The Rosary as a Song by Sarah Reinhard

I love to sing, though I won’t claim to be able to carry a tune in a bucket. My kids and I sing in the car, and we make up silly songs of our own, and that’s as far as I thought it would ever go.

Then I discovered Susan Bailey’s "Mary Queen of Peace Sung Rosary," which you can sample at www.sungrosary.com.

At first, I was hesitant. The rosary is hard enough without making it into music! But one day, when I was particularly stumped and stumbling, trying to pray my morning rosary, I turned it on.

What happened was different than what I had experienced before. As the music streamed through my ear buds, I felt myself calming down. I was focusing on the prayers in a new way, because they were different now that they were sung.

Yes, it’s repetitive. Yes, if you’re like me and you sing on the go, it requires that you know the mysteries (if you purchase the guide that goes with it, you can use that to help you; the art in it is beautiful). Yes, it’s a different way to pray the rosary, and it takes a while. But sometimes, different is just what’s needed.

Sometimes, different takes things to a whole new level.

The sung rosary has helped me appreciate, even more, how singing is praying twice.