Category: Rosary

Our world is full of noise, busyness, and people competing for our attention. Amid all the chaos and confusion, we yearn for peace and clarity. God wants us to be happy, he wants us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, and he wants us to take one step closer to him each day. The Rosary is a spiritual exercise designed to help us hear the voice of God more clearly in our lives.

Today: In a journal, on a piece of paper, or on your phone, take five minutes today to make a list of all the sources of “noise” in your life – anything that might be distracting you from the peace and clarity you long for.

There are different seasons in our lives. There are different seasons in our spiritual journeys. The Rosary has played varying roles in my life and in my spirituality, but it has always had a place. When I have had the desire, discipline, or grace to pray the Rosary, it has always borne fruit. The Rosary teaches us how to just be, and that is not a small or insignificant lesson. In some ways, it is the perfect prayer for busy people in a busy, noisy, confused world.

Today: Think about what season of life you are in. Describe the season of your spiritual journey. Growing in awareness of where you are now is a great starting point for this program.

There is more to praying the Rosary than just saying the prayers. Anyone can say the Rosary—just teach them the words and they can rattle them off. But authentic prayer requires mindfulness and intentionality. There are many ways to pray the Rosary. You may choose to focus on a word or a phrase. Another way to pray the Rosary is with the Scriptures. I also find it very fruitful to offer each decade for a person or a special intention. But whatever you choose, remember: the mind can only focus on one thing at a time. Trying to focus on more

than one thing at a time most likely will make the Rosary an exhausting exercise.

Today: Reflect on the different ways that you can go deeper than just saying the prayers of the Rosary and choose one way to start.

I love Christmas. People are different during this season. There seems to be more of a spirit of goodwill in the world. I am different. There is a peace and a joy that are unattainable through the things of this world, and we find it in the nativity with Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus. God gives us a new beginning, a fresh start, freely and without merit.

Today: Let’s exercise our spiritual senses and imagine that it is the night when Jesus is born. Place yourself there in Bethlehem on that holy night. Who will you imagine yourself as?

How often do we decide that a particular rule or law doesn’t apply to us? When we drive faster than the speed limit or leave our phones on when we’re on a plane or in a theater, we are really saying, “That law doesn’t apply to me.” To whom are you willing to be obedient? We are allergic to the very word. It seems we are obedient only to our own desires. No wonder we have such a hard time surrendering in obedience to the will of God. The word obedience comes

from the Latin word obedire, which means “to listen deeply.” By listening deeply we can see the wisdom of God’s way.

Today: Pray two decades of the Rosary today.

Think about when your wallet or your keys go missing. You panic at the possibility that they are lost or stolen, but most of the time you have just misplaced them. These are just things. And yet, so often we lose Jesus in our own lives and don’t even notice. It might be days or weeks before we realize that we have lost him.

Today: Reflect on a time in your life when you lost Jesus. How did it affect you? How did you find him again? Do you need to find Jesus in your life now?