Religious Life and the 20 Decade Rosary - Spending Time Wisely

Some time ago I wrote on the subject of the 20 decade rosary. Today, for the first time in a long time, I prayed it and discovered several things about prayer and religious life.

I asked myself these questions:

1. Don’t you get bored?
2. Doesn’t your mind wander?
3. What if you get tired and feel like dozing off?

Imagine you are in a Carthusian monastery in the French Alps. The silence is deafening. The quiet is only disturbed by the ringing of chapel bells at various times of the day. How can those called to religious life continue in constant prayer and work in service to the community? Ok, that may challenge a majority of readers, but it provides a point of reference for this subject.

Our minds are constantly stimulated with the latest technology and entertainment devices. There was a time where you could go to the theater and focus on the movie or the concert. Now there is a sea of lights from almost every seat as individuals surf the internet and text one another. No wonder we can’t pay attention for very long! Talking to God and developing a spiritual relationship for eternity is something there is no time for, because . . . (bzzzzz....) excuse me I have to answer that . . .

Consider one of the following scenarios:

• If you had a short time to live, how would you use that time?
• If you were on a desert island and there was no electricity or internet/cell phone service, what would you have with you? Obviously, books would eventually wear out and fade. There would be hours when there would be nothing to do. There would be no one to talk too . . . except . . . How would you use your time?

In the first case, depression or sentimentalism would take up some of that time. For the second case, there is a lot of empty time to fill. Both of these cases are extreme and can only be answered by the individual. These scenarios are forced detachment from the world and all its pleasures.

Here is the big question; Could you voluntarily detach yourself from the world and all its distractions? Would you be bored? Could you mind wander? Don’t fall asleep!

All 20 decades of the rosary take about an hour and a half to pray. Peter, James and John had trouble praying for an hour (1st Sorrowful Mystery). We may not feel well. Back pain, headache, hunger, etc. So how can we proceed? Here are some ideas:

• Who? Jesus Christ is at the center of our prayer, just like in the Hail Mary.
• What? Twenty decades of the rosary (obviously).
• When? Time you give wholly to God. (In this case, about 1 1/2 hours).
• Where? The Catholic Church is ideally suited to prayer and meditation. After all there are the stations of the cross, the stained glass windows that depict events from Scripture and lives of the saints. The Tabernacle! The Alter!What a blessing we have!
• Why? I have limited time. I want to use it wisely.
• How? Start with the Apostles Creed and don’t stop until you get to the end! I find it extremely helpful to walk around the inside of the church while praying. On a quiet Sunday afternoon this can be very relaxing and uplifting.

To answer the three questions stated above, it is very simple:

1. Detachment
2. Detachment
3. Detachment

The rosary is more than a line of beads strung together. It is an encounter with the Living God. We see these events through the eyes of His Blessed Mother. We are saved by grace. We also have to participate in that grace. Our relationship with Jesus Christ will not last long if we do not pray. The rosary is a physical object, but it is a means to develop our prayer life. So give it try! It will take effort, but it is all worth it.

Merry Christmas!
Ave Maria!
Praised Be Jesus Christ!
Jesus and Mary, protect and save the unborn!

The following is the trailer to "Into Great Silence." It is a look into the Carthusian Monastery in France. It is a long movie, but if you have time to say the 20 decade rosary, this will take twice as long. It is well worth the time!