May is dedicated to the Blessed Mother

We, as Church, have witnessed Mother Mary’s appearance in various parts of the world. We are encouraged to pray the rosary, for the conversion of sinners and to bring us closer to a relationship with her Son, Jesus.

Prayer is a dialogue with a real person, and it is important that we pray with the heart, instead of just fitting our prayers into a limited time and babbling the words. The rosary could be mindless rote, or it could be an opening of the heart to a state of peaceful contemplation before God, by being joined together in continuous prayer with Mary. Repetitive prayer can be an aid to meditation.

Before Pentecost, Mary and the faithful were all joined together in continuous prayer (Acts 1:4), and no doubt many prayers were repeated as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ, far from condemning repetitions in prayer, repeated the same prayer three times to His Father during His agony (Mt 26:39–45), and granted the gift of sight to the repeated prayers of the blind men (Mt 20:30–31).

In the litany of thanksgiving in Psalm 136, the phrase “His love is everlasting” is repeated 27 times, and the heavenly host never ceased chanting before God “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:8).

In the passage from the Gospel of Matthew (6:5–8), Our Lord was teaching that prayer should come from the heart rather than the lips. It should be humble before God (Lk 18:10–14) and before people (Mt.6:5–6) and Christ warns against offering long prayers ‘for show’ (Mk 12:40). The actual number of prayers or the excellence of the words we use do not increase the chances of being heard.

Some argue that the rosary involves vain repetition, but our prayer could never be in vain if it brings us closer to God. All prayer is heard if the individual makes it with faith (Mt 21:22), trusting in God’s goodness (Mt 6: 8; 7:7–11) and in the name of Jesus (Jn 14:13–14; Mt 18:19–20).

With this in mind, it is our persistence (Lk 11:5–13; 18:1–8) and the time we spend with God, rather than the actual number of prayers we offer, that makes prayer effective.

The prayers that make up the rosary are simple in form, yet fundamental to Christian faith. The very fact that one is limited to these set prayers can effectively restrict the occurrence of spiritual pride.

As we pray, God is listening to our hearts rather than to the words that pass our lips. The important factor is the sincerity of prayer—that it should be simple and from the heart.

Thanks to Fr David Khan for his assistance. May God bless all mothers on this Mother’s Day.  Let us continue to pray the rosary as we ask the Blessed Mother to intercede for our families, our country, and the world. —Archbishop’s Appeal