The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. That makes October the perfect time for us to launch our #PausetheScroll campaign, as well as spend some time sharing and reflecting on the prayer that brought us here in the first place.

I started praying the Rosary essentially for mindfulness. I liked the routine, the repetition. I found a secular comfort in the meditations, a rational empathy grounded in my own Worldly worries and probably a long way from the spiritual fruits that I was later to experience. One day, a day that I cannot pinpoint in any way, the prayer stopped being a mental wellbeing tool. Slowly, my heart had been converted.

The image at the top of this post is of a Rosary that I made. At some stage praying the Rosary itself stopped being enough and I started to make them. The problem is, that anyone who has started to craft their own Rosaries will recognise, it is an addictive practice. Very soon I was flooded with them. Rosary in Hand was formed in response to this, an initiative to raise funds to make and send Rosaries to growing Catholic communities in need. Our project Beads on Mission, is where that project now lives, sending Rosaries to Catholic Churches in Malawi, until by God’s grace that mission expands.

The beauty of the Rosary is that it is a prayer that never grows old. It grows with you. On the surface it appears to be a repetition of the same prayer 53 times with some other prayers peppered in-between. This is what is known as the ‘body’ of the prayer, more about measuring time and engaging the body in active prayer whilst the ‘soul’ of the prayer lives on the meditation of the mysteries. 5 per Rosary.

Repeating the prayers, the body, is easy. The meditation can be really, very hard. The mind wanders. Some Mysteries are easier to picture than others. I find, in particular, that the First Mystery of each Rosary I have extremely clear pictures of in my mind, allowing me to explore more deeply each time. This probably says more about my stamina than it does about the individual Mysteries.

So as we prepare for October and dedicating time to the Rosary, I wanted to share my (inexpert) guide to praying the Rosary:

1. Find the right place, and the right time. I have a chair that I always pray the Rosary in. I can be comfortable enough to relax but not so comfortable that I drift.
2. Find the right soundtrack. I usually pray along with the Hallow App because there are various versions (I prefer a Scriptural Rosary or Bishop Barron’s reflections on the Mysteries). Sometimes I go solo, but I find that sparse Classical or nature sounds ground me in the prayer. Whatever works for you.
3. Your mind will wander. Let it, and gently bring it back. Acknowledge the distraction, and get back in. Don’t let that deter you, stop you mid-Rosary or stop you going back.
4. Do some light research. I have a PowerPoint presentation for each of the Mysteries of icons and paintings of the Mysteries. I lack visual imagination. That allows me to ‘step in’ to the Mystery more clearly.
5. Grab a guide or use an online version, one that provides scriptural prompts, questions for reflection or additional notes on the Mysteries. Praying the Mysteries is not about something happening or something new and profound coming to you every time you reach for the Rosary. If I come away with one, new, half-formed reflection from one Mystery during the prayer, I consider that a win.

Praying the Rosary as regularly as possible has changed my life. I pray with the Rosary almost every day and there is absolutely a noticeable difference between those days that I do and those where I don’t. And this leads me to the most important rule of them all:

If you set a time to pray the Rosary on one day; make that time. Don’t delay. Don’t cancel. Do it. Keep your commitment. Making that time for yourself, in prayer, for as little as 20 minutes to really as long as you want to make it, will have an impact on your day. If you delay today, you will cancel tomorrow. If you cancel tomorrow, it’ll be two weeks before you go back to it. It is worth it. Make the time.

We hope that throughout October you will join us in praying the Rosary, share with us your intentions and share with others the power of this incredible prayer.

Pause. Pray. Pass it on.