01/14/2022 – Meditating on the Rosary

Did you know that praying the rosary is not just spiritually healthy but physically and mentially too?

Meditating on the mysteries as you pray the rosary can boost your immune system!

According to Harvard University “Stress is immuno suppressive. .According to a large body of evidence, meditation appears to have profound effects on immune function in health and disease because of its ability to reduce stress.” Mediation has also been shown in many people to reduce blood pressure and pain, improve memory, counter anxiety, depression and sleep, and aid in many other ways.

“Some people have trouble with getting started on meditating on the rosary, mainly because they are so used to having to do something to make something happen. This is just the opposite. It helps me to find a comfortable chair (yes, kneeling is probably better, but I’m old and have trouble with that), close my eyes, and go perfectly limp in my entire body. I breathe in thinking “JE,” and then I breathe out deeply, thinking “SUS” or “Jesus.” I do this over and over again until I am 100% perfectly relaxed, with no tension in any part of my body. For some, meditation music with running water in the background may help. Yes, the rosary can be said in your car going to work, and I also do that. But it is a lot harder to relax then, with everybody else on the freeway zooming in and out of your space.

One additional thing I would add. Meditation on Christ, which is when our mind initiates thoughts and images of the bible mysteries, can lead to infused contemplation, which is when God implants thoughts and images into our minds. This is what happened to a lot of saints. Personal meditation on Christ and Mary led to Jesus implanting holy and wonderful thoughts and images of heaven into their minds, which, I think, is the ultimate good here on earth….

In the words of St. John Paul II in his encyclical ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE : “Why not try it?” (Ray Sullivan)