A Rosary Mystery for a Fruitful Day at Work

One constant in life is that we all need to work to survive. For much of human history, that would have meant hunting and farming. Now, it means going to a job to earn money to support ourselves and maybe a family. Or maybe that means taking care of the family. Since work is such an integral part of our lives, it’s something that requires prayer to be meaningful and fruitful. What Rosary mystery fits the modern worker?

Running out of Wine

If you’ve seen the series The Chosen, you may remember the episode about the wedding feast at Cana (Second Luminous Mystery). The show decided to portray Saint Thomas as the one hired to supply the food and wine for the event. While Scripture only mentions that they ran out of wine, The Chosen portrays Thomas miscalculating the amount of wine needed. Mary asks Jesus to help which he does by turning water into the best wine of the celebration.

I like the Second Luminous Rosary mystery as one specifically for workers. It alludes to a logistical problem similar to the ones many of us face daily. Thomas had a job to do and he messed up. He worried that he would ruin the wedding, embarrass the hosts, and fail at doing his job. He probably felt huge levels of anxiety about how this blunder would affect future business and his livelihood. I’m sure many of us can relate.

Including Jesus in our Work Day

Our jobs are often more of a burden than something joyful or exciting. It can be a source of stress and anxiety as we face rude customers, demanding bosses, complex projects, or inflexible schedules. We can sympathize with the situation at the Cana wedding where nothing seemed to be going right.

We know how this story ends. Mary sees what is happening and asks for Jesus’ help. He turns disaster into a miracle. We, too, may run into disasters at our jobs. We may miss deadlines, produce a subpar product, not meet our quotas, or lose our temper with customers. But we can take a queue from the Cana wedding and ask for Jesus’ help through Mary and her Rosary. Asking for Jesus’ intervention can help us navigate those challenges and anxieties we have at work.

Doing What Jesus Asks

I know that many of us pray the Rosary regularly but we still face countless obstacles at work. You may ask, “Why isn’t Jesus producing miracles at my job like he did at the Cana wedding?” I heard a priest on EWTN talk about how filling those jars with water at the wedding feast was probably a laborious process. It’s not like they had facets in the house and they couldn’t lug those large stone jars to a well. The laborers had to make multiple trips to a well with smaller buckets to fill the large jars that Jesus turned into wine.

The idea is that our faith often requires effort, time, and trust. The workers had to trust Jesus that his seemingly ridiculous request had a purpose. They needed to put in the time and effort to make the miracle happen. The miracle didn’t happen instantly. The wedding feast was at the point of disaster before the miracle occurred. In The Chosen, Thomas kept questioning Jesus about how filling jars with water addressed the wine issue. We too often ask Jesus, “How does doing what you ask help me in this situation?”

I think we can act a little like Saint Thomas regarding prayer at times. We want Jesus to fix the problem ASAP. We tell ourselves that there is no time for prayer and that it’s just wasting our time instead of solving the problem. How many of us justify not spending a few minutes in prayer or walking into a church to sit in silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament because we’re too busy? I think Jesus’ solution to our work-related problem includes stepping back occasionally to focus on him, not the challenge at hand.

Don’t Lose Heart

At our work, we often have to grind away at our tasks. We are like the servants fetching water — entrusting our labor to Jesus. Our efforts at work may seem pointless and Jesus doesn’t seem to help us. We just toil away, day after day, without any relief. It’s in those moments God wants us to put our faith in him, not in our own abilities. We need to learn to let go. When everything is going smoothly, we tend to think too highly of ourselves and not of God. Perhaps, I hard day at work is God’s way of reminding us that we need to include him more into our lives. If we put our trust in God to see us through our work, and work is what we spend a good portion of our day doing, then we’ll remember that God is with us throughout our day.

How to Pray the Rosary All Day Long

Feynman’s 12 Problems

On the Art of Manliness website, I read this article about Renaissance man, Richard Feynman. It talks about how he always kept 12 problems to solve in the back of his mind. They ranged from the very random to the very complex (he was a Nobel Prize-winning physicist after all). He didn’t deliberately try to solve these problems. Rather, he had insights going about his day that helped him slowly get closer to solutions. Even if he didn’t completely solve a particular problem, he enjoyed the process of thinking about it.

Feynman’s “12 problems” is one manifestation of the ongoing projects many of us have. Maybe you have a car you’re restoring that you tool away at a few hours every week. Maybe you’re building something in the garage or restoring an old piece of furniture. Or you’re like me and discover new ideas to write about. But any of us can make prayer into an ongoing project that we work on throughout the day.

The Rosary as an Ongoing Practice

I often do something similar to Feynman’s 12 problems with prayer and the Rosary. As I go about my life at home and at work, I come across various articles, shows, books, and podcasts. Many times, those articles remind me of aspects of Rosary mysteries. I can then integrate them into my Rosary meditations. They provide me with “prayer fuel.” This way, I’m not praying the Rosary in a vacuum of thoughts.

For example, I may read the daily Gospel and then listen to a meditation about the value of patience. That provides meditation content for when I pray the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary whose fruit is patience. One practice, reading Scripture, reinforces the other practice, praying the Rosary. This practice doesn’t need to confine itself to drawing exclusively from spiritual sources. I draw inspiration for Rosary prayer from secular news, books, and shows. My life provides fuel for my prayers and conversely, my prayers provide fuel to face the challenges in my life.

Facing Your Day through the Rosary

This is what I meant in my books’ introductions about the Rosary being the lens through which I see the world around me. No matter the situation, there’s probably a Rosary mystery I can look to that will provide me with guidance or comfort. This is why daily Rosary prayer is so important. You need to constantly add new thoughts and experiences to your prayers so they will grow with you. In a way, the 20 Rosary mysteries act like spiritual scaffolding. What you build on top of it will be uniquely personal because everyone has different experiences.

I challenge you to make the Rosary something persistent in your day. When you consume media and information, try to think about what Rosary mysteries they relate to. When you pray the Rosary, draw on all your experiences and present them to Mary. Feynman may have had 12 problems always on his mind to keep him engaged but you will have 20 mysteries!

Here’s What You’re Missing When You Skip Mass

I’m always saddened when I go to Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday and see all the empty pews. Just a week earlier, the church was full of people to the point where it was standing room only and we nearly ran out of the Eucharist. I hoped and prayed that those who only showed up for Mass on Christmas and Easter felt inspired to come back. And maybe some did, but not in the droves I hoped for.

Lately, seeing all these empty pews at Mass bothers me greatly. I’ve been reading a lot about the deadly effects of sin from Father Spitzer’s books. Prayer, the sacrament of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, and regular Mass are all ways we protect ourselves from sin. I’m saddened to see so many people not take advantage of what the Church freely offers to all of us. Sin is like an illness with a well-known cure. And yet, so many of us choose to remain ill.

The Effects of Sin

Father Broom outlines the five effects of sin and how it affects the individual, our neighbors, our church, and our world. Give it a read.

The good news is that protecting ourselves from sin is rather straightforward. See that church? Walk inside it! Here are some specific ways that attending Mass can protect against sin:

  • Reminds us of God’s love and mercy: When we hear the words of the Gospel, we are reminded of God’s great love for us. This love can help us to resist temptation and to turn back to God when we have sinned.
  • Provides us with grace: The sacraments of Mass, especially the Eucharist, give us grace to grow in holiness and to overcome sin.
  • Helps us to connect with other Catholics: When we attend Mass, we are part of a community of believers who are all striving to live a holy life. This community can provide us with support and encouragement when we are tempted to sin.
  • Helps us to grow in our faith: When we attend Mass, we are exposed to the teachings of the Church. This can help us to grow in our understanding of our faith and to live a life that is more in accordance with God’s will.

Fighting Sin through the Rosary

The Rosary is an excellent tool that protects us against sin. Remember, Mary is the Queen of Heaven (Fifth Glorious Mystery) and one of our principal protectors against Satan and his minions. She offers us the Rosary as a way to remain in God’s grace and protection. As I’ve written before, many of her promises are for protection against Satan.

When we pray the Rosary, we are connected to a very exclusive community of saints and angels. They will guide us away from our sinful desires and instead desire what is good and heavenly. God will give us the strength to overcome our weaknesses and do his will. Picture Jesus in the Garden of Gesthemne (First Sorrowful Mystery) and how he leaned on God to see him through his Passion and Crucifixion. We too can lean on God to help resist sin and stay connected to the Church, saints, and angels.

Conclusion

Through the Rosary and our commitment to God through the sacraments of the Church, hopefully, we can bring more people into God’s grace. This will increase love, mercy, and compassion and decrease the guilt, shame, and despair of sin.

Why We Must Attend Mass According to the Saints

I’ve been sitting on this article for almost two months now trying to think of what to say. However, maybe there isn’t anything for me to add to the wisdom of the saints regarding the power and beauty of the Mass. I’m going to link to the article in its entirety.

First, Easter is only a few days away. You’re going to see packed churches soon as the Twice-a-years come to Mass. Here’s some advice if you see someone at Easter you know who doesn’t attend Mass regularly. Show that you’re excited to see them at Mass. Tell them you hope to see them at Mass in the upcoming weeks. Plant the seed of joy and the idea of the importance of Mass in their hearts. God will take care of the rest.

Now over to Fr. Broom and his article on Catholic Exchange.

We Cannot Sacrifice Truth for Inclusiveness

This is such a great letter that I felt like I needed to post it on RosaryMeds without much commentary. I think Bishop Naumann does a great job of explaining why the Catholic Church can’t sacrifice truth in the name of inclusiveness. We need to remember that our faith isn’t some TikTok video trying to grab “likes.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253629/archbishop-naumann-response-to-cardinal-mcelroy-sexual-morality

If we authentically live the Catholic faith, then we are living in an inclusive way. Bishop Naumann does a great job of explaining why we need hold firm to the truth and not bend to society’s ever-twisting norms.

Link Smorgasbord for October 2022

Throughout the day, I often come across articles on the internet that I want to write about. Unfortunately, I either run out of time or couldn’t make the article come together the way I like it. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting and worth reading.

One of my favorite radio shows puts on a segment called “Cleaning out the Sound Fridge” where they play news clips they didn’t find time to air in their usual features. So in that vein, I’m cleaning out the link fridge for October.

I mostly came across Rosary articles this month. Most of the topics I’ve covered in various RosaryMeds articles so I just couldn’t find new angles and themes to write on. But there are also some political stories that I think are important to be aware of.

The Difference Between Freedom and License

The Lost Art of Self-Control

I recently listened to a podcast produced by The Art of Manliness website titled What Happened to the Idea of Self Control? It was an interview with Daniel Akst, author of the book Temptation: Finding Self-Control in an Age of Excess. He brought up interesting points about how we’ve forgotten the benefits of self-control as a society. Instead, we now have this notion that resisting temptations and showing self-control are somehow contrary to exercising freedom.

When I listened to this podcast, I couldn’t help but think of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Countless times, their lack of self-control led to God punishing them. As I said in previous articles, I bet the “punishment” was just the logical consequence of a society acting immorally. When self-control is no longer valued or promoted by a culture, chaos results. The 10 Commandments and other moral laws don’t exist to inhibit peoples’ freedoms. It’s quite the opposite. They remind people of the foundational moral code that allows freedom to flourish.

Freedom vs. License

Let’s review the difference between freedom and license. Freedom is having the ability to freely choose how you want to live as long as it’s compatible with the common good. License, on the other hand, is doing whatever we feel like doing. We tend to confuse these concepts. True freedom results from people considering the consequences of their actions and how it affects others. Freedom is being able to choose between multiple good or neutral options. Choosing to do harm or evil isn’t exercising freedom, it’s taking license. We can never willingly choose evil under the name of freedom, free choice, or free will.

Elections and Freedom

The United States is entering its midterm elections. We’re not electing a new president, but we are electing members of Congress and voting on various laws. Abortion is a big topic now that the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion laws. You hear many pro-abortion politicians talk about the “freedom” to choose. Some even go so far as to promote radical abortion policies while holding rosaries or displaying religious imagery. They paint pro-life advocates as wanting to take away a woman’s freedom. But abortion is gravely immoral. Promoting abortion can never be an exercise of freedom. It’s an exercise in taking license.

Teaching people the evil of abortion and pushing for an abortion-free society does not impede people’s freedoms. A free society is not one where anything goes. That mindset inevitably leads to chaos and disorder. Look at many progressive cities in the United States like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago. They are enshrining license in their laws by not enforcing laws against drugs, theft, and even certain violent crimes. This is in the name of “freedom”, “equity”, and numerous other buzzwords. However, these cities have become less free because law-abiding citizens are not safe to lead the life they want. Their freedom to choose the good is restricted so that others can exercise license.

How the Rosary Teaches Freedom

When I think about following God’s laws, I meditate on the First Luminous Mystery. I recall the Holy Spirit coming down on Jesus and God saying “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). God is telling everyone to listen and follow Jesus. And that really is the core of practicing the Catholic faith — listening to Jesus. We affirm this in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Freedom comes down to listening to God and doing His Will out of a love for Him. Even for those who aren’t baptized Catholic, God still speaks to them through the natural law He created. We are all born free because everyone has the ability to know God and follow Him. We all intuitively understand the difference between good and evil and can make free decisions honoring God’s moral laws.

When you examine your conscience (which you hopefully do regularly), ask yourself if you exhibited freedom or license during the day. Did you allow God to guide you in your interactions with people? Look at some of your political views, politicians, and laws that you support. Do you support them because they are morally sound or because they are convenient? There are so many people who will see our world crumble as long as they get to stay on top. They do that by selling license disguised as freedom. Be smart, pray the Rosary, and see through the lies.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Happy feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary! I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Humbly pray the Rosary without reservation. He will bless you in so many different ways.

Today we celebrate the many victories in our lives. We celebrate a historical victory on this day, but we also celebrate God’s victory over sin. We celebrate our small daily victories when we choose to follow God and honor Him by living according to His Will.

I Finished Reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church

One of my goals this year was to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Like a New Year’s resolution, this has been a goal of mine quite a few times. I would start reading the CCC, but then eventually move on to something else. However, after completing Bible in a Year in 2021, I had a fresh resolve to make it through the CCC. In terms of page count, the Catechism is much shorter than the Bible. But it is packed with theological nutrients for the soul.

This was sitting on my self for decades

What the CCC is and is Not

I always thought the Catechism was a rulebook of dry “do this, not that” stanzas. I believed this because whenever I heard someone quote the CCC, it was mostly with the intent of correcting someone’s views of the Catholic Church. And while it certainly lays out various rules, it does so in the context of Church history, teachings, and the Bible. It’s a “do this, not that BECAUSE…” And the “because” is the important part.

The CCC breaks down into a few main sections.

  1. The Creed
  2. The Sacraments
  3. The 10 Commandments
  4. Prayer

Densely-Packed Spiritual Nutrients

Each one of these sections is like a strand of DNA — they are densely packed with information about the nature of God and our relationship with him. One strand of human DNA contains 3 billion base pairs in a 6-micron space. If you were to uncoil all your DNA in all your cells, it would stretch across the diameter of the solar system twice (link)!

The same principle goes with the Catechism. It takes words we profess like “I believe”, “one, holy, catholic, apostolic”, “Our Father”, “Hail Mary”, and “Though shalt not…” and uncoils their meanings over hundreds, if not thousands, of words. And while someone like me cannot recall the details of any single section of the CCC, it does provide the soul satisfying theological nutrients when regularly consumed.

Fuel for the Soul

The Catechism provides a fuller context for other spiritual practices such as Rosary prayer or the Liturgy of the Hours. The goal of my RosaryMeds website and books are to provide context and inspiration for the Holy Rosary. The CCC provides a greater context for the entire Catholic faith. I’m disappointed I didn’t discover the beauty and value of the Catechism until recently. But better late than never!

Here’s a little historical fact on the Catechism. The book that we reference today is relatively young. Saint John Paul II introduced it in 1992. I always thought the Catechism was something that dated back to the early Church. And while the teachings do, the book itself does not. There have been catechisms throughout the Church’s history, but they’ve been regional; written for specific audiences, and with emphasis on different topics. I think my next goal will be to read some of these older catechisms like the Baltimore Catechism. I hope I can build on my momentum of reading the Bible and the CCC and continue reading Catholic literature regularly.

Our Mother Mary’s Great Reasons to Pray the Rosary

I came across these articles providing suggestions on how to make the Rosary experience better for families, particularly those with young children. There are some interesting ideas in these articles that I hope you find useful to bring your family closer to Jesus through his mother, Mary. But all the “tips” in the world won’t matter if we don’t show a burning desire for praying the Rosary and practicing our faith. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then our example is worth a thousand pictures.

Leading Future Generations to the Rosary

My target audience for RosaryMeds is adults. So I take a more academic approach to draw people into Rosary prayer. There are still many adults who have not felt the joy through earnestly praying the Rosary. If we are to foster a love of the Rosary in children, adults need to love it first. I think of it like the oxygen mask protocol on airplanes — adults need to put on their masks first before assisting children. Likewise, adults need to embrace the Rosary first if they desire their children to embrace it.

Children learn so much from their parents’ example. Take Mass for example. Even if a child attends a Catholic school and learns about the importance of Mass in religion class, they probably won’t attend if their parents don’t go to Mass. First, there are logistical limitations such as transportation. But more importantly, kids follow their parents’ example, especially their father’s. If we don’t show a burning desire for our faith, we can’t expect the future generation to embrace it either.

I created RosaryMeds and wrote various books to show adults the beauty and power of the Rosary. I hope that these will inspire people to pray the Rosary and pass down that practice to the next generation. If you know anything about exponents in mathematics, a small change can produce dramatic results. If one person draws two people to the Rosary, and those two each draw in two more, and that pattern repeats itself, then in 20 “levels” (2^20) 1,048,576 people will be praying the Rosary. That’s a huge chain effect!

Mary’s Reasons for Rosary Prayer

I could try to come up with many reasons to pray the Rosary. But they will pale in comparison to our Mother Mary’s reasons. She provided us 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary. The Rosary provides benefits both in this life and helps us find eternal happiness in Heaven. Learning about these promises should motivate everyone to not only pray the Rosary but share its joys with others. Here is a taste of the benefits of Rosary prayer:

  • To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.
  • The sinner will be converted; the just will persevere in grace and merit eternal life.
  • I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
  • All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

Whether it’s through RosaryMeds articles, “Top Ten” lists, or Mary’s promises, we all need to pray the Rosary. The stakes are too high and the benefits too great not to pray it. I’m not saying that we’re entering some sort of “End Times” era and need to convert (although it feels like that sometimes). I don’t need to. Everyone, at every age, needs to treat all our time in this life praying, practicing, and converting. We all have a finite lifespan. So why not take up a practice that will serve you well in this life, and more importantly, in your eternal life?