The first Meditated Rosary
Becoming an “Ally of the Little Ones” and receiving this green bracelet means a great deal to me, and it feels like a significant step in my journey with Christ. I will never forget the first time I prayed the meditated Rosary, over a year ago. I had only recently met the friars and nuns, and they asked if they could come pray with me sometime at my house. I was humbled and honored, but I told them I lived in an RV. That didn’t deter them, and we made arrangements for them to come over to the camper and pray the Rosary with me. The day it was happening I was so nervous that I was physically ill. I was not new to the Church by any means, but I had been away for a while. I didn’t know how to cope with my nerves, so I was fumbling around on the internet, perhaps looking for prayers, and I discovered it was my patron saint’s feast day: Saint Cecilia. I felt a sense of relief, knowing I could trust my patron Saint to be with me and praying for me today, of all days. Surely Saint Cecilia would not let this night be a disaster for me! Of course it wasn’t a disaster; in fact it was the catalyst to major spiritual growth. Some of the meditations on the mysteries focused on the importance of the sacrament of confession. I told the nuns and friars that I was experiencing a lot of restlessness and unease, and that I felt I was being called by God to something more but that I didn’t know what to do next. I hadn’t had a good confession in quite some time. The main message I received that evening in the meditated rosary was: The next step I need to take is to go to confession.
Next stop: confession!
The next day was Saturday and I made it my mission to find someplace to go to confession. I was just as nervous for this step as I had been to have the nuns and friars over to my RV! But I knew in my heart I had to do it. I actually went to a church I had never been to before, in the middle of the day, and looked for a priest. I couldn’t find one anywhere. I sat on the steps of the church and prayed, “Lord, if you want me to go to confession today, please help make it happen; I’m a mess and I can’t do this alone!” Shortly after, a priest walked out of a nearby building and started approaching the steps of the church where I was sitting. I hesitated to get up right away, waiting to see where he was headed, still wrestling with excuses not to go. This priest walked right up to me and put out his hand to introduce himself, and so I stood up. I laughed. “Ok Lord, looks I’m going to confession today!”
Graces of the Rosary
The Lord sent his servant to help me that day and I had an incredible confession. I have since maintained a practice of receiving the sacrament at least once a month. I have been blessed with the opportunity to pray the Meditated Rosary about once a week for the majority of the past year as well. This prayer has become a cornerstone for me, helping me prayerfully process great consolations I’ve received, as well as major challenges I’ve faced. Next week I will be faced with a new challenge: moving away from the area for a while, and therefore leaving the community which I have come to love and rely on so much. This bracelet (at this time in particular) serves as a reminder for me of many things:
1) The Graces I have received through praying the Meditated Rosary.
2) That though we may be separated from our brothers and sisters in Christ by distance,
we remain united in prayer.
3) That it is now my mission to bring others to Christ and to the sacraments, perhaps
through this Rosary, inviting and evangelizing people who may not have the
opportunity to encounter the community as I have…all for the greater glory of God
and the salvation of the most souls possible!
I first encountered this Rosary on my patron’s feast day, and it seems fitting that I would finally become an ADP-VV member on the feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot – the patron Father Antonio, a priest and friar whom the Holy Spirit has continued to use so fruitfully to transform my life. With the guidance of Our Lady, I hope to continue to build upon this work and do as much for others as this community of the Poor Friars and Poor Nuns has done for me.
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam et Salutem Animarum!
Erin Ray