A Mary Moment Monday post

I learned the Hail Mary sitting on a mattress on the floor, in the upstairs room of the last apartment I lived in before I got married. I was newly Catholic and I had a special intention. I was convinced the Blessed Mother would work a miracle if only I bugged her enough about it.

As I stumbled through the rosary that first time, without the benefit of the audio aids that would later help me to get the flow, rhythm, and words, I didn’t have a shock of understanding. The lights didn’t flicker. Nothing exploded in a shower of sparks.

trendy-trad-sr-rosary

But I kept plugging along, struggling and wrestling. The rosary became my companion on commutes, and I discovered a CD that helped me learn the words. I kept rosary in my purse and I learned how to tick off the prayers on my fingers when I didn’t have or couldn’t use a rosary.

Time passed and that intention was updated with something else. Then I put the rosary away for a while, only to pick it up again.

Now that I’ve had the rosary as my companion for years, I notice that when I’m troubled, when I can’t find the words, or when I’m afraid, I latch onto the Hail Mary. Does saying it just occupy the part of my mind that needs activity? Possibly. But I think there’s more to it.

You can read the rest over at Catholic Exchange.