Rediscovering Prayer

Jan. 6, 2007

I did not make any New Year's resolutions this year, but have begun recommitting myself to prayer in the New Year. I think it actually began on New Year's Day -- which is a holy day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. That night I said the Rosary and every day since I have said the Rosary, even if it is 11:30 p.m. when I remember to do it. I feel like a person walking in the desert who has happened upon a stream of fresh water. And I wonder why I ignored that source of strength and refreshment so long.
My very first post on this blog was about the Rosary. It is truly the source of my conversion as I said it almost daily during my mother's illness in 1998.
When I had Olivia in 1999 ( and entered the Church), I didn't pray the Rosary daily, but I did pray throughout the day as any mother of a newborn might do. When I had two children under 2 years of age, my prayer life was a source of both spiritual refreshment and communion as I felt Jesus and Mary were my only constant companions in a life constrained and isolated by alternating napping and feeding schedules. And when my son's health prohibited me from going anywhere one winter, my prayer life increased again.
I am so much more myself and more serene when I pray, and the Rosary is my prayer of choice because it highlights all of the major points of Christ's life and Mary's interaction with them. It helps me to see Christ in others, and it helps me to see that Mary is truly a model for all mothers and women.
Last night, I saw something on television about the Liturgy of the Hours. I know nothing about that except it is the prayer of the Church, and the priests say it. But after Vatican II, lay people were also encouraged to say it, I think. I plan to try to learn more about that and to continue my commitment to prayer especially as I prepare to go to Wisconsin to help my sister.