Of October and the Rosary

I had a different topic but I remembered that it’s October and the month of the Rosary so, I might as well write something religious.

I remember in April, Pope Francis encouraged everyone to pray the Rosary for the whole month of May for the intention of the recent crisis that racked the whole world.

So, I told my niece and my nephew that we were just going to do that. They replied in unison, “I thought we only do that in October?!” Hahaha!

Don’t get them wrong, it’s not that they don’t want to pray. Kids usually do not understand how prayer works in our lives. But we do pray the Rosary together every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They even take note of it. Though I do it every day.

I started to involve them in praying the Rosary 2 years ago in October. As the month ended, I still wanted to continue to let them pray so I told them we would continue to pray the Rosary and asked if they wanted it twice or thrice a week. They replied in unison (they always love to do that), “Twice a week!” Hahaha!

I am not a religious person. I don’t consider myself a devoted Christian. I’m not a passionate Catholic.

But I remember when I was a little girl, I attended a procession and the smell of the flowers surrounding the icon of the Blessed Mother lingered in my nose and it became my permanent smell of her.

And believe it or not, every time I forget to be thankful or just merely forget to kneel, I will smell that scent. I’ve always believed that she veers me away from the dark when I begin to go astray and zaps me back to reality and reminds me to be more mindful of what’s more important in my life.

I used to go to church when I was younger but that changed when I started to have a job and everything became so hectic. I forgot about being spiritual.

But when I went to Singapore to work, I realized I needed divine intervention. And as ashamed as I was for coming back, I still went to her, knelt, and prayed. I kept true to my promise that once I was given a chance, I’d come back every week to venerate her.

I used to only pray the Rosary for the whole month of October. But then I started to pray it every day 6 years ago.

I used to pray it before I went to bed but the temptation of falling asleep was too much to handle so, I prayed on my way to work early in the morning inside our company transport. And it became a habit. It became a part of my routine.

Praying the Rosary has kept me grounded, reminding me that there’s a reason to continue life even if everything’s not going right. It makes me more hopeful, that no matter how bad things are, there’s always a good one coming eventually.

But don’t expect that I don’t go astray. You may think I’m the one with the halo and wings. I’m far from that. Human as I am, temptations are really lurking around. There are times that I feel complacent when life’s really going well and every time I do, that smell will bring me back to reality wherever I am in the world.

When I pray the Rosary, I just don’t offer intentions for myself. Believe it or not, I pray for world peace, for the oppressed, the children all over the world, my family, my friends, for stability and peace in our country, and some other things. But yes, I have one major prayer for me. I know what you’re thinking but no, it’s not finding Mr. Right. It’s something beyond that. :)

I don’t usually get the answers that I expect to my prayers but in this life full of complications, frustrations, and disappointments, I’m a firm believer in the Blessed Mother’s intercession.

When I ask for her mediation, I always have faith that she will bring it up to God. And most of the time, my prayers are answered.

But when I don’t get what I ask for, I always believe that everything happens for a reason. We’re not always the author and driver of our life. We just have to believe that everything happens in His perfect time.

Praying the Rosary has kept me sane and given me inner peace. It will always be that one thing that I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. For me, a Rosary a day keeps my worries away.