The rosary road map

Sister Rejane  
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by A Nun's Life Ministry.

Sister Julie  
We still get those great questions, though, that have to do with our Catholic faith. And of course, questions always come in about the different ways we live as nuns and sisters. So that's pretty exciting.

Sister Maxine  
One of those questions just came in the other day. '

Sister Julie  
Really.

Sister Maxine  
Came in from Pamela via email. And Pamela said, "Hi, sisters. I am wondering how the rosary plays a role in your daily prayer life, and if it played a part in helping you find your way to becoming a sister."

Sister Julie  
That's a great question. Pamela, thank you so much for sending it in to us. Well, first of all, for those who are a little bit unfamiliar with what the rosary is, the rosary is two things. One is it refers to the set of beads that are used when one is saying a series of devotional prayers to Mary which is also called the rosary. So if someone says the rosary, it could be the actual thing, or it could be the prayer that is the rosary.

Sister Maxine  
And as a devotional prayer, of course, it is personal or private prayer. Even though we say private prayer, it is often prayed in groups. And of course, the purpose of that personal prayer is to draw closer to God. So the rosary isn't so to say required of Catholics; it doesn't make you necessarily any more or less holy in and of itself. Although if you pray the rosary, you may feel more holy. So it's a devotional practice as distinct from say, liturgy, for example, which is a public prayer.

Sister Julie  
And Sister, I just want you to know, I feel more holy when you pray the rosary. So I thank you for that. [laughter]

Sister Maxine  
So, in terms of the question about how does the rosary play a role in daily prayer life -- how would you respond to that, Sister Julie?

Sister Julie  
I think it can vary. The rosary and prayers that include Mary kind of sitting with us as we come before God -- those may be important for some people, but not for all. Usually, prayers that involve Mary are thought of as kind of hallmarks of Catholic prayer life. And to some extent, they are, simply because Mary is honored in a particular way in the Catholic tradition, as opposed to other Christian traditions. And even as opposed to other religious traditions. Mary, of course, appears in the Islamic writings as well. So it can really vary as to how Mary is with us in prayer or how we incorporate and stand with Mary in our prayer.

Sister Maxine  
So that praying the rosary certainly is one of the hallmark Marian devotions. But for, well, for me personally, it probably is not at the top of my prayer list. Having said that, I was deeply influenced by the rosary. I remember, when I was a kid, my family always praying the rosary together. My mother has a huge devotion to Mary and she and her buddies get together every week and pray the rosary for the needs of the world. So that I just sort of imbibed that because I was surrounded by that kind of devotion with my mother and, of course, with my father as well.

Sister Julie  
That is beautiful. I think one of my first memories of the rosary is my mother had my grandmother's rosary, which was stainless steel. And I thought that meant that it couldn't rust or anything. So when it would rain, I would take it and go outside and bury it. Because I thought it was like a miracle that it wouldn't rust.

Sister Maxine  
Oh! Well, how did that miracle turn out?

Sister Julie  
Well, I can't find the rosary to this day. I imagine it's somewheres in the backyard of my parents' house.

Sister Maxine  
Probably unrusted.

Sister Julie  
Probably. But it's always held that kind of sacredness to me, that sense of the holy and the unexpected being part of it. Now, in terms of my vocation and my calling to religious life, it wasn't so much that the rosary played a part. But I would have to say Mary definitely played a part in my vocational story. I think I got to know Mary in different ways as I as I grew older, and I could relate to this young woman who was presented with this great question, a great vocation question. Like, God's opening this up and saying, "Will you accept, will you walk this path? Will you say yes to God?" And so, Mary, in that sense, played an important part in my life, because with Mary, I could see myself saying that yes, I could look to Mary and see how she negotiated that in her life.

Sister Maxine  
I love that about Mary too. And I have to say, my image of Mary changed a lot over time. I think at one point, I probably envisioned her more as somebody sort of meek and subservient. And I hadn't really thought of the Mary now that biblical scholars talk about. You know, as she told Jesus to change the water into wine, help this young couple at Cana avoid sort of the social embarrassment of running out of wine, and the Mary that stepped forward and knew what to do and was a very confident woman and a very loving woman and a very compassionate woman, all at the same time. I mean, a model of strength.

Sister Julie  
And it's probably no coincidence that we both ended up here in the Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe, Michigan, which is our congregation. So we bear the namesake of Mary.

Sister Maxine  
She is our patron in the congregation. So we go into that tradition of Mary, and it becomes part of our identity.

Sister Julie  
And so we really appreciate that question, Pamela, because, for me, anyway, it kind of helps me tap back into and express how Mary and see how Mary has been with me throughout my life.

Sister Maxine  
Other people are talking about Mary and their relationship with Mary. Sr. Julie urges folks to watch In the Footsteps of God: Mary, the Mother of God from St. Ignatius Press. She says it's very, very good.

Sister Julie  
People have noted different forms of the rosary. There are chaplets. Some communities have particular customs around the rosary. For example, Sister Julie mentioned the Franciscan Crown is the Seven Joys of Mary.

Sister Maxine  
Other folks are talking about relationships with Mary and rosaries. Kay Bard said she got Mark a new rosary for Christmas one year. And she said it was two nights before Christmas. And she panicked because she thought you had to get them blessed before they "worked." And so she ran to the parish priest, and he blessed it. That's a wonderful thing to do. But any rosary, prayed with love, and good intentions is a powerful thing.

Sister Julie  
Amen. I have to say, when I began making rosaries, probably four or five years ago, it brought me a whole different awareness of the rosary. Years before that, I had hung out with the Missionaries of Charity. And they taught me how to make rosaries using seeds. And the seeds are called Job's Tears. They're these little seeds that are literally in the shape of a tear, and how you would kind of cook them in oil to get different colors on it. And it was such a prayerful process, the making of the rosary. Sometimes I use Job's tears, but I do different kinds of rosaries now, and what I love about it is being very close to Mary, and to Christ, and having that sense that we're praying through the life of Christ. That, you know, we're looking at Christ as an infant and growing up and then Christ realizing his public ministry, as you kind of pointed out, the story of the wedding feast at Cana was such a significant moment, and going through his passion, his death and resurrection. So it's a way to be in companionship with Mary as one ponders the life of Christ.

Sister Maxine  
There are also a couple of resources for folks who are interested in Mary. And one of our favorites is a book called Truly our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints, by Elizabeth Johnson, and another book that she wrote, Dangerous Memories: A Mosaic of Mary in Scripture. That one has some excitement built into the title.

Sister Julie  
I know. That is very compelling.

Sister Maxine  
And one other resource would suggest Miriam of Judah: Witness in Truth and Tradition, and it's a book by Ann Johnson. We don't know if she's related to Elizabeth.

Sister Julie  
She may or may not be. So there are some great resources for you, our listeners, to check out. And when you have time, listen to the recorded version of this broadcast in the future and spend some time thinking through how Mary is present in your life.

Sister Maxine  
Now before we leave Mary and the rosary, there's just one more comment here in the chat room we have to touch on. She said, "My grandma Cleo had a glow-in-the-dark rosary. And my sister Kay and I used to see it in the dark from the room we slept in." And she said, "It freaked us out. Now as adults, of course, we realize that grandma was praying the rosary at the time -- it was just being held in the air." Maybe.

Sister Julie  
Maybe not.

Sister Maxine  
You know, I had forgotten about the glow-in-the-dark rosaries

Sister Julie  
Those are classic.

Sister Maxine  
Those are totally classic. My sisters and I and my brother, we all had some glow-in-the-dark rosaries.

Sister Julie  
Now, I do not want to wake up tonight to the sight of rosary beads dangling over my head.

Sister Maxine  
Shining.

Sister Julie  
Shining, shining, calling to me.

Sister Rejane  
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This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.