Nearer My God to Thee

I positively love the song Nearer My God to Thee, which was written by Sarah Flower Adams in 1841 in Loughton, Essex, England. The first to set it to music was Sarah's sister Eliza Flower. The tune I have shared here, without lyrics, is (I believe) that of   John Bacchus Dykes, which is named "Horbury" after a place he found comfort and peace in. Following my thoughts, are the lyrics Ms. Adams wrote, which are just beautiful (IMHO anyway). Hopefully this link to the Youtube video will stay live so that you can enjoy the lovely hymn for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCEfqj9pDAI. It should open in a new window.

When do you feel closest to God? Do you ever feel close to Him or are you too busy during your day to spend a few moments in solitude and prayer? I try to find Him in so many of the little things I do throughout the day, that are part of my humble existence. When I'm washing my dishes, I think of him and thank him for the food he has given me. While washing my clothes, I think of Him and thank Him for clothing me (so do my neighbors, LOL). When I put my feet on the floor in the morning, and every joint in my body seems to scream at me, I think of Him and offer it up to Him as a silent prayer. When I am busy vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, polishing and straightening inside and outside of my house I thank Him for putting a roof over my head. Every little thing you do during your day can bring you closer to God if you offer it up to Him as a blessing or, if suffering, as a sacrifice. Of course, Glory Glory Gifts is doing His work so that definitely makes me feel closer to Him. Yesterday, I continued my efforts to renew and refresh the garden in the backyard by trimming the rose bush and pulling out all of the vines that love to congregate in that general area. All I could think of while doing so was the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus' head. For me, it was a painful, humbling and poignant experience, as I'm sure you can imagine, and I had gardening gloves to protect my hands. More than once a prickle found some of my bare skin, which drew a yelp from my lips and a trickle of blood. To think that my dear, sweet, Lord, suffered as He did from a crown of them being placed on His head is enough to take my breath away and bring me to my knees. How about you?

Think of the little things in your life that you can offer to God each and every day. Find ways to bring yourself nearer to God. He is, after all, a God of love, mercy and forgiveness. Who doesn't want to be closer to someone like that?

Peace,

Mare

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me;

Still all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee,

Chorus: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, etc.

There let the way appear steps unto heav'n;

All that Thou sendest me in mercy giv'n;

Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, etc.

Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;

So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, etc.

Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly,

Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, etc.

A sixth verse was later added to the hymn by Edward Henry Bickersteth Jr. as follows:^[1]

There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,

There in my Saviour’s love, perfectly blest;

Age after age to be, nearer my God to Thee,

Nearer, etc."

Do You Really Understand the Rosary?

Often, I meet people that do not understand the Rosary, which is a prayer that Catholics say. Even Catholics do not say it correctly, which doesn't surprise me. Many people that are my age, in particular, seem to have lost the fine art of reciting it or prayer in general. It is not a prayer that is only for Catholics either; I know quite a few others that recite it.

Rosary means garland of roses and roses are associated with Mother Mary. Tradition has it that it was being said prior to St. Domenic's vision of the Blessed Mother in 1221, but no known date or source has been verified. St. Domenic has been credited with spreading devotion of the prayer, though.

The Rosary is a daily prayer, though you can say it as often as you like. To clear up one of the biggest misconceptions about it, it does not elevate Mary above any one of the Holy Trinity. In fact, if you are meditating on Mary throughout it you are saying the prayer incorrectly. While saying the Rosary you, in fact, meditate on a number of mysteries of Jesus' life. The mysteries are broken up into 4 categories - the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious.

Joyful:
The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Birth of Our Lord, The Presentation in the Temple and The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Mondays & Saturdays, also Sundays during Advent)

Luminous:
The Baptism in the Jordan, The Miracle at the Cana Wedding, The Proclamation of the Kingdom, The Transfiguration and the Institution of the Eucharist (Thursday)

Sorrowful:
The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion (Tuesday & Friday, also Sundays during Lent)

Glorious:
The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descending of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption and the Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven (Wednesdays and Sundays in ordinary time)

You meditate on each mystery for each decade of the Rosary being said. You can dedicate the entire rosary to an intention, or each decade to one. Remember, you meditate on each Mystery and not the intention when you are saying it.

Also important during the recitation is the Our Father prayer. After each decade the Glory be is said, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen" Hopefully you can now see that the Rosary is a prayer that has the Holy Trinity as the focal points.

Now, about the Hail Mary prayer. The first part:

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb", Jesus

is text that is taken from the Bible during the Blessed Mother's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Her own baby leapt in her womb with joy upon meeting Mary. (Luke 1:39-46). It is recognizing Mary as a woman that is incredibly blessed to be carrying God in her womb. Surely you can see the magnitude of this event?

The last half of the prayer is asking Mary, as our Mother, to pray for us" "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death" Amen. Do you not ask your own Mother, Father, family or friends to pray for you? Why not ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us as well? A beautiful example of Mary intervening for someone with Jesus is at the wedding feast in Cana. Remember that? She was like well, son, they are running out of wine and he was like well, woman, my time has not come yet. Yet he listened and responded to her request to intervene. She will take care of us as well. Just ask her to.

I find it fascinating that people can't wrap their head around Mary being born without sin. If God can create creatures such as angels, which are pure spiritual beings, why wouldn't he create a human that is pure? Mary wasn't chosen to be the Mother of God. She was created to be the Mother of God. I can't see why God would put his son into a broken or stained vessel. That makes less sense, to me anyway. We were all created for a specific purpose in this life. That was Mary's. Back to the rosary.

Prayers have been added to the rosary, after Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, in 1858. During the visits she asked Bernadette to spread devotion to the Rosary and taught her additional prayers to be said. These additional ones are prayers to Christ and to St. Michael, the archangel, for protection against evil. To learn more about Bernadette and the messages given to her you can visit this website, which is dedicated to her: http://www.marypages.com/bernadetteEng.htm.

I am attaching how to say the rosary, as well as the prayers. It is my hope that I have shed a little light on this glorious prayer and that more people say it. If you are interested in starting to say the rosary and are in need of beads we have lovely affordable ones on the website. Our rosary rings start at just $1.30 and our beads start at $5.00. You can find them on the Children's, Rosary, and Patron Saint pages. http://www.gloryglorygifts.com.

Have a blessed and peaceful day.

Mare

If you cannot see this well, you can also find it on our Prayer Page on the website at: http://www.gloryglorygifts.com/the-prayer-page.html

WE HAVE A DELIGHTFUL ROSARY STARTER KIT TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS BLOG. $2.00 PLUS SHIPPING. White plastic beads in a clear sleeve, with instructions and prayers.