Gifts of the Spirit

There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers. Prophecy is given to one; to another power to distinguish one spirit from another. One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting the tongues. But it is one and the same Spirit
who produces all these gifts distributing them to each as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
May we all live the gifts that we have been given in humble service to God and others.











Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Praying the Rosary


Praying the rosary is not one of my favorite forms of prayer.


That said, the following plea for help comes as a great surprise to me.

A few years ago, I came across a way of praying the rosary that was a little different than anything I had ever heard before. I believe it was from a convent in France, but I have since lost the link.

The rosary was prayed in the typical matter, except that the mystery being meditated on was recited between the two stanzas of the “Hail Mary”, and included a petition for the grace to live the mystery as Jesus did.

For example, using the 4th Sorrowful mystery, (these are my words, just so you have an example of what I am looking for) one would pray~

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

Jesus, as you carried your cross, you showed us the perfect example of what it means to do your Father’s will. Grant me the grace so that I too may bear my crosses in that same example of love and obedience.

Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.


Does anyone out there is “blogland” have any idea where I might find something similar to this. I am feeling called to maybe try this devotion again, and am thinking about using it as part of my Lenten practices this year, so any help or suggestions for praying the rosary would be much appreciated.

5 comments:

  1. NEVER in my 65 years did I EVER hear of a Catholic who did not know and love the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you have not known the sublime beauty or drunk from the fountain of grace which is the Most Holy Rosary...you'd better take up the beads with the heart of a Catholic. If you are a student of something called a "pastoral ministry" you have exactly the type of illness the Rosary will cure. Take up the beads with a humble heart and SILENTLY pray the beads...empty yourself and let God fill you with the fruits of your humility...do not add or take away anything and don't make such a big production of announcing the Sacred Mysteries even to yourself. You know what they are already and Heaven certainly does too. It isn't some hocuspocus, it is a vehicle for grace and if you do it like a Catholic and not a ProteCatholic the grace will send you running in terror from the SBSTN and into the arms of the Gregorian Rite without daring to ever look back at the evil you just fled. Just DO IT! I will pray for you with bead,

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  2. Sonja,
    Thank you for your comment. I am not sure if I appreciate your tone, I did not put this question out to be "chastised".
    For the record, I did not say I did not "know" the roasry, I said it was not my favorite form of prayer.
    I am looking for this particular "model" because I thought it was very beautiful and that it would work very well with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which I am in the middle of (the 19th Annotation).

    And for the record, you do not know me or anything about me other than what I choose to post on this blog, please do not question my level of faith, I find it very insutling when one Catholic insists that there way is the only right way.

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  3. The rosary on both radio and EWTN usually have those meditations at the beginning of the decade, but they've moved the rosary times around, so I'll have to look around to see when they are.

    St. John's bookstore in Spencerport might have something like that.

    This isn't decade meditations, but here's a link to a pamphlet Madonna House put out during a Year of the Rosary:
    http://www.madonnahouse.org/publications/passiton/Pass-It-On-038.pdf

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  4. Mary Kay,
    Thanks so much for the link, what a beautiful piece!
    The couple of times I have tried to check out St. John's bookstore, they have been closed, anyone out there know what the hours are?
    One would think that I should be able to find something like what I am looking for at the "Cathedral Store", but no such luck, which, sadly to say, doesn't really surprise me.

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  5. Persis, I know of a couple books called "A Scriptural Rosary," and I use them frequently. Rather than having a meditation before or after the mystery, there is a verse from scripture for each and every Hail Mary, coming before or after you actually say the prayer for that bead.

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