When was the first time you 'rediscovered' the Rosary? We may have prayed the rosary as a child with our grandmother or our family, but when was the first time that we actually picked up the rosary on our own and began praying? The first time I began praying the Rosary was when I came back to the Catholic Church in the middle of my college years. The first few attempts to pray the Rosary was difficult. I was falling asleep when I prayed sitting down, so I paced inside my apartment back and forth, with rosary in one hand and in the other hand, a booklet on how to pray the Rosary. It took a good a month or so before I memorized the 'Creed' and 'Hail Holy Queen' by heart. It took me a good year to begin praying without a booklet in my hand. And it took a good couple of years before I began to yearn for it and look forward to praying it as nourishment. But once it became a habit, it took a very different direction. Once the prayers of Rosary flowed naturally, I began seeing the images of the Gospel come alive. When I prayed the First Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation, I began imagining in my mind's eye Archangel Gabriel surrounded by bright light approaching Virgin Mary with the joyful news. I imagined Blessed Mother's reaction as she saw this heavenly visitor. It was as if I was right there more than 2,000 years ago experiencing anew what the New Testament Gospels told. A well-known priest named Fr. John Corapi always says, "The prayer of the Rosary is the prayer of the holy Gospel, the Good News Who is Jesus." He said, "My best piece of spiritual advice to you, no matter who you are, president or plumber, priest or king…PRAY THE ROSARY EVERY DAY! You will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams."
