Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
Several years ago, I came across an online photo from a news outlet at the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. The image stayed with me. The setting was late winter before any hint of spring in the air. The sky was overcast, trees were bare, and patches of snow scattered the ground. A solitary woman sat on a park bench, dressed in a winter coat and stocking cap. In her hands, she held a rosary. In a way, she was a symbol of all of us at the time.
In the face of crisis, we pray what we know to calm our turmoil, restore our hope, witness our faith, and persevere in love. I found the woman’s prayer reassuring. I couldn’t know her intention or particular request for grace. The scene made me aware of what we all understood in those challenging months: that in the worst of times, prayer is a way of seeking the grace of consolation that flows from intimacy with the God who accompanies us.
Images Of Prayer
The religious sisters who taught in the parish grade school I attended as a child wore a rosary as part of their habit. As they moved about the classroom, we could hear the gentle rustle of the beads. In a way, their prayer accompanied them. Later, in high school, I remember one of the religious brothers praying the Rosary as he silently strolled about the room, monitoring our test-taking. I recall that when I was growing up, my mother would end every day by praying the Rosary. I believe she was resting in the Spirit.
Praying the Rosary
The Rosary’s rhythm draws us into the weave of life’s mysteries. In the lives of Jesus and His mother, we can discover a depth of meaning and consolation that illumines our lives and our faith and comforts our soul. Our imagination is enlivened, our wonder expanded, and our vision deepened.
In whatever form of prayer we exercise, we find direction; we let God’s Spirit guide us. His path may not be what we expected, perhaps not even what we think we want, but it leads to a fullness of life.
“You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.” (Psalm 16:11)
In our family prayer, let us seek the Lord who accompanies us in our every joy, difficulty, success, and loss.