Everyday Rosary Newsletter, Volume 3 Issue #2 -- Why Your Heart Is Troubled

June 14, 2011

Spring Greetings!

The monthly Everyday Rosary Newsletter is brought to you from the How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com website. In each issue you will find Rosary inspirations, new meditations, feature articles and ideas that support your prayer life, a calendar of upcoming Rosary Feast Days, and how to incorporate your faith in other holidays. Plus stories on how the Rosary has affected the lives of others and what people are doing to promote the Rosary. It will also keep you up-to-date on information added to the site. It is your monthly dose of Rosary inspiration!

Table of Contents

• A Note From The Editor
• Articles
• Top Picks
• How To Checklist
• Calendar Of Upcoming Feast Days
• Resources
• Testimonials
• Meet The Rosary Promoter
• Q&A
• What's New

A Note From The Editor:

If you want to know why your heart is troubled and find a solution, look no further than to Jesus Christ and the one true Church, the Catholic Church. Our Church has all the tools you need to attain a peace filled and serene life.

It is not a magic pill though. It takes work and dedication as well as consistently choosing to do good plus following the Commandments of God and the precepts of His Church. For your information and review the six precepts and a commentary on each are included in this newsletter.

Remember the words of St. Augustine:

"Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee."

We are excited to introduce our first ever guest writer, Fr. Smolenski! In his article you will learn how the Rosary keeps us nourished and how it brings life back to spiritually dead hearts.

You are not going to want to miss this month’s Rosary Promoter interview. This exciting interview focuses on addiction and ways to deal with it and overcome it to attain a greater level of peace in your life. Even if you don’t personally suffer from an addiction at one point or another you will come into contact with someone who does. James Lawrence of ComeAside.com‘s insight will help you deal with addiction from a Catholic perspective. Plus he will teach you the tools you will need to work through it. Hint: The Rosary is one of them.

One more word to the wise from the "Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous" on working a 12 steps spiritual program...

..."We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace." p.83, 84

Of course this must be done in the context of sound Catholic doctrine but it seems that we all could benefit from applying a 12 step program in our spiritual growth.

Also included in this newsletter is an encouraging Q&A about finding peace through the Church and her sacraments only to seemingly lose it. A lot of people experience this but regain a deeper level of peace and joy after persevering through this hardship.

I invite you to read on...

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Articles

The Spiritual Machine Gun

I like to think of the Holy Rosary as a spiritual machine gun and as a spiritual umbilical cord.

The rows of beads remind me of the belts of bullets feeding the gun. These military bullets are meant to enter live hearts in order to kill them. But the spiritual bullets, the Hail Marys of the Rosary, enter spiritually dead hearts in order to bring them to a life of faith...

The natural umbilical cord unites the mother and child in order to nourish and purify the child. The spiritual umbilical cord - the Holy Rosary - unites the Heart of Our Mother Mary to our hearts so that she can nourish them on the virtues of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord as well as purify our hearts of sin in action and inclination. In natural life the umbilical cord is cut and the child is independent of the mother. But in the spiritual life we must never sever that rosary bond, otherwise we are on our own uncertain way...

Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA is the director of the Shrine of Our Lady of South Carolina - Our Lady of Joyful Hope www.ourladyofsouthcarolina.net. He is a Baptistine Canonical Hermit whose ministry is exclusively to the pilgrims of that Shrine.

New Meditation on The Annunciation

At the Annunciation, Mary said "Yes" to God. At Fatima, Mary had a message for the world. This message was entrusted to three shepherd children because Mary saw in these children a willingness to say "Yes". Mary asked them if they would offer up many sacrifices for poor sinners. Lucia’s response was "Yes". We must be willing to say "Yes" to the commandments of God, the precepts of the Church and the requests of Our Lady asked through officially approved apparitions.

"Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." -Matthew 18:3

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Top Picks

The Six Precepts Or Laws Of The Church

When studying the Catechism, there is a distinction between the Commandments of God which were given by God to the Israelites through Moses, and the Commandments of the Church. These laws are given to us by Holy Mother Church for our own good and to keep us happy. The precepts of the Church are as follows...

1. To assist at Mass on all Sundays and holydays of obligation; Commentary: It is a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sundays and holydays of obligation through your own fault and it must be confessed in Sacramental Confession before you can receive Holy Communion again. Furthermore, no unnecessary physical work should be performed on Sundays and holydays to the best of your ability.

2. To fast and abstain from meat on the days appointed by the Church; Commentary: Fasting is when you can only eat one full meal. Two small meals that when combined do not equal the full meal may also be eaten. The days of fast are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. To abstain means to not eat meat. The days of abstinence are all Fridays during Lent and Ash Wednesday, but throughout the year, some form of penance should be performed on Fridays and that penance can be abstaining from meat.

3. To go to confession at least once a year; Commentary: You should go to confession frequently but it is mandatory once per year. We would recommend monthly confession. Confession confers many graces. You need these graces to live a holy, serene and peaceful life.

4. To receive Holy Communion during the season of Easter; Commentary: This by no means suggests that you should not receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament more often. You are starving your soul if you only receive once yearly.

5. To contribute to the support of the Church; Commentary: When you give money to the Church, you are helping pay for the expenses of the Church. This support is a sign of your love for God.

6. To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage. Commentary: The laws of the Church require a Catholic to be married in the presence of the parish priest, or the bishop of the diocese, or a priest delegated by either of them, and before two witnesses. A Catholic that marries outside the Church is not really married at all.

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How To Checklist

How To Keep Your Spiritual Machine Gun Loaded

Persevere in praying the Rosary. Keep it up. Schedule a time for it each day. If you find you are missing your daily Rosary, try a new time.

Monks have a rule of life. That means they have a specified time for each and every activity during the course of the day. Most likely your day is structure as well. Perhaps take the time this month to write out a schedule of your usual day. Somewhere in that schedule write in when you will pray the Rosary. Follow your schedule for at least two weeks to instill this new habit.

"All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace." -Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Calendar Of Upcoming Feast Days

Ascension Thursday - June 2nd
The second Glorious Mystery forty days after Easter

7th Sunday of Easter - June 5th

Pentecost - June 12th
The third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, ten days after Ascension Thursday

11th Week of Ordinary Time - June 13th

Trinity Sunday - June 19th

The Feast of Corpus Christi - June 23rd
The Body of Christ, the fifth Luminous Mystery, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist

The Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - July 1st
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary

The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - July 2nd

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 3rd

Independence Day - July 4th (United States of America)

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - July 16th
Mary told St. Dominic, "One day through the Rosary and Scapular I will save the World." If you are not already clothed and enrolled in the scapular, ask a priest to do so for you today.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 17th

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 24th

Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne - July 26th
Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 31st

Feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori - August 1st
Greatly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His book, Glories of Mary are five volumes in one that contain much food for thought that will greatly enhance your Rosary meditations.

Feast of St. John Vianney - August 4th
The patron saint of priests.
Say a Rosary for your priest today.

The Transfiguration of the Lord - August 6th
The fourth Luminous Mystery

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time - August 17th

Feast of St. Dominic - August 8th
Mary revealed the rosary to St. Dominic

20th Sunday in Ordinary - August 14th

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - August 15th
The fourth Glorious Mystery

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 21st

The Queenship of Mary - August 22nd
The Glorious Mysteries

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 28th

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Resources

• 6mm Cube Crystal Rosary with Sterling Silver Crucifix - Made of only the finest materials, including sterling silver chain and genuine Swarovski Crystal beads. Packaged in a deluxe velour box.

Books And Spiritual Reading

• The Pieta Prayer Book - This booklet contains the fifteen St. Bridget prayers revealed by Our Lord to St. Bridget of Sweden, the Prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus by St. Therese of Lisieux, the Stations of the Cross, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and various other traditional Catholic prayers. Publisher: Miraculous Lady of RosesFormat: 80 pages, paperback

• Ave Maria (Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos) - Ave Maria is a compilation of monastic chants and hymns dedicted to the Blessed Mother recorded in 1956 and 1957 by the ancient Monasterys choir. It has been carefully restored to reflect, as best as possible, the essence of the historical recording. Artist: Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos.

DVD's

• Faith, Hope, and Love with Fulton J. Sheen - Bishop Sheen is eloquence at its very best. This collection of timeless messages from the powerful preacher offers inspiring guidance, encouragement, peace of mind and spiritual comfort that will touch the heart. This boxed set includes four 55-minute DVDs, each with two programs. In color and B W. Vol. 1 - Love Is Faith : 147 Ages of Man 148 and 147 Temptation 148 Vol. 2 - Love Is Hope : 147 Hope for a Wounded World 148 and 147 False Compassion 148 Vol. 3 - Love Is Truth : 147 Love Is a Garden 148 and 147 Are We More Neurotic Today? 148 Vol. 4 - Love Is Eternal : 147 The Touch of Your Hand 148 and 147 Intimacies of Love 148 Run Time: 220 minutes Format: 4 discs, DVD Publisher: Ignatius Press

Miscellaneous

• Brown Scapular Our Lady of Fatima - Made from 100% wool, with embroidered pictures and strong cords. Includes a Blessed Crucifix, St. Benedict Medal, and enrollment forms.

Important Links

• www.ourladyofsouthcarolina.net
• www.comeaside.com

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Testimonials

"...Your site is doing particularly well. I...pray that billions will be able to reach how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com...Thank you for such an engaging site." -Adele

Meet This Month's Rosary Promoter!

James Lawrence of ComeAside.com holds degrees in philosophy and theology. He has been a college professor and an RCIA program instructor. His inspiring website, ComeAside.com, is helping many find peace and joy through developing a Catholic prayer life.

Read the entire interview here...

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If you would like to be highlighted as the Rosary Promoter of the Month, use the Rosary Promoter Submission page on How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com and write us asking for a Rosary Promoter application. If you know someone that promotes the Rosary and should be featured as a Rosary promoter, by all means pass this along to them or send us their information and we'll contact them.

Q&A

Why Do I Feel Sad And Unmotivated After Pouring My Heart And Soul Into My Catholic Faith? Why is it that when I started to give more time to the Catholic Faith, my life started to break into millions of shattered pieces?

There is a battle going on. A battle over each individual soul. Satan hates man and he is waging a battle over your soul. Get a St. Benedict medal, pray the St. Michael's prayer often, keep praying the Rosary, stay in the state of grace, and receive Communion often even daily. The most powerful prayer for repelling the devil is praying out loud the Holy Name of Jesus.

Persevere.

You may find these words of St. Paul to Timothy encouraging. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

Also keep in mind that there is great value in suffering, even mental suffering. Unite your sufferings to those of Christ for the good of His Church on earth or the Holy Souls in Purgatory. At Fatima, Our Blessed Mother asked us to offer our sacrifices and sufferings up for the conversion of sinners. Perhaps you are being called to offer your current crisis up for the conversion of sinners. It is easier to suffer patiently when you know it is for a good purpose.

Also you may find reading the book of Tobit in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible valuable.

God bless you and keep the faith.

Please visit the Ask A Rosary Question Section on the website and ask your questions. You are encouraged to answer questions that have been posted there as well.

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What's New

A Glimpse Into Next Month's Newsletter

Next Newsletter - The Real Secret To Happiness

New On The Site - There are new prayer and rosary supply requests daily. Sign up for the RSS feed to keep up to date.

Coming soon to How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com - Japan’s Our Lady of Akita page...

Thank You!

Thank you for reading! Keep visiting www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com and remember we love hearing from you. Please use the "contact us" page to leave any and all suggestions or comments.

hope your spring and summer is filled with peace and blessings from God.

Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death! To Jesus through Mary,

To Jesus through Mary,

Kathleen Bowen and The Rosary Team

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