To be clear, although I am Catholic, I do not condemn others nor think of myself as “better” than denominations of Christianity. I was born and raised Catholic. However, from 8 years old until approximately 30 years of age, I was not a practicing Catholic. Why? The simple answer is…my family stopped going to Church. I’ve thought about this a lot and around the same time our church attendance ceased, my grandfather passed away unexpectedly. I’ve always believed in Jesus Christ but I was more “new age” and utilized statements such as, “I feel that I can have a one on one relationship with Jesus. I don’t believe in religion.”
While many people continue to follow this rhetoric, I feel much differently now after years of research, prayer, church attendance, etc. The term religion is defined as having a relationship with God. Feel free to reference the dictionary or Google. It is my perspective that individuals get hung up on this term as if it were a negative thing. My journey back to Christ wasn’t an easy one. I had to unravel and peel back layers of conditioning that I allowed the news, social constructs, and social media to perform on my mind.
The one tool I have grown to love is the rosary. For years, I’ve heard that using the rosary was considered idolatry. In spite of that, I was eager to learn of its history and the proper way to implement its use in my prayer life. I will preface this topic by mentioning that wearing the rosary could be portrayed as idolatry and is not a piece of jewelry to be worn. (I’ve seen this a lot)
What is the rosary used for? It is used to meditate on the entire life of Jesus Christ, the passion, death, resurrection and glory. I was skeptical at first also. Despite by skepticism, I continued to practice and began to see a change in my prayer life, my belief, and overall relationship with the Lord. Once I learned the prayers and repeated them throughout the use of my rosary, I found myself in a calm and meditative state which further allowed me to dive into devotion. The Rosary, Pope Leo XIII declared, “is composed of two parts, distinct but inseparable — the meditation on the mysteries and the recitation of the prayers. It is thus a kind of prayer that requires not only some raising of the soul to God, but also a particular and explicit attention” (Incunda semper).
Catholics receive a lot of backlash due to our prayers for Mother Mary’s intercession. You may not agree with it and that’s perfectly fine. I respect your beliefs. I, on the other hand, look at her as our Mother in heaven. She is, in fact, the Mother of God and is loved and adored by her son Jesus Christ. I will continue to venerate Mother Mary. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s go over the mysteries.
The Joyful Mysteries (Monday & Saturday)
- The Annunciation of the Lord to Mary
- The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
- The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
- The Presentation of our Lord
- Finding Jesus in the Temple at age 12
The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday & Friday)
- The Agony of Jesus in the Garden
- The Scourging at the Pillar
- Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
- Jesus Carried the Cross
- The Crucifixion of our Lord
The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday & Sunday)
- The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
- The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven
- The Descent of the Holy Spirit
- The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
- Mary is Crowned as Queen of Heaven & Earth
The Luminous Mysteries (Thursday)
- The Baptism in the Jordan
- The Wedding at Cana
- The Proclamation of the Kingdom
- The Transfiguration
- The Institution of the Eucharist
My goal and hope is to bring Christians together to learn to love regardless of our differences and approaches. One thing is for certain, we all keep Jesus Christ at the center of our lives. Until the next time, God bless you!