Last week I was outside doing my daily prayers and a great thought came to me. Usually when you say the Rosary, you say it and contemplate the mystery associated with the decade. As you know, there are 20 of them and you meditate on them while you say it. If you don't know how the Rosary is structured, let me refresh your memory:
Joyous Mysteries: The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation in the Temple, Finding Jesus in the Temple. (Mondays, Saturdays)
Sorrowful Mysteries: The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion. (Tuesday, Friday)
Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of Mary and The Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth. (Wednesday, Sunday)
Luminous Mysteries: The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, The Miracle at Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom, The Transfiguration and The Institution of the Eucharist. (Thursday)
Sometimes it is very difficult to stay focused while you pray. That's why it helps sometimes to stop and try to visualize the mystery or maybe look at a picture of it while you pray. We have some wonderful little Rosary Books at the store if you need a visual to help you btw, and it is currently under $5!
Okay, so what was I thinking? I was thinking of a way to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet and tie it into your daily Rosary. The Divine Mercy Chaplet has 5 decades of 10, as does the Rosary, so while you are saying it contemplate on the Sorrowful Mysteries! Instead of just reciting, "for the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world," visualize His agony in the garden, His scourging, His crowning with thorns, His carrying of the cross and His crucifixion for each decade of beads. Makes perfect sense to me, especially since I say them at the same time. For me, it brings the chaplet to a whole other level. The chaplet can be found to the right of this post or above.
The other thing that I wanted to tell you about is the absolute need to go to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can. As Catholics, we believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, body, blood soul and divinity after it is consecrated by the priest. Many churches have adoration. Check your parish, and local churches, to see if and when they have it. That is 100% a life-changing event to include daily/weekly visits to the blessed sacrament. I 1000% believe that He is present in the Eucharist, because of my own experiences (which you can find on this blog, and also to the right).
If you cannot possibly make it to an adoration chapel, there is an absolutely beautiful live stream from Poland's Saint Maximillian Kolbe parish on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v+BlR18Pvy11U. If you say the Hail Mary, the Our Father, and Saint Maximillian Kolbe, pray for us, you will receive an indulgence. If the link doesn't work, search for live adoration on YouTube from Poland. EWTN also has it on their site on there. The chapel, statue of Mother Mary and Eucharist, is truly magnificent, but nothing beats being at a chapel irl, so my suggestion is to get to your local parish as often as you can!
That's it for now. Have an amazing day and be careful in the horribly hot temps moving across the country.
Peace,
Mare
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