Prayer Beads...The Rosary, Fatima and our New Saints!

The two young seers of Fatima were declared saints by the Catholic Church on Sat.  The Pope has declared this the year of Fatima and we are celebrating 100 yrs since that miraculous event.  One of the main things that was requested during these apparitions was that all mankind pray the Rosary daily in reparation for offenses to God, for the conversion of sinners and peace in the world.  The rosary is not just a repetition of prayers... for the Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory Be are all repetitions of Holy Scripture.  But that is not the whole thing.  There are Mysteries based on the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that are meditated on at different times during the rosary and different days of the week to keep us "pondering" like Mary and holding All These Things in our hearts.

"And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."  Luke 2:19

The prayer is Healing, Relaxing, Calming, Peace Giving and Powerful!  The Fruit from incorporating the Rosary in one's life is Quick and Obvious.  Sometimes it is harder than other times to do.  Even though it takes only 15-20 minutes it sometimes feels like forever but the effort to try and learn this form of prayer is worth every minute.  Then it becomes second nature and deeply enjoyable.  Here are some resources on the Rosary.  Many Non-Catholics pray this prayer with us so do not feel that you can't pray it if you are from another religion.  It is our version of a  Misbaha in Muslim faith, worry beads in the orthodox, Japa Mala is used by Buddhists and Hindus and many other beads to pray on in other religions and practices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_beads

https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary/how_to.htm

http://www.catholicity.com/prayer/rosary.html

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/rosary.php

http://www.newadvent.org/images/rosary.pdf

Research the above sites.  Learn for yourself, not from hearsay, what the Rosary is all about and who knows, you may try it and find this is a place of Home for you.  And look on Youtube for many beautiful videos on this too.  Every day on EWTN, the Eternal Word Television Network (Catholic TV) the Rosary is recited and often is accompanied by beautiful pictures to coincide with the mystery and prayer being said.  7:30 am....11:30 am and 6:30 pm are the usual times for the Rosary on this station.  i particularly like the Rosary that comes from the Holy Land.  Remember, different strokes for different folks.  If you do not like one video of the rosary, try another til you find one that fits for you.

til next time let's read Luke 1 in its entirety.....to better understand where the Hail Mary comes from and Who this Great Woman is and What is her role in The Salvation Story!