Saturday Special: A Garden Of Roses For Our Mother

Rosary and prayer book of Mary Queen of Scots — Rosary and prayer book given to Mary, Queen of Scotts by Lord Herries during her flight to England

In this Marian month, I continue my weekly focus on Mary, the Mother of God.

This week: the Rosary.

“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.”

– Saint Josemaria Escriva

Rosary of the Seven Sorrows - French — This is the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows–a seven-decade rosary originating in France

I confess: I’ve sometimes had a difficult time praying the Rosary.

I could try to persuade you that I prefer a more intense, less repetitive form of prayer. But you’d see through that in a second: Devout Catholics pray the familiar Hail Mary’s and Our Fathers while meditating on the “Mysteries”—scenes from the life of Christ, drawn from the Scriptures. The Rosary is a deep and comprehensive meditation.

I could tell you that I’m too sophisticated—that the Rosary is for medieval peasants, not for modern-day professionals. But you’d point out that great saints like Josemaria Escriva and Louis de Montfort, and great philosophers like Blessed Pope John Paul II considered it the most profound of prayers.

This is different! A Rosary Garden, where you can pray while walking the stones on a summer’s day.

Alas, I am an undisciplined wanderer. Holding that thought—continuing in meditative prayer for fifteen minutes—seems beyond reach.

But I try.

Alabaster Rosary — This is a favorite, because it’s so personal. I bought this carefully sculpted large Rosary as a gift for my husband in Savannah–but it actually came from Rome, where shavings of alabaster from stained glass windows–like the Holy Spirit window in St. Peter’s Basilica–are formed into a resin, then molded into chunky beads.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said of the Rosary,

“To meditate on these things has been my wisdom, and here I have found everything that was necessary or profitable for me to know…. I always bear these mysteries in my mouth and always preach them, as you know; I am always meditating on them in my heart, as God knows. And of these things I always write, as everybody can see. For this is and always will be my loftiest philosophy: to know Jesus, and Him crucified.”

Here, some interesting Rosaries to inspire you to prayer.

Saturday Special: A Garden of Roses for Our Mother