Hail Mary, Full of Grace

As I said at the beginning of the year, instead of making vague and mostly unrealistic “New Year’s Resolutions” I was going to set a goal at the beginning of each month, and see if I can meet my goal. For January, I vowed to increase the level of water I consume. I was very specific, as I vowed I would be. I said my goal was that I would drink eight glasses of water a day.

So, how did I do? So-so, really. I definitely increased the amount of liquids I consumed. I seldom actually drank eight glasses of water a day. I did, however, almost always drink at least six glasses of liquid a day (and that didn’t count wine or martinis, Smarty Pantses). I had a rather lively conversation this month about what can count as liquid, and I refer you to this article on WebMD. See? Coffee DOES count. Neener, neener, neener. (This, by the way, is probably what Eli Manning is saying to his brother Peyton these days when talk turns to Super Bowl rings. But, I digress.)

By and large, I am more aware of my body’s need for fluid. In fact, I bought the water bottle pictured above at Target. It holds 24 oz. of liquid. I try, and am almost always successful, to drink one bottle each day. Big improvement.

On to my February goal……

This month I am dedicated to work on my prayer life. I want to pray more and better. I don’t think I’m a great pray-er. Each time I pray, in the back of my mind I am thinking, “Why would God listen to me when so many people are praying right now, right this very minute?” I know the answer is Because He’s God, but I can’t seem to shake that thought.

Since I am committed to making my goals specific, I plan on adding a specific prayer to my day – a daily rosary. My non-Catholic readers are saying, “Oh, bah!” My Catholic readers are smiling.

In my way of thinking, the rosary is nearly perfect prayer. Keep in mind, I’m not saying IT’S THE PERFECT PRAYER. I am saying that the rosary is nearly perfect, at least for me.

People who don’t understand the Catholic faith often misconstrue Catholics’ devotion to Mary. Catholics do not pray to Mary, we pray with Mary. We ask Mary to pray for us. In the same way that we might ask a friend or sister or priest to pray for us or for a special devotion, we ask Mary to pray for us. That’s it. It’s not complicated. I have always had a special devotion to Mary because she is a woman – like me – and a mother – like me. When I had issues with my son as he grew up, I loved being able to ask Mary to pray for me because she knows what it is like to worry about your children and want to prevent them from making mistakes. God answers prayers, not Mary. But Mary is a good person to have in your camp, no?

The rosary is simple: In its most basic form, it consists of four prayers – the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and the Apostles Creed.

The Apostles Creed is simply a declaration of our beliefs as Christians. The Lord’s Prayer is Jesus’ own words of prayer, how he taught us to pray. The Glory Be is a simple prayer to God in the Blessed Trinity. Hail Mary is a prayer encompassing the Biblical words of Elizabeth to Mary when she came to call on her: Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with you. Blessed are you amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. It ends with us asking Mary to pray for us.

With each rosary, you go through a period of time in Jesus’ life on earth. Each rosary looks at a different part of Jesus’ life and work. As you pray, you ponder. The prayer is repetitive and therefore meditative, at least to me. Yesterday morning, out of curiosity, I did a test. I took my blood pressure before I said my rosary, and then again just after. My blood pressure decreased by 20 points. I kid you not. I’m not implying that this was any kind of miracle; I’m only saying that the rosary provides 15 minutes of peace in my life. It calms me.
As I say my rosary each day this month, I will be saying it for a specific intention. And Mary will be at my side.

As an aside, my mother was a big fan of the rosary. She said it often. Her rosary, at least the rosary she had in the final years of her life, was silver, with the tiniest little beads you can imagine. It made sense because my mother was a tiny woman with small fingers. The rosary was perfect for her. Square beads, as I recall. She died with it in her hands. It is remarkable and sad to me to recall that we all neglected to ask for that rosary after she died. I’m sure it got lost somewhere in the hospital laundry. I hope someone found it and uses it with the same devotion as Mom.

How do you pray? Do you pray? Does it come easy for you?

For dinner last night, given the chilly 50-something degree weather in the evening, I made a pot of chili. To go with it, I made Toasted Cheesy Bread.

Toasted Cheesy Bread

Ingredients
Texas Toast
Butter
Seasoned Salt
Mozerella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated

Process
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Take out the number of slices of toast you wish to make. Spread generously with butter. Sprinkle seasoned salt onto the bread. Cover with both cheeses.

Bake for 5 – 7 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned.

Nana’s Notes: I put the bread on a pizza stone to crisp up.