The Power of Prayer: The Holy Rosary of The Blessed Virgin Mary

The Holy Rosary is one of the most important and powerful prayers in the Catholic faith. It is given a special observance in the months of October and May. The Feast Day observing The Most Holy Rosary falls in October. The prayer of the Rosary has been described in Catholic tradition as a weapon against the evil that has pervaded our world.

I was reflecting on all of this recently as the calendar changed over from October to November. The month of October was a particularly turbulent one for me with the balance of career related pressure, family health issues, and a number of other time demands that all seemed to converge at once.

The importance of my own routine recitation of The Holy Rosary during those four turbulent weeks in October provided me with a sense of clarity, solace, patience, and a connection to the elements of my faith which keep me grounded. It is in the repetition of this beautiful, traditional prayer where I find myself gaining the understanding that I am part of something much bigger: that I am a child of God created for a unique purpose.

That concept is significantly humbling in the context of life’s “storms”, where I can very easily let myself get caught up in the waves, so to speak, and get lost within my own small little world. It is in the prayer of the Holy Rosary that I gain that perspective that I am called to think, act, and reach beyond that small little world to invest my energies into the lives of others around me.

Deep Roots

The Rosary is a prayer that, for me personally, has deep roots in my faith journey. I have written previously about how blessed and fortunate I am to have attended Catholic schools through my entire educational formation. However, the Rosary was a prayer I learned at a very young age from my Mom.

My Mom gave me my first set of Rosary beads and explained to me what they meant and how this blessed and powerful prayer should be prayed. It was also my mother who began the process of explaining the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary to serve as the reflection points for the recitation of this foundational and profound traditional prayer.

My own understanding of the Mysteries grew as my knowledge of The Holy Bible increased and the other elements of my faith through Catholic education came more fully into focus. I recall vividly the memories of my grammar school and the Rosary that we would recite at the May Crowning in the outdoor garden on the campus. I remember being selected to be “a bead” and play a role in the interactive prayer of the Rosary which was attended by the whole school and our parents and relatives. It was such a nice honor to be asked to play a role in the event. I remember it being such a peaceful day.

The Rosary and my Rosary beads became like a default setting for me when I encountered stressful situations such as a big exam, a term paper, or a large school project. It helped me feel a closeness to Our Heavenly Mother, a maternal love, and a feeling of warmth and solitude during those situations. I realize now that it was to prepare me for what was to come in my own life and in the full context of the turmoil in the world that I was given a strong foundation and dedication to the Rosary.

The converse side to the situation was also true for me at one point, we are all sinners, and I got to a certain stage in my life where the allure of the social scene around me, my friends, and the demands of other things in my life pulled at me. My Rosary beads sat in a drawer and collected dust. I had forgotten the wonderful attributes my life was given when I prayed the Rosary routinely. I became caught up totally in “my own little world”.

I was very involved in my faith in college, where some people get to that stage and go off on their own and fall away. I experienced prayer in an entirely different way in college, it was less formal, and I developed a far more personal connection to the Blessed Trinity. I also read the Bible often and did a great deal of reflection on the messages of The Gospels as well as Acts, and the Letters from Paul to various nations, the Letters of St. Peter, and the Book of Revelation. These were all important steps and invaluable components in my own faith journey, but it did not include the routine prayer of the Rosary.

Awakening

I remember getting an awakening when I was just starting my first job out of college and that is where the prayer of the Rosary began to take on a more routine importance in my faith life. It makes sense to me now looking back because when I started my first job and entered the work force it was a bit overwhelming at times. I think the Blessed Mother knew that I needed Her help to lead me closer to Her Son. It also prepared me for some very tumultuous times I had ahead of me.

The Rosary is a part of my daily interaction now, and I have talked about it with prayer groups at the parish level as well as with close friends. My wife and I recently had the amazing opportunity to teach someone how to pray the Rosary who had never been taught how to pray it before. My wife and I will pray it together at points in our busy lives, usually late at night. It is absolutely beautiful to experience that prayer with your spouse, and I highly recommend it. I also remember praying the Rosary with my wife and my in-laws during Hurricane Sandy when we were without power, it made a stressful situation so incredibly calm.

My parish, Saint Mary Mother of God, has an obvious connection with the Holy Rosary and the community has several events each year centering upon this bedrock prayer of our faith. The special Patriotic Rosary on the 4^th of July is an incredible experience where each bead represents one of the 50 states in the U.S.A. and patriotic hymns are sung in between each Mystery.

Gifts of Mystery

The Mysteries of the Holy Rosary are a whole other aspect that cannot be ignored when sharing my thoughts on this incredibly powerful prayer. The ability to reflect on the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes of The Blessed Mother is an incredibly profound way to recite this traditional prayer. I have been led through that type of practice to pray for those who are sick and suffering (The Proclamation of The Kingdom), I have been inspired to pray for those who are dying (The Assumption), to reflect and pray for those who have separated from their faith (Crowning of Thorns), and to pray for peace in the world (The Coronation of Mary).

I have found that placing myself in that reflective space and meditating on the Mysteries sets the tone for the entire dedication of prayer for particular intentions, and helps to call to mind the entire ministry of Our Lord. When my wife and I recently taught someone how to pray the Rosary, which I shared earlier, I realized how fortunate we both are to have the understanding of our faith to explain it to others.

The Holy Rosary has been credited to have achieved incredible miracles in the world. It has been part of Our Blessed Lady and her messages at Fatima, Lourdes, and Guadalupe. In more recent times, it has been a part of the messages from Medjugorje and in Nigeria. The struggle in Nigeria with the terrorist group, Boko Haram, has been well documented in the media. A Bishop in Nigeria had a dream where The Blessed Mother appeared to him and told him that in order to defeat the forces of terror Our Lady handed him a set of Rosary beads.

In the months since that time, the Nigerian military has won significant victories against Boko Haram, and the leaders of that terror group have released hostages that were being held captive after being abducted by the terrorists from rural villages.

The Holy Rosary is a powerful prayer which can provide solace and enlightenment to those who dedicate themselves to regularly adopting it as part of their time in daily prayer and reflection. My life has seen dramatic changes since I recommitted myself to this prayer several years ago; so if you have some Rosary beads in a drawer somewhere gathering dust, I urge you to take them out. The Holy Rosary will change your life, if you have the dedication to allow that to happen.

Our Lord gave us The Blessed Mother to be the mother to us all, turn to Our Lady and ask Her, through the Rosary, to help you to find your way to Her Son. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace, and Queen of the Rosary bring peace to you and your families. May your prayers to Our Blessed Mother bring you closer to Our Lord. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus bless you and your families forever.