Rosaries

October is celebrated by Catholics all over the world as the month of the Holy Rosary. In Catholic schools around the country, we often have prayer services, masses, and living rosaries to honor our Blessed Mother.

As a child, I must admit I did not like praying the rosary. It was long and tedious, and I’d have much rather gone outside to play. But growing up, I was always surrounded by it. I learned the words and prayers even if I did not fully understand them. I have memories of my grandmother’s fancy white rosary bearing small safety pins. (I learned later on that these were her markers when she would do thousand Hail Mary marathons!)

While spending summers in my aunt and uncle’s house in Pampanga, they would gather us to pray the rosary in the evening. And I used to hate being called in from whatever game we were playing. Today, however, I remember those days very fondly. It was then that I learned that saying a particular intention aloud before a mystery is a profoundly humbling and moving experience. To be able to say aloud, in front of others, what we truly desire reminds us that we are really beggars before the throne of God. And it reassures us that even if we get tired of praying for ourselves, someone else in the community can still pray for us.

The rosary in my adult life is a much-loved, dearly recited prayer. On most days, I struggle to meditate and reflect on the mysteries but still I commit to it. The Hail Mary’s bring me back from wherever my mind wanders, and give me peace. On difficult days when my heart is sore or extremely worried, the only thing that escapes my lips are, “Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary…” And in my heart I trust that my guardian angel finishes the rest of the prayers for me. 

Praying the rosary is like building a chain of roses between ourselves and our Lady. I’m sure at the end of my life, I will find that in my darkest moments, it was our Lady who hung on tightly to that chain, perhaps even until her gentle hands bled from the thorns.