Posted on 06/26/2009 3:20:51 PM PDT by NYer
Perhaps it’s the 11 kids or my own undisciplined personality, but I tend to fall asleep when I pray the Rosary in traditional positions. During adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, I am ashamed to admit, I find the prayer especially mesmerizing and struggle to recite five decades before the head nodding begins. However, while running in the woods, my soul soars as I stride along rugged cross-country trails. I have received both physical and spiritual consolations. Once, in His goodness, God enticed two deer to race across my path. He knew that Psalm 42, which begins, “As a hart longs for running streams, so my soul thirsts for you, O God…..” is my life’s prayer. What a consolation.
During the year of my beloved St. Paul, his words in 
2 Timothy4:6-8 echoed in my soul as I ran along my chosen path: As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
God has whispered His wisdom to me while praying the Rosary and running over the years. Taking only my fingers and rectitude of intention along as prayer tools, I open my heart to receive His light. I feel like the disciples whom Jesus instructed to take nothing with them during their first mission. I, too, have only the Paraclete to unite me to heaven as my Nikes pound the earth. The totality of the running experience frees my soul to pray. Even distractions, such as airplane engines ripping the sky above, serve as a point of meditation for me. This is earth. There are no planes in heaven. The noise reminds me that I will not let Satan snatch the joy of my prayer-run from me. I then hear only the birds or the wind-tossed leaves. I’ve even heard the silence of a fawn nestling in moss. She echoed the silence of my soul at prayer.
The Joyful Mysteries seem to yield abundant fruit during my runs. On the Monday following the Notre Dame student body’s standing ovation of President Obama, Our Lady reminded me to rejoice in the midst of fear. God’s perfect will for Mary, and humanity, was announced and incarnated, in time, both 2000 years ago in Nazareth and two days or weeks or years ago in Indiana. Christ defeated death through his birth in a stable. My fast-beating heart gave birth again.
While leaping roots and mud puddles: expected stumbling blocks along my way, the Holy Spirit showed me that love and service of others requires sacrifice. The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth was not without its trials either. Mary had to overcome her own exhaustion, nausea, and travel logistics to attend to Elizabeth’s needs. She persevered. While praying this second mystery of the Joyful Mysteries, I meditated upon what keeps me from serving others. Do I judge whether their needs are legitimate? Are they worthy of the service of a very busy woman? Can I even afford to make the meal or donate the diapers? “Why is my hardened heart leaving good undone”, I’ve contemplated while approaching a hill I’d rather walk than charge. Mary then energizes me not only to run up the hill, but to act in the service of others.
During one run several years ago, I had counted off the Joyful mysteries with each breath but without apparently receiving the Breath of Life in my prayers. Finally, as I began to pray the fifth Joyful Mystery, the Finding in the Temple, my heart began to pound with joyful understanding. Jesus’ words to his parents, “I must be about my father’s business” became my answer to those who had chastised me about yet another pregnancy with the following comment, “Whatever you’re trying to prove, you’ve already proven it. You don’t need any more children.” Peace caressed me and my tiny, unborn tenth child. Perhaps Jesus didn’t know why He was in the temple. He only knew that He “must be about my father’s business”. I, too, couldn’t explain why my husband and I were open to a large family. My reasons weren’t important. I knew, with every stride, that I was running the race for God. Only His perfect will mattered for me and my family. The Father wanted Grace in the temple of my body and I submitted, answering, “Yes, I will be about your business, Lord.” The supernatural gift of Understanding given to me four years ago continues to breath life into me while I run and pray. Effective exercise and true prayer continue energizing one long after the prayerful run has ended.
Often, running is my prayer. It’s my small way of returning thanks to God for allowing me to co-create eleven children with Him. I struggle to regain fitness postpartum in order to glorify God in my body. Also, in justice, my children and husband deserve a mother and wife who cares about her body and soul. They deserve an energetic and happy mom. Prayer and exercise produce that fruit. I believe God is using my family to evangelize the world to the truth and beauty of the human family and to the goodness of children. Therefore, in living my vocation I represent what a Holy Catholic Mother may resemble. I try to present to the world an attractive example of Christian life in everything I do, including care of my body. God willing, my runs are helping to forge my victor’s crown.
The prayer of running inspires me to “finish the race” when I feel exhausted both on and off the trail. Running the Rosary has taught me to persevere through the end despite the crosses of my vocation. Many times I have not wanted to begin a run. On those days, I am gentle with myself. I start slowly. I walk until my body remembers that I am a runner. Sometimes I’ll walk for a time and then recommence the run. My body deserves respect and recognition for what it has given the world: children. Training myself as a runner teaches me to nurture my soul too. As St. Frances de Sales wrote, “Hate your imperfections, then, because they are imperfections, but love them because they make you know your nothingness and give to you an opportunity to exercise yourself in virtue, and to God to show His mercy towards you.” Running and praying work together and teach me another lesson of St. Francis, “Courage! Let us rise above ourselves, for God will help us, and we shall advance.”
St. Francis must have been speaking to me, because some mornings I advance by leaping out of bed when the “alarm” of a child screeches. Therefore, my Morning Offering lays unsaid on my nightstand. I don’t despair of my slow prayer-start to the day. When I remember what I’ve forgotten, I return to my prayers. All is not lost. St. Paul tells us to persevere to the end. He doesn’t give us a time frame. Physical conditioning takes months and years to attain. Athletes continually train in order to improve. So, too, our souls require the humility of patient nurturing. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez wrote, “Let one say to himself in the morning, ‘This day I mean to perform my ordinary actions well.’ So, that becomes easy and tolerable, which might appear very difficult if it were taken in a general way, and with the thought that this effort was to be made for a lifetime. Meanwhile, by proceeding every day in this manner, little by little a good habit is formed…” Beginning to run again after each pregnancy has informed my prayer-life. My legs have run St. Alphonsus’ counsel on wooded trails while my soul, too, journeys along its path to heaven.
Regardless of one’s hobby, if it is of God, it can become a prayer. I have mulched my yard and meditated, cooked and contemplated, cross-stitched and beheld the cross. For one whose mind is set on things above, everything becomes an opportunity to contemplate the goodness of God and to glorify Him with your body. Ora et labora, indeed.
Okay, 11 kids has me beat ... but I’ll bet she doesn’t have dragons!
I fall asleep praying the Rosary, too, unless I’m driving. In fact, I take advantage of that when I need to fall asleep, and have recommended it to others. One of my Protestant coworkers years ago had insomnia, and I gave her a set of beads and she would pray “The Lord is my shepherd” to fall asleep.
I also pray the Rosary when I’m running, and can take a long time to finish because I lose count! I can start running, or at least walking energetically, in a couple more weeks.
Like Stacy, I pray the Rosary each day at work, while walking laps of the Capitol halls. Each decade is offered up for a particular intention - women who plan to have an abortion that day will turn away from the clinic and spare their child, for those who have asked for my prayers, for the sick and dieing, for those who have no one to pray for them ... you get the picture. What about you?
Before my youngest was born I used to keep a First Friday/Saturday holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament from 2am to 3am. Several times I woke up from ‘prayers’ at 3am to the sound of the doorbell buzzer.
My hour at our parish on First Fridays is 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., but it’s still hard to stay awake. If nobody else is there, I walk around the chapel and sing!
I find that in order to pray the Rosary I must be totally alone so that I can concentrate. My constant prayer is: “Lord rescue this country.” I can’t think of anything more important these days.
What a great idea! Any favorite hymns?
An excellent prayer! Of course, from there, it broadens into a multitude of other prayers for our military serving overseas, for the victims of persecution or totalitarian societies, for the conversion of heart of our own leaders ... you're definitely off to a great start.
I like to sing Communion hymns, whatever we’re using in Mass at the time. It’s all Spanish these days, of course! Marian hymns, too. “Como Estrella en Claro Cielo” or “Ave Maria.”
And from my Protestant choir days, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” and “Hymn of Joy,” and 72 verses of “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” the “Navy Hymn”!
For priests — I’m always driving along and say Hail Marys for my priest.
As I pass a cemetery I pray a Hail Mary and ask the Lord to take souls to heaven.
As I pass churches I pray a Hail Mary and ask that they might become converts to Catholicism.
We never know what our prayers will produce until the moment we die. So keep praying, FRiend; those are wonderful intentions.
Other Hail Marys for the conversion of the dimocrats.
And then for an end to abortion.
For more people to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and receive the Eucharist worthily.
For the people on our prayer chain (for the sick and terminally ill.)
For all the people who will die that day.
And my list goes on and on.
Every Friday, a group of us gets together and we pray the three mysteries, Joyful, Luminous and Glorious before Mass, say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, take a ten minute break to finish setting up for Mass and twenty five minutes before Mass we say the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Angelus and Prayer to St. Michael.
After receiving the Eucharist, we also pray
3 Hail Marys
1 Our Father
1 Glory Be
1 Prayer of St. Michael
for the Lord (or Blessed Mother) to send additional angels to earth to assist us in the physical and spiritual battles here on earth.
And don’t forget to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory!
Man, I don’t think I could do any major aerobics exercise and do the rosary at the same time. I could see walking the rosary, though. I’ve done that before, on a number of occasions. My problem is, I get very enraptured when I am praying the rosary — could be dangerous in traffic! LOL.
Agreed - not good to pray while driving, especially when you are focused on a particular meditation. However, it does lend itself quite well to walking; in fact, it eliminates any monotony from walking the same path thus encouraging a longer walk. Great way to exercise body and soul at the same time :-)
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