We all experience brokenness and need healing in some way.
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 right. My sincere devotion to the rosary began as therapy.
Almost 20 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 almost daily. My mother faithfully instilled this in us.
However, I did not understand the value of prayer until I experienced heartbreak. I then began praying the Rosary for comfort multiple times a day.
I did not realize it at the time, but God transformed my heart through trials. I now see that the Blessed Mother’s intercession leads me on my daily journey to holiness.
Here are five ways praying the Holy Rosary changed my life:
1) The Rosary gives me peace.
The Rosary is the prayer that instills peace within me.
Next to Daily Mass and receiving the Eucharist, no other prayer provides me the peace and joy I need to get through my day. Spiritual emptiness encompasses my day if I do not pray it from the start.
Pope Saint 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,
“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 vices. She makes me desire 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 requested 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 went to college, I knew exactly where I wanted to be: the university's Catholic Campus Center (also called a Newman Center on many campuses.)
The Catholic Campus Center had a Eucharistic tabernacle, which was also across the street from the university. 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 of comfort. This comfort led to an intense devotion to Our Blessed Mother, which, in turn, led me to the sacraments.
This devotion inspired my involvement at my university's Catholic Campus Center, where I eventually met my husband.
For many years, I asked Our Lady daily to intercede for my future husband. I asked her to guide, protect, and lead him to me at the right time. And she did.
He proposed to me in Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and we were married on the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
We have now been married for 12 years and have two beautiful children.
I see the impact the daily rosary has on me, my husband, and my children.
This life is a beautiful blessing, and I attribute it to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.
So the next time you question whether you should pray the Rosary, my answer 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.” —Saint 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.