{"id":13560,"date":"2012-03-26T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=13560"},"modified":"2012-03-26T10:50:59","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T15:50:59","slug":"the-rosary-inc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/03\/the-rosary-inc\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rosary, Inc"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"The Rosary, Incorporated \u2013 a crazy new business venture? Nope! I\u2019m talking about the Rosary, incorporated<\/em> in to our LIFE! \u00a0During this time of Lent,\u00a0as we revamp our prayer lives, let us give some attention to the rosary! How we can incorporate the rosary into our lives so that praying it is more practical, constant, organic and effective<\/em>?<\/p>\n

First off, the Rosary is not only for elderly women, such the ones I see praying the rosary before the 7:30am daily mass at St Ignatius even starts. These women are true saints, I can barely get to the mass on time, let alone come 30 minutes early! Getting up super early and praying a whole rosary before daily mass will not be practical for most of us.<\/p>\n

How could praying the rosary be more practical? Start slow, and start easy. We can start by offering a decade of the rosary a day – just ten Hail Marys a day \u2013 and slowly build our way up. Or we can start with just one rosary a week, prayed on a day when we have more time. Don\u2019t try to jump from nothing to a 5am rosary every single day, I promise you\u2019ll be worn out and discouraged after a week. We have to learn to pray by praying, through taking small practical steps! Where can we practically incorporate<\/em> a decade a day?<\/p>\n

Starting slowly and building up slowly makes the Rosary a constant<\/em> prayer experience. It creates a rhythm of prayer that is steady – as opposed to trying to add too much to our prayer life too fast, so that the fire burns out too soon. Constancy in prayer is essential. Pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We need to drink daily and deeply from that spring of life-giving water — not wait until we are entirely dehydrated to quench our thirst. To determine how constant we actually are, we must examine our consciences at the end of each night and honestly admit whether or not we held to our commitment, and then ask for the grace to do better tomorrow.<\/p>\n

What does organic prayer<\/em> mean? A useful definition of organic is \u201ccharacteristic of, pertaining to\u2026 living\u00a0organisms<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0We can rephrase that for our \u00a0as \u201ccharacteristic of living human beings (we are organisms), pertaining to life.\u201d Organic prayer means prayer that fosters life, is in harmony with life, corresponds to our way of being, and does not work against life.<\/em> Some people (especially those looking in from the outside, so to speak) can tend to see the rosary as formulaic, constricting, monotonous and stagnant. And we certainly could treat it that way and thus gain no spiritual fruits from praying it. We must pray the rosary in an organic way that incorporates our life into our praying, in a way that opens the prayer to the Holy Spirit and the inner workings of our souls.<\/p>\n

One way to pray the Rosary organically is to offer each decade for the different concerns in our hearts. For example offer a decade for our loved ones, one for what stresses us out, one for the decisions we have to make, one for the causes we care about. The Rosary is so powerful, and the Blessed Mother so magnanimous, that we don\u2019t have to worry about putting too many intentions into one rosary or one decade!<\/p>\n

We must also open our eyes to see how each different mystery has a unique message for us. The mysteries are about Christ\u2019s life, yes, but through Him they are intimately and organically connected to our lives! What is Mary saying to us at the Wedding at Cana when she says, \u201cDo whatever he tells you\u201d? (The Second Luminous Mystery) Where do we need the Holy Spirit to descend into our life? (The Third Glorious Mystery). What cross is burdening us at the moment? (The Fourth Sorowful Mystery). In this way, we live the Mysteries with Christ and his Mother.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, we can be open to when and where we pray! We do not have to be kneeling in the pew before an image of Our Lady or before the Eucharist (though those are perfect places to pray!). We can say a decade on the way to work, instead of fuming about the traffic (I keep a small decade rosary in my car within easy reach). We can say a few Hail Marys walking to check the mail, or while we sweep the kitchen, or kneeling by the bed at night. I can\u2019t tell you how many days I\u2019ve prayed consecutive Hail Marys from my car door to the door of my job before walking in! That\u2019s organic, connected to life, not restricted or arbitrary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This organic incorporation makes our praying the rosary more effective — meaning that we really start to feel the graces from the prayer, and see the change it makes in our daily living. Not that we\u2019ll see our prayers fulfilled immediately (I hope we all know it doesn\u2019t work like that), but we will be different, we will feel different, and we will live different.<\/p>\n

I reached a point, after months of praying the rosary like this, when I realized I thirsted to pray it. Instead of having to put forth tons of effort to pray or feeling like I would rather be doing something else, I reached a point where if I hadn\u2019t prayed my daily rosary yet, I felt an odd sensation of expectation and necessity not unlike what you feel when need to eat or sleep, or haven\u2019t been physically active in a while \u2013 like you depend on what\u2019s coming and it\u2019s a part of your routine and you know you need it to have a full, complete day. I felt I needed to pray the rosary, and truly wanted to. And after praying it, my heart, mind, body and soul were satisfied.<\/p>\n

To return to my tongue-in-cheek title, the rosary is a bit like a business venture in that unless you INVEST in the Rosary, Inc, you won\u2019t get anything in return! And the MORE you invest, the MORE you\u2019ll receive in return \u2013 and with this venture there is absolutely no risk. The Blessed Mother is always infinitely more generous than we are, meaning that however small our efforts are or however tiny the offering we give her, she always faithfully gives back in abundance, and always beyond what we would ever hope to ask!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Rosary, Incorporated \u2013 a crazy new business venture? Nope! I\u2019m talking about the Rosary, incorporated in to our LIFE! \u00a0During this time of Lent,\u00a0as we revamp our prayer lives, let us give some attention to the rosary! How we can incorporate the rosary into our lives so that praying it is more practical,… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[50,591,74,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-13560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-faith-blog","7":"tag-faith","8":"tag-lent","9":"tag-prayer","10":"tag-rosary","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":155538,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/friendship-with-mary-teresian-prayer-and-the-rosary\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":0},"title":"Friendship with Mary: Teresian Prayer and the Rosary","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"October 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The rosary has been a part of my spiritual life since I learned it from my first husband, Blaze, during our courtship, years before I was ever Catholic (or Christian at all.) It became a natural part of my daily life over the years and has grown and changed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rosary made by Shawna Marcontel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_1177-e1444105559518-127x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":146909,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/making-rosary-fun-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":1},"title":"Making the Rosary Fun for Kids","author":"Adam Shaivitz","date":"September 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's never too early for children to learn how to say the Rosary. Here's some documented evidence: That was my younger daughter when she was just two-and-a-half years old. I didn't know how (or have any desire) to say the Rosary until well into my 30s, so let's not make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-xG7Jy2OahLA\/Ves8dCFmMCI\/AAAAAAAACRY\/0eFpN_ZHl_Y\/s500\/Photo%25252020150905140256836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":190019,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/street-evangelization-in-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":2},"title":"Street Evangelization in Austin","author":"Robert Lindberg","date":"January 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, I attended training for street evangelization. At the end of the training class, we went out into downtown Austin to put this into practice. This experience reminds me of a middle school dance. It all started with spending the day learning to dance. We went through the mechanics and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Social Justice"","block_context":{"text":"Social Justice","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/social-justice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Sixth_Street_Austin-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Sixth_Street_Austin-550x413.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Sixth_Street_Austin-550x413.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":158944,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/joyful-mysteries-of-the-rosary-audio\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":3},"title":"Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary [Audio]","author":"ATX Catholic","date":"October 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Join us in the Joyful mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Each mystery is led by one of our contributors. [powerpress] The First Joyful Mystery THE ANNUNCIATION - Shawn Chapman The Second Joyful Mystery THE VISITATION -\u00a0Brit Echtenkamp The Third Joyful Mystery THE NATIVITY -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"JoyfulMysteries","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/JoyfulMysteries-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/JoyfulMysteries-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/JoyfulMysteries-550x275.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":181178,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/in-the-spirit-of-advent\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":4},"title":"In the Spirit of Advent","author":"Ablaze Ministries","date":"December 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year during Advent, the Johnson clan leads a church-wide food drive.\u00a0 We ask our church community to draw a family from our sister parish in downtown Houston and pray for them, give them boxes of food, and maybe get them a present or two.\u00a0 Then two Uhauls get filled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Advent-CCFM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Advent-CCFM-550x366.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":966959,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/blessed-isidore-bakanja-martyr-of-the-brown-scapular\/","url_meta":{"origin":13560,"position":5},"title":"Blessed Isidore Bakanja – Martyr of the Brown Scapular","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"June 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Blessed Isidore Bakanja is the first martyr of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel whose feast we celebrate on Monday, July 16th. \u00a0Isidore Bakanja was a young black teenage martyr from the Boangi tribe in Zaire, Africa with plenty of zeal, valor, and faith for the gospel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/image1-116x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}