Rosary Beads

I hold the rosary in my hand today and feel the lightness of it. It is almost nothing. Yet Mary tells us that it can change the world. In her apparitions over the ages, she begs us to use it.

It can change me, that I know. I say the prayers, sometimes noting the meaning, sometimes reflecting on the mysteries. Eyes shut, I forget the other people in the Adoration chapel; I forget the statues and the candles. It is the middle of the busiest time of the year, and I am sitting still for 20 minutes. There are cookies that need baking, cards to send, presents to wrap, and an entire house that shouts at me to clean it. I forget all these things as I finger the small beads.

I say the prayers because Mary has asked us to say them. That is enough reason, but am I saying the prayers well? Does it matter if I say them well, or is it the simple act of saying them, taking the time, that makes the magic happen? There is much that I do not understand about the rosary and this praying notion. Maybe that is just as well. Maybe it is not necessary if I understand how God changes the world.