The Rosary: The Prayer of Sinners
I have been talking about the Rosary a lot around here lately. About my Marian experience, reasons everyone should be praying the Rosary daily and ways to make time to pray the Rosary.
Hundreds of people have responded and purchased the Rosary Booklet or shared their love for the Rosary with me.
It has been incredible and I treasure ALL of the stories you’ve shared with me…but I have a nagging feeling that I haven’t served all of you…
Maybe you find yourself on the sideline with this issue. You know you should pray the Rosary, but…
There are many reasons why people hesitate to pray the it. I know because I have felt all of these things.
Maybe you don’t feel worthy to pray the Rosary or holy enough to pray the Rosary.
Or maybe you don’t want to try to pray the Rosary regularly because you know that you will fail this new prayer habit as you have failed at all the others you’ve tried.
Maybe praying it feels like work…and you are just so tired.
I get it. All of it. I do get it.
But, if you don’t hear anything else I say in this email, I want you to hear this.
The Devil is a lying piece of crap, and he DESPERATELY does not want you to pray the Rosary.
It might not be cool to bring up the Devil, but he’s real my friends, and there is no one on this Earth or above this Earth that he fears more than Mary. No one.
He does not want you to be under her protection.
And He does not want you to feel comfortable calling on her.
He doesn’t want you to have any relationship with her at all…and so all those reasons keeping you from praying your Rosary, those are coming straight from Hell.
Sorry to put so fine a point on this, but it’s true.
Now, I’m not writing this to sell more Rosary Books. In fact, you don’t even need a real Rosary to pray the Rosary, let alone a Rosary Booklet (God gave us 10 fingers for a reason!).
I write this simply to help you find a way to Mary–and the Rosary is one of the easiest ways to do that. That’s it.
Because here are three things that are TRUE about the Rosary:
1. It is a prayer for Sinners.
You don’t have to improve or get better before you start praying the Rosary.
You don’t have to memorize the prayers or read the Gospels. Sure, all those things are good, but they are not necessary.
Absolutely NO ONE is unworthy of the Rosary.
The prisoner of death row, the nun, the mother, the child, the convert, the sinner, the Rosary is for all of us. It can be great medicine for spiritual illness.
Even if you have wandered from your faith, you really can pick up a Rosary, right now, and pray. After all, Mary brought it down from heaven for us sinners still on Earth.
2. Mary is willing to be with any one of Her children (even you).
I’m not just saying this.
It’s true.
Mary has appeared to nearly every race of people on this Earth, often wearing their native clothing and always calling them her children.
She really does care tremendously for you. Never doubt that you are worthy of her. Ask her to be with you, and she will be.
3. Our prayer will always be imperfect.
I have yet to pray it without my mind wandering at some point.
Sometimes a scene from a TV show floats into my mind. Sometimes I’m making a grocery list…
I try to focus, I always pull myself back and I might be getting a little better, but I am still SO imperfect.
We all are. In fact, today I fell asleep while praying my Rosary. #truth
Just please, don’t get discouraged.
The devil likes to whisper in our ear lies that play on our insecurities when it comes to our imperfect prayer.
Why bother if my mind will only wander? I’ve failed to pray it for a whole week…why bother trying to start praying it again? I’ll probably fall asleep, so it’s not even worth it to start praying, right?
It is worth it, it is valuable and it is important to start again.
Many great saints have remarked on the power of a single Hail Mary said with full truth in Our Blessed Mother.
Even a moment of prayer with her, even a part of it is valuable. Don’t let the devil convince you otherwise.
It is certainly not more important than going to Mass or receiving any of the sacraments, but it can be such beautiful support as we walk through this life of faith.
And that, simply, is what I want for you.
You all remain an intention of my daily Rosary.
Your sister in Christ,
Nancy
Love your post, and we cannot sugar coat the fact that the evil one exists. I wasted so much of my life not praying to God, nor our Blessed Mary, i recite the Holy Rosary, St Michael Chaplet and Divine Mercy daily, if i miss a day or two, i make it up the next day. I am going to share your posts to my CCE students when it starts again in the Fall.
Thank you for the wonderful work that you do, it is appreciated.
Thank you for this lovely reminder on the importance of at least trying to pray the Rosary even if we might be destined to fail. I have gone through seasons where I am really good at praying it everyday and then life happens and I get caught up in the “busyness”, which is what the Evil one wants. Right now I’m in a “busy” period trying desperately to get back to praying the Rosary.
Sometimes when I’m not praying it daily I find myself turning to it when I have a problem and find great comfort in it. Especially if I am having a particularly challenging day as a Mom dealing with kids who can get unruly. Especially now with being cooped up at home because where we live in Canada we are under stay-at-home orders right now. But Mother Mary is always there when you need her the most!
Example:
Late last year I had an encounter with an Evil Presence and I didn’t say the Rosary but I did say a prayer to Mary and instantly the presence was gone. Further reinforcing your point that the Devil doesn’t want us to be under Mary’s protection because he’s afraid of her, not only is he afraid of her but his minions are too.
What a lovely and genuinely rousing post on imploring the rosary. I’ve thought about the things you said about wavering to implore the rosary.
What a beautiful and truly inspiring post on praying the rosary. I’ve thought all of the things you said about hesitating to pray the rosary. This past month though I have felt drawn to Mary and to pray to her, like your story I lost my first born at 23 weeks and prayed to her for comfort and strength. We are all of her children and I felt as a mother to a mother she could help me through my grieving. I think she led me to your page to help me even further. I ordered your booklet and look forward to receiving it to help me in my rosary praying. Thank you for your posts and inspiration.
oh goodness, you’ve lost a baby too. Mary is so good about coming to and using her most humble servants. I hope you find just a little peace and comfort through my humble work. It would be my honor to remember you in prayer. What did you name the baby you lost?
Hello from Warwickshire, England! Two things I just wanted to say:
Firstly, THANK YOU for your wonderful posts. I’m a new reader and arrived on your page after following a link to “25 Lenten promises for wives and mothers”. Such an inspirational start to my Lenten journey and especially valuable as I’m discovering what it is to live Lent as a Mother for the first time this year!
Secondly, I always used to fall asleep praying the Rosary. ALWAYS. And I took that as an indication of how completely calm and safe that prayer made me feel. What a blessing!
In my prayers x
yes! I love this explanation of falling asleep while praying the rosary!
I loved this post depicting the important of rosary prayer. As a human, we sometimes make mistakes unwillingly. This prayer is an excellent way to find peace after it.
Don’t you think the devil fears the Holy Trinity more than he fears Mary? I am a Catholic and I love the Blessed Mother, but sometimes it feels like she is equal to Jesus in some people’s mindset.
Yes, it’s a little confusing. It’s just that since Mary act out of such perfect unity with God and she does the will of God so perfectly, fear of God, from Satan’s perspective, isn’t that much different than the fear of Mary. Where Mary is God is as well.