Shannon Whitmore reflects on the impact Mary and the Rosary have had on her prayer life as a mother.
The Rosary was never my favorite form of prayer. In fact, I used to complain about how repetitive it was. I really struggled to pray it, and I struggled with the fact that the Church held the Rosary in such high regard. It was obvious that the Rosary was a significant form of prayer in the lives of many Catholics, including many saints. If they all upheld the Rosary’s value, who was I to ignore it?
I clung to the fact that the Rosary was not a required form of prayer. You will not go to hell for neglecting to pray the Rosary. Missing a daily Rosary is not a mortal sin. I knew that I was not placing myself in the near occasion of sin by refusing to adopt the Rosary as one of my daily prayer forms. And yet I still wondered if I was missing something.
Actually, I knew I was missing something. It wasn’t just that I didn’t like the Rosary. I also didn’t have an especially strong relationship with Mary. I just couldn’t figure out how to relate to her. She was perfect, and the Mother of God. And at the time, I was just a single young woman who couldn’t even keep her plants alive. But then everything changed. I became a mother.
Suddenly, I found myself praying to Mary a whole lot more often. I felt hugely unprepared. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I needed all the help I could get—both the earthly and heavenly kind. Mary might have raised the Son of God, but she was still a mother. She knew what it felt like to feed a baby, to soothe an infant in the night, to teach a toddler how to walk and talk.
Mary and I suddenly had a lot more in common.
So I began to talk to Mary more. I imagined myself in her presence, sharing all of my joys and struggles with her. I imagined Mary offering me comfort and support. In the months and years that followed, my relationship with Mary grew and grew. She became a friend, a sister, even a mother to me. And in response, I became a Rosary-praying woman.
It began simply. My kids were getting to be school-aged, and I knew they could handle a decade of the Rosary every day. So we started with just one decade. After a few months, I realized that we could do more, and week by week, decade by decade, we built up to praying one set of Mysteries a day. Becoming a mother had truly turned me into a Rosary-praying woman.
The Rosary is a powerful weapon, and in the hand of a mother, it can be life-changing. #CatholicMom
In this month of May, I encourage you to start with just a decade of the Rosary, or if you’re already doing that, maybe go for more. The Rosary is a powerful weapon, and in the hand of a mother, it can be life-changing.
Reflection Question:
How does Mary’s role as the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church impact your vocation as a mother?
Copyright 2023 Shannon Whitmore
Images: copyright 2017 Holy Cross Family Ministries, all rights reserved.
About the Author
Shannon Whitmore
Shannon Whitmore currently lives in northwestern Virginia with her husband, Andrew, and their two children, John and Felicity. When she is not caring for her children, Shannon enjoys writing for her blog, Love in the Little Things, reading fiction, and working in youth ministry. She has experience serving in the areas of youth ministry, religious education, sacramental preparation, and marriage enrichment.
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