Hello Rosary lovers! In 2021, I began keeping a Catholic spiritual journal. The vast bulk of it focused on my relationship with the Holy Rosary.
I would like to share an extract from this journal below, in the hope that it could be a wonderful encouragement and inspiration to some. Enjoy!
March 2021 Journal Entry
At present, my spiritual life is very simple. I get up and do the sign of the cross as soon as possible (still the Orthodox/Greek Catholic way).
I pray 6 prayers in the morning, all very short, and mostly all consecration based. In no particular order they are:
‘Blessed be forever the most sacred heart of Jesus and the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary.’
To St Joseph I pray, ‘St Joseph, receive me as your son today, and be for me everything I ever need in a father. I give my entire self to you today.’
To Mary, I pray: ‘I am all yours, O Queen and Virgin, and all that I have is yours, in Jesus Christ your Son.’
To Jesus: ‘I am all yours, O my sweetest Lord Jesus, and all that I have is yours, through Mary your most holy Mother.’
Then: ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart, soul and body. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, be with me in my final agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, let me breathe out my soul in peace with Thee. Amen.’
Then the common prayer of spiritual communion to Jesus: ‘My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the blessed Sacrament,’ etc.
The Rosary
If I have time, I also offer the beginning prayers of the Rosary: the sign of the cross, the Apostles’ Creed, an our Father for the Pope’s intentions, three Hail Marys for faith, hope and charity, and a Glory be. This leaves me prepared for launching straight into praying the first mystery of the day when I can, which is usually after lunch.
In the afternoon, I begin to pray the Rosary. I pray a decade or two, and then throughout the day I find time to pray another decade or two, and then finish off in the evening or late afternoon.
Crucially, I add a phrase after each ‘Jesus’ in each Hail Mary, to help me meditate on the mystery of each decade. For instance, if I am meditating on the Coronation of our Lady, I say: ‘Hail Mary, full of grace … and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who has crowned you Queen of heaven and earth. Holy Mary, Mother of God …’ I do that sort of thing ten times in each decade, either using the same added words, or making up other ones somehow related to Mary’s Queenship over all things.
This really aids meditation. The other method I find extremely useful is to gaze at a few different pictures of the particular mystery. Internet images is the answer here.
I attempted to pray two Rosaries a day for a while, which proved a very, very powerful aid to my life. However, Mary has willed that this is too much for me at present. I have suffered greatly with my throat for it, so I have had to go back to just one Rosary a day.
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Sometimes, however, I add a Chaplet of Divine Mercy, especially since the Pope says we can all receive a plenary indulgence every day by offering the Chaplet for an end to the current pandemic, relief for all who are suffering, and the eternal salvation of all who have died during it.
The Rosary and Mary
The Rosary is my pride and joy though. Far and away, this is my most cherished spiritual discipline, and if I could offer two Rosaries a day, I would do so gladly, since the Rosary has my heart.
Perhaps I could increase the number of decades I pray by two without any problems with my throat. I have also joined the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, as well as the Association of Mary, Queen of All Hearts.
In short, for some completely unknown reason, a reason that can only be found in the infinite mercy of God, Mary has sought me out and caused me to make her my all, my finest channel and access to God. I go to her about everything.
If someone or something needs my prayers, I say a Hail Mary. I call on her and her immaculate and sorrowful heart in all my needs.
Mary is my everything. In her and through her, I find Jesus Christ more perfectly than I have ever done, and he is all the more precious to me because of my obsession with the glory of his Mother.
Prayers to Specific Saints
I also appeal to specific saints most days. I ask for me and my family for the prayers of:
- St Therese of the Child Jesus
- St Cajetan
- St Dymphna
- Our holy guardian angels
- Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel
- St Gertrude the Great
- St Robert Bellarmine
- St Thomas Aquinas
- Sister Clare Maria of the Trinity and of the heart of Mary
- St Faustina
- St Margaret Mary
- The holy souls in purgatory.
The Offering of the Eucharist
I then offer the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus to the Father, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, through the prayers of Mary, Joseph, St Gertrude and all angels and saints, for the holy souls in purgatory and for the complete abolishing of abortion worldwide hastily and speedily.
The Holy Scriptures
Any other spare time I have to engage with God is spent reading the Holy Scriptures.
My favourite and most pleasurable way of doing this is to read on my Kindle. I often read over ten books of the Bible, keeping bookmarks in all these places. I just open up my Kindle and continue whichever one that takes my fancy.
For the last year or so, my particular love has been the vast array of Old Testament books. An extremely important thing here is to find a translation that you enjoy reading […] Often I manage some days to read over five chapters, and sometimes as many as ten.
I’ve studied and read the Bible for nearly a decade and a half now, but my biggest problem has always been my bodily discomfort when reading. I’ve had a lot of neck and back trouble, which makes reading the Bible in a chair challenging.
Kindle is easy. I always read it lying on my bed, and my body is perfectly comfortable, leaving my mind the privilege of enjoying the Scriptures.