rosary

Refusing to See God’s Signs

I continue to read my Bible in a Year every day. I just finished reading the Book of Kings, chapters 18 and 19. These chapters introduce the prophet, Elijah. In this time, the Israelites had once again lost their way and turned to worship other gods such as Baal. Elijah demonstrated the falseness of Baal in a contest of seeing whose sacrifice would be consumed by fire — his or the priests of Baal. After winning that contest in a dramatic fashion, the drought that had been plaguing the land for years ended.

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You would think that after all the works of God Elijah demonstrated that the people would have been grateful. But instead, Elijah needed to flee for his life. Instead of being thankful that he called on God to end a drought, they were outraged that he exposed their beliefs in the false god, Baal. Instead of rejoicing in the truth, they hated him for exposing the lies.

I think we are often act similar to those who rejected Elijah even after witnessing the signs. Our desire to appear right often overshadows our willingness to change in light of new information. We hate admitting when we are wrong and would rather be miserable clinging to destructive practices than making an effort to change. In many cases, we choose the behaviors we’re used to instead of making the changes to follow God’s plan.

In the Third Luminous Mystery, Jesus asks us to embrace the Kingdom of Heaven and to convert. Even more than Elijah, Jesus gave us numerous signs and miracles; more than enough reason to put our trust in him and convert from our sinful ways to his ways. And yet, despite the signs, we still sin. We are like the Israelites choosing false gods. We may know that those sins we commit ultimately lead to unhappiness and yet we do them anyway. When we pray the Third Luminous Mystery, we should ask for the courage to truly convert and turn from whatever “false gods” we have in our life whether that be greed, pride, envy, lust, and any other deadly sin.

Part of conversion is having the courage to admit when we are wrong. We have an opportunity to embrace God and turn away from sin whenever we receive the Sacrament of Confession. But like the Israelites, admitting when we’ve acted sinfully is difficult. No one likes to admit they’re wrong which is probably why confessionals sit empty, at least in the United States.

If you’ve been lucky, you’ve heard a priest tell you to go to confession. But that is easier said than done. It’s like telling someone who is out of shape that they just need to eat right, get plenty of sleep, and exercise. It’s not that we don’t know about confession, but many of us don’t have the courage or make it a priority to receive it. That’s where the Rosary comes in. Pray it regularly and ask Mary for the strength to go to confession. Like regular exercise, regular Rosary prayer will build spiritual strength and courage to more fully embrace all that God offers. That includes His grace and His mercy.

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.

Jesus’ Miracles — Brining Joy to All of Us

I know this is a tad late given that the Sunday Gospel reading about the Miracle at Cana was several weeks ago. But the way I see it, we should be visiting this mystery at least once a week when we meditate on it in the Second Luminous Mystery. So any insight, no matter when it is given, should be valuable.

In his homily, my priest made a rather insightful observation about this Rosary mystery. Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana was turning water into wine. In doing so, He saved the hosts from the embarrassment of running out of libations too early in the feast. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ first public miracle involved prolonging a celebration? It wasn’t healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, calming seas, or other more life-changing miracles. Essentially, Jesus kept the wine flowing to keep the party going. Jesus’ first miracle was bringing a little more joy into the world.

Joy is really at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. He came into this world so that we may better know God. Through Jesus, God was no longer this distant, impossible-to-understand entity. Rather, he was a human in Jesus. He ate with us, spoke to us, prayed with us, and celebrated with us. Jesus encapsulated all the love, peace, and joy already contained in God but presented it in a way we could understand. It’s no wonder that Jesus’ first miracle was keeping a celebration going because that was exactly why God manifested Himself through Jesus — so that we may continue to celebrate His peace and love. Jesus kept the party at Cana going by turning water into wine. But God kept the joy flowing by manifesting Himself as a human through Jesus Christ.

Remember the miracle at the wedding at Cana the next time you feel burdened by the Church’s “rules.” Remember that the heart of our faith is joy and happiness. Jesus didn’t come to oppress. He didn’t force anyone to love, honor, and celebrate with Him. So why all the rules? The rules help us better receive the joy that Jesus offers. Similar to how guests at a party need to act appropriately for all to enjoy themselves, we need to live in accordance with God’s laws to find the most joy. We can’t be party crashers — ruining the party God invites us to. We don’t want to cut ourselves off from genuine joy and happiness for that momentary yet shallow thrill of acting selfishly.

The next time your pray the Second Luminous Mystery, thank God for giving us the opportunity to embrace the genuine happiness that comes from fully living our Catholic faith.

Saint Dominic: Model of Humility

I recently completed reading Saint Dominic and the Rosary by Catherine Beebe. Saint Dominic’s life was a saintly one in every sense of the word. He practiced the saintly virtues of humility and patience throughout his life. We should also practice these virtues during Advent as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth and reflect on the life of the greatest saint, our Mother Mary, who is the paradigm of patience and humility.

Catherine Beebe’s book walks through Saint Dominic’s life from his early childhood through his holy death. Keep in mind that this isn’t an academic or rigorously historical book. It contains conversations and events that I’m sure came from second and third hand sources or were created in an attempt to better explain aspects of Saint Dominic’s personality. But that in no way takes away from the motivational and inspiring power of this book. Personally, I want to learn about Saint Dominic’s virtues, not a dry day-by-day historical account of his life.

According to the book, Saint Dominic strived for sainthood his entire life. He always oriented himself towards bringing people closer to God. When he was a young priest traveling through Spain, he was never too tired or busy to preach to the Albigensian heretics and try to convert them. He lived humbly, never indulging in earthly delights. In fact, he never ate more food than what he needed to stay healthy. Even the order he founded put their faith in God to provide for them as they relied entirely on people’s donations of food, clothing, and other provisions.

It is this total giving of self that is the main theme throughout
Catherine Beebe’s book. And I think this is also why our Mother Mary choose Saint Dominic to bring Her Rosary into the world. She too, was a total servant of God; putting aside Her wants and expectations to completely accept God’s plan for Her. That is what God wants out of a saint — a complete and willing submission to His Will. When I say “submission” I’m not talking about it in that dominating sense of the word. I mean that we willingly put our lives into God’s hands with faith that He will lead us to true happiness.

You have to be humble to be a servant to God. Humility is the virtue which defeats pride. And pride is the sin of centering your entire life around your wants and desires. You can’t put yourself into God’s hands while centering your life around what you want at the same time. You have to choose. Likewise, saintly behavior requires patience. It’s a lifelong journey of trusting in God when times are either good or bad. You can’t say you’re devoted to God and then bail on Him at the first sign of hardship. Is it easy? Of course not. But where do you think the phrases patience is a virtue and patience of a saint come from? Being a saint isn’t easy but it’s the life God calls all of us to live.

The Rosary Connection

Look at Mary in the First Joyful Mystery. She showed great humility placing Her life in God’s hands in the Annunciation. Now move on to the Fifth Joyful Mystery. Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for several days “in sorrow.” Imagine the patience Mary had to show and not give up hope of finding her lost son. We can learn from Mary that even when times are difficult, we need to show patience for God to show us the way. It is in that quiet patience that God will show us the way out of hardship.

PSA: archive.org

Lastly, I want to point our a really useful Rosary resource — www.archive.org. I found that book about Saint Dominic on archive.org and, like a library, I was able to check it out as an ebook. If you do a search for “rosary” on the site, you will find all sorts of books, newsletters, pamphlets, etc. Many of those are out of print and you cannot find anywhere else (which is the whole point of why we have archive.org). If you’re looking for some new Rosary material, give archive.org a look (and support it with a donation if you find anything of value).

Why You Need Contemplative Prayer Right Now

With only two weeks left before Christmas, many of us are feeling that last minute pressure to finish shopping (or start it) and finalize plans. Did you get the right presents? Did you forget to send a Christman card to someone important? Will the package you ordered be delivered on time? There are so many questions and concerns spinning around in our heads right now. And that is why it’s the perfect time to stop and engage in some contemplative prayer.

In my recent presentation, I emphasized how the Rosary is a meditative and contemplative prayer. And this makes sense given its origin — our Mother Mary. In the Gospel, Mary is a woman of few words. Instead, she is always listening and observing what Jesus is saying and doing. In so many instances, the Gospel talks about how she keeps things in her heart. She is humble and reserved taking the role as God’s servant. She is the paradigm of contemplative behavior. And likewise, her gift to us, the Rosary, is modeled after her contemplative nature.

Here are some examples of how you can use contemplative prayer to great effect. This Advent, in addition to a morning Rosary prayer, I’ve taken up reading from a daily prayer and reflection book. By front-loading my day with prayer and scripture, I have plenty to think about and meditate on when I find some quiet downtime throughout my day. Jonathan B. Coe, in his article on Catholic Exchange, calls the combination of scripture and Rosary prayer a “contemplative canvas that renews the mind and facilitates an open-handed generosity in life.” If your day is a blank canvas, how are you painting it? And you filling it with holy thoughts and actions fueled by the Gospel and Rosary?

One of the Advent reflections I read stressed the importance of silence and clearing your mind of all the holiday distractions. Remember, Jesus’ birth wasn’t a grand event in the physical sense. It was a quiet one that took place in a stable or cave in some small, out of the way village. And even today, the commercial grandeur of Christmas drowns out the whisper-like presence of Jesus’ birthday. It is only in the stillness of meditative prayer that we block out the noisy world to truly appreciate the heart of Christmas.

Lastly, I recently finished reading a biography on Saint Dominic, through whom Mary gave the world the Rosary. He traveled throughout Europe in his life. And wherever he went, when he had free time, he visited a church or cathedral and prayed. That routine of filling part of the day in contemplative prayer can be said of any number of saints. God desires all of us to saintlike behavior as that is the quickest means to internal happiness in His kingdom. And so, maybe we should take a cue from the saints and also fill some of our lives with meditative prayer. For example, after I drop off my son at school, I stop by the church to sit quietly and pray. Maybe you can find time to attend Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Try attending a weekday Mass or just sit quietly in a Church for a few minutes. Or maybe, just lay still in bed when you wake up and spend a few minutes in prayer before starting your day.

Think about Mary’s contemplative behavior in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. When the shepherds came to Jesus talking about angels announcing His birth, Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19). Upon finding Jesus in the temple and hearing Him say that he needed to be in His Father’s house, she treasured all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51). Are you talking regularly with God through prayer and treasuring His response in your heart?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Conquering Envy Through the Rosary

Let’s talk about sin, specifically, the seven deadly sins (also known as cardinal or capital sins). Theologians in the early Church devised a list of sins that form the foundation for other sins. Think of it like the taxonomy, or classification, of sinful behavior. By reducing sin to a small list, teaching about sin and virtue became easier in the early Church because priests could teach people simple “do this, avoid that” style rules. The seven deadly sins as we know them today were formalized by Pope Gregory I in 590 AD and later expounded by Saint Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica. For those of you who never saw the movie Se7en, the seven deadly sins are:

gluttony
lust
greed
pride
sloth
wrath
envy

This article is going to focus on envy. In the age of social media and instant communication with others, it’s so easy to suffer from envy. We see people’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts about their fantastic vacations, cute families, crazy parties, and glamorous lives and it’s difficult to not feel envious. We fixate on the nice car our neighbor bought or the slightly larger TV that is in his living room. Unless you live in a completely isolated environment, it’s difficult not to see the blessings others have around you and not feel just a bit envious.

The Scriptural Connection

Of course, envy isn’t anything new. In fact, envy plays a prominent role in the first book of the Bible when Cain killed his brother Abel. Cain envied his brother because God favored Abel’s offering over his. What I find interesting is God’s response to Cain’s anger: “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance (mood) fallen? 7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

The Bible doesn’t say how much effort Cain put into his offering to God. Maybe he held something back and didn’t put forth his best crops for God but kept them to himself. Maybe Cain was lazy which lead to a small harvest. God basically challenges Cain to do better and work harder. But instead of accepting the challenge, Cain fixated on his brother’s good fortune to the point of murdering him. That is why envy, when not addressed, is such a deadly sin. It can grow and spread like cancer. It then cuts us off from others because all we see in others are our own desires. We don’t see others as our fellow brothers and sisters but more like a store’s windows displaying what we want but cannot have. It reduces people to the summation of their possessions. Many of the deadly sins are interconnected since we can see envy being related with pride (everything centered around what I want), greed (always wanting more), and wrath (hatred because you have what I want).

The Rosary Connection

Father Ed Broom wrote an article on Catholic Exchange about what we can do to combat envy. It’s worth a read. But of course, the Rosary also teaches us about envy and how to fight it. Let’s look at the Second Luminous Mystery — the Miracle at the Wedding at Cana. What does that have to do with envy? Let’s consider God’s miracles and blessings. When others receive them, are you happy for them or do you envy them? For me, one person’s unexpected blessings can bring about feelings of envy and resentment. I ask why other people have all the good fortune. Or, why has God saddled me with more hardship than someone else?

Of course, feeling envious is the wrong way to look at God’s blessings and miracles. To start, someone receiving a miracle or blessing doesn’t take any blessings away from you. God’s grace is not a zero-sum game where someone receiving grace deprives someone else of his. God has infinite power and hence, can dole out infinite grace. When others encounter miracles, Father Broom says we should thank God for all the blessings and miracles He performs in our lives. Yes, we may not have the cushy job, a huge bank account, a nice car, or a great phone. But we are alive and able to praise God by living the day as virtuously as possible. God gives us the miracle of a new day of infinite possibility. Don’t squander it by being envious of others. Let’s also look at the Second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation. Each Rosary mystery has an associated “fruit.” You can think of fruits like the lesson taught in each mystery. For the Visitation, the fruit is “Love thy Neighbor.” Of course, loving your neighbor is the opposite of envying or being jealous of your neighbor. Father Broom states that praying for those whom you envy will help fight that envy. It does this by taking that sinful fixation and transforming it to a healthy one. Your focus is on asking God to help you instead of being jealous of others. Fighting envy difficult, but so was traveling to Elizabeth’s home for Mary. She did it out of her love for her cousin. We too must take up that difficult challenge of fighting envy with love, prayer, and kindness (which is one of the seven heavenly virtues that combats envy). [amazon asin=B004661J04,1928832431,1973519054,0898704383,B017HI0F5W&text=Amazon&template=carousel]