5 Reasons to Pray the Rosary Today

October is the month of the Holy Rosary, and today is the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. If you are like me, you appreciate the Rosary and want to pray it often, but sometimes you can think of reasons NOT to pray it.

Well, I think those reasons are more often than not stupid (in my case, at least), and I bet there are better reasons TO pray the Rosary.

Here are my top 5 reasons to pray the Rosary today:

1. Praying the Rosary is easy

One of the great things about the Rosary is that anyone can do it. Once you know The Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary it’s pretty much downhill from there. So anyone from about 5 years old up to 125 years old can pray it. This is good news. If a child can do it, I can do it. This means that even when I am really tired or temporarily (or permanently) lacking in the focus I wish I had, I can still pray the Rosary.

At the same time, the Rosary is deep, and meditation on the mysteries of the life of Christ is an act that one can practice their whole life long and still want more.

2. Praying the Rosary builds up the rest of your prayer life

Do you struggle to pray the way you want to pray? Who doesn’t. I know I definitely do some days. But I’ve found that the Rosary is something that helps you remember that prayer is possible.

I wrestle at times with my will about starting the Rosary, but after I’ve finished, guess what? I feel good, and I’m all of a sudden open to reading scripture for a few minutes. Or lingering for a moment in contemplation. Or feeling more convicted about getting up a bit early to spend time in mental prayer.  

3. Praying the Rosary is social

A very lovely aspect of the Rosary is that it can be prayed with a friend, or friends. Coming together in community helps us in our spiritual walk in a myriad of ways, and Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 that “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”

So ask a friend, boyfriend or girlfriend, brother or sister or parent to join you, and each of you and your relationship will be blessed.

4. All the cool saints are doing it

Show me a saint and I’ll show you a devotee of the Rosary. Show me someone who prays the Rosary daily and devoutly and I’ll show you someone who’s on the path to sanctity.

5. Because the world needs peace

At the apparition of Fatima, Mother Mary repeatedly asked the children to pray the Rosary everyday. She asked them to pray it for the end of World War I and for peace in the world. How much does our modern world need this peace? How much could we pray for an end to the civil war in Syria; for an end to terrorism; for persecuted peoples everywhere, including those in our own country; for an end to abortion? 

Whenever we talk about the Rosary we recognize Mary’s role in leading us more intimately to Jesus. So remember that the Rosary is personal and relational. It is not the mindless repetition of empty phrases. We are learning to love Jesus more with Mary as our teacher. She knew him most intimately of anyone on earth, and she helps us to see him with familial love.

Pope Francis recently said that whenever the Church wants to see Jesus, she knocks on Mary’s door and asks to see him. I think of the Rosary as a way of knocking often.

By the way, next time you knock, please remember to say a prayer for Canadian Catholic.

Question: Why do you pray the Rosary? What reasons would you give that I missed? 

Additional resources: Here is a handy explanation of the prayers and origins of the Rosary.