Gearing up for a 33 Day Rosary Challenge

33 Day Rosary Challenge

Last week, I received an email from my friend David Calvillo, author of the book Real Men Pray the Rosary. David's email held an invitation to join him and others around the world in an initiative they are calling the "33 Day Rosary Challenge". Here are some of the basics:

Pray the Rosary daily. Not for 30 days but 33 days. 33 represents the number of years that Jesus dwelt among us in the fullness of his humanity. 33 constitutes a direct connection to the fullness of the Divine- made man, a connection to Jesus himself. One day of praying the Rosary for every year that Jesus gave us, setting aside his glory as God, and living and breathing and walking among us. Pray the Rosary daily for 33 days. Focus on the content of the mysteries. Meditate upon that Gospel story and apply the lessons to your life. Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to receive the fullness of His mystery-the fullness of faith.

This 33 day challenge begins August 29th, 33 days from the start of the month of the Rosary on October 1. I'll be honest -- when I first saw David's note I panicked a bit. September is slated to be one of my craziest months ever: I begin work in earnest on my new book, deliver my baby off to college, and prep for some big speaking engagements and a trip to Rwanda. "I'm so busy, God!" I begged...

And then the answer came to me: All the more reason to accept this challenge.

Starting each of those days by earnestly meditating upon the mysteries of the Rosary is likely the most effective way to deal with all of the stress, activity and emotion that will be contained within the space of those 33 days. Focusing on the needs of so many around me in focused prayer through the intercession of our Blessed Mother will likely help me be less focused on my own messes.

So I'm "all in".

If you'd like to join David, me and countless others around the world in this challenge visit www.33DayRosaryChallenge.com.