Rosary

The non catholic father of one of the young people I know recently struck up a conversation with her catholic boyfriend. He was asking about the mysteries of the rosary. The young man clarified the mysteries for him, sorrowful, glorious, joyful and luminous. and then they discussed the practice of meditative prayer. As an Episcopalian he is open to the rosary understands that it is to focus on the life of Christ, and even has a version he is familiar with, but he is becoming more and more interested in all things catholic and wished to learn more. During the conversation, He asked the young man if it would be OK to contemplate leisure mysteries? The young man not quite sure called his mom, my #1 CCD teacher/best friend and this led to a conversation between us. God works in mysterious ways. Why not have the leisure mysteries? As our world becomes ever busier, and we try to be more and more in control, why not contemplate when the Lord told us to trust in him. We spent the better part of a road trip discussing the possibilities.... all the times when the Lord said "Don't worry, be happy". The loves and fishes, Martha and Mary, the lilies in the field, the children, the holy spirit. We actually came up with more than 5. The Lord came to create a new covenant. He preached love, hope and peace. He did not tell us to get bigger cars and houses, compete in sports and academics or try to be better than the guy next to us. He told us to be patient and kind. To love our neighbors, be helpful and just. We are not supposed to worry about what we don't have but to be grateful for what we have been blessed with. The Rosary is a contemplative tool. As stated above, We pray the rosary as a meditation on the life of Christ. It is a tool to be used to bring us closer to our Lord. To open ourselves to Him and hear his voice. Maybe we need more mysteries, the grateful mysteries, the leisure mysteries, the peaceful mysteries. Where ever the Lord leads, you pray the Rosary with an open heart ©