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More On The Brown Scapular…

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Gary Zimak

On today’s episode of the Following The Truth radio show, I discussed the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. As promised, here is some additional information:

The history of the brown scapular and requirements for wearing it (from EWTN).

Here are the 2 books I referred to:

The Scapular of Mount Carmel (comes with a scapular).

Mary In Her Scapular Promise (originally published in 1940)

Here is the Doctrinal Statement from the Congregation of Divine Worship:

The Doctrinal Statement on the Brown Scapular (11/29/96)

Choose from an assortment of scapulars offered for purchase by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods:

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Brown Scapular

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Brown Scapular with Miracul

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Brown Scapular

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Brown Scapular with St Bene

St. Pio Brown Scapular

Scapular Sterling Round Medal

Miraculous Scapular Sterling Silver Medal

Scapular Medal, Sterling Silver

Sterling Scapular Medals

Posted in devotion, devotions, Marian, Mary, sacramentals, scapular | Comments Off

I’m pleased to present a “guest blogger”, Robyn Greco. More than just a friend, Robyn is an inspiration to me and so many others. I know you’ll enjoy the powerful story of how she is offering up her suffering as a Sick and Suffering Co-Worker of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Please keep her in your prayers.

The Goodness of God and the Blessing of the Missionaries of Charity

Most people are aware of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her work. If you are not, I would suggest visiting MotherTeresa.org to learn about her life – it’s truly extraordinary. I’ve had a deep love and devotion to Blessed Mother Teresa for many years and I am in love with the way that she loved others just as Jesus did and admire her deep affection for (and obedience to) the Catholic Church. Mother loved people of all faiths, all races, and all stations in life. Everyone to her was the same, just as Jesus loves us all the same. No one is better, no one is less. Because of her love for Jesus and His Church, she created The Missionaries of Charity. In short, after the enormous response to the work of the Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa created a group called The Sick and Suffering Co-Workers of the Missionaries of Charity. This branch of the order is for people who are not physically capable of becoming a Missionary of Charity due to illness, but still want to be part of the Work, as Mother Teresa always called it…God’s Work.

The responsibility and vow of a Sick and Suffering Co-Worker of the Missionaries of Charity is to pray and offer one’s sickness and daily suffering to the Lord for the good of one specific Missionary of Charity anywhere in the world. Each Sick and Suffering Co-Worker is assigned a sister somewhere in the world and, in turn, that specific sister will pray daily for her Sick and Suffering Co-Worker. Mother Teresa always called her own personal Sick and Suffering Co-Worker, “her other self” because she believed that these people were just as important to the Work (and as much a part of the Missionaries of Charity) as are the professed sisters. She relied heavily on the prayers of her “other self”, as it allowed those too ill to become a professed Missionary of Charity the ability to share in the Work and as Mother would say, “Do something beautiful for God”

I have been ill with a disease called Lyme Disease for almost twenty years. I struggle daily with the inability to swallow most solid foods and experience pain (sometimes severe) in all parts of my body, as well as migraine headaches. I have prayed through the years for the Lord to heal me, but thus far a healing has not come. It took me quite some time, but in the last few years (through the mercy of our Lord), I have come to accept God’s Will for my life. I feel, through lots and lots of prayer, that God is asking me to be patient and to continue in my suffering. I know that will sound insane to some, but I believe and know that God uses all human suffering for good. I accept His Will and know that, although I may not know or understand how the Lord is using my suffering, someone is receiving grace because of it.

I have always wanted to be a Missionary of Charity. For many many years, I have followed, listened to, and learned about Blessed Mother Teresa, the Work, and The Missionaries of Charity. I have longed to be part of this wonderful work and to be able to participate in doing “something beautiful for God”, but how could that be? I am married and not of good health. I thought about donating money, but The Missionaries of Charity do not accept donations and I really do not have much to offer. After much prayer and no real answer I figured it was just impossible, so I put it in the back of my thoughts. To my surprise, about two weeks ago I found myself emailing back and forth with a sister located in India (the location of the mother house of the Missionaries of Charity) about Blessed Mother Teresa, her life, the Work and inquired about obtaining a relic. The conversation somehow turned to me and my illness. I am still not sure how this even happened. After that email I didn’t hear anything back from her.

Last week I received another email from this lovely sister and to my absolute surprise, Sister asked me if I would like to become a Sick and Suffering Co-Worker of the Missionaries of Charity! My heart skipped a few beats and I felt like I had been reborn. In that very moment the sickness and pain I was feeling didn’t seem to matter…It was as if I was out of my own skin. I didn’t feel it! I believe that I experienced pure joy – a joy that can only come from the Lord Himself. For me, becoming a Sick and Suffering Co-Worker is the most important thing that has ever happened to me in my forty two years. There have been many good things that have happened in my years but nothing comes even close to the joy and peace I feel because of this most abundant, pure blessing that God has given to me.

God has given me tangible proof that my years of sufferings have not gone unnoticed by Him, that He has been with me all the time and will continue to be. He is allowing me to use my suffering for something I have longed to be part of, but had no way of making possible. In His mercy and love, the Father has granted me the privilege to share in the suffering of his Son, our Lord Jesus, on the Cross. By willingly uniting my suffering with Christ’s, I can STILL be happy and peaceful through my pain and sickness. I will still pray and ask for a healing, but my new vocation as a Sick and Suffering Co-Worker of the Missionaries of Charity sustains me. If a physical healing never comes, I am already healed in ways that the world will never understand.

Posted in guest blogger, inspiration, suffering | 4 Comments

A Story Of Courage And An Urgent Prayer Request

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Gary Zimak

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord works in my life. I often think that I’m doing something for one reason, only to realize that the Lord was attempting to accomplish something completely different by my actions. As many of you know, I’m a full time Catholic lay evangelist. As you can imagine, it’s not easy to earn a living in this line of work. It requires a great deal of trust in God’s Providence (I’m still working on that!) and a close relationship with the Lord (working on that too!). In order to earn some additional income, I’ve been exploring various affiliate programs, which will allow me to earn a percentage of all sales referred by my website. Yesterday, I signed up with ChristianShirts.net and put their link on my website.

I started browsing their site more closely (in order to make sure nothing conflicted with Catholic teaching) and I was startled to see the following message:

Due to the loss of our baby, orders placed recently, today, and in the near future will be delayed. I appreciate your patience. Please pray for us at this difficult time. -Rachelle

I said a prayer and then I followed a link which explained the entire story of Rachelle’s pregnancy and subsequent loss of her child. You can read the full story here (and I recommend that you do because it’s powerful), but in summary:

Rachelle had chemotherapy in her teens, which put her at risk for heart complications during pregnancy. Unfortunately that’s exactly what happened during her pregnancy. She went to a high risk obstetrician, who informed Rachelle that there was a 50 percent chance of her dying if she continued on with the pregnancy. Devastated by the news, this young woman was not prepared for what she heard next. In her words…

She began by holding my hand and asking what religion I was. I replied Catholic, and she said “Let me tell you what I know about God. God is loving and forgiving, and He will understand if you have an abortion.” She added that she had worked in a cardiac clinic and had seen many Catholic women die for the decision to continue with a pregnancy. We had already mentioned that we did not want to terminate, yet she pressed on, even reminding me that I would not want to leave my 18-month-old son without a mother. She made it clear that I would most likely end up in the hospital for several weeks – maybe months – and we had to prepare for that. There was no compassion, no caring about my unborn child that was already loved and very much wanted. When we continued to explain to her that we were not going to have an abortion, she mocked our beliefs and told me that I had better start praying. I left that appointment distraught and beside myself. It was enough to take in that I had a 50% chance of survival, yet to be coerced to try to get me to have an abortion on top of that was just too much.

As if hearing this from her doctor wasn’t bad enough, Rachelle was also encouraged by some family members to abort her child. She refused, stating “I was willing to risk my life for my unborn child. In my eyes, it was no different than risking my life for my born child.” One week later, an ultrasound revealed that her baby had died. Rachelle is currently undergoing further testing on her heart to determine the prognosis for future pregnancies.

In the First Reading from today’s Mass, God used the unaware Assyrians to punish his disobedient people. In a similar way I think he used me as I searched for new funding sources for my work. I thought that I was simply entering into an agreement with a great Catholic company struggling to do the Lord’s work, but more importantly, I experienced a powerful witness of trust in God’s Providence (which I really needed!) and I discovered a woman desperately in need of prayer. I’d ask you to kindly keep Rachelle and her family in your prayers and please consider making a donation for travel and burial expenses. I’ll close with Rachelle’s powerful words…

We think of our business more as a ministry – spreading Pro-life and Christian messages through affordable clothing which will spark conversation – and we make barely enough to pay our bills. It is not about the money. However, we are planning on traveling out of state at some point to bury our baby in the same cemetery where all of our relatives are buried. This will leave us behind in a lot of ways, but we believe it is well worth it for our spiritual and emotional healing. If you find it in your heart to donate for travel and burial expenses, we greatly appreciate it. If you would prefer to donate to a pro-life organization in our baby?s name (which we will announce when we decide on a name), please let us know so we can send a thank you.

More than donations, please keep us in your prayers. I have a long road ahead of me with my heart condition, and we are still praying that testing might reveal that my heart is strong enough to withstand another pregnancy.

Posted in abortion, Catholic Life, Christian Living, faith, family, fear, prayer, pro-life, products, trust | Comments Off

Welcome To Aquinas & More Catholic Goods!

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Gary Zimak

I’m pleased to announce that Following The Truth has become an official affiliate of Aquinas & More Catholic Goods! This means that every time you visit their site (by using the link from Following The Truth), I will earn a commission from your purchases. This will help to ensure that my full time work spreading the “Good News” of the Catholic Faith will continue!

When I originally founded Following The Truth, one of my goals was to recommend AUTHENTIC Catholic resources (books, websites, religious items) to help people learn more about the Catholic Faith and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As a result, I carefully screen each recommended vendor or product to ensure that they are not in conflict with Catholic teaching. In addition to the fact that your purchases will help keep Following The Truth and Aquinas & More alive, here are a few reasons (taken directly from their website) why I’m so pleased to be associated with Aquinas & More and why I’d encourage you to purchase your Catholic goods from them:

About Aquinas and More
Aquinas and More Catholic Goods is centrally located in Colorado Springs, CO. We carry thousands of products ranging from books and videos to chalices and church furnishings. The store was started by Ian Rutherford in 2002 and is owned and run by his family and friends. The store name comes from two famous Catholic saints, Thomas Aquinas and Thomas More. The ox head in our logo is a symbol of St. Thomas Aquinas who was called ?The Dumb Ox? because he was a very quiet student, and rather large.

Their Mission
Our mission is to provide the tools necessary for Catholics and non-Catholics to learn more about the Faith and for Catholics to deepen their Faith. This goal will be achieved by providing a clear, unapologetic presentation of the faith and quality Catholic products that are beautiful, fairly priced and helpful to those who want to get to Heaven.

Good Faith Guarantee
Our Good Faith Guarantee is our latest way to help you, our customers, feel secure when shopping on our website. We always want you to rest assured that we are carefully screening the material we carry so you don’t have to. Any item that carries this logo on its details page next to the item’s picture is guaranteed to be in conformity with official Church teaching. We believe that as a Catholic store our mission is to clearly present the Faith, not to confuse people or promote material just because it is popular. When you see this logo next to a vestment or liturgical vessel, it means that the item conforms to current liturgical norms.

We will not carry products that:

Are written by dissident authors
Concern unapproved apparitions
Concern visions and locutions by people who have not been declared at least Venerable by the Church
Promote heretical theology

Examples of authors, subjects and titles we will not carry:

Fr. Richard Rohr
Fr. Charles Curran
Sr. Chittister
Fr. Richard McBrien
Poem of the Man God
Mejugorje
Bayside

If you’d like some more reasons to shop at Aquinas & More, you can read them here. I have never seen a Catholic goods store so careful about the products that they carry. I’d kindly ask you to use them as your source of Catholic goods and please remember to access their site from the Following The Truth website. By doing so, you’ll help keep us both afloat as we continue to proclaim the Gospel message. THANK YOU!!!

Posted in books, Catholic Life, Catholicism, Following The Truth, fundraising, products | Comments Off

This Week On Following The Truth With Gary Zimak…

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Gary Zimak

It’s going to be another exciting week (7/16 – 7/20) on the Following The Truth radio show.

Here’s the lineup…

Monday (Understanding The Mass – The Liturgy of the Word) – Last week, we looked at the Introductory Rites of the Mass. This week’s focus is on the Liturgy of the Word. We’ll discuss the readings, Responsorial Psalm, Gospel, Homily, Creed and the Prayer of the Faithful. Using the book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass by Dr. Edward Sri, we’ll unlock the mystery and illustrate God’s presence in the Liturgy of the Word!

A Biblical Walk Through the Mass Book

Tuesday (How To Listen When God Is Speaking) – How come God never speaks to me? That question can often be answered with another question…are you listening? Join us as we continue looking at the book, How to Listen When God Is Speaking by Fr. Mitch Pacwa. If you are trying to make a decision in accordance with God’s Will, you don’t want to miss this weekly series!

How to Listen When God Is Speaking

Wednesday (Reflecting On Human Misery) – Let’s face it – life can be difficult. Each day, we experience a new set of challenges and temptations. In his book, Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis urges us to focus on the rewards of eternal life, rather than envy others for “having it easier”. We’ll discuss it on this show.

Thursday (The Brown Scapular) – Far from being a superstition, the brown scapular is a powerful sacramental which helps us to better utilize Mary’s help in our lives. Gary will explain the origin of the devotion, share why he wears a scapular and discuss its importance.

Friday (Learning To Deny Yourself) – In his book, The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls Who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time, Fr. Lawrence Lovasik discusses the importance of learning to deny ourselves. In the second half of the show, we’ll read and discuss the Mass Readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Now approaching 50,000 listens since first going on the air in late 2010, the Following The Truth radio show has become a nightly part of many people’s spiritual routine. Listen for yourself and see what all the fuss is about!

Posted in Following The Truth, radio | Comments Off

Why I Wear A Scapular

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Gary Zimak

On this day, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Tradition tells us that Our Lady presented St. Simon Stock with the brown scapular in 1251. Just what is a scapular? According to the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy:

The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

Even though I am a cradle Catholic and have always gone to Mass regularly, I used to think that people who wore scapulars were a little flaky. Rather than just be “normal” like me, I believed that those “scapular wearers” were oddballs who embraced apparitions and phony visions of the Blessed Mother. Why can’t they just be “regular” Catholics, like me instead of believing in something superstitious like the scapular? Most of all, I would never wear a scapular because someone might see it and think I’m weird.

How do I feel now? Every morning I kiss my brown scapular and say to Our Lady, “Blessed Mother, I am all thine and all that I have is thine!” I then put on the powerful sacramental knowing that Mary will help me to stay close to Jesus as I do battle with the forces of evil (and don’t kid yourself…they are all around us!) that threaten me constantly. I wear Our Lady’s scapular because it is a sacramental which better disposes me to receive the grace that I need to be a better Christian. I am proud that I wear the scapular and I hope people see it for what it is, a visible sign of my love for Mary and my trust in her intercessory powers. Most importantly, I wear the scapular because I am a comfort-loving, cowardly, self-centered sinner and I desperately need Mary’s help to keep me close to her Son and help me remain on the road that will lead to Eternal Life in Heaven.

That’s why I wear a scapular!

Posted in Blessed Mother, Catholic Life, Catholicism, devotions, Marian, Mary, Mother of God, sacramentals | 50 Comments

Last Week On Following The Truth…

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Gary Zimak

In case you missed any of last week’s episodes of the Following The Truth radio show, here’s what we discussed:

Sunday (Sunday Sunset) – A 15 minute show designed to close out the Lord’s Day and get you ready for the week to come. We’ll pray the Night Prayer (from the Liturgy of the Hours) and briefly reflect on Sunday’s readings.

Monday (Understanding The Mass – The Introductory Rites) – Why do we now say “And With Your Spirit” instead of “And Also With You”? Why do we ask for mercy 3 times? What is the purpose of the Gloria? We’ll answer these and many more questions, using the book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass (Book): Understanding What We Say and Do In The Liturgy by Dr. Edward Sri.

Tuesday (How To Listen When God Is Speaking) – How come God never speaks to me? That question can often be answered with another question…are you listening? Join us as we begin looking at the book, How to Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics by Fr. Mitch Pacwa. If you are trying to make a decision in accordance with God’s Will, you don’t want to miss this weekly series!

Wednesday (The Importance Of Silence And Solitude) – In an increasingly noisy and busy world, it’s difficult to find the time or the place to be silent. In his book, Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis has a lot to say about the importance of silence and solitude. We’ll discuss it on this show.

Thursday (10 Tips For Praying The Rosary) – Taken from various sources, we’ll present 10 great tips to help you PRAY and not just SAY the rosary. If you struggle with this great prayer, be sure to listen!

You can listen to what you missed by using the BlogTalkRadio player below!

Listen to internet radio with Gary Zimak on Blog Talk Radio

Posted in Following The Truth, radio | Comments Off

Dear Lord…Thank You For My Enemies!

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Gary Zimak

For the most part, people who read my blog care about becoming more spiritual. If I had to guess, I’d say that the vast majority of my readers are just like me…Catholics who want to learn more about the Church’s teachings and grow closer to Christ. Despite wanting to follow the Lord’s commands, however, some of us tend to struggle with pride and often have a bit of a short fuse. Speaking for myself, there are times when I conveniently overlook (or even ignore) some of the core teachings of Jesus Christ because of my pride. In my opinion, one of the Lord’s most difficult teachings is the following:

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

The words of Christ are clear and there’s really no wiggle room…He’s telling us to love not just those who love us back, not just those who ignore us, not just those who annoy us, but OUR ENEMIES! That means those who threaten us, insult us, curse at us and even want to harm us physically. That’s a really powerful and challenging commandment. It’s also one I fail at (to some degree) every day and I know I’m not alone. If we’re going to get to Heaven, however, this is a command that we’re going to have to understand and follow. Rather than look at this challenge negatively, let’s turn the tables and address it in a more positive way. As crazy as it sounds, I propose that we learn to thank God for our enemies. Once we begin to do so, we’ll find it a lot easier to love them. Why should we be thankful for our enemies?

They Allow Us To Be More Like Christ – As Christians, we should be striving to imitate Jesus at all times. Reading through the Bible will remind us of just how many enemies He had. His teaching was rejected, He was thrown out of towns, He was threatened and challenged, and finally, He was humiliated, tortured and put to death. By experiencing rejection and hatred, we can share in Our Lord’s suffering and understand some of what He experienced. Without enemies, this would not be possible.

They Let Us Love As Jesus Loved – Can you imagine enduring what Jesus went through and still being able to say, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)? To a lesser degree, every time we love someone who offends us, we love as Christ loved. When we forgive those who offend us, we imitate Jesus.

They Help Us Conquer Our Pride – I like to be “right”, especially when someone tells me that I’m “wrong”. When challenged about a variety of issues, I have a tendency to want to win the argument. Often that desire (even when trying to defend the Faith) causes me to fall into sin. By learning to walk away and let someone else “win”, I become a bit more humble. Now, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t proclaim the truth – not at all! We should (especially when it comes to the teachings of the Church), but we must always keep in mind that our words aren’t responsible for converting others. Rather, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit. If we plant some seeds and get rejected, that’s OK. We did our job…God will do the rest.

They Remind Us Of God’s Mercy – When people attack me, I remember all of the times that I attacked others. Throughout my life, I’ve treated many people unfairly. My words and actions have often be hurtful and offensive. I’ve been sarcastic and arrogant. But, in spite of it all, Jesus never stopped loving me and was always ready to forgive me. I should do the same for others.

They Are Often Right – Although it can be sheer torture, the accusations and insults of our enemies often open our eyes to the fact that we’re wrong. We can become so blinded by our sinful habits that we don’t even notice them. Sincerely listening to the words of our enemies, even though they may sting, can make us see that we need to make some changes in our lives. That is an invaluable gift.

Loving our enemies is challenging, but is necessary if we expect to get to Heaven. With God’s grace and by learning to appreciate their presence in our lives, we can better live our Catholic Faith and be an example to those around us. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to have enemies!

Posted in Catholic Life, charity, Christian Living, forgiveness, love, peace | 4 Comments

10 Great Tips To Help You PRAY (not just SAY) The Rosary!

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Gary Zimak

I’ve always found praying the Rosary to be difficult. Although I love the Blessed Mother and understand the importance of the devotion, it just doesn’t come easy to me. In reality, I have no problem SAYING the prayers, the problem arises in transforming the words into a heartfelt prayer. Furthermore, many books tell us how to SAY to Rosary, with only a few instructing us how we should PRAY it. In an attempt to discover the “secret” of this beloved prayer, I’ve done a lot of research and uncovered 10 great (I can say that in all humility because they’re not mine!) tips to help you PRAY (not just SAY) the Rosary!

1. Less Is More – In his book, The Rosary of Our Lady, Msgr. Romano Guardini offers the following advice:

“It is not necessary to ramble through the whole Rosary; it is better to say only one or two decades, and to say them right.”

Talk about removing the pressure! I’ve always struggled to make sure I complete the entire Rosary, even if it meant that I wasn’t paying attention. Now I realize that quality is more important than quantity.

2. You Are Not Alone – A great proponent of Marian devotion, St. Louis de Montfort urges us to be aware of our company while praying the rosary. In The Secret of the Rosary, Montfort reminds us that, when we pray the Rosary, we should put ourselves in God’s presence and imagine that He (along with the Blessed Mother) is watching us and that our guardian angel is standing to our right. If we say the prayers well, our angel will use them to make crowns for Jesus and Mary. Thinking about this before beginning to pray helps us to realize that we are doing A LOT more than just repeating pious words!

3. Watch What You Say – St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, contributes a simple, but often overlooked suggestion. He encourages us to pronounce each Our Father and Hail Mary clearly and without rushing. In doing so, we will better express our love for Mary and Jesus. When praying the Rosary, it’s easy to fall into the trap of mumbling and our rushing through the prayers. Remembering that the Our Father was handed down to us from Jesus and that most of the Hail Mary is taken directly from Scripture should help us to recall that the words DO mean something!

4. Been There, Done That – When we look at Mary’s life, we sometimes overlook her many struggles. Like us, Mary was forced to endure suffering and difficulties, often without a lot of explanation. Being the Mother of God didn’t make her all knowing. The Bible tells us that Mary experienced confusion and had to seek understanding through prayer. In her book, The Splendor of the Rosary, Maisie Ward (Catholic author, publisher and wife of noted apologist Frank Sheed) stated:

“In the Rosary we rejoice, sorrow and triumph with Our Lady as she walks the same path we have to walk. But now she has reached the end.”

When we pray the Rosary, we should remember that Mary understands our problems and confusion. By meditating on the events in her life and the life of her Son, we can obtain help for our daily struggles from someone who is now in a place where we’d like to someday be!

5. Listen To The Word – In his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (On The Most Holy Rosary), Blessed Pope John Paul II recommends that we supplement our Rosary meditations with Bible reading. After announcing the individual mystery, the late Holy Father encourages us to read an appropriate Bible passage. While this is not always possible (if we are praying while walking or driving, for instance), we can still mentally recall the details of an appropriate Bible story. This underscores the importance of becoming familiar with Sacred Scripture.

6. Savor The Repetition – Sometimes it feels as if praying the Rosary is just “repeating a bunch of words”! In fact, one of the criticisms of the Rosary is that it is nothing more than “vain repetition”. In his book, The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God, Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen addresses those who consider the rosary to be monotonous. Using the analogy of a husband telling his wife “I love you” or a mother proclaiming “you’re a good boy” to her child, Sheen stresses that the words mean something different at each point in time that they are repeated. In the same way, each time we pray the Rosary, we are saying “I love you” to God, the Trinity, to Jesus and to Mary. With each successive bead (or decade) the meaning shifts as we contemplate a new aspect of Jesus or Mary’s love.

7. Do Whatever He Tells You – Praying the Rosary, no matter how devoutly, is never a substitute for following the commands of Jesus and His Church. The Rosary should spur us on to live the mysteries in our daily life. In his book, The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Our Lady, St. Francis de Sales had this to say:

“The worldly-minded imagine that devotion to Our Lady usually consists in carrying a rosary in their cincture. It seems to them that it is enough to pray it a number of times without doing anything else. In this they are greatly mistaken. For our dear Mistress wants us to do what her Son commands us (John 2:5) and considers as done to herself the honor we give to her Son by keeping His commandments.”

8. Think – In the preface of Father Peyton’s Rosary Prayer Book: The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, Fr. Patrick Peyton reminds us that the Rosary is more than a series of prayers to be recited. Rather, it is “a series of thoughts to be dwelt on, to be turned over in the mind, to be applied in daily life.” While we are saying the words of the prayers, we should be meditating upon the mysteries. That was a hard concept for me to understand, but it’s the key to unleashing the power of the Rosary.

9. Grow In Virtue – Mother Angelica loves the Rosary. In her book, The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica, she discusses how to use the Rosary to grow in virtue:

“If you’re not making progress in one virtue, say your Rosary and meditate on that virtue as Our Lord practiced it. I cannot get over my faults and weaknesses if I don’t substitute those faults and weaknesses for something of God. This is precisely why the life of Jesus and the reading of Scripture and the rosary never seem to change us – why we remain the same: Because to change you need to admire someone other than yourself.”

10. Ask Mary For Help – This one’s so obvious that it’s easy to overlook! This simple, but powerful suggestion comes from a list (Tips On Praying The Rosary More Devoutly) put together by The Association of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, MO. Before beginning the Rosary, we should ask Our Blessed Mother to help us pray devoutly.

Although the Rosary follows a simple pattern, it can be a very challenging prayer to master. Rest assured that many of the Saints struggled with it too. If you find it difficult to pray the Rosary, try out these tips and see what happens. It might take a little time, but eventually your persistence will pay off. The next time you pick up your rosary beads, imagine that you’re holding Mary’s hand and taking a trip to visit Jesus. For when we pray the Rosary, that’s exactly what happens!

?The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God?and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.? (Pope Saint Pius X)