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Welcome to Rosary Lovers!
As a fellow Rosary Lover (I hope!), I wish to extend my warmest greetings to you, and I pray that God would richly bless you through his most dear Mother.
My Story
I believe that I have managed, by the grace of God, to unlock something very special in God’s heart. It was not something I was looking for, but something that found me: it is the most holy Rosary.
It all began with a very powerful consecration prayer to St Joseph, and a separate one to the Divine Will. These two prayers I prayed every evening, around Vespers, until miracles in my soul started happening.
I was at the end of all things; I was ready to leave the Catholic Church, and leave the faith, and pursue a life of sin.
These prayers were my last hope, along with a 5 day Novena to St Therese of the Child Jesus. I wasn’t holding out much hope, but it was worth a shot.
Within a very short time, these prayers led me to giving all of my soul to God in July 2020, by choosing to obey – no messing – every last command of the holy Catholic Church.
Yep – even the hard and controversial stuff.
Over night, I noticed enormous changes in my life and my immediate family.
I continued praying the consecration prayers to St Joseph and the Divine Will.
I also took up praying simply one Rosary a day, split throughout the day – a decade here, a decade there.
I was so happy and content in Christ, more so than I’d ever been. Could it really be this simple? Obedience to all that God asks of us through his Church, and a few powerful ‘bullseye’ prayers daily?
Eventually, I stumbled upon a number of traditional consecration prayers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and these further transformed my soul.
I prayed these prayers again and again, about 3 a day, for months. They were my daily bread, and I got to know and love our Immaculate Mother through them.
This all finally led me to formal consecrate myself to Mary by using the 34 day method of St Louis de Montfort.
My life was never the same after this. My choice to do this was truly inspired by the Spirit of God.
My full consecration to Mary led me to also formally consecrate myself to St Joseph with another 30+ day method.
Consecrated to both Mary and Joseph, I began again to slowly return to the Rosary. First I prayed one rosary a day, then two a day. I did two for a while, until I needed more.
I began trying 3 Rosaries a day, the traditional Rosary of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. The impact was immense.
Sins I had long struggled to conquer suddenly started to fall away, such as my natural tendency to anger and impatience. The benefit was so conclusive that I decided to go for one more Rosary daily.
Since June 2021, I have been praying 4 Rosaries a day: the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.
I split the decades up throughout the day, almost never praying a single Rosary in one sitting. I find I have more than enough time to do this, and it keeps my faith alive morning, afternoon, evening and night.
Without this discipline, my faith and mental health plummet quickly.
I cannot ever express in words what the Rosary has done for me. I was at a very low point in my mental health when I began praying it 3 and 4 times a day. The Rosary rescued me from a very possible mental breakdown.
I have kept a spiritual journal to remind myself of everything the Rosary has meant to me these last months.
Why I Created Rosary Lovers
I once read that besides the Mass, the Rosary is the greatest gift God has given to his Church. Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but perhaps there is much truth to it. I certainly find this resonates well with me.
The Rosary is the access God gives us to Himself through the Blessed Virgin. No devotion is higher to Mary than devotion to her Rosary.
So many saints have been utterly devoted to the Rosary, and to praying the entire Rosary everyday (all the Mysteries). Pope Leo XIII said that the Rosary is one sure way to get to heaven.
Mary has one purpose of her existence: to Mother God, to bring God to us, and to be our heavenly Ladder to Christ, the eternal Son.
But the fastest way to Mary is through the constant, daily recitation of the Rosary.
I wish with Rosary Lovers to spark your devotion to Mary and to her Rosary.
I want to help you see that the daily recitation of the Rosary is the best kind of life – a SUPERNATURAL life! – where God is all in all for you everyday.
You’ll probably see God work more in your life if you give yourself to the Rosary than ever you saw before. The miraculous will appear normal. This is the life God calls each of us to live.
Rosary Lovers exists because the blessed Virgin Mary can be all yours too. There is no-one she excludes, no-one she doesn’t wish to ravish with her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart.
Mary longs for your salvation, both temporal and eternal; you are her dear child. So have a look round Rosary Lovers, especially our posts about the Rosary, and I sincerely hope you find something of use to your soul.
You may also wish to click here to see if there’s a specific rosary that might help you in your walk with Mary and Christ. I own one of these, and it comes with me everywhere!
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If you ever need a hand or have any questions, feel free to leave your comments below and I will be more than happy to help you out. Alternatively, you can contact me by email (see below).
Wishing you all the best
In Christ
Matthew
w. rosarylovers.com
Thank you for this site Mathew. Your openness is very helpful and allows me to relate. I have lots to read on this site to allow me to learn more about the Rosary. I know that there is more to life and I sense an uneasiness in most of my busy day. I require something to ground me in my everyday routine and maybe the Rosary is it.
Wish me luck in my studies.
God bless you Matthew.
Very much appreciated,
Chris Morewood
Hi Chris
Great to hear from you my friend!
I sensed an uneasiness in life when I was in my teens, which came to a head in my 19th year. I began searching for a much stabler foundation to believe in and trust.
This led me back to my Pentecostal roots from my childhood, and I eventually did theology and studied Protestant Christianity.
Eventually I became Catholic, which was caused largely by another existential crisis in my life which lasted about 3 years.
Funny how God works. I’m grateful now, but it was all very unpleasant at the time.
I would suggest, if you don’t mind my saying, that you begin talking to ‘God’ as you understand him/it. Perhaps even begin talking to Mary. I have a post on this:
https://rosarylovers.com/do-i-have-to-be-catholic-to-pray-the-rosary/
Obviously, yes, it goes without saying that you are probably going to have to do a lot of pondering and perhaps a good deal of meditation in your quest. But I hope you’ll get to where you want to be! 🙂
I have studied a lot of Philosophy and Religion. If I can be of any help, please let me know.
Personally I have found the entire structure of Catholic thought to be the most internally consistent that I’ve ever discovered. It is also rock-solid, so I feel it is very dependable.
Anyway, God bless you my friend, and follow your heart.
Matthew
Matthew,
Could you provide an overview of what the Rosary is. I am maybe a bit new but I do not understand the application of the beads or what the Rosary is or what it is for.
Thank you,
Chris
Hi Chris, good to hear from you. I cover your question a lot on the site, so here are a few links that might be of use.
https://rosarylovers.com/how-to-do-the-rosary/
https://rosarylovers.com/what-is-a-rosary/
https://rosarylovers.com/what-is-the-rosary/
https://rosarylovers.com/how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday/
https://rosarylovers.com/what-is-the-rosary-prayer/
https://rosarylovers.com/what-is-the-rosary-about/
Hope those links help you!
God bless
Beautiful, although I’m not Catholic it’s nice to be able to read about the rosary and what it represents.
I learned a lot here, it’s also good to know I can incorporate the rosary into my prayers if I want to.
It’s a very soothing and comforting website indeed.
Reads and flows well.
Thanks for sharing.
Hello! I’m so happy to hear that you learned a lot and found it beautiful. Of course you can use the Rosary whenever you please! It is a prayer for us ALL, no matter what our religion or beliefs.
I much appreciate the feedback you’ve given about the site. Thank you very much.
God bless
Matthew,
Your devotion to Mary and the Holy Rosary is remarkable. I look forward to learning more about this beautiful way of praying and about Catholicism. Your website is a perfect find as we progress thru Lent.
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! It’s greatly appreciated.
God bless you richly, all your life-long.
I want to put a link to your web page – it is beautiful – from my https://beadsofpeace.org – I have been trying to find an answer to one question that has been nagging. Should we pray the original 3 decades or the new four decades (including luminous)? Some activities do not mention the fourth set of mysteries at all. The only thing I have an uneasiness about is the fact that the original three decades were outlined by the BVM herself and the 4th was added (devised) by a priest who is now a saint. Which should we pray?
Hi there and thank you so much for getting in touch! And thank you for your support for my site! It’s very encouraging.
I’ve bookmarked your site also for future reference 🙂 I’ll be checking that out.
As for your question. Great question, I’ve asked this myself plenty. I think I have an answer to help you.
The Luminous mysteries are OPTIONAL. They are recommended but optional.
The proof of this is the following: https://rosarycenter.org/confraternity-obligations-benefits-and-promises
The Confraternity of the Rosary is probably the most official group of Catholics committed to the Rosary in the world, and it is Confraternity that goes back hundreds of years. St Louis de Montfort suggested we all join.
As you can see, the Confraternity recommends that we should pray 3 rosaries (15 decades) in the course of a week. These are the Joyful, the Sorrowful and the Glorious mysteries. The Luminous mysteries are recommended by the Confraternity, but are not officially part of these 3 rosaries yet. This may or may not change in the future.
However, that said, there is something special about the day we live in. It is no mistake that St Pope John Paul II added the Luminous mysteries in 2002. And his recommendation has been widely taken up within the Church. Clearly, many Catholics see it as a valuable addition to the Rosary.
In particular, the traditional 3 rosaries seem to lack something of the life of Christ, which the Gospels are filled with. And so the Pope wanted us to pray the Luminous mysteries to meditate more on the incarnate life and ministry of the Lord.
In my own experience of praying both the 3 rosaries daily and the 4 daily, I have found the 4 rosaries (including the Luminous mysteries) to be significantly more beneficial constantly. I found that only praying the 3 was missing something special, and with the Luminous mysteries, that need is fulfilled. I don’t think the 4 rosaries (Luminous included) can be improved upon, from an experiential standpoint.
Those are just my thoughts, however, and really it’s up to you and your own spiritual life. You should always do what works for you as a person walking the unique path God has planned for you in particular. My path isn’t your path. Your path isn’t my path.
I would suggest you try both. Try the 3 rosaries for a week, then try the 4 rosaries for a week. See which you prefer, or which fits into your life better.
For me, it’s the 4. To complete them daily, I use this podcast, https://rosaryfidelium.libsyn.com, which helps immensely. Often I just lie back and listen, without uttering anything. Apparently, this is a perfectly acceptable way to pray the Rosary, according to the Enchiridion on Indulgences.
I hope that helps!
God bless you greatly on your journey.