When it’s Raining Rosaries: Pray the Rosary, Even When It’s Hard

AnneMarie Miller shares about the Rosary rut she was in recently, and how God has been helping her learn and grow. 

I guided my children through the rush of people leaving the daily Mass chapel when a young woman slipped out of her pew to stand in front of me.   

“I want you to have this.” A one-decade rosary glistened as she held it out.     

“Really? Are you sure?” I asked, glancing at my children and thinking about how quickly rosaries get pulled apart in our house.   

“Yes, I’m sure.”   

The woman handed over the Rosary and reentered her pew to pray as I walked out, looking at the treasure in my hands. I fingered the sparkly silver beads before placing the rosary in my purse, away from my toddler.   

A week or so later, I held my baby in my lap on the floor of a church, hundreds of miles away. An elderly woman approached us and offered us a beautiful rosary with glimmering red beads.   

The gift of two rosaries in under two weeks; it was raining rosaries! Is Mary trying to tell me something? I wondered.   

What these women didn’t know — but our Blessed Mother was well aware of, I’m sure — is that I had been in a bit of a rut when it came to the Rosary. 

Just Keep Praying  

Although the Rosary has been a normal part of our family’s daily routine for nearly five years, I recently noticed that I was struggling to ponder and reflect on Christ’s life during this prayer. Some days, I simply said the words without making much effort to reflect on what I was saying. I continued praying the Rosary, but wondered if this prayer was doing any good or bearing any fruit. Was it a practice worth continuing?  

The recent gift of two rosaries reminded me of the Rosary’s value. As I reflected a few years ago, I needed to meditate on the life of Christ and persevere in praying the Rosary, even if I didn’t feel uplifting emotions from this experience. The Rosary is a way for me to talk with God, reflect on Jesus’s life, and join my husband and children in prayer — all while offering prayers that are found in Scripture!   

These recent events have encouraged me to just keep praying the Rosary. Even when I’m tired, even when I struggle to concentrate, and even when I don’t experience an Earth-shattering revelation halfway through the first decade, I need to keep praying. Alongside this encouragement, I’ve also reflected on my need for humility and wonder.    

An Invitation to Wonder  

I love being able to draw connections between people and events. I love exploring deep significance and symbolism. I enjoy being able to craft tidy conclusions and definitively state what a prayer is doing in my life. However, the daily Rosary is forcing me to recognize the importance of humility: I don’t need to know all of the answers. I won’t always be able to pinpoint the exact fruits of this prayer or experience deep wisdom or compile illustrious reflections on the life of Christ; but I don’t need to do these things.

I need to grow in humility and learn to be content with not having all of the answers. I need to learn humility and offer this prayer even if I can’t compile a long list of benefits from every single Rosary I’ve prayed. Many saints — and our Blessed Mother — recommended the Rosary, and this prayer has been good for our family. It has brought peace and consistent prayer into our home.   

Through the daily Rosary, God invites me to grow in humility and offer this prayer even when I don’t see all of the fruits it bears in my life and the world. Moreover, God invites me to experience greater wonder. Instead of looking at the prayers and getting stuck on how mundane or repetitive they are, I’ve started looking at the prayers as a wondrous gift. I’ve started thinking of Christ’s life through the perspective of wonder. How God become man and draw us into an intimate relationship with Himself? How could Mary, a young woman, care for the Son of God in her womb? The Rosary prompts me to look at the mysteries of God in a new way, with awe and wonder.  

Do you pray a daily Rosary?

What are some ways the Rosary leads you into wonder as you consider the life of Christ?  

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 AnneMarie Miller
Images: Canva