By Pat Haggerty

As a young girl growing up I lived across the street from my great-aunts.  There were five of them---five unmarried sisters living together and being family all on their own.  They devoted much of their lives to me and my siblings.  My father was their only nephew, and his mother was their sister.

I spent lots of time at “the Aunties.”  They contributed greatly to my development and even my Christian formation.  I often went to seven o’clock mass with them on Sundays.  One of the Aunties brought me on my first retreat.  They showed me the example of prayer by praying daily and sharing that with me.

One thing I remember vividly about their house was a particular wall-hanging they had in their living room.  It was a framed picture of a poem entitled “My Rosary.”  After all these years, I don’t remember the entire poem, but I do remember the following:

The hours I spent with thee, dear heart;  Are like a string of pearls to me;
I count them over every one apart---my Rosary! My Rosary!

During this month of Mary and the rosary, remembering this little poem was like a flashback.  Not only did it cause me to reflect on the Aunties, but, even more, it brought me to a reflection of the rosary.  What part does the rosary play in our lives?  When do we pray the rosary and for what purpose?  Do we associate the rosary with a powerful prayer that leads us to a reflection of the mysteries of Christ’s life and our redemption?

I would encourage you to ask yourselves these questions.  Perhaps they can shed new light for you on the part the rosary plays in your prayer-life.  With careful thought, the rosary can take on new meaning for each of us.  It is not just something we say, or pray, when we are in distress or when we are waiting for the mass to start.  It is a powerful prayer to Mary that can lead us to Her Son.

Keep in mind the words of the Collect for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary:  “Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.”

Look to the rosary as your string of pearls!