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Rosary: Blessing or Chore?
Confession: I have never really gotten into the Rosary. Sure, I’ve prayed it many times. One Lent back in high school, I woke up 15 minutes early to pray the Rosary each morning. In college, I prayed a weekly walking Rosary around campus with other students. Since then, I’ve prayed a couple of 54-Day Rosary Novenas. But once whatever challenge I am doing ends, I put my beads down and forget about them, sometimes for months.
So many Saints have raved about the Rosary as their ultimate spiritual weapon. Many of the holiest people I have gotten to know here on earth have a great devotion to the Rosary, too, including my grandmother, whose pink Rosary beads I inherited.
I want to love the Rosary. I don’t want it to feel like a chore.
A New Podcast: The Rosary in a Year
Father Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, the host, certainly has a different style than Father Mike, but I think it is perfect for contemplating the mysteries of the Rosary. He is calm, reflective, and very genuine, sharing personal stories and radiating love for Jesus and His mother, Mary.
Enter The Rosary in a Year, Ascension’s newest series and currently the #1 podcast on Apple! I spent 2021 listening to Bible in a Year and 2023 with Catechism in a Year, and I learned so much from both of these. Though I was initially sad that Father Mike Schmitz would not be hosting this go ‘round, I knew God was calling me to try again with the rosary. Just a few weeks in, I think this podcast may be the reason I finally fall in love with the Rosary.
The podcast has started out very gently, usually lasting less than 15 minutes a day. Each episode includes a reflection on a topic like the nature of prayer or entering into the presence of God, then the “introductory” prayers of the rosary- one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and a Glory Be. As the year continues, we will be building up slowly until we are praying the entire Rosary every day.
Poco a Poco
I am looking forward to reflecting on each of the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary and contemplating the words of Saints and Scripture for each as well as famous sacred art depicting the scenes. Adding prayers slowly to work up to a full Rosary makes it feel less overwhelming, and I can already tell that all the reflecting will make longer prayer sessions more fruitful and less monotonous for me. Slow and steady, or as Fr. Mark-Mary says at the end of each episode, “poco a poco” (little by little).
The Rosary in a Year podcast is available free in the Ascension app, from Apple, or wherever you download your podcasts. Join me this year! I know Mama Mary will be overjoyed to lead us into deeper communion with her Beloved Son. If you are listening, drop me a comment below to let me know what you think of it. And look for a post soon with updates on my book and writing!
