Fr. Hans&#039; Three Cents

June 27, 2020

It’s good to be free from my cage again! And don’t tell this to Deacon Brett, but all it really takes to get me to go anywhere is food…

I was recently asked some questions about the rosary. As I was responding, I thought to myself, “I should find a way to share these thoughts with other people who might have the same questions.” So, here are some questions and answers about the rosary.

Q. Why do we pray the rosary?

A. For a variety of reasons:

Repeating the same prayer over and over again is a help for meditation, calming and focusing our minds and bodies, and allowing the words to sink into us through repetition.
Jesus has given great authority to Mary to work in the world. For example, at Fatima in 1917, Mary told the three visionaries Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world . . . for she alone can save it.”
The different mysteries are opportunities to meditate on different parts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
The rosary is a way to honor Mary, just as Jesus honored his own Mother.

Q. Does the rosary need to be blessed?

A. The physical rosary does not need to be blessed, but it is helpful to have it blessed. Blessing objects which we use in prayer helps them to help us to come to God. In a pinch, ten fingers can easily be used to pray the rosary (this is what I normally use, as I like to pray while walking). Praying is more important than the object we use to help us pray. Actually praying the rosary is way more important than having your rosary blessed!

Q. How do you care for a rosary?

A. A blessed rosary, just like any blessed object, should be treated well. But more importantly, it should be used for its primary purpose which is praying. Carrying a blessed rosary loose in your pocket and praying with it is much better than putting it in a safe place and never using it.

This last question leads me into a brief rant: Do you or someone you know have a “Family Bible” which is in pristine condition because nobody has ever opened it, and it’s just “on display?” A bible is meant to be read, studied, picked up, opened, accidently dropped, earmarked, etc. Maybe there’s some coffee stains, maybe you’ve written notes in the margin to remind you of prayers you wanted to pray or questions you want to consider or thoughts about how it connects to something in your life. Maybe you’ve underlined (or even highlighted!) inspirational quotes.

The physical object is meant for a greater purpose, to be used; it is a tool. So use it!!! Sure, we should take care of bibles and rosaries and other religious items, but not if it means we don’t put them to the use for which they were created.