Not Just for Old Nuns!

In 1571, Pope St. Pius V used this weapon to defeat the Turks in the victory of Lepanto.  In the twentieth century, the popes used this weapon to defeat Hitler, and before the turn of the century, this weapon brought down the Berlin Wall.  This weapon is not the firearm or the canon or even the nuclear bomb.  This weapon is the most holy rosary!

However, many people have in their minds an image of praying the rosary that looks something like this: a pious little old woman, kneeling down, rattling off prayers before a crucifix, while beads of the rosary slip through her fingers.  While there are certainly examples of this in the ambiance of our faith, we have to get out of our minds that the holy rosary is something only for old nuns — or even a form of prayer that is not practical for modern people.  Maybe even we have tried the rosary and “not gotten anything out of it.”

Firstly, the rosary is a practical prayer for modern people.  We all agree that “A family that prays together stays together.”  The holy rosary is a practical prayer that should be prayed by the family (or a couple) everyday.  It only takes about 15-20 minutes when it is prayed vocally.  A family could pray just one or two decades in the beginning and gradually work up to the whole rosary.  It can be done in the family sitting room, the dinner table after supper, or even in the car for long drives.

Secondly, the holy rosary is a scriptural prayer.  Almost all the prayers – the Our Father, Hail Mary – come directly from Sacred Scripture.  Furthermore, once you have practiced praying the rosary (because like anything, to pray it well will take practice!), you will get past the vocal prayers to start to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life — which are directly from the Holy Bible!  Praying the holy rosary everyday means you are praying with Scripture everyday!

Finally, the holy rosary is a powerful prayer.  The saints of the last millennium all prayed the holy rosary with deep fervor, countless miracles and conversions have happened, and lives have been changed.  Personally, when I started praying a daily rosary when I was a senior in high school, God started to speak to my heart and call me to His holy priesthood.  Some people in my life have had conversions when I prayed the rosary for them.  And praying the rosary everyday has ensured at least some daily scriptural meditation in my hectic life.

This prayer is not for little old ladies, it is not for pansies, and it is certainly not only a prayer of ages past.  This is our weapon against the world, the flesh, and the devil — and when we pray this prayer well and daily, we continue to give the victory to our Lord Jesus Christ through his most Blessed Mother, the ever-virgin Mary.  May the holy names of Jesus and Mary be praised now and forever. Amen.