Dear everyone,

I apologize for not updating this blog in quite a long time.  I have been very busy with school and work.  I found the following page on http://www.amm.org/prayers/prytipsr.htm  .   Please enjoy!

It is good to focus on the rosary.  Here are some ideas to help you pray the rosary more devoutly and get more out of it.

1. Choose both the time and the place that has least distractions for you.  If you can’t be in church, perhaps a small shrine in your home with a crucifix or a statue of our Lady.
2. You can stand, kneel, or sit—or if you are sick you will lie down.  Perhaps you may want to alternate your position for each decade.
3. A group—even two or three—can join together to pray the rosary.  The family rosary is especially recommended.  One person can lead and the others answer; the leader can be alternated for each decade.
4. Offer every rosary—or every decade— for your special intentions: for my mother, for my child, for a good job, for peace, in thanksgiving, as reparation, for my deceased friend, etc.  If you are praying in a small group you may wish to share prayerfully some of these intentions as you begin the rosary or each decade.
5. Say the rosary at a convenient rate of speed—neither too quickly nor too slowly. Often you can pray the rosary aloud, even when you are alone.
6. Before beginning, ask Mary to help you pray devoutly. If you are distracted during the rosary, just continue—don’t stop or backtrack or repeat. After the rosary, offer it to Mary with your distractions—as a child offering a bouquet to her mother. Even if it is not perfect, it is offered with love.
7. If you have time and are so inclined, you can pause between decades for a private prayer, hymn, or appropriate reading from the bible or a spiritual book.
8. The rosary is a meditation. Picture the scene in your imagination and try to enter in as one of the people there. See, hear, and feel what is said and done. Thank, admire, congratulate, suffer with, cry with Jesus and Mary. Ask them questions. Think of the virtues and good example they show. Compare the event with your own life.
9. If you are really busy, or if it is helpful, divide the rosary—one decade before breakfast, another at coffee break, and so on
10. Use a blessed rosary. It is a sacramental of the church, and the prayer carries an indulgence. Keep it clean and in a decent but convenient place. It is not ordinarily a necklace or a toy or a tool.
11. Appreciate the rosary. Its prayers and mysteries are almost all directly from the Bible—so it is God’s word. It summarizes the important teachings of Christ and his Church.
12. Teach the rosary, especially to your children, but also to others—even non-Catholics—who are interested.
13. Don’t try to pray the rosary during an activity that requires full attention, like driving in traffic or cooking or using machinery.
14. Charity comes first. Do not force or embarrass guests or others into saying the rosary with you when they are unwilling.
15. Do not pray the rosary during Mass, not even during the sermon. It is much better to listen to the readings and prayers, watch the ceremonies, join in the singing, and become a part of the Mass. In former years when the rosary was encouraged during Mass, the ceremony was in Latin and active participation was not always possible.

"The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, wheter temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families...that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary."

Sister Lucia dos Santos

I will post in a few days...

Due to recent events, thousands of people are being affected by Hurricane Katrina.  There are many ways that we can help. 

1. Offer up our prayers, especially The Most Holy Rosary.

2. Catholic Charities for Katrina Disaster Relief Fund:

(from Catholiccharities.org)

How you can help:

Unfortunately, Catholic Charities USA is unable to accept contributions of food, clothing, blankets and other relief supplies. Monetary donations will be used to provide for the emergency relief and long-term recovery of Katrina's victims.

About the Disaster Response Office

Catholic Charities USA, which has been commissioned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to represent the Catholic community in times of domestic disaster, responds with emergency and long-term assistance as needed. Its Disaster Response Office connects the Church's social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.

Mail Checks To:
Catholic Charities USA
2005 Hurricane Relief Fund
PO Box 25168
Alexandria, VA 22313-9788

Call:
(800) 919-9338

Federal ID number:
53-0196620

3. Encourage friends, family and others in your community to pitch in and make a difference. 

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a few days, but I have been busy with school.  School is really nice, but I have so much evil in the world.  If you don't mind, will you please offer up a rosary for all sinners in the world and please pray for me as I continue with business school.  God bless you all!!