Results of the Rosary Experiment

I spent last month saying the Rosary each day prayed for 4 people including myself.  The last decade was left open for whatever need occurred during the day.  As a complete beginner, I decided to be open to the experience.

I chose from the beginning to focus on a loving Mary.  Occasionally, I used the mysteries of the day but found that it was too much multitasking for a beginner.  There is a beautiful rhythm in the Hail Mary’s, Our Father, Glory Be and Prayer of Fatima that I reflected on as I prayed.  Mary would come to me in different images.  Most of the time, she was the familiar Our Lady of Lourdes or Fatima image that is in most Western churches.

I also saw her wearing the cloak of stars of Our Lady of Guadalupe or a cloak that shone in pastel, rainbow colors.  My favorite image was what I call Our Lady of the Stars.  Mary appeared in the night sky surrounded by beautiful stars similar to Our Lady of Guadalupe being surrounded by sunlight.  Her eyes were also like stars.  She was truly Queen of the Universe.  I later looked at Google images for Mary but the closest was this one, however; the stars surrounded her from head to toe.

Each decade was assigned to an intention.  I first prayed for myself, then a friend, a family member and finally a friend with stage 4 lung cancer.  During each of these decades, I imagined Mary shining her love upon me and the others.  Sometimes, the Mary in my mind would give the person an embrace.  Once she placed her cloak on me and I then placed the cloak on each person who needed intercession.  She revealed to me that the cloak would bring healing.  One month later, I do not know if the prayers worked since God is on eternal time.  However, my friend with stage 4 cancer is currently in remission.

The challenge was in keeping this discipline every day.  My schedule became busy because my kids returned to school, so I normally prayed the Rosary before bedtime.  Sometimes, it was late so I had to force myself to pray it.  It often resulted in shortening the decades.  Since I listened to the prayers on my IPhone, I sometimes fell asleep in the middle of the prayers.  So, I learned that is best to pray the Rosary prior to bedtime..

After one month of prayer, I took a few days off but actually missed the Rosary, so I will continue the prayers and start adding the Mysteries.  The challenge is in connecting the Mysteries to my intentions.  I also reflected on how each mystery would be apply to the people in my intercession and found it to be very  enlightening. 

As a conclusion, praying the Rosary confirmed the presence of Mary as a powerful force of intercession in a world that desperately needs her prayers.  She also presented herself as Queen of the Universe, so I know without any doubt that her petitions will be heard.  The Rosary is also a way to deepen the prayer experience in a meditative state and provide needed peace to your soul.  

The Rosary Experiment

This month, I started a new chapter in my spirituality.  I decided to pray the Rosary and focus each decade on a person needing Our Lady’s prayers including me.  I will pray for the same people during the first four decades and let the Holy Spirit decide on the 5^th decade’s intention.  My plan is to pray the Rosary every day in August and see what effect it has after one month of daily devotion.  Why pray the Rosary instead of other prayers?  I believe Our Lady has finally led me to it.

During the past few months, my spiritual routine slacked off.  Just one day of not meditating or praying turned into weeks of avoiding time with God.  As usual, the busyness of life and dealing with conflicts were convenient excuses.  However, Mary gently encouraged me to start this prayer.

In May, I attended a presentation made by a Catholic convert whose life was changed by regular devotion to Mary.  He is now discerning the diaconate.  My favorite 89 year-young Irish priest encouraged my parish to follow St. Louis de Montfort’s path of total consecration.  In this method, we dedicate our lives to Jesus through Mary.  I had to start and stop this consecration three times but the prayers had an effect.  I am currently on the 3^rd week where you study Our Lady and end by praying the Rosary.

Mary has also been present at critical stages in my faith journey.  I grew up Presbyterian but started to attend the Catholic Church at age 20.  It then took 10 years to convert.  The final straw was a game played at the young adult group at my Presbyterian Church where they eliminated historical figures.  Everyone was quick to eliminate Mary which horrified me. I walked into an RCIA class that same week in 1990 and became Catholic on Easter Vigil in 1991.

After my conversion, I still was uncomfortable with devotions to Mary so she had to reveal herself patiently to me.  In 2007, I visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  As soon as I walked in the square, I was struck by a tremendous amount of energy and knew that she had appeared there.  It was truly an emotional experience to walk up the hill to the chapel at the top of Tepeyac.  Ironically, I saw hundreds of images of Our Lady of Guadalupe that day in the various buildings but did not realize that the real one was in the ugly, new basilica.  However, it did not matter because I already had proof of her presence in my heart.

Chapel at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City

In August 2008, the Diocese of Phoenix celebrated a beautiful Guadalupe festival with a number of speakers.  It culminated with the presentation of a relic from the tilma.  I was awestruck by the unity of everyone there from different nationalities for Our Lady.

Last October, I was very ill from a severe vitamin deficiency and had little energy.  I attended a Tom Booth concert at my church where he ended the concert by singing a beautiful song that he wrote called “My Lady.”  As I heard the song, tears flowed out of my eyes and I felt a strong urge to pray to Mary because she understood my pain.  So I prayed a most desperate prayer for healing and slowly over the weeks felt better. This experience was described in greater detail at an earlier blogpost.

Finally, I visited the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, Florida last month.  It was a very serene place that was significant as the first US mission to the Catholic Church.  I spent a few minutes in prayer to Our Lady and felt peaceful afterwards.

Thus, my desire to pray the Rosary is to deepen my relationship with Mary and to see how daily devotion will help me and others who especially need her intercession.   I downloaded a CD in my Iphone with the soothing voice of Roma Downey praying the Rosary which came with the book Practical Praying:  Using the Rosary to Enhance Your Life by John Edwards.  The author is a famous medium who prays the Rosary daily.  I found his book very down to earth and perfect for beginners.  I decided on my intentions and will write down the results of my prayer experiences in my journal.

Our Lady of La Leche - St. Augustine, Florida

The first time I prayed a “practice run” on 7/30, I imagined Our Lady embracing the people I was praying for during each decade.  It was so beautiful that I decided to continue with this meditation.  The second time I prayed the Rosary, Our Lady gave me a red rose to hold with thorns.  It was again a peaceful and inspiring experience.  I hope to find out the meaning of the rose as I continue this month of devotions.  With Our Lady in charge, it will definitely be a rewarding journey.