My devotion to Mary and the Rosary

It’s a reasonable question, I guess, to ask where my dedication to Mary and her Rosary has its roots. I’ll explore that here. I’ll ask your patience ahead of time if I wander a bit. The answer is still part of God’s mystery in so many ways.

Mary has been a part of my life since my earliest christening, but like so many who have fallen away from or who have never known the origins of our Christian faith, I had no knowledge of and little interest in her.

My parents, for reasons that are sealed with their passing, decided to change my name officially when I was just a toddler. I don’t really know why. My mother always said it was due to pressure from my father’s mother. What was my grandmother’s concern? I don’t really know. But I pray for her.

In any case I was mostly raised Episcopalian. While I have no specific memories of conversations about Mary, I can hear words in my head from long ago saying some form of, ‘I don’t see any reason I need to have anyone get in between me and God in our conversations.’ Not Mary, not the saints, probably not even Jesus, back then.

Regardless of the obstinance of my attitude, the beauty of the truth won’t remain hidden, forever. It’s a hopeful thing.

Throughout the years, I now have no doubt that Our Mother has lingered nearby — pondering me in her heart maybe, waiting patiently certainly. As I was converting to Catholicism in the early 2000’s, it seemed reasonable to learn more about this one for whom I was originally named. During my initiation as an adult, I read numerous books about her describing why we Catholics believe what we believe. And I eventually chose Mary as my patron saint.

Finally, while attending St. Mary’s of the Seven Sorrows parish in Nashville, I was serendipitously asked to join the Seven Sisters Apostolate. This Apostolate is relatively new, having formed in 2010. It asks each woman participating to pray one day a week for one hour for their priest.

Taken slightly off guard and not understanding the full extent of the commitment I was being asked to make, I agreed. I figured I prayed for our priest every day anyway.

Well, most people probably already know that praying a simple prayer is a lot different than sitting with Jesus (and the blessed sacrament) for an hour and praying faithfully for His protection and blessing.

I soon realized I needed some help, some structure for my prayer time each week. The Rosary — long deferred in my study and understanding of the Catholic Church — seemed to be the obvious answer. And so began my introduction to this precious set of prayers and my ever deepening relationship with Our Mother.*

The 20 individual mysteries that are contemplated as four sets of five mysteries are divinely inspired and given to us as gifts over the centuries. Although the Rosary we pray today has evolved over time, the traditions underpinning this prayer go back to the desert fathers in the early centuries of Christianity.

It’s not a secret that both Catholic love for Mary and our use of the Rosary are controversial with Protestants. I get it. I do. It’s easy to dismiss our humble Mary as just part of the background in Jesus’ story, unexceptional in her own right. How many of us have felt or been treated in the same way -- as background in someone else's story, unexceptional, unworthy, even?

Yet, there she was — chosen by God to carry our Lord into the world. A young woman, a virgin, obedient, faithful, willing to submit to God, willing to allow Him to use her, trusting in His goodness. We could all do worse than to spend the rest our lives learning to be exceptional in just these few qualities of Mary. But, there’s so much more.

It’s all knowable, all learnable. It can be absorbed by willing spirits. And, over time, her lessons can actually be felt in the deepest interiors of our beings.

So, fast forward a few more years. I read an article by Tom Hoopes, which reminded me of all the reasons we are called to adore our blessed Mother. It summarizes well all those books I read during my catechesis and asks us to consider just four key reasons we should all have a relationship with Mary.

If that wasn’t enough, as I was drafting this piece, another article was published by the Word on Fire press, Five Reasons to Pray the Rosary According to Fulton Sheen, by Joseph Tuttle.

It seemed like the universe was looking for ways to enliven and educate my understanding in order to share these insights with you.

Bishop Robert Barron (and others) calls Mary, The New Eve, recognizing in her what he calls “an antidote” of obedience and acceptance, as she heals the world and redeems the grasping disobedience (of the apple and the tree of knowledge) of our first mother, Eve, in the garden . The beauty of the symmetry continues as we make our way through to Revelations and read of the Queen of Heaven finally conquering and placing her foot on the head of the serpent, in the end times.

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Yet, there she was — chosen by God
to carry our Lord into the world
…obedient, faithful, willing to submit to God,
willing to allow Him to use her, trusting in His goodness.

We could all do worse than to spend the rest our lives
learning to be exceptional in just these few qualities of Mary.

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Of all the characters in the Bible beyond Jesus Himself, Mary has so much to teach us, so much to offer our spirits. But probably the most important reason to love her and bring her into the most intimate areas of our lives in this: Jesus told us to.

In one of His last instructions from the cross, He said to Mary, “Woman, here is your son.” He was referring to John, His beloved disciple. And then, He said to John, “Here is your mother.” (NSRV: Luke 19:26-27)

Essentially, He’s telling us through John, Here is my mother. Care for her. Allow her to care for you. Could Jesus’ charge to us be any clearer?

So, I’m excited to get started. Just as I’m awaiting Advent and our celebration of Christ’s birth, I’m looking forward to walking with you during these next months, as we experience together the richness and mystery of the Holy Rosary of our blessed Mother, Mary.

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*There are numerous books and pamphlets and web sites, including Hallow and Word on Fire and Catholic Online, as well as mobile phone apps -- both free and for a small fee -- that describe and demonstrate how to pray a basic Rosary. I've spent time with several. They each have something helpful to offer.