We all experience brokenness and we all need healing.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said, “The Rosary is the best therapy for these distraught, unhappy, fearful, and frustrated souls, precisely because it involves the simultaneous use of three powers: the physical, the vocal, and the spiritual…”
Archbishop Sheen was absolutely right, because my rosary devotion began as therapy. Almost 15 years later, I look back at the many hours I spent praying the Rosary because of my brokenness.
Through the Rosary, God reeled me into something that changed my life forever.
While growing up, my family prayed the Rosary together daily. It may have been a couple of mysteries a night, but we rarely failed to pray it. My mother faithfully instilled this in us.
However, I didn’t understand the value of prayer until I experienced my first heartbreak from a broken relationship. Even at that time though, I didn’t fully grasp it.
I later experienced another heartbreak, but much more so than the time before. At that point, I began praying the Rosary for comfort often multiple times a day.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but God transformed my heart through these trials. I now see that the Blessed Mother’s intercession leads me on my daily journey to holiness.
1) The Rosary Gives Me Peace
The Rosary is the prayer that instills peace within me.
Next to Daily Mass and receiving the Eucharist, there is no other prayer that provides me the peace and joy I need to get through my day. Spiritual emptiness encompasses my day if I do not pray it at the start.
Pope St. Pius X said, “The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”
2) The Rosary Renews My Faith
I have more strength and endurance to live my faith every time I recite the Rosary. It helps me carry out God’s will and overcome trials. I would be lost without it.
Our Lady promised that “the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things.”
She added, “Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.”
3) The Rosary helps me combat sin
Prayer should always help us combat sin, but why would Jesus deny us this assistance if we ask Him through His Mother?
Mary is pure and sinless, but she relates to us through her humanity. She is always there when we call upon her. She wants holiness and Heaven for us.
Mary promised that “the Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.”
Our Lady gives me the strength to combat and overcome my vices. She provides me with the drive to want holiness. She makes holiness attractive and beautiful, and she provides me with the desire for the sweet taste of heaven.
4) The Rosary draws me to the sacraments
When I began faithfully praying the daily Rosary, I also began requesting saintly intercession. This ultimately drew me closer and closer to the Eucharist.
I began making Eucharistic holy hours and attending daily Mass. I also began receiving the sacrament of reconciliation regularly.
By the time left for college, I knew exactly where I wanted to be: our campus’ Newman Center.
There was a Eucharistic tabernacle across the street from campus, and I spent much of my time there when I wasn’t studying or spending time with friends.
I often studied in the presence of the Eucharist, led group prayer, and spent countless hours just sitting before Jesus. All of this increased my love for God and gave me the graces to know what God wanted for my life.
5) The Rosary Led Me to My Husband
Because my mother instilled in our family the importance of the Rosary, I used it as a means for comfort. This comfort led to an intense devotion to Our Blessed Mother, which, in turn, led me closer to the sacraments. This devotion then inspired my involvement at the Neumann Center, where I eventually met my husband.
For several years, I asked Our Lady to intercede for my husband. I asked her to guide, protect, and lead him to me at the right time. And she did. We have now been married for seven years, and have two beautiful children.
Even though my state in life does not always allow daily visits to the Eucharist, I know I am living the life God calls me. This life is a beautiful blessing, and I attribute it to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.
So the next time you question whether or not you should pray the Rosary, my answer for you is a definite yes.
Since October is the month of the Rosary, I encourage you to begin your journey now.
The Rosary changed my life. I hope it changes yours too.
“The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” —St. Josemaría Escrivá
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
This article originally appeared in the National Catholic Register. The author updated it for ChurchPOP.
[See also: The 15 Promises For Those Who Pray the Holy Rosary, In One Infographic]
[See also: 13 Saint Quotes that Reveal the Supernatural Power of the Rosary]