BayCityRickL:
I said the rosary when I was younger. I did it sort of as a duty, once in a while.
I swore it off for a long time as distracting from prayer to God.
Just recently, after listening to something that Fr. Corapi said on EWTN, I was inspired to start praying the rosary again.
In my middle 50’s and retired, I am trying to spend more time in the Bible and in the Rosary. It’s hard for me to concentrate when I pray the rosary. I say the rosary alone, and in the dark. And, I offer the rosary for the oh-so-many things that I want to pray for.
The rosary allows me to spend some time in prayer, and I find that spiritually rewarding. I have a $2 guide to the revised mysteries of the rosaries, and I refer to that.
Looking back, I’d say that praying the rosary takes a certain amount of discipline and spiritual development to get into.
Many people who have such strong devotion to Mary, have the whole thing clear in their mind. I still don’t have a clear appreciation of what Christ said on the cross, “Behold thy mother.” And, I don’t understand the idea of Mary being the Mediatrix of all graces. I know what that refers to, I just have a hard time accepting it. You could argue that Abraham, Noah, Ruth, David, and Solomon, and Boaz are also co-mediators, for what they did.
And, the fundamental thing, why do we need to pray to Mary? If she is our mother, why would she pray for us to God less, unless we first pray to her? And, Mary never prayed to herself, as far as we know, and she never said the rosary.
Hi,
Mary as Mediatrix of all graces especially refers to here fiat which brought the saviour into the world. Without that fiat (thy will be done) we would have no grace or salvation. So we owe a great debt to Mary.
A glimpse at the following quote from th NT is interesting-
From Jn Ch 2.
1: On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2: Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples.
3: When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4: And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
5: His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6: Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
7: Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with
water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8: He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it.
9: When the steward of the feast tasted the
water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the
water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom
10: and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
11: This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
God has never changed His plans for anyone. But His mother got Him to bring forward His public life. What a powerful intercessor to have. And she is our spiritual mother too.
The rosary was not around when Mary lived. But we find a long stream of tradition in the Church involving prayers to Mary.
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