Today’s feast is that of Our Lady of the Rosary.  This feast day falls on October 7 but Mother Church, desirous to inspire her children concerning the Rosary, permits the celebration of the feast today as the External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary with  commemoration prayers of the 17th Sunday after Pentecost.

Now no Catholic should need to be told what the Rosary is; we all, probably, could use some encouragement to better our daily recitation of the 5 decade Rosary.  Today, we will present some good reasons why we should make a daily habit of praying at least a 5 decade Rosary.

First, the daily Rosary is an excellent means of catechesis.  By recounting the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries of the holy Rosary on a daily basis, we acquire a deeper knowledge of our Savior’s life, sufferings, and glorious entry into heaven where we, too, hope to be.  And, indeed, if we are members of His mystical body, then we should expect not only to be reborn with new life, but we should expect suffering before possessing heaven ourselves.  Praying habitually the Rosary will deepen our understanding of this fact and infuse the graces we need to suffer with increased resignation. 

Besides a teaching aid and a help towards resigning ourselves to embrace our cross, the daily recitation of the Rosary disposes us to receive all manner of graces needed to advance our friendship in Christ. Suppose a man is haunted by a particular vice, a bad habit of his youth or the irritation of a new coworker.  If he but offers up one decade of his daily Rosary to overcome his vice or to persevere in patience towards his neighbor, he will surely achieve victory.  For it is impossible to pray with perseverance and not obtain the goal of that prayer when it involves things of salvation.

And we may also consider that no other prayer so consistently petitions our Lady for assistance than her Rosary.  Again and again and again, we beg our dear Mother, “pray for me now and at the hour of my death.”  Shall a mother ignore the pleas of her children?  Heaven forbid!  By repeatedly asking our Blessed Mother to pray for us she naturally takes a more keen interest in our salvation.  And as we need her help everyday, so is it fitting to ask her everyday for prayers.  But more, we should want her assistance at that most important hour of our life namely, the last hour of our life.  And so we repeat in her Rosary, “pray for me now and at the hour of my death.”  The hour of my death shall be a battle most severe for it will be the devil’s last chance to snatch my soul for hell.  In that hour, all the Rosaries I have prayed with devotion will service my rescue and save me from the pit.  And what joy to hear our Mother say to us, “My child, you have remembered me in your life by committing yourself to my Rosary, now I remember you, enter into the joy of my Son.”

Moreover, by praying a daily Rosary we train ourselves in the presence of God.  Recounting the mysteries and  repeating the prayers of the Rosary, we become more aware of the spiritual realm.  God is ever watching my actions, hearing my words, investigating my thoughts.  When I know this with greater attention, I will sin less and less and less.  This, too, helps advance me in the friendship of Christ.

There is a last and most powerful reason to pray the daily Rosary but I wish to make a comment regarding the posture for Rosary, an excuse for not praying it, and group recitation of the Rosary.

 Now any posture may be used in reciting the Rosary.  Kneeling, however, is the best for that is the position of the beggar and are we not beggars before our Lady?  Some may say, “it hurts and I cannot concentrate.”  That could be true and health reasons must be considered.  But consider our Savior hung on a tree for us, nails through His palms, thorns piercing His skull, fatigued and bones out of joint,... did He stop praying?  No.  If fact, our Savior doubled His prayer by praying on the Cross.  For He prays not just with His lips but in His body.  It is said, “he who sings prays twice.”  It is equally true, “he who fasts prays twice.” Let us not forget, “he who prays while suffering in the flesh, prays twice.”  Our prayer is sweeter when spiced with such slight mortifications as praying on our knees.  So consider this, if not for a whole Rosary perhaps one or two decades, or some number fitting the individual.

Another man says, he doesn’t pray the Rosary more often because he gets nothing out of it.  What is this?  Does not pray the Rosary because he gets no cookie?  How incredible.  Is that how we love?  Does one love only when he gets what he wants when he wants it?  Most certainly by faith we know we shall be rewarded for our devout prayers and sincere attempts to live holy lives... but the rewards will be given by God when He wills and how He wills.  We should not be so selfish to think prayer is only so that I can get what I want when I want it.

And a word about group recitation of the Rosary.  Personally, I do not like to recite the Rosary in a group.  Why is this?  Because commonly it is not as prayerful as a personal meditative Rosary.  Frequently, when the Rosary is said in a group one says this mystery, another that one, and so on... and commonly no one says the Rosary the same way causing me to lose focus.  One says his Rosary as if auctioning an item, “HAIL MARY full of g-r-a-c-e, THE L-O-R-D is with YOU, blesSED are you amONG womEN,...”; another says his Rosary as if shooting a gun, a machine gun, “hailmaryfullofgracelorwithyoublessareyouamongwomen,...”; a third says her Rosary as if she is already in heaven, “HAIL  Mary,...      the Lord...    is...     with...        you,...    blessed...     are you...     among...      women,...”; hearing all this I want to strangle myself.

In a group, the Rosary should be prayed with no attention to self, no flamboyancy, no drama.  Like holy Mass itself, the manner of recital should assist one to deeper his prayer.  Pray the Rosary as if speaking to a dear friend.  That is enough.  Ideally, one person should lead the whole Rosary throughout so as to maintain consistency of tone, flow of words, pauses... all of which service a restful prayer.  But, of course, this is simply a recommendation.

Now that last reason to convict us to pray a daily 5 decade Rosary.  This one we find in today’s reading from the book of Proverbs.  In her wisdom, the Church selects this passage and applies it to our Lady.  Let us read it with that in mind.  “Now, therefore, children hear me.”  Is Mary not our mother and we her children?  “...blessed are they who keep my ways, hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not.”  What does our Lady ask of us?  “Blessed is the man who hears me,” do we pray the Rosary in a manner conducive to hearing the voice of our Lady?  “...and who watches daily at my gates, and waits at the posts of my doors.”  We watch daily when we daily pray her Rosary.  There, at her gates, waiting by her door posts, we petition Mary for our needs and ask her to bring us to her Son.  “He who shall find me shall find life.”  Indeed, Mary wishes to bring us to Christ who said in another place, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Finally, the passage ends,  “...and shall have salvation from the Lord.” 

Praying a daily Rosary, we daily watch at Mary’s gates.  She shall find us there and take us to her Son wherein we shall obtain our salvation.  The most powerful reason for praying a daily Rosary is that it is a mark of a predestined soul... and who is there that does not want heaven?