The Rosary Option

Allow me to mention that the title is encouraged by Carrie Gress’ book “The Marian Option”, which in turn was largely conceived of as a friendly response to Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option”. We begin by asking “What is the Rosary?”

History holds that it was a gift to Saint Dominic from the Blessed Virgin Mary and has developed over the centuries into what we hold today.

If you want to learn how to pray the Rosary, a good link is posted below to get you started:

https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/rosary/how-to-pray-the-rosary.html

Now why should we recognize this “option” among the many prayers of a Christian?

Quite simply, it is from God and is one of the best prayers. Saint Padre Pio claims that it is the “weapon” in spiritual warfare and take a look at Mother Teresa – She was almost always seen with one in her hands.

As an amateur advocate of the Rosary, I confess, I love it and it is among my favorite prayers, since it is a beautiful meditation that summarizes the Gospel mysteries of the life of Christ.

Mass, Scripture reading and Adoration of Christ are all encouraged by the Rosary. Little miracles are even seen when you pray the Rosary: Joy amid sorrow, problems taken within context, confidence strengthened. “Come and see” (John 1:39).

You could also ask the Catholic Church why we ought to include the Rosary Option in our lives. She might mention a dozen or more letters from Popes advocating for the family Rosary and how books on the topic of Mary tend to be in their “favorites” category.

The best advocate of the Rosary would of course be Jesus Christ who sent his Mother Mary from Heaven on numerous occasions to promote this powerful prayer.

A notable example of a heavenly visitation of Mary is the story of Our Lady of Fatima (Mary tends to take a title when visiting her children). She appeared to three young children and requested that they pray the Holy Rosary for peace and declared that it has the power to prevent wars. I could interlude here and speak about the peaceful Rosary revolution in Austria and relate how there was a slight difference in approach to responding to Communist Russia from nearby Hungary. It is worthy of a mention for a reader’s own personal research, but let’s carry onward.

It is another good day to pray the Holy Rosary because everyday is a good day to pray.

The option to pray is a blessed option and a powerful grace that Catholics have at their disposal is to take arms with the Rosary. Fighting the good fight takes on a whole new emphasis when the Rosary enters the fray. This is because we are praying to Jesus through Mary. The way to a son is often through the Mother. The way to the King by the Queen. The way to God through the “God bearer”.

If society is to change for the better, if we need to get out of a rut, then let’s focus on giving God a little more by sharing the gift of praying the Rosary.

This blog was written by Ryan Chestine. To contact Ryan, email him at ryanchestine@gmail.com.