Tag: mary

Mary’s Rosary Promise #1

To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.

What does it mean to pray the rosary devoutly? There is two aspects to rosary devotion. First, there’s quantity. Praying the rosary means saying all the prayers. Many people look at a rosary and see a lot of redundancy to it. Why do I need to pray 10 Hail Marys per decade and not just one? What do I get out of reciting the same prayer repeatedly? To answer that, we should look at physical examples. Is one push up the same as ten push ups? Does your body get the same amount of exercise taking one step forward or running a mile? In diets, do you need to eat one healthy meal or multiple healthy meals? Quantity counts! And so you get more out of the rosary, spiritually speaking, when you spend time with it and recite all the prayers. God doesn’t need the prayers, but you do to get into that spiritual “zone” where you will be most receptive to God’s guidance.

Generally available Marian image created in th...

There is also a quality aspect to praying the rosary devoutly. Can you really say you are praying the rosary if you are saying the words but thinking about something else? Are you really getting anything out of it at that point? The rosary isn’t a magic chant where the power is in the words. The power of the rosary is directly related to the amount of earnest effort you put into it. Going back to physical exercise, do you get a better workout walking on a treadmill reading a magazine or really concentrating and pushing yourself to get the most out of the experience? The same goes for prayer — you get as much out of it as you put into it.

Mary promises us special protection. That raises the question, “protection from what?” Satan and his minions of course! Just as there are angels and saints in the spiritual realm, there are also demons. Every day those two sides are at war over our souls. If you just read that last sentence and think I’m exaggerating or lying then that just shows how powerful of an adversary Satan is. His best weapon is for people to think there isn’t a war being waged over our souls. That way, we drop our defenses and become more susceptible to Satan’s influence to turn away from God through sin.

Praying the rosary has two advantages to protect us against sin. First, through prayer we keep our defenses up. When we realize the persistent threat against us, we take whatever steps we need to fight against it. Rosary meditation provides us an opportunity to analyze how well we are defending our souls against Satan’s great attack. Have we created gaps in our spiritual armor by committing sins or just not making our relationship with God a priority in our life? When we acknowledge our weaknesses we can then work on fortifying those weak spots. Otherwise, we are just walking through the battlefield with little protection and become easy targets for Satan.

In addition to greater awareness of the spiritual dangers around us, Mary offers her special protection as well. And in a war for our eternal souls, we probably want as much help and protection as possible. And Mary is a great protector from evil. She is our Heavenly Mother. And like our earthly mothers, she has the special task of trying to keep her children safe. She promises that fervent protection to those who pray the rosary.

Does that mean she only cares and protects those who pray the rosary devoutly? No, of course not. She loves each one of us just as her son, Jesus Christ, taught us. But when we pray the rosary we make Mary’s job to help and protect us that much easier. She can take our willingness to accept her help and multiply it to build a greater defense against evil. Think of her like a doctor trying to help a sick person. The doctor can better diagnose and cure a disease if the patient is helpful, commutative, and trusting. The doctor, despite his good intentions, will have a much harder time helping someone who is combative or just not very accepting of any assistance.

Help Mary help you. Have faith in her promise that she will protect you and give you God’s grace if you earnestly pray the rosary.

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15 Promises of Rosary Prayer

file0002075421420I am starting a new series on RosaryMeds titled “The 15 Promises of the Rosary.” Each article will focus on one of Mary’s rosary promises. Wait, what? Never heard of the 15 promises of the rosary? Don’t be surprised. Unfortunately, these promises seldom come up when people explain the rosary. Everyone explains the mechanics of rosary meditation but don’t go into the benefits. And that is unfortunate and a terrible marketing blunder. It’s like someone trying to pitch an exercise video series without showing you the “after” pictures of strong and fit people. Or it’s like someone advertising a diet pill by showing you how to swallow it but not including testimonials from people who tried it. I think many people don’t stick with rosary prayer because everyone tells them the process but forget to mention the benefits. Of course, any RosaryMeds reader knows about the benefits of rosary meditation since that is all I write about. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to our Mother Mary.

St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de Rupe were instrumental in the revival and spread of rosary prayer in the 12th and 15th centuries. Both men spoke about 15 promises the Virgin Mary made to them about those who pray the rosary regularly. “Regularly” is a vague term but it is usually taken as praying all 20 mysteries each week. Here are the 15 promises mentioned on the Rosary Confraternities website:

FIFTEEN PROMISES OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
TO CHRISTIANS WHO FAITHFULLY PRAY THE ROSARY

  1. To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.
  2. Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive some special grace.
  3. The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy.
  4. The rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies. It will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
  5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.
  6. Whoever recites my Rosary devoutly reflecting on the mysteries, shall never be overwhelmed by misfortune. He will not experience the anger of God nor will he perish by an unprovided death. The sinner will be converted; the just will persevere in grace and merit eternal life.
  7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
  8. Those who are faithful to recite my Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces and will share in the merits of the blessed.
  9. I will deliver promptly from purgatory souls devoted to my Rosary.
  10. True children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.
  11. What you shall ask through my Rosary you shall obtain.
  12. To those who propagate my Rosary I promise aid in all their necessities.
  13. I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have as their intercessors, in life and in death, the entire celestial court.
  14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
  15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.

Good stuff right? We’ll cover each one in detail in future articles. If you know friends or family who might find this interesting, please let them know about RosaryMeds so they can receive updates.

What Software Engineering Teaches Me About Morality

I’m a software engineer and that means I look at a lot of computer code all day long.  Often, I’m working with other engineers and look at their code and offer suggestions for improvement.  I’m always telling other software engineers to not “reinvent the wheel.”  That means don’t write your own code to solve a problem that someone else has already adequately solved. For example, if my application needs to send an email notification, it would be a waste of my time to write my own email routine instead of using one someone else has already written.  Why should I go through all the effort to design, implement, debug, and test a piece of software when someone else, who probably knows a lot more about the details of email protocols, already made the effort and produced a tool that fits my needs?

The fifth of Thomas Aquinas' proofs of God's e...
St. Thomas Aquinas

I see parallels between code reuse in software engineering and theology. I often ponder why I believe what I believe. For example, I believe that abortion is an intrinsic evil. I know this because this is what the Catholic Church teaches.  According to the mainstream media or popular culture, that makes me an ignorant lemming who does not think for himself.  But quite the contrary, I’m not relying solely on my thoughts and emotions to arrive at the conclusion that abortion is evil.  I refer to thousands of years of Catholic teaching built on the foundation of some of the greatest philosophical minds the world has ever known.  Like the software engineer that builds an application using various tools and libraries others wrote, I build my moral foundation by integrating the deep insights of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

People should use their talents while relying on the talents of others in areas where they aren’t experts.  I’m a software engineer, not a philosopher or theologian.  When people need help with their computer, they call me.  When I  need moral guidance I call St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Albert the Great, Blessed John Paul II, St. Augustine of Hippo, Pope Benedict XVI, and many other great minds of the Catholic Church.  I would be foolish to “wing it” and rely solely on my own thoughts and emotions when facing a moral question because I’m not utilizing all the time-tested thoughts and teachings available to me.  And whether it is a software engineer or someone looking for moral guidance, when you try to do everything yourself you will usually not produce as good of a solution as trusting those who have deep domain expertise.

The real “lemmings” in our culture are many of the ones who accuse the faithful of not utilizing rational thought.  While the Catholic faith built its foundation on people who really studied and thought about life’s great questions, many in society at large draw their beliefs from the words of politicians, special interest groups, celebrities, and talking heads on the news.  And like fads, their moral foundation is constantly changing because it’s based mostly on emotion and news polling.  How stable is that foundation if it is constantly in motion?  Why should the Catholic Church “modernize” if that would mean replacing its strong moral foundation with one that has no deeper thought than a joke on The Daily Show?  Do we really want to throw out the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas for the wisdom of Nancy Pelosi or Joe Biden?  Do we replace the influence of the Summa Theologica with the popular sentiment of “Everybody’s doing it.  Don’t you want to be cool?”

 What RosaryMeds Do I Need?

Purchase “The Seven Big Myths About The Catholic Church” from Ignatius Press.

Society has come down with a serious case of soundbiteitis.  Symptoms include basing your morality on the words of celebrities and politicians and believing various myths and flat out lies about the Catholic Church and her principles.  You are advised to meditate on the Fourth Glorious Mystery — Mary’s Assumption into Heaven.  Mary has a special place in Heaven and she serves as our guide to bring us into God’s grace and eventually into His heavenly kingdom.  Throughout generations she came to many people through apparitions with a message to turn towards prayer and to really attempt to understand Jesus’ Church.  To understand the Church, you need to read its teachings found in the Bible as well as the writings of her saints and theologians.  Mary knows just how great the fullness and joy of Heaven really is and she wants all of us to have an understanding of it too.  Because if we did take the time to educate ourselves about the Church, and pray for the faith to even feel the slightest sense of what awaits us in Heaven, we would turn away from our sinful ways.

We all have a choice.  Do we put base our morality on the sound bites of politicians and celebrities?  Or do we put our faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church, its generations of scholars, and our Heavenly Mother Mary?  Seems like a no brainer to me.

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We Adopted!

When I heard about adoptacardinal.org on EWTN radio and received two emails from family members about it all on the same day, I knew it was probably a sign from above to mention it on RosaryMeds. The “Adopt a Cardinal” website will randomly assign a Catholic cardinal to you whom you will support through prayer and fasting during the conclave and three days after they elect the new pope. My wife and I are praying for Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez of Guadalajara, Mexico.

In my book, The Rosary for the Rest of Us, I stress how important it is to offer specific intentions in your prayers.

In the rosary, you may have a specific intention each time you pray the Hail Mary. Or you may have a single intention for the entire mystery or even the entire rosary. It is up to you how many intentions you want to present. But it is important to have intentions, thanksgivings, and remorse even if they are just generic ones (for the poor or homeless, for peace, health, etc.). Without intentions you may just go into “auto-pilot” and just say the words without actually praying for anything.

Remember, you are conversing with God, Jesus, Mary, and the saints when you pray the rosary. You have their undivided attention. Don’t you want to have something meaningful to say? While we may speak the the same words as everyone else who prays the rosary, your intentions are uniquely yours. The rosary is your time with Jesus. Make the most of it. He’s listening. The question is, are you actually talking to Him?

la piedad michoacan
My adopted cardinal

I pray specifically for my adopted cardinal on the first Our Father right after the Apostles’ Creed. I usually reserve that Our Father for the pope’s intentions. Given that the Church currently does not have an active pope, I think it makes perfect sense to pray for one of the cardinals who will play a role in selecting the next pope.

Just don’t say the rosary, but pray the rosary. Make it yours. And adopt and support the cardinals who will choose St. Peter‘s successor.

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Pope Benedict’s Retirement — A Transition, not An End

Like many people, Pope Benedict‘s announcement of his retirement came as quite a shock to me. I once attended Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica and saw the pope from about ten feet away as he walked past me in a procession. And although I only caught a glimpse of him, I did feel this sense of God‘s glory radiating from him. It’s hard to explain, but I understood in that instant how carefully God chooses His shepherds to lead His people. And as shocking as this news is to me, I also understand that it’s also God at work when one of his shepherds knows he has run his course. We must keep Pope Benedict in our prayers as well as the Catholic Church because this unprecedented event is going to get a lot of attention, especially from sources that may not like or understand the Catholic faith.

English: Pope Benedict XVI during general audition

We need to be careful where we receive our information regarding Pope Benedict’s retirement. When it comes to understanding the core principles and foundation of the Catholic faith, the mainstream media has a lot to learn. They deal mostly in the realm of politics and so they will treat the pope’s announcement like they would a politician resigning. And usually, a politician resigns only when he has something to hide or is trying to dodge responsibility for his actions. And so the media will be looking for any shred of circumstantial evidence to fit their narrative whether it be the priest abuse scandal, gay marriage, contraception, or any Catholic document that they can sensationalize and turn into a story to fill their 24/7 news cycle.  We live in a world where people in powerful positions tend to cling to that power to the bitter end (a few people in Washington D.C. come to mind).  The media will never understand why someone in such a powerful position would choose to voluntarily step down.

I believe the truth is much less sensational and extremely humbling. I won’t claim to be an expert on Pope Benedict, but I have read some of his writings and what people have written about him. He does seem to be a very humble servant of the Catholic faith and will do whatever is necessary to promote God’s glory through the Church. And if that means stepping aside to let someone who is more capable of leading the Church in this modern era so be it. It takes a lot of humility for him to conclude that he is not the pope the Church needs right now. I like Pope Benedict and wish he would stay since he is one of the great modern thinkers and defenders of traditional values. But as a Catholic I yield to the pope’s authority even when he decides to relinquish that authority.

I think we need to pray for the conclave of cardinals that will choose the next pope. As we live in a world that becomes more secular, events like the choosing of a new pope become that much more peculiar, misunderstood, and portrayed as being out of step with society. Non Catholics (and misinformed Catholics) will see the election of a new pope like the election of a political leader. They see a new pope as someone who can simply eliminate what they view as mistakes of a previous “administration.” You will hear the usual uninformed questions like, “Will the next pope be softer on contraception and divorce? Will he allow women ordination? Will he allow married priests?” Basically, we will hear the wish list of the secular world as they cover the choosing of the next pope.

emblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keys Fr...

This will be a difficult time for Catholics. The world is a lot more hostile towards organized religion, particularly Catholicism (and we haven’t done ourselves any favours recently with all the priest abuse cover ups). It has even changed drastically in the last eight years since Pope Benedict was chosen as pope since the world has become that much more connected but also more polarized.   We should pray and meditate on the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the rosary — The Coronation of Mary. We ask the Queen of Heaven for guidance, resolve, and the wisdom to see the glory of God’s Church through the distractions and obfuscations of the modern world.  God raised Mary up as a queen because she listened to God and obeyed His will.  We pray for the acceptance of Pope Benedict’s decision and the hope that it will bring about a greater good.  God gave us Pope Benedict and it’s not like He’s taking him away from us.  God is merely leading him to a new role where he will do the most good by giving him more time to think, write, and most importantly, pray.  And so we also pray that we show that same openness to God’s will and the humility to follow the road God puts before us as our mother Mary and Pope Benedict did.

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Non-Religious at a Greater Risk of Developing a Mental Disorder

I love it when I find a connection between one of my RosaryMeds posts and a news article. It makes me feel like I’m really on to something and my thoughts aren’t too far off in right field if they relate to current media headlines. Of course, I wish the topic wasn’t about the declining practice of religion. But unfortunately that theme seems very prevalent in our world today. In a previous article about the growing number of US voters with no religions affiliation, I mentioned the dangers about being a “believer” but not ascribing to a particular religion. I wrote:

Here’s the problem with “nones” who are supposedly “believers.” What do they believe? Are their beliefs just an arbitrary set of guidelines that they will follow or ignore at their convenience? Are they in that “God loves me and I think He’s cool with how I choose to live my life” group? Because that’s not belief. That’s just finding justification for living however one pleases. It’s a religious foundation built on sand where the slightest disturbance or challenge will knock it over. Or less poetically, they are beliefs that will change as soon as someone declares them outdated, uncool, or not following the majority in society. In my experience, not being connected to an organized religion is synonymous with not practicing any religion at all.

It turns out that modern psychiatry backs up my claim about the dangers of being a free-form “spiritual” person with no religious affiliation. Non-religiously affiliated people might have a greater chance of developing a mental disorder. The Telegraph reported this study:

Professor Michael King, from University College London, and his fellow researchers wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry: “Our main finding is that people who had a spiritual understanding of life had worse mental health than those with an understanding that was neither religious nor spiritual.”

The researchers concluded: “We conclude that there is increasing evidence that people who profess spiritual beliefs in the absence of a religious framework are more vulnerable to mental disorder.

This was a small study on only 7,403 people. And while I didn’t arrive at the exact conclusion in my thought exercise about mental disorders, I did point out how vulnerable unaffiliated believers are to the whims of society. And since our culture is getting crazier by the day, it stands to reason that those who base their spirituality solely on the societal norms might also go a little crazy too.

I think of unaffiliated, spiritual people like a leaf floating in the wind. The leaf cannot control its trajectory or destiny. It is completely at the mercy of the elements around it. Now if the wind is society, than it is blowing like a tempest. Everyone is so hot-headed and pointing fingers at each other. People pay too little taxes, people pay too many taxes, government is doing too much, government is doing too little, gun owners are evil, the Catholic Church is a hate group, the GOP hates minorities, Obama is a Marxist, and on and on and on. This is what the media spews out all day and every day. And so, like the leaf caught in the hurricane, people without a dogmatic religious foundation just get battered around without any control.  And so I don’t find it surprising at all that many unaffiliated spiritual people develop mental disorders and need to turn to drugs to achieve some level of control in their lives.

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Society has come down with a case of battered belief syndrome. The name describes people who aren’t rooted in any religious belief system and so the chaotic nature of the modern world beats them down. Symptoms include an increase of drug-dependent people not practicing any particular religion. They often suffer from anxiety and nervousness because they have a hard time coping with the craziness all around them. I prescribe a healthy dose of meditating on the Fourth Glorious Mystery — The Assumption of Mary. Our Mother Mary is the greatest physician when it comes to fighting battered belief syndrome. She informs us to really embrace our faith and learn what the Church really teaches. We must take those teachings to heart and try our best to live by them. That way we form a strong foundation that won’t crumble no matter how chaotic and anti-religious the world becomes.  Learn the faith by reading scripture, Church documents, and any number of great educational books.  But most importantly, pray that you let that knowledge sink into your soul and act like an anchor that will keep you standing tall no matter what societal storm comes your way.

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What is the Solemnity of Mary?

We celebrate the feast of the Solemnity of Mary on New Year‘s day, January 1st. But what exactly is the solemnity of Mary? In plain speak, we celebrate Mary’s motherhood to God made man in Jesus Christ. It is one of the oldest feast days in the Catholic Church dating back to the 5th century. The feast started when early Christians were still debating Jesus’ divinity. When the Church decreed that Christ was both God and man, it followed that Mary was the “Mother of God” and that is what we celebrate on this feast.

Georges de La Tour: Adoration of the shepherds...

The Gospel reading for this feast day continues the nativity story revolving around the shepherds praising the newborn king in the manger. And so it is fitting to remember the Third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity, not only on Christmas, but on this day too. We are like the shepherds — doing our work and going about our business. But when the Lord calls us and reveals Himself to us in our lives, we should make “with haste” like the shepherds did in the Gospel to praise and honour Him.

I know that on January 1st I want to curl up in a warm house and watch college football (go Stanford in the Rose Bowl!). I wouldn’t say I’m particularly excited about getting up early, getting dressed, and heading to Mass for an hour. But then I remember the shepherds from the Gospel. When the angel of the Lord appeared to them, they immediately dropped what they were doing and went to the manger to praise Jesus. Luke’s Gospel said that they went “with haste.” They didn’t ignore the angel or take their time getting to the manger. No one said, “I’m set for the night and pretty comfortable; I’ll just stay where I am.” Similarly, God calls us to come and celebrate the Nativity, the Holy Family, and pray for peace. And can you think of a better way of starting the year than in Mass? Here we not only honour Mary and Jesus, but can also give thanksgiving to God for last year while laying down before Him our intentions for the next.

Oh, did I mention that the Solemnity of Mary is also a holy day of obligation? It is no different from our obligation to attend Mass on Sunday. That means skipping Mass without a valid reason is a sin. And sorry, your hang over from New Year’s Eve is not a valid reason. Sinning on the first day of the year isn’t exactly the best start is it? However, make the most of this holy day of obligation and don’t go to Mass simply because you have to. Think of Mass as your spiritual new year’s celebration. Embrace the Eucharist, pray for peace, and celebrate the gift of faith.

Happy New Year!

Update: As with many other feast days, the Solemnity of Mary isn’t a holy day of obligation in some dioceses and countries.  Please check with your parish.  As an editorial, I find it odd that skipping Mass on January 1st will be a sin for some, but not for others depending on your address.

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Remembering Family Unity in the New Year

Today’s gospel reading is the story of the finding of Jesus in the temple which is also the Fifth Joyful Mystery of the rosary. We pray for family unity and peace. Like Mary and Joseph, who had lost Jesus and hence had an incomplete family, many families today are also missing Jesus, our Lord, in day to day life. May we try to make our families “whole” by including Jesus in it.

Maybe you need to mend divisions in your life with other family members. Maybe you need to make more time for prayer whether it be grace before dinner or starting a family rosary night. Maybe you need to make more time to learn the teachings of the Catholic Church so that you can incorporate them in your daily life. No matter where your family life may be, we can always look to the Holy Family as a model on how we can make it stronger.

Holy Family by Raphael, 1506.
Holy Family by Raphael, 1506. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I encourage you to read more about the Fifth Joyful Mystery.  I  think it speaks to all of us as we all know people who have wondered far from God’s grace and need our prayers.

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This is Your Brain… On Prayer

I tried to put together a good “election day and the rosary” type of article but nothing quite seemed to come together. There are plenty of good websites out there that have more time, writers, and other resources to discuss politics and the election through a religious lens. So RosaryMeds election coverage is simply this — read the USCCB‘s Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility and, with a well-formed conscience, seriously consider which candidate will best support the values espoused by the Catholic faith. And while no candidate is ever perfect (after all, Jesus isn’t running for president), think about who will be the most open to legislation that supports, not attacks, your values. And this doesn’t just go for the presidential election, but also keep this in mind when selecting congressional, state, and local officials as well since many times they can have a much more dramatic impact on your life than the president.

Brain on PrayerIn this post I want to discuss your brain on prayer. I came across this short, three-minute video that I found very interesting. The main premise is that a brain in deep prayer shows similar activity as conversing with someone. Neurologically, there is no difference to our brain when we talk to God in prayer or physically with someone right in front of us. Now the critic would look at this data and conclude, ‘I knew it! Catholics and other religious are no different from people experiencing hallucinations or having imaginary friends!” But the critic would be wrong as any prayerful person can attest that we don’t hear real voices in our head telling us what to do when we pray. But there is a very real dialogue going on.

This goes to one of my main themes of RosaryMeds and my book, The Rosary for the Rest of Us, about the benefits of rosary prayer. At its root, rosary meditation is a dialogue with God either directly or through the intercession of Mary and the saints. This is what makes the rosary such a powerful prayer. You aren’t just talking into the void. There is someone listening on the other end and He does respond. It’s not a response in that drug-induced, “there are voices in my head” sort of way. It’s something deeper and less tangible (but still observable as the brain scans in the video show). God responds to our prayers when we suddenly have some sort of clarity on a difficult decision. He responds to us when we find that strength to do the right thing even when doing the wrong thing would be easier. He responds when we realize that some of our daily worries are trivial compared to our spiritual health.  These are just a few examples of how our brain changes during prayer as a result of having a conversation with God.

An angel comforting Jesus before his arrest in...The First Sorrowful Mystery, The Agony in the Garden, best shows the nature of prayer as a dialogue. Before the Pharisees arrested Jesus, He prayed to God. Jesus first asked God to find another way to redeem humanity besides Him suffering on the cross. But Jesus also showed humility and just asked for the strength to do God’s Will. But where was the dialogue? After all, there were many instances in the Gospel when God spoke as a thundering voice in the clouds. It may seem that Jesus was just speaking into nothingness in the garden of Gethsemane when he was arrested. But God did respond! He gave Jesus the strength to endure the scourging, the crown of thorns, the cross, and crucifixion. He gave Jesus clarity to forgive those who crucified Him in His final minutes of agony on the cross. And God responded by empowering the apostles, through the Holy Spirit, to spread the teachings and love that Jesus showed in His death and resurrection to the far ends of the world for generations to follow. Jesus asked God for the strength to do His Will. God heard loud and clear and responded.   The over one billion Catholics worldwide bare witness to God’s response to Jesus’s prayer.

We should remember this sentence from the Memorare when we pray the rosary: “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided.” Our prayers are heard by God in Heaven, the saints, and our Mother Mary. And they do respond but not always in the way we expect. We should pray for the faith to truly believe this great truth and take advantage of talking to God in prayer.  He’s waiting for you to pick up that spiritual phone and call Him!

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Why the “Meds” in RosaryMeds?

rosaryIt has been a while since I’ve written a “go the extra mile” type of post.  But with all that is going on in the world right now I think a little spiritual “kick” is appropriate.  I want to tell you why I chose the name “RosaryMeds” for this website.  “Meds” can mean a lot of things.  The first word that comes to mind is “meditation” which I certainly promote on this website and in my guide on praying the rosary.  But you can also think of “meds” as the slang word for “medicine” which also applies to rosary prayer.  First, we should take a look at how some people view medicine:

  • Medicine is meant to treat a disease
  • Sticking to a prescribed regiment takes discipline and often a conscious change in lifestyle
  • Many people stop taking treatments because they don’t feel any positive effects
  • Many people don’t take the fully prescribed dosage because they believe they are already cured

We first must identify the disease being treated when thinking about the rosary as a type of medicine.  In my opinion, we all suffer from the human weakness of failing to follow God‘s will and having the tendency to commit sin.  In many cases, knowing right from wrong is fairly straight forward.  We know that we should avoid vices (lust, greed, envy, wrath, etc.) and embrace virtues (love, charity, compassion, etc.). But we often fall short in finding the strength, energy, and courage to act virtuous and follow the path God puts before us.  And that is where our “rosary medication” comes in.  Praying the rosary is our medicine that strengthens our resistance of committing sin.

Our holy mother Mary tells us that the rosary is our spiritual medication in many of her 15 promises.  She promised:

  • The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy. (#3)
  • It will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. (#4)
  • Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish. (#5)

Generally available Marian image created in th...

Destroying vice, drawing hearts away from the love of the world, and not perishing in the fires of Hell sound like a some pretty powerful medicine to me.  But we never receive the rosary’s benefits if we never pray it.  Keeping a rosary in a drawer is like keeping the pill bottle in the medicine cabinet.  Medicine doesn’t magically get into our bodies and do its wonders by itself.  We have to want to get better from our affliction and take our medicine.  Similarly, we have to resolve to pray the rosary, stick to it, and make it part of our daily routine.  We have to want to become better people, stronger in faith, and closer to God’s good graces.  Once we find that motivation, the rosary “meds” can kick in and help multiply the benefits of God’s gifts to us.

Prayer is such strong medicine that Jesus Christ not only prescribed it to His disciples, but He took it as well.  While Jesus didn’t have a human weakness towards sin, He did experience fear about doing God’s will as we see in the First Sorrowful Mystery — the Agony in the Garden.  And what was Jesus’ action in the face of human weakness?  Jesus prayed to God for strength and courage which God gave Him as He endured a scourging, a crowning of thorns, carrying the cross, and crucifixion.  Jesus got all the spiritual medicine He needed to endure a level of hardship many of us will never (hopefully) experience.  If prayer was powerful enough for Jesus in His darkest hour, imagine what it can do for you in your daily struggles.

We know that sin and temptation attack our souls every day like a virus.  We know that the rosary is God’s prescription for treating it.  If you were sick with a physical illness would you skip taking your life-saving medicine because “you don’t feel like it?”  Keeping our souls healthy is so much more important than our our bodies (don’t get me wrong, we should take care of both).   So when it comes to our spiritual well being maybe we should be good patients and follow the doctor’s orders by praying regularly.  Remember, a rosary a day keeps the devil away!

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