The Rosary and Sarah's Laugh

Last fall my friend Beth sent me an email inviting me to write a study for Blessed Is She on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. The BIS leadership team had been discussing it, praying over it, and wanted me to do it. I was incredibly honored but I had to admit something to them before I could accept: I rarely pray the rosary. 

Oh my goodness! I said it! I said it to women I admire who love the rosary! But I felt like it needed to be shared: I rarely pray the rosary. Would they still want me? (And now that you know will you still want me?) I mean- I love Mary, and I frequently meditate on the life of Christ (the heart of the rosary), and I usually try to do what God and the Church encourage me to do but the rosary.... for some reason it is hard for me. It lulls me to sleep. I can't do the prayers and the meditating together. 

But they didn't care. They asked me to sit with the Scripture that inspires the Glorious Mysteries and to look at Christ's life through Mary's eyes. It was a beautiful, powerful experience for me and the months and teamwork that went into the prayer, writing, editing, and designing of this book are very dear to me. 

The book is called Believe and it is part of a four-book grouping called Mystery and belongs with the Blessed Conversations series.

As we worked behind the scenes and sent it off to the printer I grew more and more excited to share it with my friends, family, and you. This is my first actual book that was actually published by an actual real ministry and I am proud of it. 

And then something happened that took my breath away for a moment. 

I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw that another women's ministry is launching the sale of the exact same kind of study - a book filled with reflections on the Rosary. It looks lovely - I sincerely mean that - and I never saw this coming so out of surprise I laughed. And in my laughter I thought of this passage:

Instantly in my mind's eye Sarah stood next to me, her eyes twinkling as she laughed with delight at the thoroughness of God. 

It looks like the Holy Spirit really wants us to pray the Rosary and spend time reflecting on the life of Christ, ladies! How beautiful that different women in different ministries both heard the same prompting?! This is not a bad thing, a competition, a popularity contest - this is the power of the Holy Spirit getting the job done! And it makes me laugh. 

The Mystery series are on sale now and will be shipped in time for Easter. They are perfect for individual or small group study and personally I would start with the Glorious Mysteries since those are the ones that deal with the Resurrection. ;)

You can buy them as a bundle or an individual booklet and they are available as digital downloads or printed and saddle stitched. Laura Kelly Fanucci wrote Behold on the Joyful Mysteries, Brigid Hogan wrote Beloved on the Luminous Mysteries, Sr. Maria Kim Bui wrote Belong on the Sorrowful Mysteries, and I wrote Believe on the Glorious Mysteries.  (All of those links are my affiliate links - thanks for using them!)

And before you go I have a couple more exciting announcements! 

This coming Monday and Tuesday, March 19th and 20th, I will be giving a mini parish mission at St. Mary's in Mount Caramel, Illinois. It would be so cool if you can join me! And if you are a Berberich I especially want to meet you since I count one of your relations as a good family friend. 

Then, on Friday, March 23rd Travis, MJ, and I will be at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony, Minnesota. I will be sharing the story of James' alleged miracle at a prayer rally for Fulton Dobbs. I would really appreciate Minnesota folks coming to support the Dobbs family and to pray for a miracle for Fulton.