke 18, trust the words of Christ, and then pray with sincerity and expectation.

Looking at the Rosary, I think about the Fourth Joyful Mystery — The Presentation in the Temple. I think of Saint Simeon, a pious man whom the Holy Spirit promised would see the Messiah before his death. And while it doesn’t say how long he waited, I always picture it being many years. In that time he must have prayed regularly building up his faith in God’s promise. How much stronger was Saint Simeon from a lifetime of devout prayer than if God had immediately fulfilled His promise?

In the eyes of God, even the oldest and wisest are like infants. We must seem like babies whenever God hears us complain about why He’s not answering our prayers. What we do not see or understand is that He does hear us and answers our prayers. But it’s according to His plan, not ours. It’s by His timeline, not ours. We must understand that we often need time to grow and mature in our faith. And when we put in that time and effort, we see that God answers our prayers in a manner far better than if we would have received it immediately.

Don’t Lose Your Moral Bearings in the Darkness

Imagine you’re a pilot flying alone on a completely dark night with no instrumentation. Envision how hard it would be to know your altitude, your level, and whether or not you’re about to crash into something. In total darkness, with no visibility and landmarks for reference, there is a good chance the airplane will crash and burn.

Keep that airplane analogy in mind as you read this article about the Glamor of Evil by Dr. Gregory Popcak. We all know about how we should avoid committing sin. That’s Catholicism 101; easy stuff. But you can also be seduced by sin without actively participating in it. He writes:

Evil is glamorous, not only in the sense that it can be hard to resist being drawn into it, but also in the sense that it can be hard to look away from it. If you aren’t careful, it’s tremendously easy to stare at it, and stare at it, and stare at it, until you can’t see anything else. Until everything good, and godly, and righteous, and beautiful has been drained from view, and all that is left is outrage, and anger, and indignation, and disgust.

Like the pilot alone in the dark, when we fixate on all the evil, darkness, and problems in this world we lose our moral bearings. We can become disoriented in the darkness and start to lose hope, joy, and our faith. We can no longer see the differences between good and evil because we’ve lost our spirital point of reference. Our actions no longer seem to matter because we don’t see any goal or point to them. Does it really matter what I do if everything is falling apart around me?

Being lost and aimless doesn’t usually end well.

Dr. Popcak tells us that we can’t let negative thinking completely envelop us. Our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ should act like a shining beacon, even in our darkest hours. The beauty and goodness of our faith can provide all the guidance we need to find strength, peace, and maybe even happiness, even when our world looks nonredeemable.

When Good Things Turn Us Bad

I’m going to go one step further. It’s not just evil that can completely block us from whatever is good and godly. Neutral activities can also do the same. Consider social media and the 24/7 cable news cycle. On their own, there’s nothing sinful about them. They allow us to stay updated on recent events and connect with each other. But for many of us, these seemingly harmless pastimes can consume 100% of our attention leaving room for nothing else. And when your world is completely consumed by Twitter, Facebook, Fox News, and MSNBC, you can stop seeing the genuine good in the world. You will either see a carefully curated goodness that isn’t real or you will just see everything as bad and hopeless and fall into despair.

As we enter the season of Advent and Christmas, it’s important to not allow ouselves to fixate on what is ultimately unimportant. I know we want to buy presents, decorate our homes, and participate in all the other traditions associated with Christmas. But we can’t let the commercial side of Christmas blind us to the true meaning behind it. Because when you obsess over what to buy and what you want to receive, you leave yourself open to the sins of greed, envy, and even wrath. Want an example? Look no further than the annual chaos around Black Friday and how people lose their moral bearings fighting over TVs and toasters.

The Rosary Connection

Look at the Fourth Luminous Mystery, The Transfiguration. I’m talking about darkness and the light in this article. Well, in this mystery you see Jesus’ clothes literally become dazzling white (Mark 9:3). And that, of course, got the apostles’ attention. When you meditate on this Rosary mystery, ask yourself, is Jesus a dazzling beacon of love, hope, and goodness in your life? Does He shine brighter through the darkness keeping you morally oriented toward His teachings? If not, maybe you need to turn around or take off your blindfold. Jesus is always present in our lives. If you don’t see that “light” in the darkness, ask Mary for guidance when you pray the Fourth Glorious Mystery, Her Assumption. She wants nothing more than to guide you through the darkness to Her son.

Also, when you pray the Third Joyful Mystery, think of the wise men traveling through the desert to pay homage to Jesus. They would have been wondering around aimlessly and hopelessly if it weren’t for a star to guide them. Again, you have a point of light, a referrence point, which guided the three wise men to Jesus. Are you following the signs in your life which lead you to Jesus?

Why Men Especially Need Mary

As we approach the end of the year, I took a look at all the articles I saved and filed under “write about the Rosary connection to this someday.” Well, someday is now. It’s time to clean house. Since I’m on a Marion kick lately with the release of my latest video on the benefits of effective Rosary Prayer, let’s talk specifically about how men’s spiritually is completed through Mary.

In his article, Mastering Manhood Through Mary, Matthew D. Pride talks about how God created male and female to complement and complete each other. He explains how man and woman are made in God’s image, but so is their union. In other words, while man and woman are a reflection of God individually, their union creates another unique image of God. Therefore, Mary is the spiritual complement to men. He writes:

Mary is the Immaculate Conception, the New Eve, perfectly complementary to every human male. As the New Eve, Mary is our helper, perfectly compatible with every human male and yearning to help us master manhood to become who God called us to be in our families, in our marriages, and in society.

Spiritually, women form this unique reflection of God through their union with Jesus Christ. But what about men? Yes, of course, men can also have a deep spiritual bond with Jesus. But Mary offers us what I’ll call a better fit for men to come to Jesus. Since men and women are hardwired to complement each other, it makes sense that God would provide both sexes a spiritual complement to come to Him.

Not an Old Lady’s Prayer

After my latest presentation on the Rosary, many people commented on how nice it was to see men embrace and share their love of Mary and the Rosary. These comments, while said with the best intentions, saddened me a little. Many still consider the Rosary a women’s prayer, or to put it in a less politically correct term — an old lady’s prayer. But this characterization of the Rosary completely misses the point and ignores centuries of history.

The Rosary is a weapon, a weapon of war both physically and spiritually. Soldiers prayed it before the Battle of Lepanto and several other battles. It gave Saint Dominic strength to combat the Albigensian heresy. More recently, it gave Saint John Paul II the strength to fight the evils of Communism. Countless saints did heroic acts with the help of the Rosary. We should pray it daily before doing battle against sin, temptation, and our own weaknesses. Does that sound like an old lady’s prayer to you? If men are called to know God through Mary then men need to take up the Rosary.

The Rosary Connection

When you pray the First Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, The Annunciation, remember that God created Mary for a very specific and special purpose. She was immaculately conceived so she could be a clear, unblemished window to Jesus. God’s plan for Mary was more than just give birth to Jesus and then get out of the way. If that was the case, Jesus could have just emerged mysteriously out of the wilderness as an adult as there would be no need for Mary. The fact that Mary was part of God’s plan tells us something. We should utilize the gift God gave us through Mary who willingly said she would be the servant of the Lord at the Annunciation (Luke 1:38). God wants all men to know Him through our Mother Mary.

[amazon asin=1612787150,0983809666,1594712980,0867168315,0989287173,1586174746,0300164327,0898702194&text=Amazon&template=carousel]

Pope’s November Intention: Use the Language of Love

Pope Francis’ November intention is “In the Service of Peace: That the language of love and dialogue may always prevail over the language of conflict.” Here’s a snippet of Deacon Ted Penton’s reflection on the pope’s message (the full article is found on Zenit).

Jesus didn’t allow Peter to defend him from an arrest by use of the sword. Nor did he call down legions of angels to save him from the Romans who tortured and executed him. Instead, he submitted to death on the cross. In some mysterious way, the Father used the death and resurrection of his Son for far greater purposes than any of his followers could have imagined. As Pope Francis eloquently stated, “In the silence of the cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue, and peace is spoken.”

This reflection ties in nicely with my previous post about the sin of pride and the virtue of humility. I also called out Jesus’ Passion as a time of peaceful and humble acceptance of God’s plan for us. Jesus showed us that humility is the language of love that Pope Francis refers to in his November intention. Because when we are humble we let God speak through us. His words are not filtered and drowned out by our pride. They aren’t muddled by our limited human minds. Even when our intentions are good, we still don’t possess the ability to see the “big picture” and construct the same language of love and dialogue that is as effective as God’s Word.

There’s another aspect of the November intention I want to discuss. We can’t confuse peaceful dialogue with weakness. All too often, we have this notion that love means letting others roll over us and do as they like. But look at Jesus’ example. He was all loving but He was certainly no pushover. He was unrelenting in preaching God’s truth and never backed down. He never told sinners that their actions were okay. But He did teach them what God desired for them and forgave them. He did this in a loving way that drew people closer, not further away. We too should imitate Jesus. We don’t shy away from preaching God’s truth but we must do it in a way that also shows God’s love.

When we pray the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom and Heaven and His Call to Conversion, let’s keep the pope’s November intention in our hearts. Let’s remember to make an effort to convert any of our ways that create conflict into ways that create and foster God’s love. It’s not an easy journey letting go of our almost instinctive nature to fight hostility with hostility. But think about Jesus being scourged and how difficult it must have been for Him not to fight back in a hostile way. Ultimately, Jesus “won” because humiliation, torture, and death was not the end. He found the strength to endure all of that out of His love for us. We pray the Rosary this month asking God for that same strength to see that it is love, not hate, that will ultimately win and convert souls.

[amazon asin=1601374763,1632532573,1531904017,162785150X,2896882642,0819865001&text=Amazon&template=carousel]

New Video on Effective Rosary Prayer

No, I didn’t take a break from RosaryMeds in October. I got really busy preparing for a presentation I gave with Father Tony Vallecillo at Saint Robert’s Catholic Church on effective rosary prayer. It was exciting to put together many of the thoughts and ideas I’ve written about in my various articles into one presentation and to partner with someone who also is devoted to rosary prayer. Please watch this presentation and share it with those who love rosary prayer or want to learn more about it.

You can also watch other presentations on the Videos page.

Defeating Pride With The Rosary

The next of the seven deadly sins we’re looking at is pride. Many consider pride the worst of the seven deadly sins and also the foundation of the other sins. Pride means putting your wants and importance before anyone else’s authority. And what is a sin? It’s putting your desires in front of what God wants. When we sin, we knowingly act without regard to the consequences because we don’t accept any other law beyond our own. According to C.S. Lewis, it’s pride that leads to every other type of sin because it’s the anti-God state of mind.

Pride is so deadly because, by its very nature, it remains hidden. As Fr Dwight Longenecker puts it in his article on Catholic Exchange:

This is why pride is so deadly, because it is the one sin that hides itself so effectively. The proud person, by very definition, does not realize he is proud. If he realized he was proud he would repent, but it is pride which keeps him from seeing that he is wrong or sinful in any way. Pride is a very difficult sin to do anything about because the proud person will even go so far as to admit that he is proud, and that makes him even more “right” than he was before!

The Scriptural Connection

Look at how blinded the Pharisees were by their own pride that they could not accept Jesus’ teachings. They dwelled on their own self-importance and their understanding of God and the Law that they couldn’t accept the teachings of a poor carpenter from Nazareth. They criticized everything Jesus and His apostles did from breaking certain Mosaic laws to ministering to sinners; acts their pride did not allow them to do. So indebted to their pride that the Pharisees didn’t even come to believe after witnessing Jesus’ countless miracles.

We turn next to Saint Paul, or rather Saul before his conversion. Saul was a Roman Jew who persecuted the early Christians. He was so blinded by pride that he refused to accept the teachings of the apostles to the point of killing them (poor Saint Stephen). Saul justified what he was doing by claiming it was God’s work. In reality, he was just keeping the status quo where the power of the Law was taught and enforced by those who believed they were important and holy enough to wield it. Ironically, God physically blinded Saul on the road to Damascus to humble him. That event led to his conversion. Once a humble servant of God, Paul was able to preach God’s Word throughout the world because he could let go of his own self-importance. He teaches to this very day through his various letters in the New Testament.

The Rosary Solution

Humility is the heavenly virtue that counters pride. The humble heart thinks of others and understands and appreciates others’ talents and strengths. It also allows us to put our faith in God by recognizing His authority over us. The humble heart accepts Gods law while the prideful one fights and rebels against it.

Humility is the fruit of the First Joyful Mystery — The Annunciation. Mary proclaims, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) when hearing God’s plan for her. She doesn’t consider herself high and mighty as a prideful person would. She doesn’t see God choosing her as some sort of award or even something to brag about. Instead, she sees herself as the humble servant called to do God’s Will. She doesn’t complain about God messing up her life’s plans. Instead, she realizes that God’s plan is the best plan even if it’s unconventional.

Humility also shows itself in the Third Sorrowful Mystery — Jesus’ Crowning of Thorns. It is a time when Jesus is mocked or tortured. At that time, He could have proven Himself as the Son of God by performing any number of signs. Jesus could have said that He didn’t have to take any more abuse from lowly humans since He was the Messiah. But Jesus humbly lived out God’s Will by enduring mockery and torture. Humility sometimes means suffering in doing what is right instead of constantly asking “Why me? Am too good for this type of treatment.” We should take Jesus’ example in the Third Sorrowful Mystery and always accept God’s plan for us even when it’s difficult or doesn’t make sense.

Ask yourself, are you humbly accepting God’s plan for you or is your pride causing you to rebel against Him? Are you depressed or saddened because you have a hard time accepting God’s Will? Ask yourself, is that your pride talking? Humility isn’t something to fear. It means greater freedom and comfort knowing that you are putting your life in the hands of some greater authority. And what better authority to place your life than our loving God and His Church?

Lepanto and The Feast of the Rosary

On October 7th, the Church celebrates Our Lady of the Rosary. The reason why we celebrate the Rosary on this date is that it is the anniversary of the Holy League’s victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This battle was a massive naval battle between the Catholic countries of Europe and Turkish invaders. This victory’s importance was that it weakened the Turkish incursions into Europe who had their sights set on conquering Rome and turning it into a Muslim state.

The greatest weapon the Catholic military deployed at the Battle of Lepanto wasn’t a new type of galley ship, sword, or cannon. It was the Rosary. It played an integral role in the Holy League’s victory over the Turks. It is why we celebrate the Rosary on the anniversary of this battle. Days before the battle, the sailors fasted, confessed, and prayed the Rosary relentlessly. The spiritual preparation was so intense that women were not allowed near the ships so the men wouldn’t be tempted to indulge in any sinful thoughts or actions. All around Catholic Europe, people prayed the Rosary asking our Mother Mary for victory. And despite the odds not being in Europe’s favor, we attribute the sincere devotion to the Rosary as the changing factor in this battle.

What can we learn from the Holy League’s victory at Lepanto? Many of us may feel conflicted over the idea that we celebrate the Rosary’s connection to a military victory where thousands of men died horrifically. And while it’s unfortunate that humanity fights wars in the first place, we don’t celebrate the Battle of Lepanto because of the death and suffering in that battle. We celebrate God’s hand, through our intercessor Mary and the faithfulness of the Church, in protecting Christianity in Europe. Those were different times for sure. And while we may not be faced with massive military invasions now, we all engage in combat every day.

Most of us have some sort of challenge or hardship in our lives. Maybe it’s a strained or broken relationship with someone. Maybe we have financial worries. Perhaps we have a job we don’t find fulfilling, co-workers we can’t stand, or no job at all. Many of us battle various physical and mental illnesses. Some of us battle addictions. It’s easy to see life as just one large, depressing slog with no hope of it getting any better. And that is when we can look at the Feast of the Rosary and its military roots at Lepanto. Militarily, there was little hope of a Holy League victory against the much larger Turkish fleet. The Turks had stormed across much of Europe and won many battles. They were expecting this to be yet another victory in their campaign to conquer Europe, particularly Rome itself.

But in the midst of despair, Mary heard the sincere call for Her intercession. She guided the Holy League to victory at Lepanto despite the long odds. We should remember that she will guide us to victory over our hardships when we sincerely ask for Her intercession. There is nothing that can defeat a sincerely prayed Rosary. The book, Champions of the Rosary, which I reviewed, mentions countless encounters where devotion to the Rosary brought about miraculous results.

The Rosary’s power is why we should pray it every day, particularly in the morning before we “do battle” for the day. We need to prepare ourselves mentally, spiritually, and physically much like the Holy League did before the battle of Lepanto. Even when our life is rolling along smoothly, we do have to defend ourselves against sin and temptation. Satan’s army is so vast and deadly that it makes the massive Turkish fleet at Lepanto look like a parade of toy boats. And the consequences of a defeat to Satan’s army is much greater. In a military battle, the worst that can happen is that you lose your physical life. But in a spiritual battle, you can lose your soul and cut yourself off from God’s heavenly kingdom forever.

In this month of October, celebrate the Rosary by praying it regularly. Understand that we are at war every day against our own hardships and Satan’s minions. But our Mother Mary is there to help and even do the impossible if we ask for Her intercession. The Rosary isn’t some prayer that was useful hundreds of years ago. It can work wonders today if you sincerely pray it.

[amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&asin=1586170309,0306816180,0765305399,1596143436,1596144017]

Coping with Controversy with the Rosary

These are unsettling times for the Catholic Church in the wake of abuses and cover-ups at the highest levels of the Church. It’s hard to learn about such corruption by people who are supposed to be spiritual leaders in a Church that espouses such high moral values. It can also shake your faith in an institution that is supposed to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

The cardinals and priests are spiritual leaders, but they are also human. They carry the same weaknesses as you and I. Those weaknesses include lust for power and the tendency to sin. Unfortunately, people move up through the ranks in the Church the same way they do in business or politics. They know what to do and what to say to move up the “corporate” ladder. It’s a ladder that is ascended via politics, not neccessarily holiness and virtue. While we hope that those who lead the Church focus on practicing a high level of virtuous behavior, increased power and authority often has the opposite effect. Fortunately, our Catholic faith is made up of more than the collective virtue of those who lead it.

I’m not going to tell you to ignore what’s going on at the higher levels of the Church. Ignoring the issues is what got us into this mess in the first place. We, as a community of believers, must confront and address these issues. But at the same time, we must remember that the cardinals, bishops, and even the pope, aren’t the center of the Church. The Church is not solely a human institution. It’s a divine institution with the Holy Trinity at its core.

When we pray, we don’t pray to the pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests. We pray to God! It’s an infallible and all-loving God that is the center of our faith. The clergy are servants of God to guide us. Our perfect God works through His imperfect vessels. And no amount of human corruption can weaken God. No amount of corruption can weaken His love for us and our desire to live in His grace.

Humans sin and we have to be accountable for our actions. What I will call the political side of the Church will go through hard times in the near future. But if you keep the right perspective, you will understand that the Church is far more than the sum total of virtue and sins of the clergy. She hasn’t survived and flourished over the centuries because of clerical virtue. She’s flourished because it’s God’s Church which can’t be destroyed by the inherent weakness of Her followers.

I think about the current difficulties the Church faces when I pray the Third Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary — Jesus Crowned with Thorns. I picture Jesus, battered and ridiculed. I then think about our Church and how battered She is right now; ridiculed by the behavior of those who are supposed to honor Her. Like the Romans paying fake homage to Jesus with a crown of thorns, we have clergy mocking Jesus by using His Church as a means to acquire riches and power and succumb to sinful weaknesses.

Christ Crowned with Thorns (Marten van Heemskerck)

But from the weakness, Jesus was ultimately triumphant. There is an element of hope throughout the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. We know that Jesus’ Passion ends in joy and triumph in His Resurrection. And we should know that the Church will ultimately be triumphant because that is what scripture and our faith tell us. As we confront these dark times ahead, remember that the true center of the Church is Jesus Christ. Our faith is built on Him, not on the imperfect, fallible humans who run it.

Champions of the Rosary

Did you know that the second part of the Hail Mary wasn’t introduced until the 14th century? Did you know that one of the most popular Rosary shrines was created by a former satanist who converted? Did you know that an image of Mary handing the Rosary to Saint Dominic miraculously appeared in a cave in Colombia in 1754? Did you know that in 1964, 2 million people gathered to pray the Rosary in Brazil?

How do I know all these little facts? Simple. I just finished reading Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon by Donald H. Calloway, MIC. I discovered it after stumbling across an excerpt of it on Catholic Exchange. I’m always on the lookout for books about the Rosary as they fuel my passion for both praying it and writing about it. Bottom line, there is something of value in this book for everyone whether you’re a devoted follower of the Rosary or a skeptic.

The books itself is divided into three parts. The first and largest part is the history of the Rosary. Each chapter takes you through a century and highlights the places, people, and events that shaped the Rosary. It can be a rather dense history lesson at times but stick with it because there are many gems to be found.

The second part takes you through the “Champions of the Rosary.” Each chapter highlights someone’s biography, Marian connection, Rosary connection, and quotations about the Rosary. While not as dense as the first part, again there are great pearls of wisdom and stories of dedication. Just thumbing through a few of the quotations in Rosary Gems sections can provide a little motivation for praying the Rosary if you find yourself tired or not in the mood.

The last part of the book explores the technical details of praying the Rosary. And while useful, the descriptions and meditations are rather shallow. This is not a book of meditation ideas. There are other books that provide much better Rosary meditation ideas (like these!).

I was captivated by the history and evolution of the Rosary explained in this book. I cannot believe just how passionately people have prayed and endorsed this prayer. The Rosary is so valuable that people have laid down their lives for it rather than give it up. The miracles associated with it are amazing — battles won, regions transformed, and people converted. It makes any of my excuses for not finding 20 minutes in a day to pray it seem so petty and selfish. If you’re looking for motivation to pray the Rosary, whether it be getting started or just a boost of energy, please read this book.

While I’ve been praying the Rosary regularly for years, I do have a new appreciation for it thanks to this book. I’m now trying to pray it more reverently — quietly, slowly, and kneeling when I can. I’m really trying to appreciate just how special the Rosary is. For example, the other day I was almost gitty over the idea of how proud and happy my Mother Mary must have felt that I was praying Her Rosary. Knowing that our prayers are important to Her is something I’ve always known intellectually, but only recently have felt it on a deeper level.

I always knew that praying the Rosary is good for you. But I was more like a child eating his vegetables because someone told me I should. But Champions of the Rosary explains why the Rosary is such an important prayer and why everyone must make a habit of praying it. It will help you internalize and understand its power. Give it a read. Hopefully, it will transform the way you approach the Rosary as it did for me.

[amazon asin=1596143436, ,1596144017&template=banner easy]