Pray The Rosary

 

Some people think that they should stop praying the Rosary because they have distractions while they're praying.  They find their mind always flitting off to their list of things to do, to different crises in the family, et cetera, and they think:  Well, I'm offending God by praying the Rosary with all these distractions; therefore, I'll stop, and I'll start again some other time when my mind is clear. 

 

Bad reasoning.

 

The devil puts those distractions in your mind in order to discourage you, in order to keep you from praying the Rosary.  So why should you listen to him?  Instead, persevere. 

 

Keep praying the Rosary, because the worst Rosary isn't the one that's prayed with a few distractions. It's the one that you don't pray at all. 

 

Keep praying.  And if the devil puts those distractions in your mind, well, stab him in the eye by praying another Rosary.  The more, the merrier.

 

Blessed Alan de la Roche relates the story of a nun who appeared after her death to one of her sisters and said:  If I were allowed to go back into my body to have the chance of saying a single Hail Mary , even if I said it quickly and without great fervor, I would gladly go through all the sufferings I had during my last illness all over again to gain the merit of this prayer.

 

If the saints in heaven have so much esteem for one Hail Mary said rapidly, then what must be the value of a whole Rosary?

 

 

                                                                        Fr. Johannes Smith
                                                                        Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate