Welcome to the month of May, Our Lady’s special month! It’s a month of hope, of starting new gardens—and maybe even new habits. We all seem to do the same things, over and over again, even in our prayer lives; why not, this month, adopt a special devotion to Mary under one of her many titles? This could become an annual tradition for you and your family: learn about a new Marian devotion each May. 

May is a wonderful time to reconnect with your rosary beads. Yes, the ones that are sitting somewhere on your dresser or in a desk drawer; sometimes it seems that there’s not enough time in the day to pray them. (Actually, there is: believe it or not, in the time it takes to watch just one primetime drama on TV, you could have prayed four Rosaries!)

But if timing alone doesn’t entice you, here are four reasons to reach for your rosary beads this May:

1. We often mourn the fact that Catholics often don’t know the Bible as well as we should. But every time you pray the Rosary, you’re reciting lines that come straight out of scripture! Nearly every Mystery has its origins in a Biblical scene as well. These prayers and stories are so familiar to you, they’re written on your heart.
2. There’s something in the Rosary for you, no matter where you are in life. You can go to church and sit in the silence there and take the time to pray. You also can say just one decade of the Rosary between meetings, or while you’re doing dishes! There is no rule about how much of it you have to pray, or where you have to do it. Think of your rosary beads as a portable chapel you can access at any time, a touchstone to return your heart and mind to God throughout your busy day.
3. If you care about the world—and who doesn’t?—then you know that peace is a fleeting and fragile thing. Still, Our Lady urged us to pray the Rosary for peace, and the more we ask for it, the more we’re likely to act on it.
4. Yes, it can feel monotonous. That’s part of the point. Centering ourselves around a rhythmic set of words can help us meditate. And, be honest: sometimes you just don’t know what to say in prayer, do you? The Rosary gives your heart the words it needs to reach God.

There are many ways to reach out and connect with God. The liturgy. Reading a good book. Walking in a forest. And praying the Rosary. Why not try them all?

by Jeannette de Beauvoir